Category: 5-Stars

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Book Review: Your Endless Love by Layla Hagen

Your Endless Love

by Layla Hagen

Goodreads

✦ Amazon US / UK / CA / AU

✦ iBooks  /  ✦ Google Play 

✦ B&N    /  ✦ Kobo 

 

An incurable romantic with a chronic case of bad luck with men…

Museum curator Summer Bennett knows that happily-ever-afters are not make-believe. After all, her siblings all found their soulmates, so she’s optimistic her prince charming will come along too…eventually. In the meantime, she focuses on her job and her volunteering—which brings her face to face with one of Hollywood’s hottest A-listers.

When Alexander Westbrook flashes America’s favorite panty-melting smile, Summer’s entire body responds. When she asks him to get involved in the community where she volunteers, Summer is shocked that the Hollywood heartthrob agrees right away. Two weeks working side by side with the world’s sexiest guy, and the game is on.

Far from the public eye, Summer discovers she likes the real Alex even more than his on-screen persona. Secret kisses and whispered conversations spark a fire in her that nothing can extinguish. If only his life wasn’t splashed all over the tabloids…

Alex can’t keep his eyes–or his hands–off of Summer. But she’s too sweet, and too damn lovely to be swept up in his Hollywood drama. His career is at risk, and an iron-clad clause in his contract with the studio makes a relationship impossible. But staying away from her is out of the question.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

As my brother heads to the bunch of kids grouped in the center of the room, I wonder for the millionth time if he’s actually human. He runs a billion-dollar corporation, finds time to woo his wife, and raise four little souls. I’m still going with a radioactive spider bite. Possibly vampire.

 

Some would call my tactics underhanded. Unorthodox is a better word. Much more elegant. A convincing sales pitch takes people skills, which I have in spades. You cannot grow up with eight siblings and not have people skills.

 

Everything we eat during girls’ night doesn’t matter… Gossiping burns a lot of calories…

 

Believing someone’s promise is more complicated than gifting them with yours, because when you chose to believe someone, you give them power over you.

 

My Review:

 

I have learned that I can always count on Layla Hagen’s Bennetts for sweet and steamy stories that are relatively low in conflict and dreaded angst, and I was long overdue for some refreshing relief. Summer and Alex were a charming couple and their story was delightfully crisp and simply adorable while it also brought the heat. The storyline was entertaining and engaging and provided updates on the rest of the massive Bennett clan. I enjoyed their playful banter and sizzling chemistry. But I’m left to wonder what will be next as Ms. Hagen has married off the last of the clan, although there seems to be a large pool of cousins yet to be tapped.

 

 About Layla Hagen   

Website | Twitter | Facebook 

Layla Hagen is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance.

She fell in love with books when she was nine years old, and her love affair with stories continues even now, many years later.

She writes steamy and romantic stories and can’t wait to share them with the world.

She is represented by fabulous Louise Fury (The Bent Agency) 

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Book Review, Giveaway: THE STORY OF OUR LIVES by Helen Warner

THE STORY OF OUR LIVES 

by Helen Warner

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Paperback: 416 pages

Publisher: Graydon House (February 6, 2018)

They think nothing can tear their bond apart, until a long-buried secret threatens to destroy everything.

Every year they have met up for a vacation, but their time away is much more than just a bit of fun. Over time, it has become a lifesaver, as each of them struggles with life’s triumphs and tragedies.

Sophie, Emily, Amy and Melissa have been best friends since they were girls. They have seen each other through everything—from Sophie’s private fear that she doesn’t actually want to be a mother despite having two kids, to Amy’s perfect-on-the-outside marriage that starts to reveal troubling warning signs, to Melissa’s spiraling alcoholism, to questions that are suddenly bubbling up around the paternity of Emily’s son. But could a lie that spans just as long as their friendship be the thing that tears them apart?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Anton was her tutor and over the course of her first year, Emily had grown increasingly attracted to him. In his late thirties, he was tall, tanned, blond and devastatingly charming. He was also devastatingly married with two young children.

 

Melissa’s love life was non-existent. Well, that wasn’t strictly true. Melissa’s sex life was excellent. It was just that there wasn’t much love involved in any of her liaisons…

 

She had so much to apologize for that if she started now, until the end of her life it wouldn’t be enough.

 

Can’t you hunt for Mr Right while still enjoying the company of Mr Wrong?

 

My Review:

 

I was immediately captivated by the vividly descriptive writing style and fell headlong into the engaging and original story of four uniquely compelling women who had met and bonded as teens while living in close quarters during their first year of college. The four had retained a special and supportive bond for over twenty years while enduring harrowing events, spats, betrayals, addictions, illnesses, abuse, pregnancies, child rearing, love affairs, professional gains, and tragic loss. They thought they knew each other inside out although each had at least one long-held secret, indiscretion, or shameful transgression that remained unknown to the others.

While their tale would have been fodder for Jerry Springer or a daytime soap if handled differently, Ms. Warner kept it classy and infinitely intriguing. The storylines were original, relevant, frightfully realistic, and unpredictable while the writing was keenly honed, hypnotically engrossing, and hit all the feels. I adored most of the characters with my favorite being the steadfast and gallant Steve, although the four women were devastatingly infuriating as well as fascinating, insightful, stubborn, and exasperating.   At times they were disappointingly weak and repellent then, thankfully later they were allowed to be surprisingly strong.

