Book Review: I Invited Her In by Adele Parks

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I Invited Her In

by Adele Parks

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / B&N

 

Hardcover: 432 Pages

Publisher: MIRA; Original edition (February 5, 2019)

Imagine the worst thing a friend could ever do.

This is worse.

When Mel receives an unexpected email from her oldest friend Abi, it brings back memories she thought she had buried forever. Their friendship belonged in the past. To those carefree days at university.

But Abi is in trouble and needs Mel’s help, and she wants a place to stay. Just for a few days, while she sorts things out. It’s the least Mel can do.

After all, friends look out for each other, don’t they?

I Invited Her In is a blistering tale of wanting what you can’t have, jealousy and revenge from Sunday Times bestseller Adele Parks.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Some people whispered that she was pretentious; they resented the fact that she only enjoyed listening to music on vinyl and was fussy about the strength of coffee beans; she refused to drink beer, sticking exclusively to French red wine; she rarely ate. She was, by far, the most interesting person I’d ever met.

 

“You’ll still get the fairy tale,” Abi said with her usual cool confidence. “I mean Snow White had seven little fellas hanging off her apron and she still netted a prince.”

 

Her body leaned into his when he walked into a room, like a compass pointing north.

 

He’s lucky if I pluck my eyebrows. I just find life busy and tricky enough without having to inflict extra pain on myself for an aesthetic that precisely one person is going to benefit from. I mean, I’d never ask him to put hot wax on his best bits. Ben has never complained about my lack of grooming in that area; it’s not as though he needs help finding his target.

 

I’m not the sort of shape that’s considered typically desirable. I only stop traffic if I press the button and the lights change.

 

I throw the phone at the hall wall. It makes a satisfying dent. I can’t believe I once painted that especially for her arrival. More sensible preparation would have been barricading the door, heating tar, sharpening knives.

 

My Review:

 

This stunning book was highly addictive and totally consuming; once I got my teeth into it I couldn’t seem to put it down. The writing and storylines were simply phenomenal as start to finish the multiple POV narratives were intensely intriguing, well-crafted, cunningly paced, and just crazy good with jaw-dropping twists that had my digestive system in knots. I was taut with tension, deeply invested and couldn’t read fast enough while also wanting to fully relish every tantalizing detail and shocking revelation. The compelling characters were irresistible, uniquely flawed, and captivatingly nuanced. I was absorbed, fascinated, annoyed, beguiled, frustrated, and horrified, yet I remained overwhelmingly curious while cycling through a variety of reactions to their encounters, inner musings, and shrewd insights. I didn’t think I could have been more impressed or profoundly engaged when an eye-popping and breath-stealing disclosure halfway through actually caused me to gasp, wobble, and nearly fumble my Kindle. I was rocked, and it was sensational! Adele Parks has mad skills and new fangirl.

About the Author

Adele Parks one of the most-loved and biggest-selling women’s fiction writers in the UK. She has sold over 3 million books and her work has been translated into 25 different languages.

1500+ 5 star reviews have kindly been written by her fans on Amazon.co.uk

She has published 15 novels in the past 15 years, all of which have been London Times Top Ten Bestsellers.

Adele was born in the North East of England, in 1969. She enjoyed a traditional 1970’s childhood, watching too much TV and eating convenience food because nobody minded if kids did that in those days. Since graduating from university, where she studied English Language and Literature, she worked in advertising and as a management consultant. In 2010 Adele was proud to be awarded an honorary doctorate of Letters from Teesside University.

Connect with Adele

Book Review, Giveaway: The Sweetest Match by Abby Tyler


 

The Sweetest Match
Abby Tyler

Publication date: March 7, 2019

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

She hid secret messages in frosting, thinking no one would notice.

Abby Tyler welcomes you to the witty, well-meaning busybodies of Applebottom, Missouri, where the community takes its pies — and its matchmaking — very seriously.

Sandy Miller became an outcast at fifteen years old. Pregnant, confused, and blackmailed into silence, she spent eighteen years raising her son away from the disapproving stares of her hometown.

But Caden has left for college, and Sandy needs a job. When Applebottom’s tea shop owner sees Sandy’s decorating sketches, she hires her instantly in hopes of putting her little bakery on the map.

