Book Review: The Ingredients of You and Me by Nina Bocci

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The Ingredients of You and Me
by Nina Bocci

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / 

B&N / GP / Apple / BAM

Paperback: 320 pages

 Gallery Books (April 28, 2020)

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of the “heartwarming and refreshingly sweet” (Lauren Layne, New York Times bestselling author) On the Corner of Love and Hate comes a story about a baker who takes her chances on a new town…and an old love.

After selling her famous bakery back in New York, Parker Adams visits Hope Lake, Pennsylvania, to figure out her next steps. And soon she’s wondering why she ever loved city life in the first place. Between the Golden Girls—the senior women who hold court—and Nick Arthur, her equally infuriating and charming former flame, Parker finds a community eager to help her get her mojo back.

But even though Hope Lake gives her the fresh start she’s been looking for, Parker discovers that it’s not so easy to start over again with Nick. Their chemistry is undeniable, but since Nick is a freshly taken man, Parker is determined to keep things platonic. With a recipe for disaster looming, Parker must cook up a new scheme, figuring out how to keep everything she’s come to love before she loses it all.

Perfect for fans of Amy E. Reichert and Jenny Colgan, The Ingredients of You and Me is a scrumptious romantic comedy that lets you have your cake and eat it too.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“Mancini, you’re the only person I know who answers a question without giving a lot of answers.” She shrugged. “It’s a gift.”

I’m not even sure the wildlife outside my lake house would eat the stuff I’ve been baking lately… you wouldn’t want it even if you were starving. I tried tossing a couple scones that I had made this morning out to the squirrels. I think I might have concussed one of them.

What, is there some sort of sophisticated spy network around town that reports through a switchboard? My God, you guys are quick on the gossip…

“I mean, I’m a bit old for the YouTubes, right? I’m almost seventy.” I leveled her with a disbelievingly look. “Okay, seventy plus twelve,” she sighed.

You did something stupid. We don’t give up on people for doing that. We wouldn’t have anyone left if it was a one-strike system.

 

 

My Review:

 

This was my third time indulging myself in the clever levity of Nina Bocci and I am enamored with her sharp wit and uniquely quirky and dynamic characters with my pet being the indomitable Mrs. Mancini, my favorite octogenarian. I want to be Mrs. Mancini when I grow up. The storylines were entertaining yet realistic and relatable, the characters were infuriating at times yet likable and well-meaning, and the writing was crisp, witty, and divinely amusing. Creating a snarky message delivery system through baked goods and naming the bakery Delicious and Vicious was nothing short of ingenious. I declare myself one of Nina Bocci’s most devoted acolytes.

About the Author

Nina Bocci is a USA TODAY bestselling novelist who loves reading and writing about swoony, relatable heroes and smart, witty heroines. If it’s set in a small town, even better. You can always find her chatting on social media about her massive, crazy Italian family, and her favorite person in the world, her son.

 

Connect with Nina

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Book Review: Family For Beginners by Sarah Morgan

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Family For Beginners
by Sarah Morgan

Amazon  / B&N / Indiebound / Books-A-Million / Google / iBooks / Kobo

ISBN: 9781335014931

Publication Date: 5/5/2020

Publisher: HQN Books

 

USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan returns with a life-affirming exploration of love, loss, and how families come in all shapes and sizes…

New York florist Flora Donovan is living the dream, but her bubbly optimism hides a secret. She’s lonely. Orphaned as a child, she’s never felt like she’s belonged anywhere…until she meets Jack Parker. He’s the first man to ever really see her, and it’s life changing.

Teenager Izzy Parker is holding it together by her fingertips. Since her mother passed away a year ago, looking after her dad and little sister is the only thing that makes Izzy feel safe. Discovering her father has a new girlfriend is her worst nightmare—she is not in the market for a replacement mom. Then her father invites Flora on their summer vacation…

Flora’s heart aches for Izzy, but she badly wants her relationship with Jack to work. As the summer unfolds, Flora must push her own boundaries to discover parts of herself she never knew existed—and to find the family she’s always wanted.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Clare was so far out of her comfort zone she couldn’t have found her way back with a compass or SatNav.

 

Her mother had always emphasized that life was what you made of it, but Flora couldn’t help thinking that what you made depended on the raw ingredients you were given. Even the best chef couldn’t do much with moldy vegetables.

 

A teenager is a unique and unpredictable animal. They adapt to their surroundings… Which, now that I think about it, is probably the definition of a virus, too. Go figure. Even after they leave home you feel the aftereffects.

 

“We’ve kissed. And it is always amazing, and stop looking at me like that because frankly kissing him was better than any sex I ever had.” “You must have had terrible sex.”

 

Life is too short to fill it with friends who don’t care about you or bring you joy… But bad friends are like the old clothes in your closet. They’re the stained shirt, the sweater with the hole in it, the dress that no longer fits. They have no place and should be cleared out.”

 

 

My Review:

 

I’ve read several of her books now and have decided that Sarah Morgan is one of my favorite authors of all time. I simply adore her. She writes with astounding agility from multiple POVs and covers relevant and relatable issues with a lively and uncanny level of skill yet her tales are well-balanced with humor, angst, tragedy, perceptive awareness, and observant insights on all sides. Family For Beginners was a slowly evolving and well-nuanced tale that was heavy on family drama while a new romance was blossoming for a widower with children and a timid yet sensitive and eager to please florist. The storylines were multifaceted with complex yet endearing characters who were struggling to find their place and establish their own roles within their newly formed dynamic.

