Did you know the medical term for a butt crack is intergluteal cleft?
My name is Reagan, and spouting random facts like this one at inopportune moments is my affliction. I’m chronically awkward, socially inept and completely lack a filter. Believe it or not, men do not find these attractive traits.
When my sexy-as-sin neighbor barges into my apartment at the arse crack of dawn, everything changes. For some strange reason, my brand of crazy doesn’t send him running for the hills. Instead, he settles in for a nap on my couch…
Unless your biological mother has changed her mind about removing my testicles with her bare hands. Then she’d be welcome to join us as well.
I’m SOOO sorry but I have to cancel tonight. I’m surfin’ the crimson wave and Mother Nature is being an extra cruel bitch this month. I feel like a slasher film is being enacted inside my uterus.
Bleed out? That’s a little dramatic. You’re going to need stitches, not a funeral director.
My Review:
Reading this delightful book was pure fun, smirks and giggle-snorts abounded, and there may even have been a bit of a situation of spewed Diet Dew during an unfortunately inconvenient second when my throat couldn’t contain a giggle and swallow at the same time. I didn’t even mind as I was so besotted with this cleverly written tale and deliciously quirky couple. Reagan was totally filterless and a drama llama who claimed to suffer from “a debilitating case of awkwardness.” She was brimming with a mountain of peculiar quirks and a tendency to blurt out oddly comedic and hysterically inappropriate trivia and random facts. I coveted their stamina as much as her amusingly witty collection of coffee mugs. Colorful characters and nimble levity flowed through each page and my only regret was that the story had to end. I would greatly enjoy knowing these enticing characters and spending time with them every day; they were naughty good fun.
Don’t forget to enter JB’s awesome giveaway! 2 winners will be randomly chosen to receive a limited edition foil print paperback, an awkward tank and a $25 Amazon gift card!
I’m a regular Aussie chic, with a spunky husband and a few kids.
I’ve worked in many different fields, trying to find my niche. But nothing felt right until now. I have found my fit. I am passionate about reading as well as writing and I have gained some incredibly inspiring friends from this journey.
I write contemporary comedic romance with a bit of spice to keep things interesting.
I like to write fun, interesting characters that grab your attention from the very beginning.
I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoy writing them. X
Let your homeless best friend stay with you, he said. Being roommates will be fun, he said. It’s only temporary, he said.
He never said I’d fall for him.
The Roommate Agreement, all-new hilarious and romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Emma Hart is available now!
You know what isn’t ‘temporary?’ The endless stream of dirty socks in my bathroom and empty food packets under the sofa—and don’t even get me started on the hot guys who take over my living room every Sunday to watch sports.
I can’t take anymore.
So I propose a roommate agreement. One that will bring peace and order back to my life, complete with rules that might just stop my newfound crush on my best friend in its tracks.
After all, there’s only so many times you can see your best friend naked before you start to lose your mind.
Jay’s grandmother’s obsession with Fireball wasn’t exactly a secret in town, and it’d caused her to remove her shirt in public more than once. I did not want to be the person who was responsible for that. The entire town was still getting over the last time. Especially since Betsy, uh, favored letting the girls go free, if you know what I mean.
The only people who have problems with inches are men and hair stylists.
“Leggings aren’t pants!” “Wash your filthy mouth out with soap!”
She wanted to know why you were such a heathen who didn’t visit anymore. I told her you were learning to do your own laundry, and she laughed so hard I think she broke a rib.
Introverts weren’t designed for this kind of human interaction. We were more of a mumble and hide in a blanket-fort kind of people.
My Review:
Inspired by her adulation of fellow oddball Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory, Shelby drew up a set of rules for her new roommate/lifelong best friend as his errant socks, Oreo thievery, and slovenly habits were working her last nerve. Well, everyone knows a girl’s Oreos are sacrosanct! This was my second glee-filled exposure to the lovely Ms. Emma Hart, and the mystery of why I have just recently stumbled into her gifted wordplay feels like a cruel joke – where are my book friends, why didn’t someone tell me? I adore her mischievously clever wit and uniquely quirky characters. Written in my favorite dual POV, this highly amusing tale was packed with swift and wily banter that kept me smirking and giggle-snorting as I read. I adored this smartly crafted friends to lovers story from start to finish. Emma Hart = good fun!
