Category: 4-Stars

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Book Review: Beneath Cornish Skies by Kate Ryder  @KateRyder_Books @rararesources 

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Beneath Cornish Skies
by Kate Ryder

 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP

To an outsider, Cassandra Shaw‘s life looks perfect. She lives in a beautiful, luxurious house in the English countryside, with a handsome, wealthy boyfriend who insists she needn’t do a day’s work in her life. But Cassie knows that something is not right. Her boyfriend has grown colder, treating her more like a housekeeper than a future wife. And her time feels empty and purposeless.
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Cassandra has always been riddled with insecurities and self-doubt, but, just for once, she decides to take a chance on a new beginning. She answers an advert for a live-in nanny, dog walker, cook, and all-around ‘Superhuman’ for a family living in a rambling manor house on the rugged North Cornish coast. The work is hard and tiring, but Cassie has never felt so fulfilled.
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As Cassie learns to connect with the natural beauty unfolding around her, Cornwall starts to offer up its secrets. Soon, Cassie starts wondering if she was drawn to this isolated part of the coast for a reason. Why was she guided to Foxcombe Manor? What are the flashes of light she sees in the valley? Is it her imagination or does someone brush past her? And who is the mysterious man living deep in the woods?
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A beautiful romance with a hint of ghostliness, Beneath Cornish Skies is for anyone who has ever longed to start their lives again.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

It’s odd how a relationship can end on such a seemingly small, inconsequential incident. But that’s what happened, and however many times I went over the minutiae of our life together there was never any satisfactory explanation as to how we had unravelled so spectacularly without my noticing.

 

People are usually unaware of the chains of cause and effect created by their actions, but life is a blending of choices that opens doors to new experiences. Essentially, we are constantly reshaping our futures… Just remember, Cass. You may not be able to control the wind but you can control your sails.

My Review:

 

This was a moody and atmospheric hybrid women’s fiction/romance with ghostly paranormal undertones and a varied assortment of generations of British characters. The storylines were vividly etched with lush descriptions and brain-snagging details while also providing interesting lessons on Cornwall history, marine biology, and botany. I was simultaneously entertained and educated, which rarely happens!

The main character of Cassandra/Cass initially resided in the lap of luxury yet she was not fulfilled and realized her life was shallow and without real joy. I personally don’t know a thing about enduring a luxurious lifestyle but do know how easily one can fall into slogging through a repetitive cycle of dull day-to-day numbness and ignoring troublesome issues we chose not to deal with. However, I cannot see myself turning a blind eye to repetitive, blatant, and overt betrayal and struggled with Cassandra’s continued pull towards a man who had callously and insultingly admitted to doing so. She needed a few pinches and maybe a connection with my favorite purple crocs to her backside to jar her head loose. But that is just me – and I can be fierce. Just ask my quivering husband; I keep the little man in fear.   😉

About the Author

 Kate Ryder is an award-winning, Amazon Kindle international best seller who writes timeslip and romantic suspense in a true-to-life narrative. On leaving school she studied drama but soon discovered her preference for writing plays rather than performing them! Since then, she has worked in the publishing, tour operating, and property industries, and has traveled widely.

Kate is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors. In 2017, she signed a 4-book contract with Aria (a digital imprint of award-winning independent publisher, Head of Zeus).

Summer in a Cornish Cove, a contemporary romantic suspense set on the Lizard Peninsula, gained her a nomination for the RNA’s 2018 Joan Hessayon award, while its standalone sequel, Cottage on a Cornish Cliff, reached the heady heights of #2 in Kindle Literary Sagas.

‘Secrets of the Mist’, a mysterious timeslip romance, not only achieved #1 Kindle bestseller flags in the UK, Canada, and Australia but also reached #49 in Amazon UK Paid Kindle. In the original, self-published version (The Forgotten Promise) it was awarded the first Chill with a Book “Book of the Month”.

Originally hailing from the South East of England, today Kate lives on the Cornish side of the beautiful Tamar Valley with her husband and a collection of animals.

