Category: 5-Stars

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Book Review: Letters to Lincoln by Tracie Podger

Letters to Lincoln

by Tracie Podger

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / B&N

 

What do you do when your husband dies unexpectedly?
You write him a letter, of course. What do you do when someone answers that letter?Dani was mid-thirties when she found herself alone and without her soulmate.
Coming to terms with her loss took all her strength and her voice.

If Dani thought she’d experienced the worst life could throw at her, she was wrong.

Lies, deceit, confusion surround her.
A stranger, a builder, and a priest comfort her.

Letters to Lincoln is a contemporary romance about overcoming loss, finding the strength to rebuild a life, and learning to forgive.

For readers over the age of 18.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

“Dani and I are just admiring the view,” Mrs. Hampton said. I gasped, silently of course. She had to be well into her seventies, but the naughty chuckle that left her lips and the dig from her elbow into my side had me desperate to laugh out loud… “Dani, I wish I’d brought a couple of chairs and a flask,” she said.

Funny how a field full of dead people can be one of the most peaceful places on the earth isn’t it? But then… of course, it would be peaceful, it’s not like they can talk, is it?

I can be wearing the scruffiest clothes, no makeup, and my hair a mass of tangles, but I feel like a beautiful woman with a dab of perfume behind my ears.

 

My Review:

To clear up any possible confusion, Letters to Lincoln has nothing to do with a dead American President and there were no mentions of a tall bearded man or anyone named Abe. Letters to Lincoln is a British/Contemporary/Women’s Fiction/Family Drama hybrid with an emphasis on family drama, lots and lots of family drama. There were several storylines that often intersect in unexpected and heart-clenching ways with tragedy, betrayals, secrets, lies, loss, friendship, deception, anonymous letter writing, second chances, and new beginnings. Written from a first person POV, this angsty and emotive tale continually squeezed my heart yet plucked at my curiosity and kept me emotionally invested with an insightful and intriguing narrative. Tracie Podger is a master storyteller. I bow to her word prowess.

Author Bio

 

Tracie Podger currently lives in Kent, UK with her husband and a rather obnoxious cat called George. She’s a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor with a passion for writing. Tracie has been fortunate to have dived some of the wonderful oceans of the world where she can indulge in another hobby, underwater photography. She likes getting up close and personal with sharks.

Tracie writes in various genres, Contemporary Romance but likes to explore relationships that are not always easy and there isn’t always a happy ending, Romantic Suspense, Thriller, and Erotic Romance. She likes to have her books feel real with realistic timelines and with strong women who don’t run because the going gets tough. Sex is important between loving people, therefore all her books contain graphic scenes. However, the character’s relationship is more important.

If you would like to know more, please feel free to contact her, she would love to hear from you.

Social Media Links

Facebook    Twitter    Amazon    Instagram

Website    Facebook Reader Group

Facebook Book Club

 

 

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Book Review: Let’s Dance (Scott Family Short Stories #1) by Amanda Paull

 Let’s Dance

(Scott Family Short Stories, Book 1)

by Amanda Paull

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / B&N

 

She’s helping out a friend. His dad’s hip’s gone. Could a farcical mix-up lead to love?

Ballroom dancing is the last thing Laura wants to try. But her best friend is desperate to meet a hip-swinging Adonis, so before she knows it, Laura is cha cha cha-ing in the back of the Dog and Duck with nerdy Ben. At least no one else need ever find out. No such luck. Her mother is armed with a social media page and dangerous. The shenanigans begin. What a pity Ben’s now looking rather dapper. Will he scarper? Or is Ben made of sterner stuff?


If you like innocent, laugh-out-loud family mayhem, you’ll love Let’s Dance, the first Scott Family.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

‘I’ve made a vision board.’ Shona drew a large square in the air with her hands. ‘It has a picture of my perfect man pinned to it – fantastic body. And that posh hotel we like in Ibiza, the one with the huge pool and swim-up bar.’ ‘Won’t the image of a particular man prevent the Universe from sending the one it has picked out for you?’ ‘I cut off his head.’

 

Shona was staring into space and shredding her serviette. ‘I think one of Alf’s eyes has a cast in it. And, the more passionate he tries to look, the more I want to hurl… I really can’t believe it… In Anna-Joules, they said it’s all the rage for meeting hot, not clammy, men… That Vera turning up last night was a stroke of luck. She and Alf will be perfect for each other. She has a cast in the same eye as him,’ laughed Shona. ‘When they face each other, they’ll never have to make eye contact.’

