Author: Empress DJ

Empress DJ AKA Honolulubelle is a Rabid Reader, Unabashed Reviewer, and All-Purpose Goddess
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Spotlight: Knowing You by Samantha Tonge

Knowing You

by Samantha Tonge

Amazon US / UK  / CA / AU

 iBooks / Kobo / GPlay

 

An abrupt change; a new friendship; a dark secret…


 Kind-hearted Violet has never fitted in, but despite being bullied at school is now content. She is dating ambitious Lenny, has her dream job in publishing and runs a book club at the local retirement home.

 

However, when her relationship with Lenny begins to falter, Violet, hurt and alone, seeks the advice of her new flatmate, Bella. She changes her image and with her head held high aims to show that she doesn’t need Lenny in her life to be happy and successful.

 

Her long-term friends Mable and Farah worry about Bella’s influence and slowly Violet starts to distance herself from them. When she was a child, her closest confidant and companion was a boy called Flint. Her mother didn’t approve of their closeness and he suffered a terrible end. She won’t let the same thing happen to Bella, no matter what anyone says…

 

Knowing You is about friendship and knowing who to trust with your deepest secrets; it’s about taking control of your life and not being afraid to stand out. Perfect for fans of Ruth Hogan, Gail Honeyman and Amanda Prowse

 

About Samantha Tonge

Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK and her passion, second to spending time with her husband and children, is writing. She studied German and French at university and has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris. She has traveled widely.

When not writing she passes her days cycling, baking and drinking coffee. Samantha has sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines.

In 2013, she landed a publishing deal for romantic comedy fiction with HQDigital at HarperCollins and in 2014, her bestselling debut novel, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award. In 2015 her summer novel, Game of Scones, hit #5 in the UK Kindle chart and won the Love Stories Awards Best Romantic Ebook category.

Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamTongeWriter

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

Website: http://samanthatonge.co.uk/

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Book Review: It Takes Two (Bridesmaids Behaving Badly #2) by Jenny Holiday

It Takes Two

(Bridesmaids Behaving Badly #2)

by Jenny Holiday

 

Amazon | Kobo | iBooks 

 B&N | Google Play

 

In this hilarious romantic comedy, USA Today bestselling author Jenny Holiday proves that what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas…

 
All’s fair in love and war
.
Wendy Liu should be delighted to be her best friend’s maid of honor. But after years spent avoiding the bride’s brother – aka the boy who once broke her heart – she’s now trapped with him during an endless amount of wedding festivities. Luckily she’s had time to perfect her poker face, and engaging Noah Denning in a little friendly competition might just prove that she’s over him for good…
.
Noah Denning is determined to make his little sister’s wedding memorable. But it seems Wendy is trying to outdo him at every turn. Challenging each other was always something he and Wendy did right, so when she proposes they compete to see who can throw the best bachelor or bachelorette party in Sin City, Noah takes the bait – and ups the stakes.  Because this time around, he wants Wendy for keeps. And when you’re fighting for love, all bets are off.
.
.
The Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series:
One and Only
It Takes Two
Three Little Words

.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Maybe this hadn’t been a good idea. Maybe the correct number of times a man should accompany his little sister wedding dress shopping was actually zero… And, ignorant as he was about such matters, he’d had no idea how long it took to put one of those things on— or how many helpers it required. Each new dress required a small army of overly Botoxed women in Chanel suits to carry it into the fitting room, and, from the sound of things, to hoist it onto Jane.

 

She still thinks she’s doing the ‘low-key’ thing… So she can’t get too out of control because that will violate her image of herself and create a disturbance in the force.

 

“One and done. Two and through.” That was Gia’s motto…

 

“We have a nice ‘hot for teacher’ experience. Or we do a Los Alamos package— your dancer will arrive attired in a scientific lab coat and hand out sex toys emblazoned with the phrase ‘Caution: nuclear fallout.’” Wendy cracked up. A person really could order up anything in Vegas, it seemed.

 

“I have no plans to get married either.” Gia raised her glass again as if to punctuate the point. “But ‘spinster’ implies, like, dust and cobwebs.” She made a vague gesture at her body. “Ain’t nothing getting dusty here.”