Excerpt:
Shelby shut the door with a click and peered over at me. “What are you writing? If it’s permission to use the feather duster as a sex toy, the answer is no. Unless you buy your own, but if you haven’t figured out where the laundry room is yet, I doubt you’ll find where to buy one.”
She was as funny as a car crash, this one.
“Hilarious,” I drawled. “No, I’m making amendments as I go. I added a new rule.”
“You added a new rule?” She raised one dark eyebrow and walked over, hovering over me. “All right, what is it?”
“Decent clothes must be worn. Do you know how many times I wake up early on a morning to open the gym and find you basically in your underwear in the kitchen?”
“Basically in my underwear? Who are you seeing in the kitchen? I wear shorts and a tank top at the very least.”
“Yes, but the shorts barely cover your ass, and you’re sure as hell not wearing a bra.”
She paused, eyes glittering as she said, “And why are you looking at my ass and my boobs?”
That was an excellent question.
“Because there’s nowhere else to look!” I rushed out before my stupid cock could get any ideas. “Look, waking up in the morning can be challenging for a guy.”
She stared at me.
“I don’t need to get up for a coffee with… you know.” I motioned to my groin. “And see you half-clothed.”
She flicked her hair over her shoulder and walked to the kitchen, turning her back to me. “Why does it matter? I’m your best friend. I hardly think your little friend is remotely interested in whether or not I’m wearing a bra.”
Yeah, well, he is.
“Fine. If I have to wake up and see your perky nipples prancing around the kitchen, I’m going to stroll around in my underwear so you can get a good view of my morning glory.”
She spun, lifting up a finger. Her cheeks were flushed, and she had to swallow before she could speak. “My nipples do not prance. They are not horses.”
I grinned.
“Also, I have no desire to have anything to do with your morning erection, much less get a good view of it, thank you very much.”
“Have I told you that you’re cute when you blush?”
“Have I told you that you’d be a cute dead guy?”
I laughed, leaning back on the sofa. “C’mon, Shelbs. We need to respect each other’s privacy. You don’t want to see my cock hard over your breakfast, and I don’t want to see your nipples standing to attention when I make a coffee.”
She sighed. “Why did I ever let you move in again?”
“Because I was going to be homeless and you’re the best friend ever?”
“Mm.”
About Emma Hart
Emma Hart is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty novels and has been translated into several different languages.
She is a mother, wife, lover of wine, Pink Goddess, and valiant rescuer of wild baby hedgehogs.
Emma prides herself on her realistic, snarky smut, with comebacks that would make a PMS-ing teenage girl proud.
Good with his hands, be it crafting a piece of wood, playing his guitar, or pleasing a lover—he excels at them all.
Friendly, flirty, and talented, he’s cool under pressure, and hot everywhere else.
But he keeps his heart closed, even as his interest and emotions are tested.
Olivia Rourke works alongside him at BAM.
Talented, private, and intriguing, she touches something inside him he can’t deny.
He wants to know her. In every possible way.
He wants her to know him.
Her past tells her to stay clear. Van is everything that she wants, and exactly what she cannot have. She has someone else to think of who is more important.
Between them her tea set was arranged on the table, many of her stuffed animals gathered around it… Van sat on the floor, his legs crossed, a few animals on his lap. A blue boa was draped around his neck, and a tiara sat askew on his head, the plastic gems glittering in the light. He held out his cup, his pinkie extended, no doubt having been schooled in proper tea party etiquette by Sammy, murmuring his thanks for more “tea.”
Call it experience or friendly advice, but if you’re gonna kiss your girl in the office, make sure to wipe the lip gloss off your mouth before pretending it never happened… Pink isn’t really your color.
Hal smiled. It wasn’t a pleasant smile, but rather the kind which happens right before the monster eats you.
My Review:
Van, both the book and the character, were perfection. This deftly written story is a supreme example of my favorite type of book and reason for reading. The premise was relevant, interesting, and entertaining and cast with characters who were realistically flawed while totally appealing and disarmingly endearing. As expected, Ms. Moreland’s storylines were artfully crafted and expertly paced while tapping all the feels and filling my heart with a glitter bomb of delight. And bonus round, the enticing and alluring main characters were gratefully supportive, passionate, and nurturing towards each other rather than engaged in constant conflict or battling their attraction. I was totally enamored and thoroughly smitten with the thoughtful and tender care the gentle giant Van extended toward the women in his life. I have fallen head-over-heels with every book in this divinely written series featuring the men of BAM and hope it continues into perpetuity. Melanie Moreland has mad skills.
