Category: 5-Stars

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Book Review: One Hundred Intentions (Aspen Cove #20) by Kelly Collins @kcollinsauthor

 

One Hundred Intentions
(Aspen Cove #20)
by Kelly Collins

 

Amazon /  BB

Aspen Cove welcomes you back for more love, hope, and happily ever afters…

Author Reese Arden has been hiding most of her life. Some would call her a wallflower, but she’s the root of that flower, hidden far beneath the soil, where no one sees her, hears her, or shames her. Her lifelong stutter has silenced her, but when she moves to Aspen Cove, she vows to give herself a new beginning and find the courage to be heard. An encounter with a handsome hitchhiker spurs her inquisitive writer’s brain. Tucked inside his pocket, next to his heart, is a mysterious pink envelope. Could this man be her muse?

The army created Brandon Fearless; he’s a protector at heart and driven to succeed. When his sister, and only living relative, passes unexpectedly, his world crumbles. Tasked with clearing out her apartment, he comes across a pink envelope that holds the secrets to her hidden illness. Inside is a note asking her to go to Aspen Cove. Dealing with the pain of not being there when she was alive, he promises not to abandon her in death. Her quest becomes his, but what will he find when he gets there?

A woman building a future. A man unearthing his past. Will what they uncover lead to heartbreak or true love?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

… she needed her muse to return. Without her, no words hit the paper, and no words meant no money. No money meant no future. Without money, she’d be living with her mother until they both needed walkers.

 

He was big and burly and had been told occasionally that if he wasn’t smiling, he looked like he was prepping for murder.

 

It wasn’t often she found someone who put her at ease. Then again, she spent most of her time with her mom and that woman made her want to cut her tongue out.

 

A good PI is like a good bra. It’s working behind the scenes, but it’s holding up its end of the bargain.

 

“Who needs a boyfriend when you have a dog like that.”… She sipped her wine and smiled. “Well, as far as the opposite sex goes, he’s been the kindest and most loyal. On a sour note, he farts in bed, and licks himself at all hours.”

 

My Review:

 

I adored this couple as much as I am enamored with their creator.   Kelly Collins has never failed to put a smirk on my face, cause occasional eruptions of giggle-snorting, and raise my pulse rate all in the same chapter. The engaging storylines and smooth writing style had an easy and pleasant flow with humorous descriptions, color small-town characters, and sage and insightful observations. I always enjoy my visits to Aspen Cove and will never tire of this quirky small town.

ABOUT KELLY COLLINS   

 

  Goodreads  / Website  / Amazon / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Bookbub

International bestselling author of over 30 novels, Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping the love alive. Always a romantic, she blends real-life events with her vivid imagination to create characters and stories that lovers of contemporary romance, new adult, and romantic suspense will return to again and again.

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Book Review, Excerpt: The Summer Getaway by Susan Mallery  @susanmallery @HarlequinBooks @tlcbooktours

The Summer Getaway
by Susan Mallery 

 

One woman discovers the beauty in chaos in this poignant and heartwarming story about the threads that hold family together from #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery.

With her divorce settlement about to run out and a mortgage she can’t afford, Robyn Caldwell needs a plan for her future. She nurtured her family and neglected herself. But how’s she supposed to think when her daughter has become the most demanding bride ever, her son won’t even consider college, her best friend is on the brink of marital disaster and her ex is making a monumentally bad decision that could bring everything crashing down on Robyn’s head? So when her great-aunt Lillian invites her to Santa Barbara for the summer, Robyn hops on the first plane.

But it’s hard to run away when you’re the heart of the family. One by one, everyone she left behind follows her across the country. Somehow, their baggage doesn’t feel as heavy in the sun-drenched, mishmash mansion. The more time Robyn spends with free-spirited Lillian, the more she sees the appeal in taking chances—on dreams, on love, on family. Life is meant to be lived on purpose. All she has to do is muster the courage to take a chance on herself.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Mindy, you make me crazy. You have a perfectly good penis at home. One is enough.

 

“I’m sorry to be the one to bring you such bad news.” “Are you?” Robyn asked before she could stop herself. “It seems to me you’re delighted. It must be hard having such a small life.”

 

You know to wear a condom every single time, right? Every time. You whip it out, you put on party clothes.