 

Bob sauntered in, in his favourite grey ‘house’ trousers. Maureen glared at them – he wasn’t allowed to wear them in public, on account of the flared legs, which Maureen said were like ‘something out of Saturday Night Fever’ and made him look like a halfwit. He had rescued them from the charity bag twice. Today he’d obviously managed to sneak them under Maureen’s radar.

My Review:

 

This delightfully amusing little tale took me from giggle-snort to wine-spewing and laughing aloud. Over the course of the story, I think I may have aspirated at least a partial glass before I decided to put my goblet down while perusing for safety’s sake. Ms. Paull’s writing was cleverly witty, conjuring crisp and comical visuals while the characters and storylines were such a treat. I zipped right through it once I caught my breath, and was highly desirous for more.

About the Author

Amanda Paull is a writer of humorous romantic fiction. She lives in the North East of England with her husband and works in the public sector. The inspiration for her stories comes from real life, which she tries to show the funnier side of by embellishing to the hilt.

Amanda’s Website: http://www.amandapaull.co.uk

Social Media Links – Twitter: http://twitter.com/Apaullfiction

                       Facebook: http://facebook.com/Apaullfiction

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Book Review: A Virtual Affair: An inspirational story of love and loss. by Tracie Podger

A Virtual Affair:

An inspirational story of love and loss.

by Tracie Podger

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / B&N

Do you know what hope smells like?
It’s a combination of the sea, of exposed seaweed and salty air.
Of wet sand on a winter’s day.

Jayne was mid-forties when she experienced the worst and the best times of her life.
She fell in love, so desperately in love.
She lost everything overnight.

But no matter how bad life gets, how far down that dark tunnel you are, there is always a glimmer of hope.

From her dream house in Kent, via the ‘nuthouse’, and eventually to a cottage in Cornwall, Jayne takes a journey that is to wound, to destroy, and eventually heal her.

This is a story of one woman’s quest to find herself and learn to love herself again.

Is this a story about affairs? No, it’s so much more than that. It’s about depression and loss, love and laughter.

Contemporary Romance for readers over the age of 18. 

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I smiled when I thought of my parents. They lived nearby in Crinkly Bottom as they called it. It was a complex for the elderly.

Before I turned out the light I noticed a white shirt in the laundry bin. It was one of Michael’s.   I pulled it out and held it to my face.   It smelled of him, of his aftershave.   It smelled of her perfume too. I took the shirt into the garden and lifted the lid off the BBQ. I squirted lighter fuel over the top and with my lighter, watched it go up in flames.

Watching my dad die, witnessing the process of death, would live with me forever. As would the smell. There were no words to really describe the smell of death, but it permeated the air, my clothes, and my hair. It was acrid with hints of acetone.

I’d never slept naked before. I had that silly thought instilled from childhood – never sleep naked in case the house caught fire. I had a fear of the fireman having to help me down a ladder with my bare arse on show.

I wanted you from the moment you stumbled on a speed boat. I don’t know what it is about you but I need you. I’ve never connected with someone the way I connect with you. You pull me, all the time.

‘I can’t let go of you,’ he said. ‘Don’t let go of me,’ I whispered.

 

My Review:

 

I finished Tracie Podger’s latest masterpiece of A Virtual Affair with my bruised yet hopeful heart in my throat, tear tracks down my face, and a smile on my lips. Poignant is a word that comes close to describing this book – but it doesn’t quite do it justice. Let me add in real world, relevant, heart squeezing, painfully honest, highly emotive, cleverly insightful, masterfully written, and sneakily humorous. As I read through the book, I frequently mused to myself that Ms. Podger knew far too much about depression and personal pain to be able to give such vivid detail and perfectly descriptive words and passages to the dark feelings of despair and sorrow. In reading her ending letter I found that the book contained, “many truths and a lot of made up stuff,” bingo!

During a cold and unhappy marriage, the main character of Jayne had gradually become a ghost of herself – and like many caged and neglected animals in a zoo – had become complacent in her misery.   Following a traumatic loss, she tumbled into a steep spiral. The inner narrative of her struggles and recovery was deeply moving, and my eyes seemed to develop a strange wetness that just wouldn’t go away. But I don’t want to give the impression that the book is morose and maintained a constant level of gloom and angst – NOT! As with any and all Tracie Podger stories, A Virtual Affair also contained stealthy and welcome hits of clever levity throughout, as well as a few deliciously steamy sensual scenes. Ms. Podger has mad skills, as well as a wicked and underhanded sense of humor that I just adore – more, please!

Author Bio

Tracie Podger currently lives in Kent, UK with her husband and a rather obnoxious cat called George. She’s a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor with a passion for writing. Tracie has been fortunate to have dived some of the wonderful oceans of the world where she can indulge in another hobby, underwater photography. She likes getting up close and personal with sharks.