New York Times/USA Today bestselling author Melanie Moreland, lives a happy and content life in a quiet area of Ontario with her beloved husband of twenty-seven-plus years and their rescue cat, Amber. Nothing means more to her than her friends and family, and she cherishes every moment spent with them.
While seriously addicted to coffee, and highly challenged with all things computer-related and technical, she relishes baking, cooking, and trying new recipes for people to sample. She loves to throw dinner parties, and also enjoys traveling, here and abroad, but finds coming home is always the best part of any trip.
Melanie loves stories, especially paired with a good wine, and enjoys skydiving (free-falling over a fleck of dust) extreme snowboarding (falling down stairs) and piloting her own helicopter (tripping over her own feet.) She’s learned happily ever afters, even bumpy ones, are all in how you tell the story.
Melanie is represented by Flavia Viotti at Bookcase Literary Agency. For any questions regarding subsidiary or translation rights please contact her at flavia@bookcaseagency.com
Van sat on the floor, his legs crossed, a few animals on his lap. A blue boa was draped around his neck, and a tiara sat askew on his head, the plastic gems glittering in the light. He held out his cup, his pinkie extended, no doubt having been schooled in proper tea party etiquette by Sammy, murmuring his thanks for more “tea.”
Sammy filled his cup with water and held out the plate of Oreos. I frowned. I never bought Oreos.
“More cookies, Prince Van? I made them myself.”
Prince Van?
He lifted his chin royally and accepted a cookie. “They are delicious. You must give me the recipe. I’ll have my cook at the castle make them.”
Never had I wished for a camera more than I did at that moment. Unable to contain myself, I giggled. They both turned to the door, excited to see me home. Sammy clapped her hands, demanding I join them.
I expected embarrassment from Van, but he simply tossed his boa around his neck and indicated the floor beside him with a wide grin.
“Liv, you’re home. Join us for tea? Sammy has made the most divine cookies.”
Allie, Des, and Cara, each having her own reasons for wanting a share of their father’s estate, meet in the grand Victorian home in which he grew up, only to be greeted by another secret he purposely hid from them: his sister Bonnie. The women reluctantly band together to take on Fritz’s challenge, working with a local contractor to begin the renovations financed by an account Fritz had set up for the task. While the restoration appears to go smoothly at first, it soon becomes apparent that the work will be more extensive than originally thought, and Des, elected to handle the money, needs to find ways to stretch out the remaining savings while searching for new sources of funding.
As strangers linked only by their DNA try to become a family, the Hudson sisters also try to come to terms with the father they only thought they knew. In the process, each woman discovers her own capacity for understanding, forgiveness, love, and the true meaning of family.
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My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
Nothing says time to move on like having your husband file for divorce so he can marry one of your best friends.
“Ordinarily, I’d have a retort for that, but right now, I’m all out of snark.” “Allie, your snark well has never run dry.” “Well, it did today, Des. I used it all up on Clint.” Allie grinned. “But it was snark well spent, believe me.’
It’s not a big deal, Allie. He’s a good kid… Allie, you act like the guy came in here with punk green hair smoking a joint and grabbing her butt.
I have visions of people lined up for miles for burgers but we’ve run out. They’re carrying pitchforks and chanting your name. I’m hiding out in the vineyard with the dogs, by the way.
My Review:
I was further drawn into the steady current of Ms. Stewart’s smooth storytelling and was soon fully immersed and residing in the small town of Hidden Falls along with her enticing and cunningly nuanced characters. I was fully invested in their saga and labored beside them during renovation efforts as well as with their budding relationships with each other and new community. The rehab of the historic theater was bumping along until a massive storm wrought major damage and a setback to their plans and depleted bank balance. Another fly in the ointment continued to be the contentious and shrewish personality of Allie, who appeared to be gradually softening but still leaning toward the vile harpy end of the scale.
This series would make an excellent miniseries as I hung on each new twist and complication. The relationships and family dynamics were front and center and quite compelling as the storylines continued to expand and interweave with additional layers or mystery, revelations, and insights. An unexpected discovery indicates papa appears to have more of a bounder than anyone knew. I am hooked and more than eager to dive into the next installment. I don’t recall four hundred pages ever flying by so quickly!