My Review:

 

I have hit my favorite jam with this delightful series and will profess to be near gleeful with the knowledge of having the next book already locked and loaded on my kindle for immediate perusal. Every book in this beguiling series has been an expertly balanced mix of clever levity; smart, endearing, yet somewhat emotionally damaged characters; insightfully observant, smooth and alluring writing that hits all the feels; volcanic sensual scenes; and engaging and Pez related storylines. It feels like nirvana. I do hope Jenny Holiday isn’t easily startled, as she seems to have gained a rather rabid fangirl.

About the Author:
Jenny Holiday is a cunning Slytherin who is constantly being told she’s unduly optimistic. This year, after realizing she had accidentally put “hero makes late-night grilled cheese sandwiches for heroine/other hero” in three books, she started doing it on purpose. When she’s not writing, she’s probably having porch wine with her neighbors and enjoying having gardened. Follow her @JennyHoli on Twitter, @holymolyjennyholi on Instagram, and find other fun stuff at JennyHoliday.com.
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Book Review, Giveaway: Whisper to Me by Sherrie Lowe

Whisper to Me

by Sherrie Lowe

 

 Amazon US / UK / AU / CA 

 B&N / Smashwords 

 

A new wife and a vengeful ghost. Not a good mix.

Letitia – Tish – Stanyer makes husband Theo promise never to remarry if she dies and he complies just to pacify her. She isn’t going to die.

She does – and he does remarry. Tish isn’t happy. Her spirit cannot rest with another woman in her domain, sampling the delights of her husband. Theo belongs to her – Sheena will have to go.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

Sheena might have other attributes than being a domestic goddess.

My Review:

 

Whisper To Me was a quick, easy, and engaging read that kept me a bit on edge with both curiosity and anticipation of the next spectral manifestation and/or act of retribution.   I enjoyed the premise and creative storylines as well as the cleverly unique characters who enticed and beckoned my interest. Theo had promised his first wife Tish, that he would not remarry if she were to die before him, although after several years as a widower, he lost his big head and was primarily using his little head when Sheena, a less than hygienic yet wildly carnal woman with a large sexual appetite, showed him some attention.   Sheena quickly got a ring on her finger and she and little yappy dog with indiscriminate toileting habits were soon ensconced in Theo’s home, soiling and defiling every surface and invoking a demented rage from Tish’s lingering entity. Odd things began to happen, but being that she was not the brightest bulb in the pack, it took a while for Sheena to notice.

Additional storylines involved other characters although those involving the vile and odiferous Sheena were my favorites. The story wrapped up but didn’t fully conclude and left room for continuation, which I sincerely hope will be the case.   I gleaned a new addition to my Brit word list with midden, which from Northern UK and Scottish usage would be a trash heap.

About the Author

 I am a divorced mum of two adult sons and nana to three grandchildren, soon to be four. I’ve always had a notion to write but didn’t get round to it seriously until I became ill with M.E in 1995 when I was 40 and was too ill to continue my job as a learning support assistant in a mainstream high school. I was devastated to have to resign from my job but writing saved my sanity. My first attempt was a memoir, Shadow Across the Sun which covered the loss of my mum to breast cancer two days before my 13th birthday. When the rejections began to flow in from traditional publishers and agencies I joined a creative writing class and learned to write fiction. Whisper to Me is my 10th novel. I have a strong belief in the afterlife due to events following my mum’s death so most of my stories have some form of supernatural aspect to them.

Social Media Links –  

Website http://www.sherrielowe.co.uk/

Blog https://sherrielowe.wordpress.com/

Twitter https://twitter.com/SherrieLowe2

Giveaway

 Win a Kindle copy of Whisper To Me

(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: The Last by Tawna Fenske

The Last

 by Tawna Fenske

 

Amazon / B&N / Universal

 

Sarah Keating was sure she’d be married by 30. Husband, kids, the kick-ass career helping adults with Down Syndrome—she assumed she’d have it all, and there’d be no need to fall back on the marriage pact she made with her best pal from college.

But a tipsy message she sends from her birthday party brings Ian Nolan to her door ready to rock her world, and not just with mind-blowing sex. He’s up for tying the knot, and has a million pragmatic reasons it makes perfectly good sense.