Social Media Links 

 

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Book Review: Single Mother by Samantha Hayes @samhayes  @bookouture

Single Mother
by Samantha Hayes 

I will do anything to protect my daughter. She’s all I’ve ever wanted and all I really have, but the moment I opened that letter and accepted the inheritance, I walked us right into a dangerous trap.

I know I should have got her to tell me who she’s been talking to on the phone late at night, and where she was the day I went to pick her up from school and couldn’t find her, but she’s not spoken a word since she found that little pile of bones buried in the garden.

And now she’s missing…

A jaw-dropping, addictive, and totally twisty psychological thriller that will have you sleeping with the light on! Perfect for anyone who loved The Girl on the Train, Friend Request, or The Wife Between Us.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I choose my wines like I choose my men, he’d told her. Full-bodied and fruity. And always very expensive.

 

‘Excellent. On both counts,’ he says through a mouth so pursed, Mel wonders if his lips have a drawstring.

 

… weird is the new normal around here…

 

Some people just make it their business not to like others in life, Kate. Remember, it says nothing bad about you, but everything rotten about them.

My Review:

 

This maddeningly paced book was all kinds of twisty and flinchingly cold prickly, and at times, quite disconcerting. And man-oh-man, did I want to give several annoyingly frustrating characters a few good pinches and the wiffle/waffling main character a few smacks with my favorite purple crocs to dislodge her cranium from her colon. However, you could not have pried my beloved kindle from my hands with a crowbar as I was entrenched, incensed, and deeply invested. I was on a mission to get to the bottom of this lethally muddled and more than a bit creepy conundrum before allowing the sandman to make an appearance.   And I did but, oh, my. Now I may not sleep due to ruminating about the ending.   I had my wild theories and reasonably well-considered hypothesis, and while I could smugly crow that I was right about most of it, I must confess that when I am wrong, I am very very wrong… and I was devastatingly off the mark with my favorite character. Never saw it coming, and I just love when that happens.

About the Author
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Samantha Hayes grew up in a creative family where her love of writing began as a child. Samantha has written eight thrillers in total, including the bestselling Until You’re Mine. The Independent said “fantastically written and very tense” while Good Housekeeping said, “Her believable psychological thrillers are completely gripping.” Samantha’s books are published in 22 languages at the last count.

When not writing, Samantha loves to cook, go to the gym, see friends, and drink nice wine. She is also studying for a degree in psychotherapy. She has three grown-up children and lives in Warwickshire.

 

 

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Book Review: Saint Vandal’s Day (Death by Cupcake, #7) by D.E. Haggerty   @dehaggerty

Saint Vandal’s Day
(Death by Cupcake, #7)
by D.E. Haggerty 

 

St. Valentine’s Day is THE perfect day for a wedding. Unless a vandal is trying to ruin your life that is.

Callie is finally getting her dream wedding. On St. Valentine’s Day no less. Only a vandal is determined to destroy her bakery before the wedding can occur. Anna, self-proclaimed best cupcake baker this side of the Mississippi, is not letting anything happen to the cupcake bakery. No way. Barista extraordinaire Kristie jumps at the chance to help as well. Together the three women launch a mission to find the jerk who thinks it’s okay to attack the bakery.

Will the gals of Callie’s Cakes find the vandal and save the cupcake bakery before Callie’s dream wedding is ruined?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Okay, Lucy and Ethel, break it up and tell me what in the name of coffee is going on here.

 

Anna marches to the beat of her own drummer and I’m pretty sure her drummer resembles Animal from The Muppet Show.

 

Tyler, is totally a hottie. He’s also a firefighter. Whenever he shows up at the café in his uniform, the women fan themselves and threaten to light fires so they can watch him in action… Tyler is the reason firefighter calendars were invented.

 

I’m not blackmailing you. I’m trying to positively incentivize you.

My Review:

 

My favorite cupcake brigade was under siege by an internet troll who dared to slur the pixie’s skills on Yelp… oh my. The offensive assault started online before being taken to the street with property damage to the bakery. The police were oddly no help despite connubial bliss with two of the city’s finest… No problem, these gals have an industrial-sized can opener for the can of whoop-ass the indignant little sprite was ready to unleash.