About the Author

 

Social Links:

Author Website

Twitter: @SarahMorgan_

Facebook: @AuthorSarahMorgan

Instagram: @SarahMorganWrites

Author Bio: USA Today bestselling author Sarah Morgan writes lively, sexy contemporary stories for Harlequin.

Romantic Times has described her as ‘a magician with words’ and nominated her books for their Reviewer’s Choice Awards and their ‘Top Pick’ slot. In 2012 Sarah received the prestigious RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America. She lives near London with her family. Find out more at www.sararahmorgan.com.

Book Review: Carpentry and Cocktails by Nora Everly

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Carpentry and Cocktails, an all-new heartwarming small-town romance from Nora Everly, is now available in Kindle Unlimited!

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Everett Monroe can’t keep his eyes off his gorgeous tenant.

He’d like to put his hands on her too, but she’s prickly, closed-off, and gives new meaning to the word disgruntled. In other words, she’s his perfect match and he’ll do anything to make her see it too.

Willa Hill has finally left her teen runaway past behind and wants a fresh start—alone. Men are nothing but trouble and she’s had enough man-trouble to last a lifetime.

Too bad her irresistibly sexy, nerdy-hot landlord doesn’t agree.

When their mutual yearning becomes a white-hot fling and passion crosses carefully drawn, albeit one-sided boundaries, Everett finds himself in love and Willa finds herself in a pickle.

Because, unfortunately, when she returned to Green Valley, her problems came too.

When the past she escaped crashes into the future she finds herself wanting more than anything, will Willa stay in Green Valley?

Or will she run away again?

‘Carpentry and Cocktails’ is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #5 in the Green Valley Library series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

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Download your copy TODAY!

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“Okay, boys, this is where I take my leave. I have no interest in unloading, building, assembling, or anything other than a nice hot cup of tea and the Downton Abbey marathon tonight on the television. Kiss your mother goodbye.” I exchanged a look with Garrett. We knew she would really watch The Real Housewives of somewhere and fix herself a huge martini, but we were both too smart to mention it.

 

I braced because every southern girl knows when a middle name gets dropped, shit’s about to become serious.

 

“Sometimes the best part of building something new is tearing down what stood in its place.” I held out the sledgehammer as an offering.

 

Oh my god, Willa! Sharing a Netflix password is the new pre-engagement, everyone knows that.

 

If a man’s any kind of man at all he knows the difference between love and lust. Lust is in a hurry, but love is already there.

 

My heart was a wild thing in my chest and my eyes grew hot with emotion.

 

“We took vows in front of God, Willa. You will always be my wife.” … “We were in Las Vegas, Tommy. God had nothing to do with it. We took our vows in front of Elvis, and he’d probably agree with me that you’re an asshole,”

  

My Review:

 

This was my second exposure to the clever wordcraft of Nora Everly and I as was well entertained and pleasantly immersed in her amusing storytelling during both, I have become a devoted fangirl. Her beguiling and witty writing was well-paced, engaging, easy to follow, and conjured crisp visuals in my gray matter while her irreverent humor kept a smirk close at hand. The well-drawn characters were endearing and accessible while realistically flawed.   I adored this couple and was totally smitten with Everett as he is the perfect man: handsome, sexy, sweet, protective, thoughtful, and every inch of him well assembled. Everett had tools and knew what to do with them – in every room of the house. But he only had eyes for Willa and called her sweetness and frequently told her she was beautiful and could have or do anything she wanted – oh swoon! Of course, all that perfection could only be found on my Kindle.

 

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Excerpt

We had danced together before, the night I’d first met her. Months ago, I’d been at Genie’s with Wyatt to have a few beers and shake off the day. Instead, I’d danced all evening with the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Every time I remembered holding her close, I had to fight against getting hard. Since that night, I had been half in love with her. The physical half was all in—I was attracted to her something fierce. The mental half didn’t know enough to start the fall, even though everything I learned about her drew me in and each day made me fall a little further. She was skittish with a fiercely sharp wit; she had been hurt. I could tell she was protecting a soft spot and it made me want to discover it so I could be the one to keep her safe.

But she had kept her distance from me—well, as much as she possibly could while living in the apartment in my basement—and we hadn’t touched again, not once. Having her crash into my arms just now was heady stuff. Her scent, the feel of her body, the warm press of her against me—she made me feel intoxicated, and I had yet to order a single drink. My heart was in danger, but I couldn’t make myself stay away.

“My sister…I’m sorry—” she stammered as she started to step back.

I tugged her closer instead of letting her get away. “Don’t apologize. Dance with me?” My hands drifted around her waist as I started moving us backward toward the dance floor.

“Oh, I don’t know if we should.” Hesitation flashed briefly in her eyes, but she acquiesced and followed me across the floor as I turned to hold her hand, giving it a gentle tug of encouragement.

Leaning to the side, I whispered in her ear as we walked. “It’s just a dance, Willard.” I pulled back and grinned down at her with a wink. Her gorgeous eyes—big and light blue like the summer sky—widened as she opened her mouth to say something, but I twirled her under my arm instead of letting her speak. Country music blasted through the bar, fast and wild. It left no room for hesitation. I yanked her into my arms. “Okay?” I shouted over the music.

My mother loved to dance; she taught all us boys how. A gentleman always takes his lady dancing. And maintains a respectful distance. I took a small step back, placing my hand on Willa’s upper back as our fingers linked together. With a step forward, she closed that distance to press against me once more. My lips curled up in a grin as her hand tightened in mine and her arm slid around my neck, hand drifting through the back of my tied-back hair. She wasn’t as immune to me as she pretended to be and I wouldn’t dare test that by stepping away from her again, even if it wasn’t gentlemanly. If she wanted me close, then that’s where I’d be.