And then the town starts spotting secret words of love and longing on her cakes.

Andrew McCallister is the first to admit that he never got over Sandy Miller. In high school, another boy swooped in and snatched her right up. Everything that happened afterward filled him with regret. The town’s censure. His failure to check on her. Her struggle.

But now she’s back.

When the town summons the pair to a meeting to plan the school’s centennial bash, Andrew and Sandy discover they are the only two members of the committee. As they attempt to rekindle the long-lost flame, they realize the community must come together for more than an anniversary party. For their new relationship to flourish, the old guard must learn to support their most vulnerable members even when times get hard.

Abby Tyler is the new small-town romance pen name of USA Today bestselling author Deanna Roy / JJ Knight.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

 

My Rating:

 

Favorite Quotes:

 

She liked to wave her arms to express herself, and her dress had flouncy sleeves that made her look a bit like a flying squirrel.

 

Gertrude had always been a sourpuss, but in her heart of hearts, she loved this town and everybody in it. That included Betty Johnson and her evil petit fours.

 

Some of the things these people had said to her eighteen years ago would ring in her ears all her life. It was one thing to forgive, but quite another to completely forget.

 

“This is MiMi, Lolo, JuJu, NayNay, Tutu, and Killer.” Killer looked up at the mention of his name. He was a tiny brown Chihuahua with a pink nose. “Killer?” Andrew asked. “He’s a rescue pup. He won’t answer to anything else.”

 

She wondered if she had died somehow, and this were her afterlife. Nothing felt real.

 

I’ve loved you since I was too young to know what the word meant.

 

My Review:

 

I connected to this delightful book on page one and was an instant fan of the lively and fun yet insightful writing style of Abby Tyler.   The storylines were relevant, engaging, and amusingly observant while still tapping on all the feels. Ms. Tyler has deftly captured those small-town foibles and advantages with her irresistibly intriguing, meddlesome, and quirky characters. I am greedy for more.

Author Bio:

Abby Tyler loves puppy dogs, pie, and small towns (she grew up in one!) Her Applebottom Matchmaker Society books combine the sweet and wholesome style of romance she loves with the funny, sometimes a-little-too-truthful characters she remembers from growing up in a place where everyone knew everybody’s business.

 

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

 

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Book Review: Springtime at Hope Cottage (Sweetwater Springs #2) by Annie Rains

Springtime at Hope Cottage

(Sweetwater Springs #2)

by Annie Rains

Amazon USUK / CA / AU / B&N

 

Fans of RaeAnne Thayne and Debbie Mason will want to cozy up with this small-town series from USA Today bestselling author Annie Rains.

As an editor at a major New York City magazine, Josie Kellum is always on the go…until an injury sidelines her in the small town of Sweetwater Springs. Luckily, her new physical therapist is easy going and easy on the eyes. When their sessions start to heat up, in more ways than one, Josie is intrigued. But she has a city and career she loves waiting for her. So why does the thought of leaving him suddenly feel a lot like leaving home?

Tucker Locklear is just starting to move on after his wife’s death. While he can’t deny his attraction to the gorgeous, vivacious Josie, he won’t risk the pain of losing someone again. The sooner he gets Josie back on her feet and back to her real life, the safer he’ll be. But in Sweetwater Springs, love has a way of mending even the most damaged heart.

Includes the bonus short story “Last Chance Bride” from Hope Ramsay.

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

“I just wanted to tell you how I felt. Then I wanted to take you inside and show you.” A slow grin emerged on her lips. “I’ve always loved show-and-tell,” she whispered.

 

My Review:

 

This is such an adorably sweet and easy to follow small-town series with relevant family issues, secrets, and heart-squeezing moments. I enjoyed the colorful descriptions and stories of the quirky and eccentric characters inhabiting Sweetwater, each with their own unique spin that makes them stand out several shades from the norm.   I also greatly appreciated the long-overdue implementation of a Native American as a successful and hard-working professional as a main character. I adored the kindness and thoughtful patience and insights of Tuck and look forward to peeling back his sister’s tale in a future installment.

Annie Rains is a USA Today bestselling author who writes small-town love stories set in fictional towns on the coast of North Carolina. Raised in one of America’s largest military communities, Annie often features heroes who fight for their countries, while also fighting for a place to call home and a good woman to love. When Annie isn’t writing, she’s spending time with her husband and three children, or reading a book by one of her favorite authors.