This was a delightfully fun and tasty treat before my New Year’s soul-killing diet deprivation starts in earnest to atone for all the self-indulgences of December. Who am I kidding? The size of my thighs tell a different truth and give testament that the bu-fat/buffet, all-you-can-eat banquet experience was more likely to have started when the costumes and candy started appearing well before Halloween.   The storylines were engaging, amusing, and tickled my curiosity in equal measure. I adore this crew and while I am more like Callie in every way, I am also drawn to the spunky Anna and aspire to be more like her, which gives added incentive for the dreaded diet to succeed. I’ll get right on that, maybe tomorrow…

D.E. Haggerty is actually just plain old Dena, but she thinks using initials makes her sound sophisticated and maybe even grown-up. She was born and raised in the U.S. but considers herself a Dutchie and not only because it sounds way cooler. After a stint in the U.S. Army, she escaped the US to join her husband in Holland. She fled Holland over ten years ago when she couldn’t stand the idea of being a lawyer for one single second more. Turns out Bed & Breakfast owner in Germany didn’t do it for her either. When the hubby got a job in Istanbul, she jumped ship and decided to give this whole writer thing a go. She’s now back in Holland, which she considers home. Sorry, Mom.

Join my newsletter for free stories, writing updates & great deals on books here:

https://www.subscribepage.com/dehaggerty

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Book Review: MARION LANE AND THE MIDNIGHT MURDER by T.A. Willberg @Tess_Amy_

 

MARION LANE AND THE MIDNIGHT MURDER
by T.A. Willberg

Harlequin / Park Row Books

 

 

The letter was short. A name, a time, a place.

Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder plunges readers into the heart of London, to the secret tunnels that exist far beneath the city streets. There, a mysterious group of detectives recruited for Miss Brickett’s Investigations & Inquiries use their cunning and gadgets to solve crimes that have stumped Scotland Yard.

Late one night in April 1958, a filing assistant at Miss Brickett’s receives a letter of warning, detailing a name, a time, and a place. She goes to investigate but finds the room empty. At the stroke of midnight, she is murdered by a killer she can’t see―her death the only sign she wasn’t alone. It becomes chillingly clear that the person responsible must also work for Miss Brickett’s, making everyone a suspect.

Marion Lane, a first-year Inquirer-in-training, finds herself drawn ever deeper into the investigation. When her friend and colleague is framed for the crime, to clear his name she must sort through the hidden alliances at Miss Brickett’s and secrets dating back to WWII. Masterful, clever, and deliciously suspenseful, Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder is a fresh take on the Agatha Christie-style locked-room murder mystery, with an exciting new heroine detective.

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

But that was the thing about death, as Marion knew so well. No matter how much the deceased were loved, life does not wait for the grieving. Though on the inside everything will change and what used to matter falls away, the routine and ordinary remain unchallenged.

 

My Review:

 

This is not my typical genre and I struggled a bit with the unfamiliar world-building, complex storylines, and vast cast of uniquely drawn and unorthodox characters, but my curiosity was well and truly poked and continually primed throughout this deeply puzzling and intriguing tale. Ms. Willberg deftly staged her scenes and players with intricate and unfailingly compelling descriptions so finely detailed that sharp visuals danced through my gray matter with the smoothness of a film reel.

This would be an excellent series for the big or small screen. The unusual storylines and writing style were polished, well-honed, and maddeningly paced; keeping me on edge with dark and gloomy settings, untrustworthy characters, questionable hidden agendas, and ingenious and creative gadgets. I coveted their resourceful tools and could put some of those items to good use for myself on a despicable neighbor or three.

About the Author

Author Website

Twitter: @Tess_Amy_

Facebook: @tawillberg

Instagram: @ta_willberg

T.A. Willberg was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and holds a chiropractic master’s degree from the Durban University of Technology. MARION LANE AND THE MIDNIGHT MURDER is her debut novel and launch of her detective series. She currently lives in Malta with her partner.