Her gorgeous eyes twinkled in the lights as she smiled up at me and her body relaxed in my arms. “Okay, Everett. I’ll dance with you,” she breathed. Her voice was much too quiet to hear over the blaring music, but my focus on her gorgeous mouth allowed me to understand her words.

Quick, quick, slow—our easy Texas two-step was the same as everyone else’s on the floor but with her in my arms, this felt like so much more than a simple dance. I led her across the floor, spinning her out and pulling her back. I wanted to make her laugh again, like I did during our last dance so many months ago. I wanted her to want me as much as I wanted her. We had almost shared a kiss that night but were interrupted before anything could happen. She had the prettiest lips; full and soft and always pink. If I never kissed Willa before I died, it would be one of my greatest regrets. I had faith the right moment would present itself. As the song came to an end, I took both of her hands to spin her under my arms before dipping her low over my knee. Her ponytail brushed the floor as her neck arched back. She laughed, lifted her head and my heart skipped a beat as her eyes shone into mine with unbridled delight. Her sexy laugh tickled over my skin like I wished her hands would do and I felt the fall I was so afraid of coming even closer.

“God, you’re such a good dancer. Where’d you learn to dance like this, Everett?” she asked, slightly breathless and totally adorable as she beamed up at me. It seemed that dancing with Willa was one of the keys to get her to respond to me. I filed that fact away for future contemplation as I pulled her up and into my hold once again.

My smile turned sideways as I was about to admit my nerdy momma’s-boy truth to her. “From my mother,” I shouted over the music. “She loves to dance. My father tries, but he isn’t very good at it, so she taught all us boys how. We used to take turns two-stepping with her all over the living room.”

“That’s the sweetest thing ever,” she said. Score one for the nerds!

“One more?” I didn’t want to let her go yet.

“Sure, I have time for one more before I have to get back to work.”

With its slower beat and romantic lyrics, Lady Antebellum’s “I Run to You” changed the energy between us. The rise and fall of her chest as she sighed against me filled me with need as her forehead briefly rested on my shoulder and our fingers linked. I loved it that she was so tall. At six-foot-six I towered over most women, but Willa fit me just right. My need grew urgent as I wrapped my arm around her waist and my hand met the soft swipe of her skin, bared by the tied hem of her Genie’s tank top. Smooth and warm, it tempted me into thoughts inappropriate for our location. I inhaled a sharp breath to regain control. Dipping my head low, I took in her sweet scent as my cheek rested against hers—so soft. Her curly hair tickled my chin as my senses filled with nothing but her. Having her next to me felt right and I didn’t understand why. My heart raced out of control and I wondered just what it was about her that made me react so intensely.

She reminded me of a Palomino horse; all long legs, flowing light blond hair, and pale skin kissed with adorable freckles. Willa was some kind of wild, and totally free. I shut my eyes and pictured her running across her momma’s land up in the hills above town with her gorgeous hair flying behind her like a gold cloud, her laughter trailing through the air. God, she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I grit my teeth as my control started slipping away again. I was in danger of making a fool of myself. I was in danger of a lot of things, and a broken heart was at the top of that list.

“I love this song…” she whispered in my ear as she pulled away. Her head lifted from my shoulder as her hand trailed down my arm. She linked our fingers and I resumed leading her around the floor, rather than the slow sway we’d fallen into when the song started.

“Mm hmm,” I muttered as I gazed into her eyes and smiled faintly, at a loss for words.

She studied my face. “Everett, why do I always feel like when you’re looking at me, you really see me?” she murmured.

“I do see you. Sometimes you’re all I see,” I confessed, hoping it wasn’t too much, too soon.

Lowering her head, she tucked her blushing cheek into the side of my neck and sighed against my skin, leaving goosebumps in the wake of her breath. I continued leading her across the dance floor with my heart beating like crashing thunder bolts in my chest. I should be careful; I didn’t want her to end up being just another girl I fell for who didn’t want me back. Story of my life.

About Nora Everly

Nora Everly is a lifelong bookworm. She started reading the good stuff once she grew tall enough to sneak the romance novels off the top of her mother’s bookshelf and it has been non-stop ever since.

Once upon a time she was a substitute teacher and an educational assistant. Now she’s a writer and stay at home mom to two small humans and one fat cat.

Nora lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family and her overactive imagination.

Find Nora Everly online

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2kuJmwL

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2kxjtwa

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2kx2f21

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Website: https://www.noraeverly.com/

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Book Review: This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf

 

This is How I Lied
by Heather Gudenkauf

Amazon / B&N / AppleGP / BAM / Harlequin 

ISBN: 9780778309703
Publication Date: May 12, 2020
Publisher: Park Row Books

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With the eccentricity of Fargo and the intensity of Sadie, THIS IS HOW I LIED by Heather Gudenkauf (Park Row Books; May 12, 2020; $17.99) is a timely and gripping thriller about careless violence we can inflict on those we love, and the lengths we will go to make it right, even 25 years later.

Tough as nails and seven months pregnant, Detective Maggie Kennedy-O’Keefe of Grotto PD, is dreading going on desk duty before having the baby her and her husband so badly want. But when new evidence is found in the 25-year-old cold case of her best friend’s murder that requires the work of a desk jockey, Maggie jumps at the opportunity to be the one who finally puts Eve Knox’s case to rest.