WebsiteGoodreads / Amazon / Facebook / Twitter

Book Review: The Conspiracy (Maximum Security Book 1) by Kat Martin

The Conspiracy

(Maximum Security Book 1)

by Kat Martin  

 

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / B&N

 

Harper Winston’s brother has disappeared. Pursuing his dream of sailing the Caribbean, Michael hasn’t responded to texts or emails in days. When even the Coast Guard can’t find him, Harper is forced to take desperate measures. Which means going to Chase Garrett, once her brother’s best friend, now the only man she can trust…or so she hopes.

As the successful owner of Maximum Security, Chase has learned to trust his gut. He knows Harper’s father is mixed up in a deadly business, and suspects there’s more to Michael’s disappearance than meets the eye. Getting involved again with the Winstons goes against everything he stands for, yet old loyalties die hard. As the case draws him closer to Harper and deeper into the Winstons’ snarled crime family, he is forced to put everything on the line to keep Harper safe…and both of them alive.

 

My Rating:

My Review:

 

I believe I would have enjoyed it more if I were a man as it was nonstop action with abductions, jungle trekking, gunfights, car crashes, rescues, explosions, dispassionate and ruthless criminals, revenge-seeking cartels, DEA agents, mercenary extractions, family drama, etc. But I am not a man and was instead expecting a story of romantic suspense instead of a busy he-man’s adventure tale. There was a bit of romance and steamy sex scenes, but the sweeter relationship was the one between the secondary characters instead of the main ones. Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t a badly written book and the premise and various twists and storylines were interesting, the writing style just wasn’t my cup of tea. My favorite scenes were of those involving Michael, who was the most likable and considerate of the bunch.

About the Author

Kathleen Kelly Martin (aka Kathy Lawrence, Kasey Mars)

Kathleen Kelly was born on 14 July 1947 in the Central Valley of California, USA. She obtained a degree in Anthropology and also studied History at the University of California in Santa Barbara. She was a real estate broker when she met her future husband, Larry Jay Martin. A short time after the two became acquainted, Larry asked her to read an unpublished manuscript of a historical western he’d written. Kat fell in love with both the book and the author! Then, after doing some editing for him, she thought she’d try her own hand at writing. She moved on to become a full-time writer.

Published since 1988, she signed her books with her married name, Kat Martin, but she also used two pseudonyms: Kathy Lawrence for a book in collaboration with her husband Larry Jay Martin, and Kasey Mars for her first contemporary romances. The New York Times bestselling writer, among her many awards, has won the prestigious RT Book Review Magazine Career Achievement Award. To date, Kat has over eleven million copies of her books in print. She has been published in seventeen foreign countries, including England, South Africa, Spain, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Greece, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Bulgaria, China, and Korea.

Currently residing with her husband, a Western-writer and photographer, in Missoula, Montana, USA. But when they are not writing, they also enjoy skiing and traveling, particularly to Europe.

“I’ve always loved books. I was an avid reader, with any number of my own stories rolling around in my head. Writing them down seemed a logical step.”

“I love anything old,” Kat says. “I love to travel and especially like to visit the places where my books are set. My husband and I often stay in out-of-the-way inns and houses built in times past. It’s fun and it gives a wonderful sense of a by-gone era.”

Book Review: HER by Britney King

Title: HER 
Author: Britney King
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Release Date: February 28, 2019
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“After four, I quit counting. What’s the point if you know it isn’t going to stop?”
 
Sadie is jealous. Why wouldn’t she be? Her life is falling apart. Meanwhile, her new neighbor is everything she is not.
 
Ann is perfect—the kind of woman everyone loves to hate—and a best friend to die for. She hosts over-the-top dinner parties, takes parenting to an entirely different level, and makes ambition look sexy as hell. 
 
Sadie learns quick: the best way to cure jealousy is to befriend it. She also learns there’s more to her new friend than meets the eye. She’s patient, she’s kind, and possibly a serial killer.
 
It isn’t until Ann’s proclivities hit a little too close to home that Sadie has to ask herself how much she’s willing to overlook in the name of getting what she wants.
 