 

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Book Review: Boone (Eternity Springs: The McBrides of Texas #3) by Emily March 

Boone
(Eternity Springs: The McBrides of Texas #3)
by Emily March 

Amazon  / B&N / GP/ Apple 

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 In Eternity Springs: The McBrides of Texas, New York Times bestselling author Emily March presents a brand new arc set in the Lone Star State that features a family-linked trilogy within the author’s romantic series.

With his smooth talk, rugged good looks, and deep pockets, native Texan Boone McBride appears to be a man who has it all. Few people know about the heartbreak behind his decision to leave home, family, and career for the isolation of a small town in the Colorado Rockies. Luckily, time and life in Eternity Springs have worked their healing magic upon his wounded soul, so when he meets obviously troubled Hannah Dupree, Boone sees a chance to pay his good fortune forward. The last thing he anticipates is tumbling into love.

 

Tragedy has taken everything Hannah loves, and her will to keep going is failing. So when Boone strides into her life determined to save her, it’s easier to go along with him than to resist. Soon she is drawn into the fabric of life in Eternity Springs, and as her spirit begins to heal, her strength returns, and she’s able to go toe-to-toe with this hardheaded, big-hearted Texan. But just when love blooms and happiness is within their grasp, shadows from the past threaten. Hannah and Boone must stand strong and united in order to defeat old ghosts—if they are to create a brand-new life together.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“I know you’re probably wondering why a single guy built a house this big. You have to understand that we’re wall-to-wall Texans from Memorial Day to Labor Day… I can’t tell you how many times friends or relatives call from the front porch of hell to tell me they’ve had a sudden hankering to see me.” “The front porch of hell?” “Texas in the summertime.”

 

“What about you? Do you sing?” “Only if I’m trying to scare raccoons away.”

 

“I mean it, Boone. No more going lawyer on me. You’re too good at it.” “Thank you.” “That wasn’t a compliment.”

 

“You are looking for a romance battle plan. You got a name for your operation?… It helps. Believe me… Give it a name.” “Did you have a name for your plan to win Gillian?” Jackson asked. “I did. I came up with it when I spied a critter as Gillian and I were hiking the canyon.” He paused dramatically. “Operation Horny Toad.”

 

Unbelievable… Outmaneuvered by a Yankee. I’m going to have to turn in my cowboy card.

 

My Review:

 

I adored this sweet couple and their supportive and tender romance. Their storylines were refreshingly free of contrived conflict and overarching angst, which I find so tedious.   Although both main characters had uniquely compelling and heartbreaking back-stories, their relationship with each other was thoughtful, caring, and eventfully sizzling. Ms. March’s engaging and smooth writing style was easy to follow with relevant and realistic modern-day issues, family drama, wry humor, amusing levity, and witty banter.

 

About the Author
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Emily March is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the heartwarming Eternity Springs series. A graduate of Texas A&M University, Emily is an avid fan of Aggie sports and her recipe for jalapeño relish has made her a tailgating legend.

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Book Review: A California Christmas (Silver Springs #7) by Brenda Novak @Brenda_Novak

A California Christmas
(Silver Springs #7)
by Brenda Novak 

 

Amazon  / B&N / GP

 

Up-and-coming TV anchor Emery Bliss can’t imagine anything more humiliating than the sex tape her ex revenge-posted online. That is, until it causes her to lose her job on top of her self-esteem. Seeking solace—and anonymity—in Silver Springs, Emery isn’t looking to get involved with another man anytime soon. But when she’s thrown back into contact with Dallas Turner, she sees something that his many detractors have missed.

Being home for the holidays and his adoptive mother’s wedding isn’t where mountain climber Dallas feels most comfortable. Thanks to his troubled childhood, he’d rather be on a rock face alone than trying to connect with people. Emery, however, makes him want to overcome his past…somehow. Both Emery and Dallas had been planning on a quiet, solitary Christmas, but the sparks between them are lighting a fire strong enough to last—possibly forever.

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

Attitudes are as catchy as the flu.