Mariah Stewart is the award-winning New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of numerous novels and several novellas and short stories. A native of Hightstown, New Jersey, she lives with her husband and two rambunctious rescue dogs amid the rolling hills of Chester County, Pennsylvania, where she savors country life and tends her gardens while she works on her next novel. Visit her website at MariahStewart.com, like her on Facebook at Facebook.com/AuthorMariahStewart, and follow her on Instagram @Mariah_Stewart_Books.
From New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart comes the first novel in her all-new series, The Hudson Sisters, following a trio of reluctant sisters as they set out to fulfill their father’s dying wish. In the process, they find not only themselves, but the father they only thought they knew.
When celebrated and respected agent Fritz Hudson passes away, he leaves a trail of Hollywood glory in his wake—and two separate families who never knew the other existed. Allie and Des Hudson are products of Fritz’s first marriage to Honora, a beautiful but troubled starlet whose life ended in a tragic overdose. Meanwhile, Fritz was falling in love on the Delaware Bay with New Age hippie Susa Pratt—they had a daughter together, Cara, and while Fritz loved Susa with everything he had, he never quite managed to tell her or Cara about his West Coast family.
Now Fritz is gone, and the three sisters are brought together under strange circumstances: there’s a large inheritance to be had that could save Allie from her ever-deepening debt following a disastrous divorce, allow Des to open a rescue shelter for abused and wounded animals, and give Cara a fresh start after her husband left her for her best friend—but only if the sisters upend their lives and work together to restore an old, decrepit theater that was Fritz’s obsession growing up in his small hometown in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. Guided by Fritz’s closest friend and longtime attorney, Pete Wheeler, the sisters come together—whether they like it or not—to turn their father’s dream into a reality, and might just come away with far more than they bargained for.
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
What could he have said?” Cara lowered her voice. “‘Oh, Susa, by the way, did I mention that I was married to someone else when I married you? But she passed away, so we don’t have to worry about those pesky bigamy laws.’
“I don’t know a whole lot about men, but I do know that none of them come with guarantees.”“Well, they should. They should come with grades or little caution cards. ‘Lies without conscience.’‘Will cheat every chance he gets.’‘Really does think that dress makes your ass look fat.’‘Only pretends to like puppies.’”
Cara watched Joe take a bite of his burger and was tempted to whisper, ‘Moo,’ but thought maybe she’d pulled that chain enough for one day.
I bought champagne to celebrate you. He doesn’t matter. You matter… We matter. We deserve a chance, and this is where we begin. You in?
I had the best time. Joe is… The one I thought I’d never find.
My Review:
I enjoyed this engaging story from beginning to end. The writing was entertaining, amusing, and lushly detailed. While the storyline initially seemed a bit complicated, it was easy to follow and pleasurable to read. Upon their father’s death, three women discover they have more family members than they realized – as Papa was a Rollin’ Stone. According to the “ironclad” will, the three women were required to work together on an extensive and challenging restoration project with firm conditions and stipulations before they would earn their father’s large estate. Their project required the sisters to relocate to a quaint little town in Pennsylvania, which sparked outrage for Allie – the snide LA diva sister, although she was most hard edges and always on the verge of outrage. There was a large cast of interesting and vibrantly detailed characters, with each being delightfully unique, easily differentiated, and memorable. My favorites being Joe – for his clever wit and patience, and Des for her thoughtful insights and gentleness. All the characters intrigued me, although I would not want to spend one second of my time with the bitter drama llama Allie.
Mariah Stewart is the award-winning New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of numerous novels and several novellas and short stories. A native of Hightstown, New Jersey, she lives with her husband and two rambunctious rescue dogs amid the rolling hills of Chester County, Pennsylvania, where she savors country life and tends her gardens while she works on her next novel. Visit her website at MariahStewart.com, like her on Facebook at Facebook.com/AuthorMariahStewart, and follow her on Instagram @Mariah_Stewart_Books.
When Jess and Rupert parted ways, it was the end of a great love story that might have been. Now ten years later, the very different paths they have taken in life will bring them back together for a chance meeting.
But with so much left unsaid about the breakup neither ever recovered from and with each keeping their own devastating secrets, will they finally be able to make the fractured pieces of their love for one another whole again?
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
Gem, I know you’re over the moon about getting married and I’m delighted for you, but it doesn’t mean that you get to matchmake. Even if I am the last one left on the shelf.