As Sarah and Ian test drive their marriage-of-convenience, they navigate awkward business dinners, a slippery steam room hookup, and a costume party gone awry. Their friendship is stronger than ever, and the sexual chemistry is off the charts.

But is that enough to make a marriage work, or will one of them fall hard and end up brokenhearted?

Each book in The List series is STANDALONE:
* The List
* The Test
* The Last

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

For the record, it’s a bad sign when the guy you’re having sex with buys you sleepwear that suggests you should cover up more.

 

I’m grinning like a girl who just unwrapped Barbie and the Barbie Dreamhouse…

 

“You just had a big birthday, am I right?” Glenda’s sympathetic cluck would be more appropriate if she offered it to someone who just lost a limb. “Best get to it, sweetheart. Those eggs are drying up.”

 

He stretches up and pulls back the cover on the car’s sunroof. It takes me a few seconds to figure out what I’m staring at. “Is that a butthole?” Ian nods solemnly. “Yep. The feline variety.” … The cat stays seated with its stink-star pressed against the glass… “I’d just appreciate him removing his cheerio from our line of sight… Well, fiancée… I can’t promise you romance, but I can promise you laughs.” “And cat buttholes,” I add.

 

He squirts some canned cheese onto a cracker and hands it to me. “Keeping it classy.”

 

My Review:

 

I mirthfully smirked and periodically fanned myself throughout this fun and wickedly humorous tale featuring a pair of past college friends who had missed their chance at a deeper connection due to unfortunate timing and circumstances, but were back in touch ten years later while circling that big three-o celebration of their birth, and recalled they had jokingly made a pact to marry at that particular milestone if both were still single.

 

Ian thought he was taking a practical route of leaving love out of the mix by establishing a legal contract for a relationship of mutual attraction and benefit. Sarah was agreeable and determined to see the common advantage to deem it acceptable to settle for less than true love, but was having some minor difficulties in getting there. If not in total simpatico, they were more than compatible in most ways that counted, and then some. The plot seemed far-fetched yet the storylines were so smoothly engaging and gleefully entertaining, the premise became reasonably convincingly. And oh my, sizzle and snap, this couple of dirty talkers needed to keep a fire extinguisher handy as they were atomically hot and sensually matched well enough to leave scorch marks not only on the sheets but also on the ceiling, floor tiles, walls, and car seats. I had greatly enjoyed the previous books in this series and was instantly enamored with these endearing and cleverly crafted characters as well.

 

About the Author    

Goodreads

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.

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Book Review: Love Heart Lane by Christie Barlow

Love Heart Lane

by Christie Barlow

 Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / B&N 

 

Welcome to Love Heart Lane…

When Flick Simons returns to the small village of Heartcross she only expected to stay for a few days. The white-washed cottages of Love Heart Lane might be her home, but the place holds too many painful memories, and of one man in particular – Fergus Campbell.

When a winter storm sweeps in, the only bridge connecting the village to the mainland is swept away! As the villagers pull together, Flick finds herself welcomed back by the friends she once left behind. And as the snow begins to melt, maybe there is a chance that Fergus’s heart will thaw too…

 

My Rating:

My Review:

 

Christie Barlow has a new fangirl! I adored this heart-squeezing and emotive story from beginning to end.   It was well-paced, highly engaging, insightfully written and easy to follow despite containing a small Scottish village of unique and quirky residents. Felicity had abandoned her small village and loved ones while in despair over personal tragedy, and in her embarrassment, did not reconnect with them again for eight years. Fleeing her sorrow for London hadn’t been the solution she had hoped for, and a visit to her mother was reminding her of what she had left behind. The grass always seems greener…

I enjoyed everything about this story, the writing style, the characters, the storylines, the tangled issues and messes Felicity kept stepping in, she meant well but her tenacious and somewhat impulsive tendencies of jumping in to help was a double-edged sword. There was a bit of everything to be found in this lovely tale as it hit all the feels with humor, heartbreak, danger, regret, adorable children, community involvement, romance, family issues, bad weather, and small village life. All the elements were well incorporated along with the idiosyncrasies of the village.