Tracie writes in various genres, Contemporary Romance but likes to explore relationships that are not always easy and there isn’t always a happy ending, Romantic Suspense, Thriller, and Erotic Romance. She likes to have her books feel real with realistic timelines and with strong women who don’t run because the going gets tough. Sex is important between loving people, therefore all her books contain graphic scenes. However, the character’s relationship is more important.

If you would like to know more, please feel free to contact her, she would love to hear from you.

Social Media Links

Facebook    Twitter    Amazon    Instagram

Website    Facebook Reader Group

Facebook Book Club

 

 

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

It Takes Two

(Bridesmaids Behaving Badly #2)

by Jenny Holiday

 

Amazon | Kobo | iBooks 

 B&N | Google Play

 

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

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

.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

My Review:

 

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

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

The Last

 by Tawna Fenske

 

Amazon / B&N / Universal

 

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

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

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

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

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

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

My Review:

 

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

 

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

 

About the Author    

Goodreads

When Tawna Fenske finished her English lit degree at 22, she celebrated by filling a giant trash bag full of romance novels and dragging it everywhere until she’d read them all. Now she’s a RITA-nominated, USA Today bestselling author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with a quirky twist. Publishers Weekly has praised Tawna’s offbeat romances with multiple starred reviews and noted, “There’s something wonderfully relaxing about being immersed in a story filled with over-the-top characters in undeniably relatable situations. Heartache and humor go hand in hand.”

Tawna lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, stepkids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets. She loves hiking, snowshoeing, standup paddleboarding, and inventing excuses to sip wine on her back porch. She can peel a banana with her toes and loses an average of twenty pairs of eyeglasses per year. To find out more about Tawna and her books, visit www.tawnafenske.com.

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Book Review: Love Heart Lane by Christie Barlow

Love Heart Lane

by Christie Barlow

 Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / B&N 

 

Welcome to Love Heart Lane…

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

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

 

My Rating:

My Review:

 

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

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

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

Author Bio

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

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

website www.christiebarlow.com 

Twitter @ChristieJBarlow 

Facebook page Christie Barlow author

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

 

 Playing for Keeps

Heartbreaker Bay – Book 7

By: Jill Shalvis

Avon Books – Jan 22nd, 2019

 

 Amazon /  B&N / iBooks / Kobo

 

Blurb

If you’re planning on falling in love…

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

You’d better be sure…

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

Someone is there to catch you.

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

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

My Review:

 

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

Author Info

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

 WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS

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

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

 

Rafflecopter Giveaway

($50 Amazon eGift Card)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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Book Review: Perfect Match by Zoe May

Perfect Match

by Zoe May

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA   B&N

 

Can you ever find true love online?

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

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

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

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

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

My Review:

 

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

 

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

 

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

Author Bio –

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

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

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

Social Media Links –

Twitter: https://twitter.com/zoe_writes

https://instagram.com/zoe_writes

 

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Book Review: A Bad Bit Nice by Josie Kerr

A Bad Bit Nice

by Josie Kerr

Amazon / B&N

 

Em Davidson is a curvy, never-married, 43-year-old Internet security analyst who has been working at the wrong job, living in the wrong house, and involved with the wrong man for about 10 years too long. All she wants is a challenging career, her very own home, and an age-appropriate Mister Ideal who will make her toes curl when he kisses her.

Mick Brennan is a bearded, tattooed widower of 20-plus years who thinks, maybe, just maybe, he might be ready to dip his foot back in the dating pool. He might not know exactly what he’s looking for in a relationship, but he knows he doesn’t want a girl half his age.

When Em moves into her dream home, she had no idea that her downstairs neighbor could be her Mister Ideal. When Mick meets his talkative upstairs neighbor, he’s more intrigued by her than he has been in any other woman in two decades.

Can these two lonely people overcome the wounds of their pasts to discover love again?

This contemporary/second-time contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Em, if I had a rack like yours, I would be topless as much as possible.

 

I know it’s only been a week or so, but goddammit, you’re super smart, crazy caring, and hot like fire and I think I could love you, so you need to kiss me or tell me to utterly and completely fuck off.  Either way, put me out of my misery.

 

Mick, honey, what you did to me earlier?  If you’d been more expert at it, I seriously think I would have lost consciousness.

 

Rory, don’t do anything that will get you sent to prison, because I am absolutely not having sex in a trailer!

 

I always knew that Em, Miss National Merit Finalist Summa Cum Everything Smarty Pants, would end up with a tattooed brawler.