We were born twelve hours apart – you at six p.m. and me the following morning – in the same hospital, our mothers recovering in beds next to each other… You were early and I was late, which was the pattern that continued for the rest of our lives. You were always waiting for me to catch up with you.
Too young to be here, too old not to be. We’d always done terrifying things together. It felt like the first time we jumped into the deep end of the swimming pool, hand in hand, as children.
Looking back on it now with the advantage of age and hindsight I realised how foolish I’d been, how foolish we are when we’re young. Maybe that alone was reason enough for us to have gone our separate ways. I had been too young to understand nuanced grey areas of thought back then, too young to understand discretion and diplomacy and how sometimes we have to say things we don’t really mean just to keep the peace.
My Review:
One of my favorite tropes just so happens to be second-chances, and this couple was more than deserving of a rekindled relationship as they had each been living a rather miserable half-life while a decade apart. Serious health and family issues and tendencies to live too deeply inside their own heads further compounded their pressures and littered their path with landmines. This could easily have been a maudlin tale but Ms. Burton craftily shaped and paced her endearing flawed yet stubborn characters’ insights, memories, and encounters to circumvent the reader falling into the pit of despair.
While the narrative was often melancholy and angsty – which typically has me twitching and sighing in agony – I am absolutely astounded to report that I didn’t seem to mind. Ms. Burton may well have deployed some sort of magical word voodoo on her book file as, despite the angst, the tender quality and ingenious tempo of her superb storytelling kept me fully engaged, deeply invested, and intensely curious about their slowly unraveling and intriguing story. Contemplating this surprising and momentous phenomenon leaves me rather astonished and blinking in amazement. Such a sly and clever wordsmith deserves a five-star rating for that alone.
About the Author
Rachel Burton is the author of the international ebook bestseller The Many Colours of Us. Rachel spent most of her life between Cambridge and London but now lives in Yorkshire with her fiance and their three cats. The main loves of her life are The Beatles and very tall romantic heroes. Find her on Twitter & Instagram as @bookish_yogi or follow her blog at rachelburtonwrites.com. She is always happy to talk books, writing, music, cats and how the weather in Yorkshire is rubbish. She is mostly dreaming of her next holiday.
In this gorgeously stunning debut, a mysterious child teaches two strangers how to love and trust again.
After the loss of her mother and her own battle with breast cancer, Joanna Teale returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her. She throws herself into her work from dusk to dawn, until her solitary routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious child who shows up at her cabin barefoot and covered in bruises.
The girl calls herself Ursa, and she claims to have been sent from the stars to witness five miracles. With concerns about the child’s home situation, Jo reluctantly agrees to let her stay—just until she learns more about Ursa’s past.
Jo enlists the help of her reclusive neighbor, Gabriel Nash, to solve the mystery of the charming child. But the more time they spend together, the more questions they have. How does a young girl not only read but understand Shakespeare? Why do good things keep happening in her presence? And why aren’t Jo and Gabe checking the missing children’s website anymore?
Though the three have formed an incredible bond, they know difficult choices must be made. As the summer nears an end and Ursa gets closer to her fifth miracle, her dangerous past closes in. When it finally catches up to them, all of their painful secrets will be forced into the open, and their fates will be left to the stars.
“Enchanting, insightful, and extraordinary.” —Novelgossip
“A heartwarming, magical story about love, loss, and finding family where you least expect it. This touching novel will remind readers of a modern-day The Snow Child.” —Christopher Meades, award-winning author of Hanna Who Fell from the Sky
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
As always, words fail when you most want to say the right thing… I’ve decided language isn’t as advanced as we think it is. We’re still apes trying to express our thoughts with grunts while most of what we want to communicate stays locked in our brains.
He was teaching her how to play poker, and they were using oyster crackers as betting chips. “First guns, now gambling,” Jo said. “You’re a bad influence.” “Not for long,” he said. “We can’t stop eating our money.”
“And I know what you’ve been through—how it could have …influenced what you did.” Why did everyone think that? She kept her mouth shut, but she wanted to say that she wouldn’t have done anything different if she still had her mother and her breasts and her ovaries. She would love Ursa just as much.
Did she tell you she once snuck a lamb into the hospital? … She knows I love the baby farm animals she works with, so she packs the lamb in her car with its milk, drives up to Chicago, and sneaks it into my room two days after my breasts were removed. She takes this tiny lamb out of a shoulder bag, lays it on my bed, and hands me the bottle. There, she says, who needs tits anyway? There are other ways to give milk.