 

My Review:

 

This holiday romance featured multiple storylines which were all equally engaging and well-nuanced with family drama, wedding prep for an older couple, career crossroads, a revenge-porn sex-tape scandal, a new budding relationship that was meant to be a non-romance, and new beginnings. Ms. Novak’s small-town characters were immensely likable, realistically flawed, and held my interest. The story threads were busy and eventful yet relatively easy to follow, even for someone like me who is not familiar with the series or read the previous installments, although now I am feeling the pull to do so as I am quite curious about several of the characters.

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It was a shocking experience that jump-started Brenda Novak’s career as a bestselling author–she caught her day-care provider drugging her children with cough syrup to get them to sleep all day. That was when Brenda decided she needed to quit her job as a loan officer and help make a living from home.” When I first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach myself the craft and finish my first book,” Brenda says. But she sold that book, and the rest is history. Her novels have made the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists and won many awards, including eight Rita nominations, the Book Buyer’s Best, the Book Seller’s Best, the Silver Bullet, and the National Reader’s Choice Award.

Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are proud parents of five children–three girls and two boys. When she’s not spending time with her family or writing, Brenda is usually raising funds for diabetes research (her youngest son has this disease). So far, Brenda has raised $2.6 million!

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Book Review: Christmas Charms by Teri Wilson @TeriWilsonauthr

Christmas Charms
by Teri Wilson 

 

She never dreamed her holiday would include

her hometown, a dog, or a firefighter.

But a mysterious charm bracelet

predicted it all…

Ashley’s supposed to be having the Christmas of her dreams. After four years of working at an upscale jewelry store in Manhattan, she’s finally going to get a little velvet box of her own―from her boyfriend Jeremy, who’s taking her on a romantic trip to Paris. What could go wrong?

Well, everything.

Ashley heads home to Owl Lake instead, falling asleep on the train ride there…and waking up with a beautiful antique charm bracelet on her wrist. Soon, she realizes that each silver charm predicts an event that happens in real life. What does this mean for her and Jeremy…or her and Aidan, her former high school boyfriend, who’s now a local firefighter? Is there still a chance that she could have the perfect Christmas?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

You should have dumped your pizza on his head and smeared the tomato sauce in his hair… He deserves way more than public humiliation by way of cheese.

 

Let me tell you, drawing things with frosting is a lot harder than it looks. My poor gingerbread firemen look like they’re wrestling yellow snakes instead of wielding fire hoses. Happy holidayssssssssssss.

 

I should probably stop getting enchanted by the idea of a perfect holiday date and concentrate on living in the real world. The last time I thought I was going to have the ultimate Christmas date, I ended up breaking up with my boyfriend of three years. I’m still haunted by the thought of mozzarella cheese.

My Review:

 

This was a whimsical, light, and pleasantly amusing holiday second chance romance featuring a magical charm bracelet, small-town rituals, and a chance meeting with a lovely woman who just may have been Mrs. Claus. I enjoyed the sweet Hallmark Christmas flavor, wry humor, and lovable characters. The Santa Skate was brilliant, I don’t know if that is a real thing or not, but it certainly should be if it isn’t, even though I have never strapped on a pair of ice skates in my entire life.

About the Author

 

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Teri Wilson is the author/creator of the Hallmark Channel Original Movies Unleashing Mr. Darcy, Marrying Mr. Darcy, and The Art of Us, as well as a fourth Hallmark movie currently in development. Teri is a double finalist in the prestigious 2018 RWA RITA awards for her novels The Princess Problem and Royally Wed. Teri also writes an offbeat fashion column for the royal blog What Would Kate Do and is a frequent guest contributor for its sister site, Meghan’s Mirror. She’s been a contributor for both HelloGiggles and Teen Vogue, covering books, pop culture, beauty, and everything royal. In 2017, she served as a national judge for the Miss United States pageant in Orlando, Florida, and has since judged in the Miss America system. She has a major weakness for cute animals, pretty dresses, Audrey Hepburn films, and good books.

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Book Review:  Christmas at the Little Waffle Shack (Heritage Cove #2) by Helen J. Rolfe @HJRolfe @rararesources  @BoldwoodBooks

Christmas at the Little Waffle Shack
 (Heritage Cove #2)
by Helen J. Rolfe

 

Amazon 

Heritage Cove is in full swing for the festive season and as the temperature dips, who will be lucky in love this Christmas?