My Review:

 

This is undoubtedly my favorite type of book and I whole-heartedly adored this story from start to finish.  I was already marveling at the easy flow and crisp humor as I read the first page.  My eyes nearly popped from their sockets – like Roger Rabbit’s – when I discovered this exceptional tome was the author’s first novel.  I want to rave about its merits.

The story and writing were unique, well-crafted, highly entertaining, and plucked each emotion with surprising depth.  I smirked, snorted, gasped, fanned myself, and at other times – I teared up and… okay… maybe sobbed a little bit.  The characters were middle-aged, adorable, broken, lovable, flawed, thoughtful, and would most likely be easily overlooked in real life.  Moreover, I absolutely must love a woman in her forties who babbles when she is nervous, swears so creatively, just recently bought her first pair of “magical panties,” and often looks at events as “a sign.”

This book was fantastic.  It was humorous, insightful, thoughtful, clever, and witty.  I enjoyed the characters’ teasing, fun banter, and supportive relationships.  The love story was sweet, endearing, and so smokin’ hot my kindle was sizzling.  First novel or 100th, Josie Kerr has mad skills and is definitely one to watch.

About the author

Goodreads

Website

Amazon

Josie Kerr is transplanted West Texan living on the edge of semi-profoundly rural Georgia, a.k.a. the southernmost edge of the northernmost county in Metro Atlanta.

She has an M.Ed. in Secondary English Education but discovered that she hated high school more the second time than she did the first, so she decided to meld her love of technology with her education background and became an Instructional Designer. When not writing articles about how to fire someone without getting sued or why you should really not apply for jobs using your SexxyStud99@aol.com email address, she writes steamy romance novels that feature grown-up Heroes and Heroines.

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Book Review: The Widows by Jess Montgomery

The Widows

by Jess Montgomery

Amazon | Books-A-Million | B & N

Hardcover: 336 Pages

Publisher: Minotaur Books (January 8, 2019)

“The Widows kept me on the edge of my seat. Montgomery is a masterful storyteller.” –Lee Martin, author of Pulitzer Prize-finalist The Bright Forever

Kinship, Ohio, 1924: When Lily Ross learns that her husband, Daniel Ross, the town’s widely respected sheriff, is killed while transporting a prisoner, she is devastated and vows to avenge his death.

Hours after his funeral, a stranger appears at her door. Marvena Whitcomb, a coal miner’s widow, is unaware that Daniel has died, and begs to speak with him about her missing daughter.

From miles away but worlds apart, Lily and Marvena’s lives collide as they realize that Daniel was not the man that either of them believed him to be–and that his murder is far more complex than either of them could have imagined.

Inspired by the true story of Ohio’s first female sheriff, this is a powerful debut about two women’s search for justice as they take on the corruption at the heart of their community.

“In the hard-luck, homespun Appalachian town of Kinship, Ohio, in 1924, two strong women become unlikely comrades to solve a murder in this flinty, heartfelt mystery that sings of hawks and history, of coal mines and the urgent fight for social justice.”–Julia Keller, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Bone on Bone

“Two women, a murdered husband, and the secret life he lived. Set in Appalachian Ohio coal country in 1924, The Widows kept me on the edge of my seat. Jess Montgomery is a masterful storyteller. This is a novel about courage and the good hearts of women, and it builds, almost unbearably, to its stunning end.”–Lee Martin, author of the Pulitzer Prize Finalist The Bright Forever

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

Mama’s round face is so puckered with outrage that her mouth looks like the top of a drawstring purse.

 

My Review:

 

I am in awe of this author, this is her first novel and it was simply stellar! The storytelling was commanding, cunningly crafted, enthralling, emotive, highly descriptive, and smartly nuanced. I was instantly sucked into her vortex and heard a multitude of sounds, accents, and dialects in my head.   I was right there with them, riding in their cars, feeling the dynamite blasts as well as their deep sorrows, and smelling their sweat and fear. The mystery was hopelessly intriguing and appeared an impossibly tangled knot that I feared was without hope for a solution. I was so deeply engrossed in their tale I experienced the conflict of simultaneous relief and grief upon completion. Jess Montgomery’s word voodoo packs a powerful punch and is dangerously hypnotic.

About Jess Montgomery

JESS MONTGOMERY is the Literary Life columnist for the Dayton Daily News and Executive Director of the renowned Antioch Writers’ Workshop in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Based on early chapters of The Widows, Jess was awarded an Ohio Arts Council individual artist’s grant for literary arts and the John E. Nance Writer-in-Residence at Thurber House in Columbus. She lives in her native state of Ohio.

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