Exquisitely paced, Her is an unnerving and electrifying psychological thriller about jealousy, passion, and the dangerous places desire can take you. Full of enough tension and twists to make even the most seasoned suspense reader break out in a cold sweat, it keeps you guessing until the very last page.
 
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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I wish someone had told me: worry is a waste of time. The real troubles of your life will be things that never even bothered to cross your mind.

 

Ann says a lot of things. She believes in survival of the fittest, and she wants everyone else to believe in it too. But there are too many stupid people in this world for me to embrace that notion wholeheartedly.

 

I only wish someone had told me that making friends as an adult isn’t any easier than it is as a kid. It’s worse. You have all of those hardened beliefs and insecurities to contend with. And those at the top? They like to stay there.

 

Her emotions have hairpin turns.

My Review:

 

A plethora of adjectives and adverbs came to mind as I raced through Britney King’s Her, but I have yet to find adequate words to encapsulate my thoughts. I am stunned and may be in shock as I’ve never read anything like this.   Her was deviously clever, brilliantly crafted, disturbing, surreal, unsettling, and simply riveting to say the least. It was frighteningly brilliant and kept me on edge, off-balance, and highly intrigued throughout. I could never get my footing with these intense and alluring sociopaths; I was smirking at their cleverly snarky observations and inner musings one minute and reeling from their heinously twisted plotting and rationalizations in the next. The ingeniously penned storylines were completely unpredictable and enthrallingly contrived, obviously dark magic had to have been invoked. At 85% in, my stomach and jaw both dropped and I couldn’t seem to get enough oxygen into my lungs. Britney King is a wickedly talented wordsmith and a cunning mastermind, and while I greatly admire her mad skills, I would definitely think twice about living in her neighborhood.

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Britney King lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, children, two dogs, one ridiculous cat, and a partridge in a pear tree.
When she’s not wrangling the things mentioned above, she writes psychological, domestic and romantic thrillers set in suburbia.
 
Currently, she’s writing three series and several standalone novels.
 
The Bedrock Series features an unlikely heroine who should have known better. Turns out, she didn’t. Thus she finds herself tangled in a messy, dangerous, forbidden love story and face-to-face with a madman hell-bent on revenge. The series has been compared to Fatal Attraction, Single White Female, and Basic Instinct.
 
The Water Series follows the shady love story of an unconventional married couple—he’s an assassin—she kills for fun. It has been compared to a crazier book version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Also, Dexter.
 
Around The Bend is a heart-pounding standalone, which traces the journey of a well-to-do suburban housewife, and her life as it unravels, thanks to the secrets she keeps. If she were the only one with things she wanted to keep hidden, then maybe it wouldn’t have turned out so bad. But she wasn’t.
The With You Series at its core is a deep love story about unlikely friends who travel the world; trying to find themselves, together and apart. Packed with drama and adventure along with a heavy dose of suspense, it has been compared to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Love, Rosie.
The Social Affair is an intense standalone about a timeless couple who find themselves with a secret admirer they hadn’t bargained for. For fans of the anti-heroine and stories told in unorthodox ways, the novel explores what can happen when privacy is traded for convenience. It is reminiscent of films such as One Hour Photo and Play Misty For Me. 
 
Without a doubt, connecting with readers is the best part of this gig. You can find Britney online here: 
Web• http://BritneyKing.com
Instagram • https://instagram.com/britneyking_ 
Facebook • https://www.facebook.com/BritneyKingAuthor
Twitter• http://twitter.com/BritneyKing_
Goodreads • http://bit.ly/BritneyKingGoodreads
 
To get more– grab two books for free, by subscribing to her mailing list at britneyking.com
Happy reading

 

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Book Review: Let Me Burn by Carrie Elks

Let Me Burn

(Angel Sands Book 1)

by Carrie Elks 

Amazon US / UK / Universal 

She isn’t looking for love. He’s not planning on staying around. But when they meet, sparks fly… 
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Lucas Russell lives for his job as a big city firefighter. But when he’s forced to take extended leave following an accident, he returns to his small hometown to stay at the beach cottage his grandparents left him. The problem is, he’s not used to having so much time on his hands.  After a broken engagement, Ember Kennedy isn’t ready for love right now. But she didn’t count on meeting a handsome firefighter with a dimpled smile. After Lucas saves her from one awkward situation too many, she can’t stop thinking about him.
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Ember finds Lucas impossible to resist, and he’s determined not to let her. As long summer days melt into sultry, passionate nights what begins as a fling develops into something much deeper. Until the day Ember’s ex-fiancé returns to town and threatens to destroy the fragile connection that’s building between them.