It’s December in Heritage Cove and along with the village Christmas tree, frosty mornings, and the promise of the most wonderful time of the year, the new waffle shack is about to open. And its owner isn’t a stranger to the Cove, because after all this time, Daniel is back to make amends with his brother Harvey – as well as a few other locals he might have offended along the way.

Fairly new to the village, local blacksmith Lucy has kept up the pretense of being with her ex for the sake of his gran but she’s fed up with all the lies. Determined to come clean and live the life she wants to live, she’s devastated to find that her attraction to Daniel is tainted by the fact he’s hiding a few things of his own. And his secrets are ones she isn’t sure she’ll ever be able to get past.

Heritage Cove is full of friendship and community; it’s a welcoming place people visit and never want to leave. But will it work its magic for Daniel and Lucy?

A festive read packed with Christmas romance, love, and second chances, this is Book 2 in a series of standalone novels set in Heritage Cove, the little village by the sea…

My Rating:

My Review:

 

This was a slowly-paced and semi-sweet women’s fiction tale thick on family drama with waffles, ex-spouses, and new beginnings. Ms. Rolfe’s writing was richly detailed, my mouth watered and I convinced myself I could smell and taste the sugar and butter.   Her story seemed to whet my appetite and may have led to the gain of a pound or two during perusal as I found myself visiting the cupboards for a tasty snack to rival Daniel’s creations.

The feminist in me enjoyed the interesting twist of the female lead having the more physically demanding occupation of being a blacksmith while the male lead was establishing a new business of running a waffle shop.

The emotional tone was well balanced between angsty regrets, family conflicts, humor, and a new attraction that hadn’t quite gotten off the ground before poisonous small-town gossip and long-held family resentments sent it careening and into a stall.

This was book two in the series and noted to be a stand-alone although I frequently sensed I probably would have gotten a bit more from the tale what I read the first book.

 

About the Author

Helen J Rolfe writes romantic fiction and contemporary women’s fiction and enjoys weaving stories about family, friendship, secrets, and community.

Location is a big part of the adventure in Helen’s books and she enjoys setting stories in different cities and countries where she thinks her readers might like to escape to.

Social Media Links –

Helen loves to hear from readers so please don’t hesitate to get in touch. She can be found at:

www.helenjrolfe.com
https://www.facebook.com/helenjrolfewriter
https://twitter.com/hjrolfe
www.instagram.com/helen_j_rolfe/

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Book Review: Dr. Hot Stuff (Ponderosa Resort Romantic Comedies #9) by Tawna Fenske @tawnafenske

Dr. Hot Stuff
(Ponderosa Resort Romantic Comedies #9)
 by Tawna Fenske

Amazon  / B&N / GP/ Apple 

 

Life’s taken strange turns for Lady Isabella Blankenship. Bouncing from royal blueblood to the twisty branches of the Bracelyn family tree was wild enough, never mind the surprise kidney transplant. All she wants is quiet bonding with her new fam at Ponderosa Resort, and maybe a chance to ogle her hottie doc. But letting anyone close means exposing one monster secret, and no way does Izzy feel ready.

Dr. Bradley Parker makes no secret he’s scouting for a wife, or that Izzy kicks his heart into high gear. All symptoms suggest she’s fiery with the same fever, so why is Iz dodging him?

The puzzle turns perplexing when weird things start happening at the resort. Maybe it’s coincidence about the lethal looking guy trailing Iz like a creepy puppy, but Bradley’s not taking chances. He’s sticking close, even if it means enduring Izzy’s bizarre culinary tastes and a pig named Kevin.

The more Iz avoids Bradley, the harder she falls for the fine, funny physician. Will Izzy’s two lives collide in a monstrous mass of heartache, or can the good doc find the cure for all that ails her?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

She bit a kid at daycare…. Tell me that’s a normal stage of development and I’m not raising a serial killer.