Maggie has her work cut out for her. Everyone close to Eve is a suspect. There’s Nola, Eve’s little sister who’s always been a little… off; Nick, Eve’s ex-boyfriend with a vicious temper; a Schwinn riding drifter who blew in and out of Grotto; even Maggie’s husband Sean, who may have known more about Eve’s last day than he’s letting on. As Maggie continues to investigate, the case comes closer and closer to home, forcing her to confront her own demons before she can find justice for Eve.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Dex Stroope is in his midsixties, big-bellied with a face that always looks like it could use a good nap.

 

I found Nola standing there looking up at me with those big glasses and green eyes like some kind of click beetle… Right away I was concerned, but by the casual look on Nola Knox’s face, you would have thought she was selling Girl Scout cookies or popcorn for her basketball team or something. But instead of asking me if I want a box of Thin Mints or Do-Si-Dos, she says, My sister is dead. She was so matter-of-fact I thought I heard her wrong.

My Review:

 

Cunningly penned from multiple POVs, this diabolical tale kept me taut with tension and my shoulders in my ears while it funneled me in so many directions the little pea in my brain was swirling with theories.   I was so sure I had it solved and was feeling rather smug, but NO, this sneaky scribe had me bamboozled as I never saw this ending coming.

My cold heart was squeezed for the character of Eve, the murder victim. Poor Eve couldn’t catch a break, even from her best friend and least of all her immature mess of a mother or younger sister, who was brilliant yet also a deeply disturbed young sociopath. Their small Iowa town appeared rife with social issues and devious characters. This was my second time reading the wily and treacherous wordcraft of Heather Gudenkauf and I am hooked. I am greedy and want all her words, ALL of them!

About the Author

Author Website

Twitter: @hgudenkauf

Instagram: @heathergudenkauf

Facebook: @HeatherGudenkaufAuthor

Goodreads

Heather Gudenkauf is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many books, including The Weight of Silence and These Things Hidden. Heather graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in elementary education, has spent her career working with students of all ages. She lives in Iowa with her husband, three children, and a very spoiled German Shorthaired Pointer named Lolo. In her free time, Heather enjoys spending time with her family, reading, hiking, and running.

Book Review: Batter of Wits by Karla Sorensen

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“Heartfelt, hilarious, with a dash of angst…Karla Sorensen shines with the perfect feel-good read!” –Author Catherine Cowles

Batter of Wits, an all-new funny and heartwarming romance from Karla Sorensen, is now available in Kindle Unlimited!

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Hate at first sight couldn’t possibly exist, right?

That’s what Grace Buchanan thought, before her useless car stranded her on the side of a deserted road just inside the Green Valley city limits.

When Tucker Haywood—tall and handsome and full of southern charm— shows up to help, her reaction to him is the strongest thing she’s ever felt in her life, and it makes no freaking sense.

It doesn’t make much sense to Tucker either. Not why she hates him, or why he finds her so intriguing. He knows well enough that Grace is moving to Green Valley for a fresh start, not to distract him when he’s got no room for something like her in his life.

The complications between them are endless, but that doesn’t stop her definitely not love-at-first-sight feelings from changing into something else entirely.

Grace and Tucker are about to learn the hard way that in Green Valley, hating someone has never tasted so sweet.

‘Batter of Wits’ is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #5 in the Donner Bakery series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

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Download your copy TODAY or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

He could talk a snake into crutches, if he put his mind to it.

 

Don’t you get all high and mighty, Francine. If I had legs like hers, I’d work the pole too.

 

My brother smiled wide, and if his thick skull had a window in it, I would’ve seen the wheels spinning.

 

It was as if her brain was built with subtitles, because her facial expressions were so clear, so obvious, everything she was thinking played across that face as if someone was typing them in all-capped, bold letters.

 

This man would need a lobotomy to get over his anger with me.

 

She snatched the book from Maxine’s hand. “Ladies,” she said with a smile. “This one is mine.” The cover caught the light, a half-naked man clutching a scantily clad woman to his brawny chest. Maxine rolled her eyes. “Who do you think is fighting you over it, Ruby?” “You’d want it too if you read the last one. There was a scene in a ship that had me in hot flashes for a solid week.”… Ruby looked down at her book, and I snapped another picture, the rapturous expression on her gently wrinkled face had me grinning.

 

Shame didn’t go down easily when you tried to swallow it…

My Review:

 

Oh, happy, day! Another cleverly penned and sassy Smartypants Romance book to savor, smirk, and giggle snort over. I am a new disciple of Ms. Sorensen having only read her previous contribution to this witty series with Baking Me Crazy, and I am totally enamored with her after reading this snarky yet sweet and deliciously entertaining tale.   I adore her highly amusing and seamless style of snappy banter, indomitable biddies, quirky characters, and shrewdly irreverent insights. My burgeoning TBR now includes her entire backlist and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Excerpt

When I looked down, her hands were fisted on the countertop, shaking from the effort of keeping them still.

“I’d take a picture of that,” I told her, voice low and charged.

She tilted her chin up toward me. “Of what?”

In the low light of the apartment, her eyes glowed like melted gold.

“Your hands.” I licked my suddenly dry lips. “I feel like they’re telling me something that I can’t figure out.”

Grace peered down at the fists she was making, and her fingers relaxed, the skin no longer white around her knuckles.

“What are they telling me, Grace?” I begged.

She ducked under my arm and I exhaled heavily. Without the heat from her body against mine, I took a second to get myself under control. When I turned, she was handing me her camera.

“Go ahead,” she said.

I tilted my head. “You want me to take your picture?”