*This stand-alone romance is low on angst and big on feels. If you enjoy a heartwarming read that’s sweet with heat, Let Me Burn is for you*

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“Hey, if life gives you lemons—” “Add a little tequila,”

 

“She’s beautiful and she’s funny but she’s fresh out of a relationship.” “How fresh?” “I’m not sure. A few months maybe.” “That’s not fresh… That’s rancid. She’s probably ready for another date.”

 

If he’d felt like the King of the World before, now he felt like he’d expanded his empire to include the rest of the galaxy… “I like you, Lucas Russell,” she whispered. “I like you a lot.” Forget the galaxy, he was king of the universe.

 

He’s gorgeous. And a natural with kids. I only have to look at him and my ovaries start to flutter.

 

My Review:

 

Lucas and Ember were the sweetest couple and easily fell into a fun, satisfying, considerate, sexy, and supportive relationship. Let Me Burn was a pleasant start to a promising new series and an enjoyable and welcome change from angsty stories with constant conflict and drama. The writing and storylines were engaging, well-paced, lively, easy to follow, and performed an excellent job of introducing the characters and establishing the foundation for subsequent installments. I am anxious to see who will be the focus of the next book as I am already curious about several of the characters.

About the Author

 Twitter – CarrieElks

Facebook – CarrieElksAuthor

Goodreads – 7266211.Carrie_Elks

Website – https://carrieelks.com

Carrie Elks writes contemporary romance with a sizzling edge. Her first book, Fix You, has been translated into eight languages and made a surprise appearance on Big Brother in Brazil. Luckily for her, it wasn’t voted out. Carrie lives with her husband, two lovely children and a larger-than-life black pug called Plato. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found baking, drinking an occasional (!) glass of wine, or chatting on social media.

Book Review: California Girls by Susan Mallery

 California Girls

by Susan Mallery

AmazonUS / UK / AU / CA B&N / iBooks

  • Hardcover: 432 pages
  • Publisher: MIRA; Original edition (February 26, 2019)

The California sunshine’s not quite so bright for three sisters who get dumped in the same week…

Finola, a popular LA morning show host, is famously upbeat until she’s blindsided on live TV by the news that her husband is sleeping with a young pop sensation who has set their affair to music. While avoiding the tabloids and pretending she’s just fine, she’s crumbling inside, desperate for him to come to his senses and for life to go back to normal.

Zennie’s breakup is no big loss. Although the world insists she pair up, she’d rather be surfing. So agreeing to be the surrogate for her best friend is a no-brainer—after all, she has an available womb and no other attachments to worry about. Except…when everyone else, including her big sister, thinks she’s making a huge mistake, being pregnant is a lot lonelier—and more complicated—than she imagined.

Never the tallest, thinnest or prettiest sister, Ali is used to being overlooked, but when her fiancé sends his disapproving brother to call off the wedding, it’s a new low. And yet Daniel continues to turn up “for support,” making Ali wonder if maybe—for once—someone sees her in a way no one ever has.

But side by side by side, these sisters will start over and rebuild their lives with all the affection, charm and laugh-out-loud humor that is classic Susan Mallery.

 

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Finola, we have models in the building. Tall, skinny, hungry models. They’re starting to look feral and turn on each other. I’m convinced it’s the smell of bacon.

 

… she alternated between trying to figure out a plan to win Nigel back and wondering if she could find a few anthrax spores to send him in the mail.

 

Finola told herself they weren’t deliberately cruel, they were just young and thoughtless. At least she hoped they were because otherwise the next generation was going to be a disappointment.