 

They grow up. It’s God’s way of saying go find a hobby.

 

We’re like a bad TV script… For a show no one wants to watch.

 

My Review:

 

This was a delightfully amusing and engaging read that kept me smirking and pleasantly entertained throughout perusal. I enjoyed all the various storylines, all of which were advancing at a steady pace.

Every character was in transition and actively moving forward while wading through unanticipated opportunities and conundrums. I adored the couple of Mason and Robyn, but Mason most of all, as he was not at all what I was expecting.

The writing was crisp, insightful, and smartly paced with a well-honed balance of clever humor and tension and surprising conclusions to several of the threads. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of these characters in an ongoing series.

Excerpt

“I’m not ready for us to live together.”

The blunt statement caught her off guard. “We’ve never discussed living together. What does that have to do with anything?”

“I thought that’s what you were expecting.”

There was something in the way he said the words—a tone that implied a weakness on her part. Or maybe it more about him judging.

“I wasn’t,” she said coolly. It had crossed her mind, but now she was firmly committed to getting her own house.

“I’m not ready for that,” he told her.

“So you’ve said.”

She told herself he wasn’t deliberately trying to be hurtful, implying she wanted more from the relationship than he did. She almost believed herself.

“Your expectations—” he began.

Okay. This had gone on long enough.

She cut him off by standing. “You’ve been in a mood since you walked in. I have no idea what’s going on with you. I’d ask, but then you’d feel interrogated. By the way, not liking when people ask about your day is dumb. Asking about someone’s day shows interest and affection.”

He started to speak, but she held up her hand. “I’m not done.”

“Perhaps I am.” He set down his drink and rose. “I’m not the only one in a mood. We should table this discussion.”

“Fine with me.”

She led the way to the front door and waited until he stepped onto the porch before closing it in his face. Childish? Maybe. But very, very satisfying.

She walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. She’d made a healthy salad and had fish ready to grill.

“Not eating that tonight,” she murmured.

She scrolled through her phone, then pushed a button.

“Hi. I’d like to order a pizza, please. A large, all meat, extra cheese.”

When the order was on its way, she sent a quick text to Austin.

Jase had to leave, so the coast is clear whenever you want to come home. There’ll be leftover pizza in the refrigerator, in case you’re hungry.

His reply came in seconds.

When did you order it?

Two minutes ago.

On my way home.

Robyn laughed. I’ll set the table.

 

About the Author

 

Amazon
Goodreads
Website
Facebook
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#1 NYT bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming, humorous novels about the relationships that define our lives – family, friendship, and 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. 

 

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Book Review:The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen @MacmillanLib @sarahpekkanen @greerkh

The Golden Couple
by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

The next electrifying novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author duo behind The Wife Between Us.

Wealthy Washington suburbanites Marissa and Matthew Bishop seem to have it all—until Marissa is unfaithful. Beneath their veneer of perfection is a relationship riven by work and a lack of intimacy. She wants to repair things for the sake of their eight-year-old son and because she loves her husband. Enter Avery Chambers.

Avery is a therapist who lost her professional license. Still, it doesn’t stop her from counseling those in crisis, though they have to adhere to her unorthodox methods. And the Bishops are desperate.

When they glide through Avery’s door and Marissa reveals her infidelity, all three are set on a collision course. Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Time is a chameleon. It’s ever changing, cannily adapting to circumstances. It stretches out some tiny moments for an eternity. Then it shifts course and swallows up whole days, years even, as if they never existed. It’s as slippery and elusive as water running through the cracks in a tightly cupped hand.

 

Grief is a shape-shifter. It defies logic, sneaking up on you when you least expect it and leaving you empty-handed and hollowed out when you go searching for it.

 

My fierce-looking dog’s favorite new toy is a fluffy stuffed rabbit. Instead of chewing it, Romeo has taken to carrying it around tenderly and sleeping curled around it at night. Love is an eternal mystery, I guess.

 

Grief isn’t linear. It isn’t logical. There’s no structure or civility to it; it grabs you when you least expect it and digs in its nails until you succumb.