I hit the mother load of idioms and new terms for my Brit/UK word list with fairy cakes which appear to be small cupcakes; the big smoke – London or other large cities; wetting the baby’s head – father and friends celebrate the baby’s birth with alcohol; get a shifty on – to get started on something; and not on your Nelly – there is no chance at all of something happening. Thank goodness for the Urban Dictionary, Google, and Wikipedia!

Author Bio

Christie Barlow is the author of A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother, The Misadventures of a Playground Mother, Kitty’s Countryside Dream, Lizzie’s Christmas Escape, Evie’s Year of Taking Chances, The Cosy Canal Boat Dream, A Home at Honeysuckle Farm and Love Heart Lane. Her writing career came as somewhat a surprise when she decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams. The book she wrote to prove a point is now a #1 bestseller in the UK, USA & Australia. 

Christie is an ambassador for @ZuriProject raising money/awareness and engaging with impoverished people in Uganda through organizations to improve their well-being as well as Literary Editor for www.mamalifemagazine.co.uk bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the book world.

website www.christiebarlow.com 

Twitter @ChristieJBarlow 

Facebook page Christie Barlow author

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Book Review, Giveaway: Playing for Keeps (Heartbreaker Bay – Book 7) by Jill Shalvis

 

 Playing for Keeps

Heartbreaker Bay – Book 7

By: Jill Shalvis

Avon Books – Jan 22nd, 2019

 

 Amazon /  B&N / iBooks / Kobo

 

Blurb

If you’re planning on falling in love…

When it comes to the confident, charismatic Caleb Parker, Sadie Lane feels the spark—the kind that comes from rubbing each other the wrong way. She’s yoga pants, he’s a suit. She’s a tattoo artist, he’s a straight-laced mogul. But after they accidentally co-rescue an abandoned dog from a storm, Sadie sees a vulnerable side to the seemingly invincible hottie.

You’d better be sure…

Caleb doesn’t do emotions. Growing up the underdog, he’s learned the hard way to build up an impenetrable wall. Perfect for business. Disastrous for relationships. He’s never worried about it before—not until he finally gets behind Sadie’s armor and begins to fall.

Someone is there to catch you.

Both guarded and vulnerable, Sadie and Caleb are complete opposites. Or are they? Shocked at their undeniable connection, can they ever admit to wanting more? That all depends on what they’re each willing to risk.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Sadie listened with half her brain, the other half wandering off.

 

Sometimes life really bit a girl on the ass. Thankfully she had enough padding there to take the hit.

 

“So she can be bribed.” “You just fed her a fortune in fancy cuts of meats and cheeses,” she said. “Anyone could’ve been bribed with that. Hell, I’d have jumped into a stranger-danger van for that.”

 

“She dumped me. Twice. Women should come with instructions.” “What would be the point of that?” Sadie asked. “I’ve never actually seen a man read any instructions.”

 

He sighed. “It’s hard to meet the good ones.” “That’s because they don’t usually frequent the dives you frequent. Go to Target. The female to male ratio is ten to one and they’re already looking for things they don’t need.”

 

Rocco offered his fork with a grape on it. She shook her head. “I don’t consume wine in pill form.”

 

She’d long ago taught herself how to take a mental step back from her family and treat them like . . . well, entertainment. She was no longer part of the circus but just an audience member.

My Review:

 

Every time I have finished a Jill Shalvis book I remind myself of the objective to clear my calendar and read the rest of her listings, which would take a chunk of time, as she has been quite the busy bee; Goodreads lists thirty books to her credit. I was late to this party but I have every intention be that nightmare type guest that never leaves. I am greedy and want them all, past, current, and future works. I am totally enamored. I adore her clever wit and humorous banter as much as her insightful observations and emotive reflections. Her writing is so stunningly agile she can have giggle-snorting and sniffling on the same page. Playing For Keeps was a heart-clenching tale yet well-balanced with levity, swoon-worthy romance, and sumptuous sensuality. I delight her wordplay and worship her altar of used printer cartridges.

Author Info

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis writes warm, funny, sexy contemporary romances and women’s fiction. An Amazon, BN & iBooks bestseller, she’s also a two-time RITA winner and has more than 10 million copies of her books sold worldwide.

 WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS

Newsletter: http://jillshalvis.com/faq/newsletter/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jill-shalvis

 

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Book Review: Picture Not Perfect by D.E. Haggerty

 

Picture Not Perfect

(The Not So Reluctant Detectives #2)

by D.E. Haggerty 

 

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU 

 Smashwords ~ Kobo ~ B & N

 

A picture tells a story. But is it the truth?

When the police find pictures of Melanie hanging up at her murdered colleague’s house, they’re convinced he was stalking her. Maybe she even killed him. Melanie was not being stalked! And she certainly didn’t kill her supposed stalker – as if. But Mel – always up for a bit of drama – jumps at the chance to go search for the real killer. When Mel’s ex-boyfriend, Owen, discovers her plans, he pulls out all the stops to ensure she’s safe and to win her back. No matter what happens with the murder investigation, he’s not letting her go. With the police setting their sights on Mel, he may need to jeopardize his own career on the police force to protect her.

Will Mel find the real killer before the detectives arrest her for murder?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Please, you could find danger at a knitting club full of old ladies.

Wow. You don’t jump to conclusions. You take a flying leap to them.

My Review:

 

I take considerable pleasure in humor, which is a talent that D.E. Haggerty puts to good use by so deftly tucking it into her cozy mysteries. I am enjoying the levity and intriguing storylines of her new series, as well as the humorous chapter titles that read like headlines. But I had a hard time enjoying her main character of Mel.   Mel’s personality would be rather vexing to anyone unaccustomed to dealing with someone with an Attention Deficit or Hyperactivity issue. And Mel had a whopping dose of ADHD with many annoying and exasperating personality traits. She was fidgety, easily frustrated, emotionally immature, impulsive, stubborn, reckless, craved drama, and was loud and thoughtless of others. How she could be a successful high school guidance counselor had me scratching my head as she didn’t listen to others, lied easily, and obsessive in her thinking while prone to jump from one ridiculous far-fetched conclusion to another in attempting to prove her point. Being her friend would be an extremely difficult endeavor and only for those with endless patience and tremendous fortitude. Lucky for her, the delicious Owen had the patience of a saint, a few sexy saint. And lucky for me, I don’t have to have that anymore because retirement is swweeeet!

About the Author

Website

Amazon 

Goodreads

I grew up reading everything I could get my grubby hands on from my mom’s Harlequin romances to Nancy Drew to Little Women. When I wasn’t flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. But being a lawyer really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out being a B&B owner wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before following the husband to Istanbul where I decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book.

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Book Review, Giveaway: Second Chance At The Ranch by Maxine Morrey

 

Second Chance At The Ranch

by Maxine Morrey

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / B&N

 

It’s never too late for a second chance at love in this uplifting and warm-hearted romance.

It’s never too late to find love…

When Juliet Scott falls for ruggedly handsome Pete while away traveling, she never imagines how different her life will be to that of her sister, successful and beautiful model Hero. Based on a cattle station in the vast Australian Outback, Juliet’s life is now simple, down-to-earth and honest, and the perfect antidote to the chaotic celebrity lifestyle that Hero leads in the UK.

With her striking brunette hair, perfect posture, and mesmerizing green eyes, it is no wonder Hero has come so far in such a superficial industry. But when tragedy strikes, Hero finds herself in the arms of her sister, recuperating from a terrible accident on the other side of the world.

With her modeling career in tatters, and her scars more than just skin deep, Juliet worries that Hero will hide behind the mask she wears forever. But does Australia have something, or someone, to offer that London never could?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

She practically took out my eye with that cleavage. She’s most definitely more woman than I’ll ever be.

 Shame you didn’t back over the pneumatic bimbo whilst you were at it.

My Review:

 

Angst is not my friend, I crave balance in my world – crazy I know – it is just my personal preference. While well written with an interesting premise, this book was so angsty it was painful. Yet I was hooked and just couldn’t seem to let it go despite my pique, I was intrigued by the story and had to know what happened, regardless of having to wade through a tale that was 90% conflict and tension to get to that coveted HEA. Ms. Morrey certainly made me work for it, but it was worth it. The quick glimpses of humor and romance were brief respites, refreshing and well appreciated.