My Review:

 

I fell into this irresistible story and didn’t want to come back out. Susan Mallery has extraordinarily strong word voodoo. I was fully invested and right beside them or sitting in a corner watching as they bantered and argued. The storylines were deftly written and cleverly crafted with ample servings of levity and curiously addictive conundrums. Each character was uniquely compelling and so enticingly well drawn I could easily identify them in a police line-up. The mother was heinously shallow and possessed all the warmth and nurture of a rattlesnake and whose self-involvement was second only to her eldest daughter, Finola, who was a complete narcissist, although Finola had the wittiest quips of anyone. I adored Ali and Zennie, although my favorite character was the sweet and thoughtful Daniel and was totally besotted with him by the end of the book. Sigh, I want to clear off my TBR and only read Susan Mallery stories for the rest of my life.

About Susan Mallery

#1 NYT bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming, humorous novels about the relationships that define our lives-family, friendship, romance. She’s known for putting nuanced characters in emotional situations that surprise readers to laughter. Beloved by millions, her books have been translated into 28 languages.  Susan lives in Washington with her husband, two cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Visit her at SusanMallery.com.

Connect with Susan

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Book Review: What If (Small Town Big Love Series #1) by Kelly Collins

What If 

(Small Town Big Love Series #1)

by Kelly Collins 

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA 

She’s a town icon. He’s all business. Will their rivalry bring ruin or romance?  Graphic artist Lucy Shoemaker has never known a life outside of Blackwood. And she’s determined to show the world why she loves her quaint Colorado hometown. But when a billionaire arrives looking to sell the land, Lucy feels both outrage and an irrepressible attraction…

John Blackwood usually gets what he wants. He never expected that selling the Podunk town would send him directly into a firecracker of a local. John knows that Lucy won’t stop causing him problems…but is that why he can’t get her off his mind?

With compromise off the table, will John and Lucy’s passion disappear along with Blackwood or can they discover love’s common ground?

What If… is a standalone contemporary romance with sizzling chemistry. If you like headstrong heroines, small-town drama, and a fresh twist on billionaire boyfriends, then you’ll adore Kelly Collins’ sassy saga.

Buy What If… to negotiate romance today! 

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

If sin had a look, he’d be the model.

 

All her life she’d tried to shove a hundred-pound dream into a ten-pound bag and it never worked.

 

She thought that whoever had designed the bra should be given an award equivalent to the Nobel Peace Prize. Anything that could make a pair of ordinary breasts extraordinary deserved recognition. A Grammy? An Oscar? A mammogrammy? The booby prize, she thought with a giggle.

 

The dark room was lit by beer signs and the bright eyes of jealous women.

 

“Are they hoping money will just fall off you?” She laughed, imagining people following him with cups, hoping for his pockets to empty into them.

My Review:

 

I always seem to start a new series with an equal measure of hopeful anticipation and trepidation. Will it be too similar, too different, too complicated, or too familiar? Silly me, I should know better by now when it comes to Kelly Collins. Although, the style and tone of What If seemed considerably different from her usual and the main characters were a bit of a challenge for me to warm up to, especial Lucy. Lucy had a difficult personality; she was a childishly impulsive drama llama who was flippant, hot-tempered, testy, and obstinately resistant to change. I did enjoy her feisty sass and smart mouth –  takes one to know one. 😉

I also initially had doubts about John, the wealthy and sex on legs Lamborghini driving lothario, who currently holds the lofty position of my current BBF. I was afraid he was playing Lucy to influence her into moving out of her home and business space without fuss to allow his family to sell their holding without issue, and he kind of was and kind of wasn’t. Of course, Lucy’s heated tantrums and behavioral outbursts led to increasingly hotter exchanges and sheet-scorching sensual encounters. The storylines were original, easy to follow, and held my interest despite a considerable amount of conflict and the pervasive angsty uncertainty about the vexing issue of Lucy’s future living situation.

ABOUT KELLY COLLINS   

Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping the love alive.

Always a romantic, she is inspired by real-time events mixed with a dose of fiction. She encourages her readers to reach the happily ever after but bask in the afterglow of the perfectly imperfect love.

Kelly lives in Colorado with her husband of twenty-five years. She loves hockey, shiny objects and has a new-found appreciation for green smoothies.

Book Review: Hottie Lumberjack by Tawna Fenske

Hottie Lumberjack 

 by Tawna Fenske

Available from these stores:

AmazonAppleBarnes & NobleKoboThaliaBol.deAngus & RobertsonMondadori Store

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When Mark Bracelyn lumbers into Chelsea Singer’s cupcake shop with an axe, she’s poised to hit the panic button. But he fixes her door, praises her buttercream, and sends her skittish heart pounding like a hammer on a hollow log, so he can’t be all that scary. Chelsea’s sure there’s a gooey marshmallow center under Mark’s tough outer shell, though admittedly she’s been wrong before.