Grace studied the camera, carefully removing the lens cap and pulling it up to her eyes. She aimed it at my face, and I wondered what she saw. If I looked like I was one thread away from snapping, because that’s how I felt.

I’d never felt like I was one quick step away from freedom, but here, I was. One nudge over the edge of the cliff, and she’d have me free falling without a parachute. I’d never, ever wanted it so badly.

When I heard the click of the shutter, I rubbed the back of my neck. “Can I see?”

She ignored me, pulling the camera away so she could look at the digital image on the back. Her lips curved in a secret little smile.

“What do you see?” I asked.

Her chest expanded on an inhale. “Frustration.” Her eyes met mine. “Want.”

Words lodged in my chest, and I couldn’t tear them loose.

I held my hand out and she passed the camera to me. With a rough swallow, I squinted at the tiny viewfinder once it was at eye-level. Grace came into my eye line, holding my gaze with such directness that I fought the urge not to throw the camera across the room simply because it was between us.

It was her turn to ask. “What do you see?”

My finger pushed the slick button on top of the camera, and her mouth curled in surprise that I took a shot.

I pushed the button again as she took a step closer.

“You’re not answering me,” she said lightly.

“Because I can hardly think straight when you’re looking at me like that.” My admission was rough and hard, out before I could stop it.

She took another step, within reach now, and one of her hands slid up my forearm.

One more picture, the sound of the shutter snapping between us like a shot.

Somehow, I set it down on the counter without smashing it.

“You can’t lie to a camera,” Grace said quietly, watching her hand on my arm before the other landed on my heaving chest. “It captures things as are they are, good or bad or ugly or beautiful.”

I slid an arm around her waist and tightened my grip until she was flush against me. My other hand pushed up the back of her neck and into her hair.

“This is insane,” she breathed, dropping her forehead onto my chest.

“No, it’s not.”

Grace lifted her head and pinned me in place. “Tucker, seventy-two hours ago, I hated you. You can’t tell me this doesn’t feel a little nuts.”

I couldn’t stop my smile. “You didn’t hate me. Not really.”

One eyebrow lifted. “Wanna bet?”

About Karla Sorensen

Karla Sorensen has been an avid reader her entire life, preferring stories with a happily-ever-after over just about any other kind. And considering she has an entire line item in her budget for books, she realized it might just be cheaper to write her own stories. It doesn’t take much to keep her happy…a book, a really big glass of wine, and at least thirty minutes of complete silence every day. She still keeps her toes in the world of health care marketing, where she made her living pre-babies. Now she stays home, writing and mommy-ing full time (this translates to almost every day being a ‘pajama day’ at the Sorensen household…don’t judge). She lives in West Michigan with her husband, two exceptionally adorable sons and big, shaggy rescue dog.

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Website: http://www.karlasorensen.com/

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Book Review: Cutie and the Beast by M.E. Carter

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Welcome back to Weight Expectations, where the unexpected is likely to happen.

Cutie and the Beast, an all-new roommates-to-lovers romantic comedy from M.E. Carter, is now available in Kindle Unlimited!

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Living with her mother seemed like a good idea at the time. But Elliott Donovan’s living arrangements are not working for her anymore. Desperate to get back on her financial feet after a divorce and out from under her mother’s thumb, Elliott takes a job in the child care center at Weight Expectations, a local gym.

It has everything she needs – family-friendly hours, more pay than she expected, and a super cute trainer who just happens to have part of his house for rent.

Abel DiSoto was living the good life until his wife walked out taking half of the family income with her. The blow to his ego was bad enough, but after a fire at the gym scattered Abel’s clients, and consequently his commissions, he’s stuck figuring out how to make ends meet, too. Renting out the master suite of his house to his new co-worker seems like an easy solution. They’re both mature adults, they both have eight-year-old daughters, and their work schedules coordinate so they can lend each other a helping hand to ease the burden of single parenthood.

The only downside? Living like a blended family when you’re not actually a family can present some challenges.

Welcome back to Weight Expectations, where the unexpected is likely to happen.

‘Cutie and the Beast’ is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is book #3 in the Cipher Office series, Knitting in the City World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

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Download your copy TODAY or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“I’m making a hard rule—no glitter. I don’t care what projects the kids have, do not bring glitter in this room.” I laugh at her insistence, mostly because I get where she’s coming from. “Agreed. I am not vacuuming satan’s decorations off this floor.”

 

I could have probably bounced a quarter off the abs on her. I, on the other hand, have lost actual quarters in my fat roll.

 

“Cougar guidelines?” “Half your age plus seven is how young you can date without it looking weird… When you’re old, like for real old, he’ll still be young enough to cater to your every whim.” Elliott’s eyebrows shoot up, and I can tell she’s visualizing all the ways her future self could benefit from this. “I’ve always wanted to have a cabana boy fanning me and feeding me grapes.” “There ya go!” Joey exclaims. “He can even wear a speedo!” Elliott’s eyes flash over to mine and she gives me a flirty shrug. “Make sure you keep those abs in shape.”

 

I really don’t want it to be here. I love my mother, but I prefer loving her from a distance.

My Review:

 

I am enamored with M.E. Carter’s deft and agile writing style, endearingly flawed yet well-meaning and hard-working characters, and the relevant and relatable issues tucked into her well-crafted and highly engaging storylines. I have relished these cleverly amusing Smartypants Romances, each one has been a snarkalicious smirk-fest and most have been giggle-snort worthy as well. M.E. Carter’s contributions to the series have provided me with both and I had the fleeting thought of amassing an altar of sweatbands and sweets in tribute to her keen wit, snappy banter, and amusing yet insightful observations.   However, I was unable to follow-through on this scheme, as the materials seemed to mysteriously disappear as I pondered the design. I am already eagerly awaiting the arrival of her next missive on my beloved Kindle.