The characters were an interesting and endearing mix of Brits and Aussies. I frequently lost patience with the main character of Hero, who was the vortex of all the angst. Hero was an international supermodel who had a kind heart, yet she was an ice queen, deeply damaged, self-involved, terminally stubborn, and extremely anxious and uptight with a penchant for running away and shutting down when uncomfortable issues arose; a childish and tedious trait.   Hero’s sister married an Aussie with a sheep ranch in the Outback, hence the dual-continent tale. Of course, I enjoyed the Aussie side of the story considerably more, due to the handsome men residing there as well as the sizzle and dust they kicked up.

This time my new vocabulary lesson includes a mix of Brit and Aussie words, with Brumby – the wild horses of Australia; Pommie – a derogatory term for a Brit in Aussie speak; and Antipodean accent – what Brits call Aussie and New Zealand accents.

Author Bio

Maxine has wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember and wrote her first (very short) book for school when she was ten.

As time went by, she continued to write, but ‘normal’ work often got in the way. She has written articles on a variety of subjects, as well as a local history book on Brighton. However, novels are her first love.

In August 2015, she won Harper Collins/Carina UK’s ‘Write Christmas’ competition with her first romantic comedy, ‘Winter’s Fairytale’.

Maxine lives on the south coast of England, and when not wrangling with words loves to read, sew and listen to podcasts. Being a fan of tea and cake, she can (should!) also be found doing something vaguely physical at the gym.

 

Follow Maxine Morrey

Website           www.scribblermaxi.co.uk

Twitter @Scribbler_Maxi

Instagram @scribbler_maxi

Facebook www.Facebook.com/MaxineMorreyAuthor

Pinterest ScribblerMaxi

Giveaway 

Win Second Chance at the Ranch and other Goodies

(Open Internationally)

Prize includes:

1 x paperback copy of Second Chance at the Ranch

1 x notebook

1 x mini handbag keyring

1 x V&A museum lipstick shaped pen

*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: Finders, Not Keepers (The Not So Reluctant Detectives #1) by D.E. Haggerty

Finders, Not Keepers

(The Not So Reluctant Detectives #1)

by D.E. Haggerty 

 

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / B&N

What do you do with a diamond no one wants? You can’t keep it. Or can you?

While cleaning her ex-husband’s effects out of the attic, Terri finds an exquisite diamond pendant necklace. She’s determined to return the necklace to its proper owner, but the owner was brutally killed, a murder which remains unsolved, and her heirs want nothing to do with the diamond. Terri embarks upon a journey researching charities to which she can donate the diamond. When her research becomes dangerous, Terri contemplates solving the murder herself. Her best friend, Melanie, jumps feet first into investigating the murder, but her neighbor, Ryder, doesn’t want Terri exposed to any danger. Ryder, to Terri’s surprise, also wants to be more than neighbors with Terri. Luckily, he’s prepared to take any measure necessary to keep her safe because someone is determined to stop her inquiries.

Join Terri on her quest to find a home for the diamond, which may result in the unveiling of a murderer – if she survives long enough.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

She didn’t deem to use Terri’s ex-husband’s name. Terri had barely managed to get her to stop calling him a rat bastard…

 

“Your hot neighbor? The man who causes the entire female population of your neighborhood to have hot flashes when he goes for a run without his shirt on?” Melanie fanned herself as her voice got progressively louder and louder. “That neighbor?”

 

“They say it was a random act of violence.” Mrs. Collins snorted in a very unladylike manner at that idea. “As if violence is something random.”

 

What would Nancy Drew do?

 

I’d totally make sure no one was around before I started talking about someone I’d killed. That’s like murdering 101 or something.

My Review:

 

This series appears to be a hybrid genre that is part Romantic Comedy and part Cozy Mystery, and when the parts were put together the story was fun, light, and breezy entertainment. The characters were uniquely drawn in a broad and somewhat madcap comedic type manner. Terri was recovering from a disappointing marriage and seemed rather prickly and edgy, as well as prone to impulsive and impatient behaviors and was full of sass and easily riled. Her best friend Melanie was even more impulsive, always up for an adventure, and a regular drama-llama. And of course, I adored the “hot neighbor dude,” the sexy PI who attempted to keep their nosy sleuthing in check and grounded, but is that a possibility when your mentor was Nancy Drew? I look forward to more outrageous hijinx from this pair.