 

My Review:

 

What guile! I fell right into a smartly laid trap and was easily led astray by these wily wordsmiths. I was totally hoodwinked by their agile misdirection and had felt so smug in my theories. I was sooo very, very, wrong! A lot was going on at once with multiple storylines that were actively engaging while taut with tension and a steadily ratcheting sense of intrigue and impending peril. The characters were an odd assortment of personalities and backgrounds with traits that prickled, enticed, annoyed, and teased my curiosity while leaving me with a desire to know more about each. Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen are full of craft and combined are a synergetic and breath-stealing dynamic duo.

 

 

About the Authors

 

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen are the number-one New York Times bestselling authors of THE WIFE BETWEEN US, AN ANONYMOUS GIRL, YOU ARE NOT ALONE, and THE GOLDEN COUPLE.

Prior to becoming a novelist, Greer obtained her master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University and spent two decades as an editor at Simon & Schuster. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Allure, Publishers Weekly, and other publications.

Sarah is also the author of eight internationally and USA Today bestselling solo novels. A former investigative journalist and award-winning feature writer, her work has appeared in The Washington Post, USA Today, and many other publications

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Book Review: A Royal Murder (A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #9) by Verity Bright @BrightVerity  @Bookouture 

A Royal Murder
(A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #9)
by Verity Bright

 

Amazon  / B&N / BB

At the royal boat race there are beautiful barges, plenty of bunting, a handsome prince and… is that a body in the water? Lady Swift is on the case!

Spring, 1923. One-time adventurer and now amateur sleuth Lady Eleanor Swift is attending the annual royal regatta with her new pal Tipsy Fitzroy. Tipsy has Eleanor trussed up like a debutante in a new dress, determined to turn her into a proper society lady. Even Eleanor’s favorite companion, Gladstone the bulldog, has a new outfit for the occasion.

But the sparkling prize-giving ceremony is interrupted when the devilishly handsome host gulps his glass of champagne on stage and collapses to the floor. The victim is none other than the king’s cousin, Lord Xander Taylor-Howard. He was rumored to be entangled in a rather dubious gambling ring, but did someone kill him instead of collecting his debt? Or was this simply an ill-timed tragic accident? Either way, a right royal scandal is afoot…

Sir Percival, the head of the royal police, asks Eleanor for her help investigating. He’d do anything to keep the story under wraps. She knows it will get her into hot water with a certain dapper Detective Seldon, but she’s determined to see justice done. However, as she digs deeper, she learns Lord Taylor-Howard was hiding more than one murky secret. It isn’t until she takes a closer look at the unfortunate royal’s shattered champagne flute that she stumbles upon just the clue she needs. But can she reel in the killer before her ship is sunk too?

A warm and witty 1920s mystery that cozy fans will just adore. Addictive reading for fans of T E Kinsey, Lee Strauss, and Agatha Christie.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I’ve only seen blue that deep in the most heavenly exotic lagoons. Those eyes could melt a nun on an iceberg.

 

 

‘I pity your guardian, since locking one’s ward in the cellar is probably frowned upon in today’s over-liberal times!’ ‘It doesn’t stop him wishing it wasn’t though,’ she said genuinely. ‘Honestly, if it wasn’t frowned on, I’d be lucky to see the light of day most weeks.’

 

… she tried to think of a more flattering description for him rather than “the perfect mix of everything average”, but failed.

 

Sir Percival’s nose is a nasal protrusion worthy of winning prizes.

 

Can you believe, someone once suggested I attract dead bodies like spinsters attract stray cats?

  

My Review:

 

Another lively and entertaining read from the winning husband and wife literary duo of Verity Bright. I am completely enamored with these smooth and creative wordsmiths as well as their engaging series. They never fail to come up with the most clever conundrums with generous servings of amusing humor, vibrant characters, and unpredictable head-scratching mysteries. The storylines were delightfully nuanced, smartly plotted, well-paced, curiously additive, colorfully detailed, and shrewdly contrived. I still struggle to determine if my favorite character is the lovely yet unconventional Lady Swift or Clifford, her ever prepared, indispensable, Google on legs butler. Honestly, I need more of both of them in my life and don’t want to do without either.

It has been a good while but I have an addition to my Brit word list that I have noted before but had never actually looked up to be sure with good shout – which is slang for a good idea.