 

 

Excerpt

In my haste to not be late, I barrel right into a woman coming through the front door.

Grabbing her arms to steady her from falling, I apologize profusely. “I’m sorry! I didn’t see you. Are you all right?”

Smiling tightly, the blonde isn’t thrilled a random stranger practically ran her over. But she’s polite anyway. “I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? You aren’t hurt?” I don’t think she is, but sometimes I don’t know my own strength.

This time her smile is a little more genuine. “I’m sure. You sure are in a rush.”

Letting go of her arms, I feel like she needs an explanation other than me racing around like an idiot. “I’m the one parent who has a tendency to be late for school pickup. The lady at the front desk gives me a nasty evil glare if she has to call me.”

This woman, whose name I still haven’t bothered to ask, laughs and I’m struck by how cute she is. She’s definitely a few years older than I am, but not by much. There’s nothing about her that necessarily stands out in a crowd, but her smile is genuine. This is a woman who likes to laugh and have fun. I always gravitate toward those people, which gives me a fleeting thought: I should have noticed my ex-wife hardly ever smiled for real. Laughing was even rarer unless it was at someone else’s expense. Those should have been easy indicators she wasn’t the one for me.

“Parker Elementary?” the blonde asks.

“Yeah.” I give her a quizzical look. “How did you know?”

“Do not mess with Ms. Alexander’s routine. She will cut a bitch.”

My laugh comes easily, and I find myself hoping this woman is a new member. She’s funny. I love it when clients have a sense of humor. Offering her my hand, I introduce myself. “I’m Abel. Trainer here at Weight Expectations and father of Mabel in second grade.”

She places her cold hand in mine. “Elliott. Interviewee for the childcare position and mother of Ainsley, also in second grade.”

“Ah! Well it’s nice to meet you. Fingers crossed I’ll see you here later as a fellow employee. And if not here, at Parker Elementary as a fellow parent. Hopefully not in Ms. Alexander’s line of sight.”

Elliott holds up her gloved hands and crosses her fingers around each other. “Wish me luck. Now run fast.”

About M.E. Carter

My name is M.E. Carter and I have no idea how I ended up writing books. I’m more of a storyteller (the more exaggerated the better) and I happen to know people who helped me get those stories on paper. I love reading (read almost 200 books last year), hate working out (but I do it anyway because my trainer makes me), love food (but hate what it does to my butt) and love traveling to non-touristy places most people never see. I live in Houston with my four kids, Mary, Elizabeth, Carter and Bug, who was just a twinkle in my eye when I came up with my pen name. Yeah, I’ll probably have to pay for his therapy someday for being left out.

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Website: https://www.authormecarter.com/

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Book Review: The German Heiress by Anika Scott

 

 

The German Heiress
by Anika Scott

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU /

B&N /HarperCollins /Apple /GP

 

 Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (April 7, 2020)

“Meticulously researched and plotted like a noir thriller, The German Heiress tells a different story of WWII— of characters grappling with their own guilt and driven by the question of what they could have done to change the past.” —Jessica Shattuck, New York Times bestselling author of The Women in the Castle

For readers of The Alice Network and The Lost Girls of Paris, an immersive, heart-pounding debut about a German heiress on the run in post-World War II Germany.

Clara Falkenberg, once Germany’s most eligible and lauded heiress, earned the nickname “the Iron Fräulein” during World War II for her role in operating her family’s ironworks empire. It’s been nearly two years since the war ended and she’s left with nothing but a false identification card and a series of burning questions about her family’s past. With nowhere else to run to, she decides to return home and take refuge with her dear friend, Elisa.

Narrowly escaping a near-disastrous interrogation by a British officer who’s hell-bent on arresting her for war crimes, she arrives home to discover the city in ruins, and Elisa missing. As Clara begins tracking down Elisa, she encounters Jakob, a charismatic young man working on the black market, who, for his own reasons, is also searching for Elisa. Clara and Jakob soon discover how they might help each other—if only they can stay ahead of the officer determined to make Clara answer for her actions during the war.

Propulsive, meticulously researched, and action-fueled, The German Heiress is a mesmerizing page-turner that questions the meaning of justice and morality, deftly shining the spotlight on the often-overlooked perspective of Germans who were caught in the crossfire of the Nazi regime and had nowhere to turn.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

What a slippery thing conscience could be. It had driven her in two directions. To her father, with all the duties of family and work… And then she had been driven to help the workers, an act that put everything else at risk. One side of her conscience undermining the other. And still she had listened to both. She had thought she could do justice to both.

 

In Jakob’s experience, you had to watch the Tommies when they were being too nice. You never knew when they’d turn on you, remind you of what a Nazi you’d been, regardless of the truth. The Tommies would call you a lowly foreigner in your own country.

 

My Review:

 

She was called The Iron Fräulein, Clara Falkenberg was a curiously captivating and intriguing study of contrasts. Her mother was British yet appeared far more fanatic about the Nazi agenda than her opportunistic German father.   Clara was the only daughter and the publicity darling for her wealthy family’s ironworks business, which made several more fortunes during the war using forced labor. Clara was also the former Reich’s most eligible heiress and graced magazines on both sides of the ocean. However, in post-war Germany, her notoriety worked against her.