Before his life fell apart, he’d wanted to be an astrophysicist. He named his daughter Ursa for the Big Bear in the sky, and he’d taught her the names of stars and constellations. When Ursa was afraid of the dark, he would open her window a crack and tell her good magic that fell out of the stars was coming in her window. He said the magic would always keep her safe. After he died, Ursa opened her window wide every night, trying to let in lots of good magic.
My Review:
This captivating book bewitched and enthralled me. I delighted in the unexpected and stealthy hits of clever wit and levity that was surprisingly tucked into the most unexpected places. I gleefully endured the prickling and tauntingly enticing mystery that relentlessly beckoned to me to continue reading and ignore anything and everything beyond the screen of my Kindle.
Ms. Vanderah’s writing was alchemy and I was ensorcelled. I was repeatedly taken with the layered depth of the fascinating and quirky characters as well as the thoughtful creativity of the storylines, which were complex and beautifully textured with cleverly amusing and cringe-worthy details.
I waffled in my theories of whether the girl’s fantastical explanations and alien assertions could be true as she was oddly intelligent and insightful, and far more advanced than many adults in her ability to absorb knowledge or sketch, yet she was a small child with an estimated age of nine. My curiosity was as unabating as Ursa’s quarks. I reveled in this stunning and cunningly crafted tale from beginning to end and was absolutely staggered once aware it was the author’s debut. Glendy Vanderah is definitely one to watch. A Five-Star rating is not enough by half.
About Glendy Vanderah
Glendy Vanderah worked as an endangered bird specialist in Illinois before she became a writer. Originally from Chicago, she now lives in rural Florida with as many birds, butterflies, and wildflowers as she can lure to her land. Where the Forest Meets the Stars is her debut novel.
Four little words, uttered by her husband… ‘Oh my god,’ he gasped into her shoulder. ‘Shannon!’ There’s just one problem: her name isn’t Shannon.
Rewind six months and Scarlett and Rufus aren’t in the honeymoon stage anymore so much as the honey-should-we-bother phase. Desperate to get their sparkle back, Scarlett has plotted, planned and waxed more than any woman should have to, but none of it is working. Which makes it very hard to start the family they want.
At least her business is going strong, even if her marriage isn’t. She and her best friend spend their days tangled up in dog leads and covered in fur. Scarlett/ is the fairy dogmother, training hopeless pets like compulsive eater Barkley, impulsive Romeo Murphy, and bossy Biscuit. Meanwhile, her best friend walks the dogs and pines for the man who doesn’t know she exists. Thank goodness the women have each other.
If only Scarlett could work out how to get her marriage back on track. But Rufus isn’t sharing his feelings with her. He is, though, sharing with her best friend. Her best friend, Shannon.
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My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
‘I don’t have needs.’ ‘You don’t?’ ‘Nope, not me, none. I’m like a self-cleaning oven. No upkeep required. You don’t need to worry about me.’ ‘Well, just remember. It’s not healthy to self-clean for too long.’
Roxy the Rocket, their class’s very own man-eater. She’d been round the campus more times than the Domino’s delivery guy.
A slip of the tongue, Rufus? Really? Exactly where has your tongue been slipping?
That man could put a positive spin on a dysentery epidemic. Sure, I shit my pants, but I went down a belt notch!
Please, Octavia, you’re one to talk about looking unnatural. You’ve been tucked so many times you look like a hospital corner.
My Review:
I adored this delightfully amusing book from beginning to end. The writing was crisp, breezy, and heaving with zingy levity and colorful observations that conjured keen visuals. The storylines were cleverly developed, highly entertaining, and kept me smirking. I will also confess to few outright giggle-snorts escaping my mouth. It wasn’t all fun and games as a few rather unpleasant intrusions to their marital bliss needed to be ironed out and the main characters may have each needed a swift kick or two in the derriere to dislodge their misplaced craniums, but they found their way to my must have and highly satisfying HEA. It is a red-letter day as the dual personality of Lilly Bartlett/Michele Gorman has a new fangirl and I have a new author to stalk.
About the Author
Lilly Bartlett is the pen-name of Sunday Times and USA Today best-selling author, Michele Gorman, who writes best friend-girl power comedies under her own name. Lilly’s books are full of warmth, romance, quirky characters, and guaranteed happily-ever-afters.