About the Author

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Verity Bright is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing partnership that has spanned a quarter of a century. Starting out writing high-end travel articles and books, they published everything from self-improvement to humor, before embarking on their first historical mystery. They are the authors of the fabulous Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery series, set in the 1920s.
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Book Review: The Night Shift by Alex Finlay @MinotaurBooks

 

The Night Shift
by Alex Finlay 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

From the author of the breakout thriller Every Last Fear, comes the electrifying new novel about a pair of small-town murders fifteen years apart—and the ties that bind them.

“The night was expected to bring tragedy.” So begins one of the most highly-anticipated thrillers of 2022.

It’s New Year’s Eve 1999. Y2K is expected to end in chaos: planes falling from the sky, elevators plunging to earth, world markets collapsing. A digital apocalypse. None of that happens. But at a Blockbuster Video in Linden, New Jersey, four teenage girls working the night shift are attacked. Only one survives. Police quickly identify a suspect who flees and is never seen again.

Fifteen years later, in the same town, four teenage employees working late at an ice cream store are attacked, and again only one makes it out alive.

Both surviving victims recall the killer speaking only a few final words. . . . “Goodnight, pretty girl.”

In the aftermath, three lives intersect: the survivor of the Blockbuster massacre who’s forced to relive her tragedy; the brother of the original suspect, who’s convinced the police have it wrong; and the FBI agent, who’s determined to solve both cases. On a collision course toward the truth, all three lives will forever be changed, and not everyone will make it out alive.

Twisty, poignant, and redemptive, The Night Shift is a story about the legacy of trauma and how the broken can come out on the other side, and it solidifies Alex Finlay as one of the new leading voices in the world of thrillers.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

A man sits behind a cluttered desk. He wears thick glasses and keeps blinking, giving his eyes an insect quality. They hang back as the department head speaks with Walter, explaining why they’re here. Under his breath Atticus asks Keller, “You ever see the movie Office Space?”

 

“There’s only one thing sneakier than criminals.” “What’s that?” “Teenage girls.”

 

Who came up with all these acronyms? They sound like jobs on a porn set.

 

My Review:

 

This chilling tale kept me guessing and on edge with multi-layered storylines that were maddeningly paced, cunningly textured, taut with tension, and laced with clever snark. I was enthralled and in awe of this wordsmith’s devilishly wily word voodoo and engaging writing style.   Alex Finley has a new fangirl.

The characters were an odd bunch of complex personalities who were more than a bit fractured yet compelling and enticing. I was sucked into an oddly disconcerting, active, and prickly vortex of tension, tragedy, humor, and intrigue while the little pea in my brain was feverishly devising and tossing out wilder and wilder theories as the complications and twists mounted to higher and higher levels of crisscrossing deception. I’ve never enjoyed being so wrong.

 

Alex Finlay is the pseudonym of an author who lives in Washington, D.C. His 2021 breakout thriller, Every Last Fear, was an Indie Next pick, a LibraryReads selection, an Amazon Editor’s Best Thriller, as well as a CNN, Newsweek, E!, BuzzFeed, Business Week, Goodreads, Parade, PopSugar, and Reader’s Digest best or most anticipated thriller of the year. Alex’s work has been translated into more than a dozen languages and optioned for film and television.

 

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Book Review: P.S. I Hate You by Sophie Ranald @SophieRanald @Bookouture

P.S. I Hate You 
by Sophie Ranald 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

Relationship: Hanging by a thread.
Sex life: Dead on arrival.
Alcohol: Essential.

It’s normal to hate the man of your dreams, right?

Once upon a time, Abbie and Matt had swoon-worthy mini-breaks in Paris, and Abbie would cook him steak wearing nothing but an apron and high heels. These days, they’re experiencing the longest dry spell on record… And Abbie is keeping a very big secret.

But she’s not ready to give up. Nobody knows Abbie like Matt does, and it helps that he’s tall, dark, and handsome, with hazel eyes and dimples to die for.

Determined to reignite the romance, Abbie initiates Operation Memory Lane and recreates their happiest memories. Maybe breakfast in bed, sexy lingerie, dirty martinis, and a romantic weekend in the countryside will bring back Abbie’s butterflies and make her giddy with happiness…

But revisiting the past is a risky business, and secrets always come out in the end. Will the truth ruin their second chance at love?

This totally addictive second-chance romance will give you All. The. Feels! Perfect for fans of Emily Henry, Sophie Kinsella, and Beth O’Leary.