 

This was my introduction to the powerful and emotive word voodoo of Anika Scott and wow, does this gal have some major skills! The storylines were smartly crafted and absorbing, intricate, well scaffolded, intriguing, thoughtfully observant, and heart-squeezing while cast with a peculiar assortment of broken, flawed, complex, and often unlikable yet deeply compelling characters. I felt conflicted yet totally engaged from start to finish. And all this in a debut novel… the little pea in my brain just exploded.

 

I was provided with a review copy of this cunningly crafted book by  TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins. 

About the Author

Anika Scott was a journalist at the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Chicago Tribune before moving to Germany, where she currently lives in Essen with her husband and two daughters. She has worked in radio, taught journalism seminars at an eastern German university, and written articles for European and American publications. Originally from Michigan, she grew up in a car industry family. This is her first novel.

Find out more about Anika at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

Book Review: Truths I Never Told You by Kelly Rimmer

 

Truths I Never Told You 
Kelly Rimmer

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU

B&N / GP / Apple / BAM

After finding disturbing journal pages that suggest her late mother didn’t die in a car accident as her father had always maintained, Beth Walsh begins a search for answers to the question — what really happened to their mother? With the power and relevance of Jodi Picoult and Lisa Jewell, Rimmer pens a provocative novel told by two women a generation apart, the struggles they unwittingly shared, and a family mystery that may unravel everything they believed to be true.

With her father recently moved to a care facility because of worsening signs of dementia, Beth Walsh volunteers to clear out the family home to prepare it for sale. Why shouldn’t she be the one, after all? Her three siblings are all busy with their families and successful careers, and Beth is on maternity leave after giving birth to Noah, their miracle baby. It took her and her husband Hunter years to get pregnant, but now that they have Noah, Beth can only feel panic. And leaving Noah with her in-laws while she pokes about in their father’s house gives her a perfect excuse not to have to deal with motherhood.

Beth is surprised to discover the door to their old attic playroom padlocked, and even more shocked to see what’s behind it – a hoarder’s mess of her father’s paintings, mounds of discarded papers, and miscellaneous junk. Her father was the most fastidious, everything-in-its-place man, and this chaos makes no sense. As she picks through the clutter, she finds a handwritten note attached to one of the paintings, in what appears to be in her late mother’s handwriting. Beth and her siblings grew up believing Grace Walsh died in a car accident when they were little more than toddlers, but this note suggests something much darker may be true. A frantic search uncovers more notes, seemingly a series of loose journal entries that paint a very disturbing portrait of a woman in profound distress, and of a husband that bears very little resemblance to the father Beth and her siblings know.

A fast-paced, harrowing look at the fault in memories and the lies that can bond families together – or tear them apart.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Alicia came with him a few times, then suddenly stopped helping out. As far as I can tell, she’s very busy being a “media personality.” Given she hasn’t had an acting or modeling gig for at least a decade, “media personality” seems to mean she spends her mornings at the gym and her afternoons with her socialite friends, hoping she’ll make it into the frame of a paparazzi photo so she can complain about her lack of privacy.

 

Here, more than anywhere, I feel his absence. The room smells like Dad— his aftershave and deodorant linger in the air. This scent is warm hugs on sad days, and laughter over the breakfast bar, and suffering through the sheer boredom of the old black-and-white movie marathons he so loved to inflict upon us on rainy weekends.

 

Mrs. Hills and Aunt Nina insisted on taking me out for a bachelorette party the weekend before the wedding. I protested furiously at this, mostly because I wasn’t exactly excited by the idea of suffering through two octogenarians offering me sex advice.

 

“For your generation, these problems have names, and because they are defined, solutions can be found for them. But for my generation, we didn’t have access to those solutions and it made life endlessly complicated… and for women like your mother, endlessly cruel.” Two weeks ago I stuffed a script for Prozac into my tote bag, and it’s still there— resting between baby wipes and spare pacifiers and my purse. I clutch the strap tighter in my hand… Sometimes moments of change happen during quiet conversations like this, when a simple shift in perspective empowers you to make a choice you just haven’t been able to make before.

My Review:

 

I finished Kelly Rimmer’s latest work with tears in my eyes and hot rocks in my throat, a condition I had experienced several times during my perusal of this poignant and keenly written piece. Poignant is the word that keeps circling in my gray matter, and while accurate, poignant falls short of doing justice to this thoughtful penned story. Let me add a few more adjectives and adverbs in my paltry attempt to express my scattered thoughts, including – profoundly insightful, real-world issues, extremely relevant, heart-squeezing, painfully honest, highly emotive, sensitively handled, cleverly nuanced, masterfully written, and brilliantly paced.   Ms. Rimmer seems to have an adept and nimble skill at walking the line of both sides of a controversial subject and deftly and thoughtfully exposing the grim disparities, inequities, and nitty-gritty parts that neither side can ignore. I covet her mad skills and will ever remain her ardent fangirl for life.

About the Author

Kelly Rimmer is the worldwide and USA TODAY bestselling author of Before I Let You Go, Me Without You, and The Secret Daughter. She lives in rural Australia with her husband, two children, and fantastically naughty dogs, Sully and Basil. Her novels have been translated into more than twenty languages. 

 

 

Book Review: The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni

The Ancestor
by Danielle Trussoni

Amazon US / UK / CA AU / 

B&N / HarperCollins /GP

 Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (April 7, 2020)

From the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of the Angelology series comes a bewitching gothic novel of suspense that plunges readers into a world of dark family secrets, the mysteries of human genetics, and the burden of family inheritance.