Michele writes books packed with heart and humor, best friends and girl power. Call them beach books, summer reads, romantic comedy or chick lit… readers and reviewers call them “feel good”, “thought-provoking” and “laugh out loud”. She is both a Sunday Times and a USA Today bestselling author, raised in the US and living in London with her husband. She is very fond of naps, ice cream, and Richard Curtis films.
Space, the second book in the all-new Laws of Physics Trilogy from Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling author Penny Reid, is available now!
One week.
Private cabin.
Famous physicist.
Still an unrepentant slacker.
What’s the worst that could happen?
Mona’s meticulously planned allotment of relaxation is thrown into chaos by the unscheduled appearance of her older brother’s band of friends, including the one person she’d hoped to never face again. Abram still makes her feel entirely too much, which is one of the reasons she disappeared after their one week together. But now, trapped on a mountain of snow and things unspoken, Mona will have to find a way to coexist with Abram, chaos and all.
Laws of Physics is the second trilogy in the Hypothesis series; Laws of Physics parts 1 (MOTION) & 2 (SPACE) end with a cliffhanger.
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
Sometimes reality feels like a dream. Something happens, and it makes you question everything you know to be true, everything you take for granted about the world, about yourself. When that happens, your surroundings and interactions become likewise warped, like you’re watching those around you through a magnifying glass, or in high saturation color, and you can’t stop. You can’t make the world normal again, you know too much.
I’m not used to pensive Abram. I’m used to salty, sarcastic Abram. What’s going on? Is your manbun too tight?
Fine. Now you know the truth. Leo is a cutie pie and I just want to wrap him up in rice paper and eat him up like an egg roll.
Don’t you roll your eyes at me. You write poetry for barnacle’s sake. You can’t tell me you’re not tender. You’re like veal, or foie gras, but without the sketchy ethics issues.
Mean smiles, no jokes, broody eyebrows. You’re like an arthouse movie but without the nudity.
My Review:
I inhaled this book and didn’t fully exhale until reaching the last cleverly written word. I didn’t plan to greedily read all the highly coveted words in one sitting, but had no choice really, as after I started I was sucked into an oddly intense yet extremely pleasant vortex and was compelled to keep going well past my bedtime. It was a bit of a frenzy but I moved through each and every scene while beside either Mona or Abram the entire time; fully engaged from start to finish. I actively sighed, smirked, snorted, cringed, held my breath, and swore aloud while they dithered and debated.
Be warned – you will experience all the feels in this deviously paced and ingeniously plotted tale. I was mesmerized, bewitched, besotted, and transfixed. While I had eventually grown to love Martin while reading the Hypothesis series, I felt like throat punching him during his brief drop-in visit near the end of this installment. The extraordinarily crafty and deft wordsmith known as Penny Reid obviously possesses a magical sparkle filled pen that has been blessed by the fairies.
“Hi—hello,” she said, stepping forward but not out of the way, drawing my attention.
She was still staring at me, her face still pale, but her eyes had turned searching instead of stunned.
“I—” She stopped herself, swallowing, her gaze dropping to the front of my coat, a cute little frown furrowing her eyebrows. In the next moment, she was pulling off the glove of her right hand. Abruptly, she shoved the ungloved fingers toward me, returning her eyes to mine. “I’m Mona.”
I suppressed my disbelief at her small action before it could break my outward mask of calm. I wasn’t calm. Just to be clear, I was the opposite of calm.
The fact that she was introducing herself to me now meant that she thought I was too stupid to figure out her lies over the last two-and-a-half-fucking years. She was arguably one of the smartest people in the world, after all. To her, people like me must seem like housebroken pets. So it shouldn’t have surprised me. But it did. The tension and tightness around my ribs reappeared, squeezing uncomfortably.
Dropping my attention to her bare hand, I pressed my lips into a tighter line, dismissing the way my pulse jumped at the sight of her wrist, the olive tone of her skin under the yellow string lights overhead. Glaring at her outstretched offering, I considered telling her to go to hell.
I considered it, but I wouldn’t.
I didn’t trust myself to speak, that was reason number one.
The other reason was harder to explain, or use as a justification, or admit to myself. Staring at her hand, I braced against a sudden flare of hunger. She might consider me a lower life-form, but that didn’t change the fact that I wanted to touch her. I wanted to touch her more than I wanted to tell her to go to hell, and that was fucking pitiful.