(Previously titled:  I Feel Like There’s a But Coming

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

She’d snogged boys before, obviously. Gareth Roland, who’d tasted of cheese-and-onion crisps. Wayne– she’d never found out his last name– who’d stuck his tongue so deep into her mouth she thought she might choke. Vaughan Black, who she’d had the most enormous crush on but who’d groped her so enthusiastically he’d snapped her bra strap, and she’d had to spend the rest of the night clutching her left boob against her side with her elbow.

 

‘You can’t feed prawns to random cats! What if it had a shellfish allergy?’ ‘A cat with a shellfish allergy? Come on. What next– vegan, paleo, keto cats?’ ‘Aren’t all cats basically keto?’ ‘Yeah, I guess. But only some of them bang on about it endlessly to their mates.’

 

… how many relationships could withstand one partner telling the other he was so far up his own arse he needed a candle to read his emails…

 

It had been the long, grueling, unsuccessful process of trying to procreate that had stopped me feeling like a desiring, desirable, sexual person and made me feel like an egg-laying chicken in a battery farm– except my eggs were no good, and I’d get turned into pet food even sooner than my fertile sister chickens.

 

If the recipe for a happy marriage was barely being able to say a civil word to each other, I reckoned they’d nail it.

 

My Review:

 

Although I never dealt with the same unresolved issues as this couple, I identified with their plight. I would bet good money that the vast majority of couples who managed to stay married for a few decades have struggled, to varying degrees, with a sense of red hot disappointment in how parts of their lives together panned out, I know I certainly have. And kudos to those of us who made it through to the other side once dealing with the ennui, raging inner diva of entitlement, and the dawning realization that this is it so you better get with the program. And gold stars to those of us able to make the jump to maybe it’s not all on him or even about the annoying habits that trigger sudden warp speed jumps in blood pressure.

This was my first time reading Sophie Ranald and I applaud her clever use of humor, sensitivity, and surprising insight in dealing with several prickly issues that aren’t widely discussed. The characters’ independent and united journeys contained a few potholes and landmines that aren’t all that uncommon but can weigh heavily and turn nasty on a dime. The storylines were laced together with comedic descriptions as well as real-life issues while cast with characters that were well fleshed out, multi-faceted, and quick-witted with sassy banter and snarky observations. Ms. Ranald persuasively captured their peaks and valleys and day-to-day travails exceptionally well and deftly framed them with a surprising poignancy while still maintaining an engaging, entertaining, and amusing tale.

The main character of Abbie wasn’t always likable and could be rather horrid and quite the madam, but that is what made her true to life as don’t we all have our moments? I confess to having my share, and most of someone else’s as well. I adored her patient husband Matt and held my breath for fear he would decide he’d had enough of Abbie’s self-involved orientation and distance. But she was also making an effort and saw the potential as she replayed her memories and retraced their steps. I enjoyed the trek through their story and have added Ms. Ranald to my list of new favorites.

 

Sophie Ranald is the youngest of five sisters. She was born in Zimbabwe and lived in South Africa until an acute case of itchy feet brought her to London in her mid-20s. As an editor for a customer publishing agency, Sophie developed her fiction-writing skills describing holidays to places she’d never visited. In 2011, she decided to disregard all the good advice given to aspiring novelists and attempt to write full-time. After one false start, It Would Be Wrong to Steal My Sister’s Boyfriend (Wouldn’t It?) seemed to write itself, and six more novels have followed. Sophie also writes for magazines and online about food, fashion, finance, and fitness. She lives in southeast London with her amazing partner Hopi and their two adorable cats.

 

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Book Review: ACCIDENTALLY PERFECT (HIDEAWAY HARBOR, 1) by Marissa Clarke  @MaryL_MarissaC @TLCBookTours

ACCIDENTALLY PERFECT
(HIDEAWAY HARBOR, 1)
by Marissa Clarke

Publisher: Entangled: Amara (February 22, 2022)

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Amazon  / B&N / GP/ Apple / BB

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Workaholic Lillian Mahoney has given everything to her job. The hugely popular lifestyle show she helped create monopolizes her time, energy, creativity, and anything remotely resembling a life. But all it takes is the show’s womanizing, egomaniac star throwing a massive hissy on live TV to utterly implode Lillian’s career in a New York minute.