Mark may look like a grungy lumberjack, but he’s also the wealthy part-owner of Ponderosa Luxury Ranch Resort. The lone Bracelyn heir to avoid a childhood of fancy boarding schools, he stays hidden behind the scruffy beard and battered truck. But something else separates Mark from his siblings, and keeping his guard up means keeping his secret—and his family.

When someone threatens Chelsea and her daughter, Mark becomes their personal protector. When he’s not watching her back, he’s watching the rest of Chelsea’s body and warning himself not to touch. With danger mounting, they bond over phallic cupcakes and bizarre bunny behavior, while Mark battles his surging attraction. Can a sweet-toothed mountain man and a cautious single mom escape their histories, or will their hearts land on the chopping block?

 

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

For some reason I just assumed he has a dog. He looks like the sort of guy who’d have a Rottweiler or maybe a blue ox named Babe.

 

“Neutered?” Libby scrunches up her nose and studies the other end of the rabbit. “That’s where they cut off his boy parts to make him behave better,” Mrs. Percy offers helpfully. “To make him a nice boy.” Chelsea tries unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh while Libby turns her attention to me. “Did it hurt?” “Did what hurt?” “You brought us donuts, so you’re nice,” she says. “Did it hurt when they cut off your boy parts?”

 

Libby cocks her head at me. “How are babies made?” Uh-oh. “Um—” “Libby.” Chelsea pulls it together and musters up a stern tone. “You know the answer to this. We have that book, How Babies Are Made.” “Well yeah, but I wanted to see if he knows.” Libby studies me like a schoolteacher issuing a quiz.

 

Dating a Bracelyn is like riding on the luggage carousel at the airport. It’s exciting and fun and makes you feel like you’re getting away with something insanely cool. But there’s a helluva lot of baggage there.

 

My Review:

 

Hottie Lumberjack was good fun and an irreverently amusing Romantic Comedy, which was considerably better than the cheesy title would lead you to expect. I always enjoy Tawna Fenske’s clever wit and breezy writing style, but I revel in her delightfully titillating, smirk-worthy, and bawdy sense of humor. The premise was entertaining and intriguing, the characters were lovably quirky and endearing, and the writing was well balanced with levity, sizzling sensuality, and engaging storylines.

 

Mark wasn’t a lumberjack but like the old commercial, he could have played one on TV. He was huge in size although underneath all that flannel was a total marshmallow and tenderhearted mama’s boy with significant issues and insecurities regarding his identity. He may have appeared roughly hewn and was an avid fan of profanity and conversed with a terse manner of speaking, although his inner musings reflected a sharp wit and thoughtful observations. I have always enjoyed Ms. Fenske’s amusingly idiosyncratic characters although I was fully infatuated with Mark as well as his sweet cupcake baker Chelsea – an independent and hard-working single mom to an adorable and outspoken six-year-old.   Chelsea’s delicious and unique cupcakes may have been the lure that snagged Mark’s attention first, but it didn’t take long until the sweet aftereffects migrated from his stomach to his brain, permeating his every thought, before finally making way to his massive chest to ensnare his enormous heart. But be warned – this delicious tale was a colossal challenge to my diet.

 

About the Author    

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When Tawna Fenske finished her English lit degree at 22, she celebrated by filling a giant trash bag full of romance novels and dragging it everywhere until she’d read them all. Now she’s a RITA-nominated, USA Today bestselling author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with a quirky twist. Publishers Weekly has praised Tawna’s offbeat romances with multiple starred reviews and noted, “There’s something wonderfully relaxing about being immersed in a story filled with over-the-top characters in undeniably relatable situations. Heartache and humor go hand in hand.”

Tawna lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, stepkids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets. She loves hiking, snowshoeing, standup paddleboarding, and inventing excuses to sip wine on her back porch. She can peel a banana with her toes and loses an average of twenty pairs of eyeglasses per year. To find out more about Tawna and her books, visit www.tawnafenske.com.