But there it was.
Acting on the compulsion, I lifted my right hand and tugged off the ski glove, sliding my warm palm against her much colder one. Her hand felt good in my hand, the right weight, the right size, the right texture, and I inhaled freezing air.
Mona also seemed to suck in a slow but expansive breath as our hands touched, held. This brought my eyes back to hers in time to see her lashes flutter. Pink colored her previously pale cheeks. The sound of the wailing wind, the sting of the air and frost momentarily melted away, leaving just her, her soft skin warming against mine, her beautiful face filling my vision.
So beautiful.
She really was. She was stunning. I hated that she was still so beautiful to me.
Penny Reid is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Best Selling Author of the Winston Brothers, Knitting in the City, Rugby, and Hypothesis series. She used to spend her days writing federal grant proposals as a biomedical researcher, but now she just writes books. She’s also a full time mom to three diminutive adults, wife, daughter, knitter, crocheter, sewer, general crafter, and thought ninja.
Rowan Forrester has it all – the happy marriage, the adorable dog, the good friends, the promising business and even the dream home after she and her husband Tom win a stunning but slightly dilapidated Georgian townhouse in London at auction. But in the blink of an eye, Rowan’s picture-perfect life comes crashing down around her and she is faced with the prospect of having to start again. To make ends meet she begins a search for housemates, and in doing so opens the door to new friends and new beginnings. But could she be opening the door to new heartbreak too?
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
He’s such a messy man, she thought. Was a messy man. The change of tense felt like an obscenity.
‘Last few things,’ said Ace, carrying a cactus through his new front door. ‘What on earth is that?’ said Rowan, pointing at the spiky plant. ‘It’s a bit …phallic.’ ‘This is Dick and you’d better not be laughing. He’s been a good friend to me and helped me out of a depression last year.’ … Ace placed the plant pot reverentially on his kitchen table. ‘When I was feeling low last year, my boyfriend bought Dick for me. And before you start questioning its name, it’s because my boyfriend was called Richard, okay? … He was sensitive and supportive when I couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed, wash or eat. We’re talking my boyfriend here by the way, not the cactus.’ … It really worked. It took some weeks but every time I glimpsed Dick sitting on my bathroom shelf, bulbous and proud – the cactus, not my boyfriend – it would make me smile.’
How can your impression of the man you’ve loved, change in an instant? It was as if she was viewing him through a distorted fairground mirror, where his image had changed beyond all recognition.
I never did like that Helen much. Likes to put her oar in but can’t row the boat.
‘You haven’t told me what the doctors have said about your pain. I heard you’d had stomach ache and were having a lobotomy.’ Libby giggled. ‘A laparoscopy.
Don’t talk to me about time flying. Every time I look in the mirror I see less of Enrique Iglesias looking back and more of Julio.
I’m relieved you’re on the mend now they’ve removed those trees from your oasis.’ ‘Endometriosis, idiot.’ ‘That’s what I just said.’
My Review:
Angela Barton is my new favorite author. I adored her sagacious use of clever levity, which handily balanced out the heavier storylines that were fraught with tension, angst, and indecision. The busy plot was highly active, well populated, shrewdly paced, and held my interest throughout with several intriguing concerns and relevant issues. Ms. Barton’s writing was unfailingly engaging and tapped all the feels, frequently swinging between heart squeezing and wittily amusing within the same scene. Her characters were uncommonly and deeply flawed yet they were also uniquely endearing, well drawn, and well-meaning while striving for betterment, although I might have wanted to give several of them a few sassy pinches at various times; except for Ace, who was the perfect comedic foil and had all the best lines and cleverest quips.
About the Author
Angela Barton was born in London and grew up in Nottingham. She is married with three grown-up children and adorable four-year-old twin granddaughters. Angela is passionate about writing both contemporary and historical fiction and loves time spent researching facts for her novels. Having signed publishing contracts for three of her completed novels with Choc Lit’s new imprint, Ruby Fiction, Angela is excited to be working alongside such a lovely team.
Angela and her husband, Paul, recently moved to France and planted a lavender field. She’s looking forward to spending more time writing in the beautiful Charente countryside working from her new writing room, a beautiful shepherd hut. Angela is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and Nottingham Writers’ Studio.
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I’m a regular Aussie chic, with a spunky husband and a few kids.