Now Lillian’s hiding out in the gorgeous and completely unknown seaside village of Blink, Maine. Out of gas. A stolen wallet. A broken heel. And worse, she’s somehow managed to completely piss off the town’s resident hunk, Caleb Wright. She’ll show that hot, grumpy single father exactly what she’s made of.

But Blink isn’t quite what Lillian expects–and neither is Caleb…or his feisty teen daughter she can’t help but love. And while her entire life and career are in shreds, Lillian might just discover what happens when she gives her bad first impression a second chance…

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Some people had auras, she’d been told. This guy had a full-on storm cloud surrounding him.

 

She was so outraged, she sputtered sounds like the seagulls at the harbor made.

 

“I want to put poison ivy in their sleeping bags.” There was a snort, then Bethany giggled. “I want to safety pin their tent flap zipper so they can’t get out,” Bethy said.

 

My Review:

 

This was a lively and fresh read, full of keenly honed and snort-worthy small-town characters that kept me highly amused throughout perusal. I don’t know how I missed her but this was my first time reading the prolific Marissa Clarke, shame on me. I adore her sassy humor, colorful descriptions, snarky observations, and crisply written storylines. I have added her to my list of new favorites and hope to pay better attention in the future.

About the Author

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Marissa Clarke is a multi-award-winning, RITA® nominated author of romance for adults and teens. She lives on an island in the middle of a river. Seriously, she does. When not writing, she wrangles her rowdy pack of three teens, two Cairn Terriers, and one husband.

She also writes young adult novels as Mary Lindsey for Penguin USA. www.marylindsey.com.

 

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Book Review:  Leave Me Breathless (Winterville #3) by Carrie Elks   @CarrieElks

Leave Me Breathless
(Winterville #3)
by Carrie Elks   

 

 

Amazon  / BB

She’s his best friend’s little sister. Completely off-limits. And now she’s moving in with him…

When Gabe Winter’s best friend calls with an unusual request – give his broken-hearted little sister a roof over her head for a few months – he readily accepts.But he doesn’t expect Nicole to be quite so enticing. Or for her to bring out all the feelings in him. Feelings he thought he’d buried long ago, beneath his easy-going façade and womanizing reputation.

But now they’re spending late nights watching movies together, snuggled beneath the blankets with popcorn in their hands. And there’s inches between her lips and his.

It’s wrong but it’s also inevitable. He’s falling for the one woman he shouldn’t want.

He’s in over his head, but drowning never felt so good.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“Don’t make me call your mama. Because you know I will.” “C’mon now. There’s no need to do that,” Kyle mumbled. The twenty-something, muscled man looked terrified at the thought of his mom being called. “I’m just being friendly.”

 

“Please tell me this won’t hurt,” Dolores said, catching her hand as she walked into the studio. “The last time I exercised Ronald Reagan was in the White House.”

 

Oh no. She wanted to die. Or at least disappear for a very long, Jimmy Hoffa amount of time.

 

My Review:

 

This was an enjoyable and lively read full of amusing humor, insightful and witty observations, and frequent family meddling – which was both good and bad for the main protagonists. The storylines were crisply written, entertaining, engaging, and easy to fall into. The Winterville characters were an enticing, fun, and feisty bunch with plenty of sass and snappy banter. I adored the main characters’ connection and their Netflix binges and discussions of porn, Matt Damon’s abs, and The Notebook. I look forward to more Winterville escapades and am itchy with curiosity about Alaska’s mysterious misadventure as a child, which is hopefully being cleared up in the next installment.

 

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.

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Book Review: On the Honey Side (Blum’s Bees Book 2) by Staci Hart  @imaquirkybird

 

On the Honey Side
(Blum’s Bees Book 2)
 by Staci Hart

No one can ever have Keaton Meyer.

Least of all me.

The brooding construction manager is a man of myth and legend, rarely seen in the wild. Once upon a time, he was the star quarterback, the smiling homecoming king, royalty in our small town. Until tragedy struck. And then he disappeared completely.

Now he’s resurfaced, and I can’t keep my eyes off him.

He’s an island surrounded by lava, bound by a desert, and guarded by dragons. I don’t stand a sunshine’s chance in a hailstorm.