 

If we were out together drawing undue attention, she’d stare at someone with this evil look and say, ‘I must find a new host body. Yours looks suitable.’ It never failed to send them running.

 

That’s going in the wedding vows—‘ to love, honor, and get the hell out of my way.’

 

Let’s go old disgracefully together.

 

My Review:

 

I am sad to see the end of these smirk-worthy series as each entertaining installment has been a delightful escape into clever and irreverent humor that began with the cheesy titles and cover models and doesn’t stop until the back cover. Dr. Hot Stuff maintained the trend in style while featuring a sexy medical nerd and a European royal. The variegated Bracelyn family tree just kept expanding and spreading their uniquely appealing genes and bawdy humor among the masses. It has been so quite educational as in this installment alone I have learned twenty new colorful euphemisms for genitalia and birth control. And to think my mother always chided severely whenever she caught me reading fiction, claiming it was a complete waste of time.

About the Author    

Website 

Amazon

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: Stay For Me (The Arrowood Brothers #4) by Corinne Michaels

She’s the girl who might be worth staying for. Stay For Me by Corinne Michaels is now live!

From New York Times Bestselling author Corinne Michaels comes the final poignant love story in the Arrowood Brothers Series.

Hollywood taught me everything I know about relationships–except how to be in one. As an actor, I became an expert at faking it. Faking that I wasn’t affected by my childhood. Faking that I was okay. Faking that I knew how to save the day, the girl, the whole damn world. But I’ve always known the truth–I’m no one’s hero. Until I’m forced to move back to Sugarloaf for six months, and Brenna Allen offers me a chance to prove otherwise. She’s everything I never knew I wanted, but can’t have. Her broken heart, perfect face, and adorable children turn my world upside down. Instead of preparing for my next leading role, I’m directing a middle school play. All to make her smile. The more time I spend here, the more I want to stay. Build a life in this town that I swore I’d leave–for her. But when the world comes crashing down around us, I’m forced to decide if staying for her is the right choice or if leaving is better for the woman I love.

Download today on Amazon, Apple Books, Audible, Google Play, Kobo, Barnes & Noble!

Amazon: https://geni.us/SFMAmazon

Apple Books: https://geni.us/SFMApple

Nook: https://geni.us/SFMNook

Kobo: https://geni.us/SFMKobo

Google Play: https://geni.us/SFMGP

Audible US: https://geni.us/SFM_Aud

Audible UK: https://geni.us/SFM_AUDUK

Goodreads: https://geni.us/SFM_GR

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I would bet all my dollars.

 

“Are you crying?” “No, my eyes are leaking.”

 

Teenagers are nature’s way of preparing adults for what hell looks like.

 

If one were to meet Catherine, they’d think she was a sweet, kind woman with dark brown eyes that seem almost like melted chocolate. What most never realize is that she has fangs, and she bites.

 

We’re all flawed, Jacob. It’s finding someone who sees the beauty in the cracks that makes them perfect for you.

 

My Review:

 

The final swoony Arrowood brother has found his soul mate and did so quickly but the process still required some serious wooing and to and froing, and a bit of peril and lots of steamy treats and sassy humor. Written in my favorite dual POV, the couple featured was endearing and admirable, yet challenging and somewhat ragged around the edges from past traumas and spiky current events. I have enjoyed this series, which has been my introduction to Corinne Michaels’s irreverently humorous, engaging, and sexy small-town storytelling. Her characters have been well-textured, complex, and somewhat batter and jaded by misfortune yet deserving of a better life ahead. I fell for each in turn and am curious to see what and whom she conjures next.

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Meet Corinne

Corinne Michaels is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of romance novels. Her stories are chock full of emotion, humor, and unrelenting love, and she enjoys putting her characters through intense heartbreak before finding a way to heal them through their struggles.

Corinne is a former Navy wife and happily married to the man of her dreams. She began her writing career after spending months away from her husband while he was deployed–reading and writing were her escapes from the loneliness. Corinne now lives in Virginia with her husband and is the emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun-loving mom of two beautiful children.

Connect with Corinne

Website: http://corinnemichaels.com

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