It feels like a fairy tale when Alberta ”Bert” Monte receives a letter addressed to “Countess Alberta Montebianco” at her Hudson Valley, New York, home that claims she’s inherited a noble title, money, and a castle in Italy. While Bert is more than a little skeptical, the mystery of her aristocratic family’s past, and the chance to escape her stressful life for a luxury holiday in Italy, is too good to pass up.

At first, her inheritance seems like a dream come true: a champagne-drenched trip on a private jet to Turin, Italy; lawyers with lists of artwork and jewels bequeathed to Bert; a helicopter ride to an ancestral castle nestled in the Italian Alps below Mont Blanc; a portrait gallery of ancestors Bert never knew existed; and a cellar of expensive vintage wine for Bert to drink.

But her ancestry has a dark side, and Bert soon learns that her family history is particularly complicated. As Bert begins to unravel the Montebianco secrets, she begins to realize her true inheritance lies not in a legacy of ancestral treasures, but in her very genes.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Listen to me, child. I saw it. The beast came for me on the mountain pass like a ghost with its white hair and devilish blue eyes. Its teeth were sharp as razors. But worst of all, it was so like us. Monstrous and yet so human. The legends were true.

 

… inheritance is a trickster. One generation may hide its genetic treasures, while the next will put them fully on display.

 

Leopold had described the village as a seed pressed into a rocky furrow, and it seemed exactly that: a furtive garden in a fold of stone.

 

How strange it felt, to sit there so openly, my feet exposed. A lifetime of hiding them had made me self-conscious to the point of neurosis. But there was no reason to hide my feet from these people.

 

My Review:

 

The Ancestor was a bracing and chilling tale of an epic legacy of dark secrets and unknown wealth hidden in the ice and snow.   While not my typical read, I was quickly pulled into an oddly captivating vortex of unnerving and itchy intrigue. It was easy to follow, highly creative, monstrously eerie, and the most distressing part was that it was conceivably plausible. Despite feeling edgy, unsettled, and nibbling on my cuticles – I was enslaved by my curiosity and unable to put my Kindle down.

The narrative was richly textured, cunningly conceived, and maddeningly paced. I was engrossed and conflicted while I cycled between feeling appalled and entranced.   To illustrate Ms. Trussoni’s exceptional word voodoo, I was mentally frostbitten by her descriptive depictions of the harsh Alpine weather that entrenched the beset characters while in reality, I was barefoot, clad in shorts, and comfortably lounging with an open window and ceiling fan on a balmy day in the tropics. She has mad skills.

I was provided with a review copy of this oddly compelling tale by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins.

About the Author

Danielle Trussoni is the New York TimesUSA Today, and Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling author of the supernatural thrillers Angelology and Angelopolis. She currently writes the Horror column for the New York Times Book Review and has recently served as a jurist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Trussoni holds an MFA in Fiction from the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she won the Michener-Copernicus Society of America award. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages. She lives in the Hudson River Valley with her family and her pug Fly.

Find out more about Trussoni at her website, and connect with her on InstagramFacebook, and Twitter.

Book Review: The Silent Treatment by Abbie Greaves

The Silent Treatment
by Abbie Greaves

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Hardcover: 304 pages

 Publisher: William Morrow (April 7, 2020)

For readers of The Light We Lost and Me Before You, a life-affirming, deeply moving story about lies, loss and a love that is louder than words.

“The premise alone had me, but The Silent Treatment itself is just heartrendingly lovely. It’s beautiful, so moving and clever. I truly adored it.”   — Josie Silver, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December

A lifetime together.
Six months of silence.
One last chance.

By all appearances, Frank and Maggie share a happy, loving marriage. But for the past six months, they have not spoken. Not a sentence, not a single word. Maggie isn’t sure what, exactly, provoked Frank’s silence, though she has a few ideas.

Day after day, they have eaten meals together and slept in the same bed in an increasingly uncomfortable silence that has become, for Maggie, deafening.

Then Frank finds Maggie collapsed in the kitchen, unconscious, an empty package of sleeping pills on the table. Rushed to the hospital, she is placed in a medically induced coma while the doctors assess the damage.

If she regains consciousness, Maggie may never be the same. Though he is overwhelmed at the thought of losing his wife, will Frank be able to find his voice once again—and explain his withdrawal—or is it too late?

“A remarkably assured debut which doesn’t go where you expect it to go. I very much look forward to seeing what she writes next.” — Jojo Moyes, #1 New York Times bestselling author

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

I have no intention of being cruel, really I don’t, I never do. The sad reality is that often our behavior will do it for us, unwilled and unwilling. My silence is the very best example.

My Review:

 

Never have I read prose so elegantly detailed with an uncommon poignancy of tiny movements that continually plucked at my heartstrings while taunting my inquisitive nature to an unbearable level. The characters were devastatingly fractured, highly idiosyncratic, and oddly captivating.   Narrated from a dual POV in two separate sections, each was evocatively written in an arresting style that held me transfixed to my Kindle while growing increasingly fretful and taut with tension. Ms. Greaves is a crafty and cunning wordsmith who kept me ensnared and suspended in an eager and avid state of curiosity. I was engaged, engrossed, and intrigued by the characters, their history, and the prickly and precarious unfolding story of their guarded present. And all this from a debut author. I am in complete and utter awe.

I was provided with a review copy of this insightfully observant book by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins.
 

About the Author

Abbie Greaves studied English Literature at Cambridge University. She worked in publishing for three years before leaving to focus on her writing. She now lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Silent Treatment is her first novel.

Find out more about Abbie at her website, and connect with her on Instagram and Twitter.