Book Review: THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS by Pam Jenoff

 

 THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS

by Pam Jenoff

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Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Park Row; Original edition (January 29, 2019)

From the author of the runaway bestseller The Orphan’s Tale comes a remarkable story of friendship and courage centered around three women and a ring of female secret agents during World War II.

1946, Manhattan

One morning while passing through Grand Central Terminal on her way to work, Grace Healey finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. Unable to resist her own curiosity, Grace opens the suitcase, where she discovers a dozen photographs—each of a different woman. In a moment of impulse, Grace takes the photographs and quickly leaves the station.

Grace soon learns that the suitcase belonged to a woman named Eleanor Trigg, leader of a network of female secret agents who were deployed out of London during the war. Twelve of these women were sent to Occupied Europe as couriers and radio operators to aid the resistance, but they never returned home, their fates a mystery. Setting out to learn the truth behind the women in the photographs, Grace finds herself drawn to a young mother turned agent named Marie, whose daring mission overseas reveals a remarkable story of friendship, valor and betrayal.

Vividly rendered and inspired by true events, New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff shines a light on the incredible heroics of the brave women of the war and weaves a mesmerizing tale of courage, sisterhood and the great strength of women to survive in the hardest of circumstances.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Professor Digglesby walked back into the workshop and returned with what appeared to be feces. “We plant detonators in the least likely of places,” he added. The girls squealed with disgust. “Also fake,” he muttered good-naturedly. “Holy shit!” Josie said.

 

Eleanor produced a necklace with a silver bird charm and held it out. Marie was surprised. But it was not a gift; Eleanor twisted the necklace and it unscrewed to reveal a cyanide capsule. “The final friend,” Eleanor declared.

 

Grace imagined herself at seventeen— she had been concerned with coming-out parties and summers at the beach. She could not have navigated her way across Manhattan at that point. Yet these girls were on their own in France battling the Nazis. Grace was overcome with awe and inadequacy at the same time.

 

My Review:

 

This was my first experience reading the talented Pam Jenoff and I became an instant and ardent fan. She has mad skills. I was quickly immersed in her tale and so fully invested and simpatico with her characters that I found myself flinching when one was injured. I seldom read historical fiction, as I don’t enjoy being reminded of the ignorant and concerted behaviors that oppressed women for centuries, although I will readily consider the genre when strong female trailblazers are featured. I cannot resist a kick-ass heroine! Such was the case with The Lost Girls of Paris, which featured everyday women who were recruited by for a specialized project within a little known agency of the British government during WWII, the SEO. I had never heard of this branch before but it was an actual section during Churchill. After significant failures and heavy losses of male agents, Eleanor, the secretary to the SEO Director, convinced her boss to employ female agents instead, an idea that was not well received by the Neanderthals of the day but was put into place under Eleanor’s exacting eye. The women weren’t spies and were resented and dismissively scoffed upon by MI6 and the British military, although once in place, the female’s contributions were soon heavily relied upon and invaluable, until through no fault of their own, something went amiss.

 

The compelling and well-crafted storylines were fictional although well researched, impeccably detailed, and featured three strong and admirably tenacious women across three timelines but only one of which, Marie, had been an actual operative and Eleanor her feared and revered supervisor/mentor. Marie’s story was the most poignant and perilous, and I often found myself taut with tension with my shoulders in my ears while I read. Grace came into the story shortly after the war when she stumbled upon Eleanor’s abandoned suitcase in New York’s Grand Central station with no awareness of what she had found until much later. Grace seemed to have sticky fingers, as she pocketed not only a set of photos before replacing the bag where she had found it, she also pilfered something else later on in the story. Grace had moxie and her own set of skills beyond typing.   It was Grace’s insatiable curiosity that led her to uncover the intriguing tale of Eleanor, the SEO, Marie, and the other women’s poignant tales of heroism and sacrifice, as well as the ultimate betrayal that led to their demise. But who had compromised their mission? The answer was heartbreaking, the premise was ingenious, and the writing was transcendent.

 

About Pam Jenoff

Pam Jenoff is the author of several novels, including the international bestseller The Kommandant’s Girl, which also earned her a Quill Award nomination. Pam lives with her husband and three children near Philadelphia where, in addition to writing, she teaches law school.

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