About the Author

Website

Amazon 

Goodreads

I grew up reading everything I could get my grubby hands on from my mom’s Harlequin romances to Nancy Drew to Little Women. When I wasn’t flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. But being a lawyer really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out being a B&B owner wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before following the husband to Istanbul where I decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book.

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Book Review: Perfect Match by Zoe May

Perfect Match

by Zoe May

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA   B&N

 

Can you ever find true love online?

Sophia Jones is an expert in all things online dating: the best sites, how to write a decent bio, which questions to ask and the right type of photos to use. The only thing she’s not so great at? Picking the guys…

After sitting through yet another dreadful date with a man who isn’t quite what she expected, Sophia is just about ready to give up on the whole dating scene. But her flatmate, Kate, persuades her to give it one more chance, only this time she must create a profile describing her ‘perfect’ man.

Yes, he must look like Robert Pattinson and needs to own a multi-million-pound business, but there are a couple of other deal breakers, too! So, when a guy comes along who ticks every box, surely there’s got to be a catch?

A laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, perfect for fans of Catherine Bennetto and Rosie Blake!

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Paulo was so ditzy that my friends dubbed him ‘the himbo’

 

Ferret Man is a local Lewisham legend. He’s a fairly weird -looking older man who hurtles through Lewisham in a rickety old wheelchair pulled along by two whippets. But the trick Ferret Man has employed to keep the whippets running ahead is to keep a ferret on a long leash. The whippets chase the ferret, and Ferret Man gets from A to B without having to touch the wheels of his chair once. It’s actually pretty ingenious when you think about it.

 

I turn around and look up at him, taking in his perfectly chiselled face, the symmetry that never ceases to amaze me. When God made Daniel, he really took his time. He got out his rulers, his protractor, his compass. Regular people look slapdash in comparison, as if God made them after one too many sherries.

 

De Santford doesn’t look like a millionaire or a billionaire for that matter; he just looks like any other overweight bald guy in a suit. Although I’m not sure what I’m expecting to see, he’s hardly going to be dripping in solid gold chains.

 

My Review:

 

Reading Perfect Match was a perfect introduction to the clever wordsmith Zoe May; she is found treasure. I smirked and giggle-snorted my way through this wittily written tale of a dating disaster. Sophia had tried all the apps promising a love connection yet was tipping the scales at over 70 bad dates – she knows this for a fact as she has them plotted on a spreadsheet. Sophia was the last singleton in her circle of friends; even her odd wand-wielding hippy friend had found someone. It couldn’t possibly be a reflection on her though, could it?

 

The writing was refreshingly crisp and rippled with levity, humorous descriptions, and clever wit. While Sophia was no dummy, she had become rather shallow, arrogantly judgmental, and impatient. She didn’t realize this until the tables were turned in a highly humiliating and amusing manner. She learned the hard way that the grass is not always greener, bigger is not always better, and that money and privilege doesn’t mean constant comfort and ease. The storylines were cunningly insightful yet cleverly comedic. I adored the originality and creativity of the quirky cast of characters, each with their own unique traits.

 

And score! I found two new additions for my Brit Vocabulary list with poncey which means pretentious and chavvy which seems to be a lower class sense of taste. I would never outright admit to being either poncey or chavvy, although I do have some lovely designer knock-offs… 😉

Author Bio –

Zoe May lives in south-east London and writes romantic comedies. Zoe has dreamt of being a novelist since she was a teenager. She moved to London in her early twenties and worked in journalism and copywriting before writing her debut novel, Perfect Match. Having experienced the London dating scene first hand, Zoe could not resist writing a novel about dating, since it seems to supply endless amounts of weird and wonderful material!

As well as writing, Zoe enjoys going to the theatre, walking her dog, painting and, of course, reading.

Zoe loves to hear from readers, you can contact her on Twitter and Instagram at: @zoe_writes

Social Media Links –

Twitter: https://twitter.com/zoe_writes

https://instagram.com/zoe_writes