Our siblings disagree and are out to prove it, nudging us into each other in the hopes we’ll fall. But with our town in tumult and the two of us firmly in the middle, nothing between us is easy. And when he’s faced with an impossible decision, I learn the truth of what I already knew.

No one can have Keaton Meyer.

And I have the broken heart to prove it.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Sighting Keaton in the wild was a rare and unheard of event. But when my gaze did happen to be blessed by his visage, I lost all higher function of my brain and body, leaving me staring like a fool at a man no one might ever have, least of all me.

I’d seen him just a few days ago on Main Street, but for the stretching of time he inspired, you’d think I’d never seen him in my life. He looked like he’d walked out of a Chevrolet commercial for the manliest truck in their inventory. Or like a social media thirst trap on his way to chop wood with no shirt on.

A few of the more judgmental women of our town circled the block and tried to look disdainful. They only managed to look thirsty.

He has the IQ of a koala.” My brows drew together. “Are koalas dumb?” “They have the smallest brains of any mammal, eat food they can’t digest, and they carry chlamydia. They’re dumb as shit,” she answered.

I flung myself at him, knocking both of us to the ground as he caught me. Our lips crashed together with the rest of us, and once the surprise ebbed, the kiss was a pliant possession, a sweet forever, a hundred thousand million yeses with a chorus of angels singing behind us.

My Review:

 

I adored these lovely characters as much as I reveled in their cleverly amusing tale. Staci Hart is such an agile and witty storyteller, I fall right into her delightfully flippant, crisply written, sparkly books and don’t want to resurface. The characters are accessible, knowable, and so well constructed I feel I would recognize them if I met them in person. I am definitely hooked and eager for more of the same.

About the Author

 

Staci has been a lot of things up to this point in her life — a graphic designer, an entrepreneur, a seamstress, a clothing and handbag designer, a waitress. Can’t forget that. She’s also been a mom, with three little girls who are sure to grow up to break a number of hearts. She’s been a wife, though she’s certainly not the cleanest, or the best cook. She’s also super, duper fun at a party, especially if she’s been drinking whiskey. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, sleeping, gaming, or designing graphics.

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Book Review: The Best Kept Secret (Smokejumper #3) by Tawna Fenske  @tawnafenske

 

The Best Kept Secret
(Smokejumper #3)
by Tawna Fenske 

 

Amazon / B&N / GP/ Apple / BB

 

Nurse Nyla Franklin knows three things to be true. Taking care of others brings more joy than a basket full of kittens. A triple-fudge sundae can cure just about anything. And no good ever comes from keeping a secret… So when her best friend spills his biggest one ever, Nyla knows she’s not just holding a secret. She’s holding a ticking time bomb.

Mr. Always Does the Right Thing Leo Sayre knows three things to be true. Piloting smokejumpers over burning forests is the best job in the world. His best friend Nyla is the smartest, funniest, and okay, sexiest woman ever. And pain meds are apparently his truth serum. Now his post-surgery confession has everything flipped upside down and turned inside out… including his relationship with Nyla.

Secrets have a way of piling up, and it’s just a matter of time before someone lights a match. Because while the truth can set you free, it can also burn completely out of control…

Each book in the Where There’s Smoke series is STANDALONE:
* The Two-Date Rule
* Just a Little Bet
* The Best Kept Secret

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

You know how he is. Thinks he’s Mr. Fix-It, but he’s really more like Mr. Bean.

 

“Did I really say ‘hiding the hot dog’ to my parents?” “Yep.” He grinned, no longer able to fight it. “You did. Want us all to pretend you didn’t?”

 

Are we going to end up on one of those weird talk shows, throwing furniture?

 

My Review:

 

I smirked, cringed, and laughed aloud as I perused this missive.   I am a devoted Tawna Fenske fan and this series is her best work yet. While reading, I have reveled in and continually admired the agile plotting and well-textured tales of all three highly amusing Smokejumper installments, although this one featured an unusually thorny issue and did so with humanizing and thoughtful sensitivity, perceptive insights, and clever humor. I adored these recognizable, witty, and endearing characters and wanted the best for them. The storylines were enjoyably entertaining and easy to follow with a cast of players all lovably flawed, generally well-meaning, and bumping along as best they can within a complicated family dynamic.

About the Author 

 

Website 
Amazon
Goodreads 

 Facebook
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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.