Despite their occasional periods of envy and annoyances, they remained unquestionably loyal to each other through it all. At various times I had been disappointed with each to the point of gnashing my teeth, although I was more than pleased with their personal development and emotional maturity by the deeply satisfying conclusion. And as a bonus – I learned a new phrase to add to my ever expanding Brit Word list, “knees up,” which Mr. Google told me was a noun meaning a lively party. Which is something we should have at every opportunity.

About Helen Warner

Helen Warner is head of daytime for Channel 4, where she is responsible for shows such as Come Dine With Me and Deal Or No Deal. Previously she worked for ITV where she launched the daytime talk show Loose Women and was editor of This Morning. She lives in East Anglia with her husband and their two children.

 

Connect with Helen
Website | Goodreads

 

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Book Review, Giveaway: About That Kiss Heartbreaker Bay – Book 5 by Jill Shalvis

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When love drives you crazy, the best thing to do is enjoy the ride!
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About That Kiss

Heartbreaker Bay – Book 5

Jill Shalvis

Avon Books
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When love drives you crazy . . . When sexy Joe Malone never calls after their explosive kiss, Kylie shoves him
out of her mind. Until she needs a favor, and it’s a doozy. Something precious
to her has been stolen and there’s only one person with unique finder-and-fixer
skills that can help—Joe. It means swallowing her pride and somehow trying to
avoid the temptation to throttle him—or seduce him.the best thing to do . . .No, Joe didn’t call after the kiss. He’s the fun time guy, not the forever guy.
And Kylie, after all she’s been through, deserves a good man who will stay. But
everything about Kylie makes it damned hard to focus, and though his brain
knows what he has to do, his heart isn’t getting the memo.… is enjoy the ride.

As Kylie and Joe go on the scavenger hunt of their lives, they discover
surprising things about each other. Now, the best way for them to get over
“that kiss” might just be to replace it with a hundred more.

 AMAZON | B&N |
iBOOKS | KOBO | GPLAY

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Do me a favor and don’t compare me to the women you date… Or whatever you do with them. We all know the only reason you even remember their names is that you take them to the coffee shop in the morning and then read what gets written on their cup.

 

She told me not to mistake her silence for weakness, that no one plans a murder out loud.

 

I actually like being single. I get to be selfish with my time and personal space. I can leave the top off the toothpaste and sleep like a starfish.

 

“Don’t worry honey,” someone said from behind her in line. Eighty-something Mrs. Winslow, who lived on the third floor of the building. The older woman smiled knowingly. “He’ll appreciate your toys. But remember, it’s all fun and games until someone loses the key to the handcuffs.”

 

I know diamonds are supposed to be a girl’s best friend… but then leggings happened. Leggings are the new diamonds.

 

My Review:

 

This was my first Jill Shalvis experience, silly me, I have been missing out. I adored her clever wry humor, breezy storytelling, and endearingly flawed and quirky characters.   About That Kiss was a delightfully entertaining and engaging read that was easy to follow and never failed to hold my interest. Despite being the fifth book in a series, the story stood alone and on solid terra firma.   And I while I never felt lost or confused without previous knowledge, I am sure I would enjoy going backward and acquainting myself with the earlier stories of this lively and alluring group. Each chapter was titled with a popular line from a movie that never failed to bring a smirk to my face if one wasn’t already in place. More, please.

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.
 
 

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Book Review: After Care by L.B. Dunbar

 After Care

by L.B. Dunbar

 

Goodreads

Amazon US  / UK  /  CA  /  AU

Paperback

What do you get when you cross a breast cancer survivor with a sexy, mature man….

 

Blurb:

Breast cancer survivor Edie Williams is ready to live.

Divorced. Mother of two.

She’s planned the vacation of a lifetime for a reboot,

only to encounter an awakening adventure—Tommy Carrigan.

Manager of the band Collision, Tommy Carrigan has his plate full.

Independent. Carefree.

He’s on an annual holiday with his band family,

when the unexpected happens—Edie Williams.

Love might be just what the doctor prescribed,

but can it survive the world of rock-n-roll?

If you enjoyed The Sex Education of M.E., you’ll love After Care, another romance for the over-forty from L.B. Dunbar. Continue the adventure previously published in Love Notes, the newsletter of L.B. Dunbar.

A romance for the over 40.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I was forty-three. I should have been in the prime of my life. Where was that sexual libido return everyone promised me would happen? Oh, right, it walked out the door with a younger model—blonde, thin, and cancer-free under her skin.

 

Marriage was hard work. One in two marriages still ended in divorce. I wasn’t a statistic; I was a trend.

 

When leaving the hospital, aftercare was always part of the experience. What you did after—the procedure, the treatment, the incision that cut deep. However, nothing could have prepared me for how I’d take care of myself after Tommy Carrigan. There was no list, no instruction manual online at patient dot com for matters of the heart.

 

I just want to be close to you… No one’s ever talked like that about me, and I just want to capture it for a little while. I want to hold onto it, if I can. For just a little bit.

 

I bet you’re used to leather and lace, and I’m one-hundred percent cotton.

 

You’ll never be an excuse, darlin’. Always my reason.

 

My Review:

 

Being an, ahem, mature woman on the plus side of forty, I couldn’t help but notice that bookstores have a rather limited selection of engaging offerings featuring vibrant and appealing main characters within my demographic of a platinum-haired goddess. Interesting female characters of my age tend to be written as secondary players, and most typically are the younger heroine’s indulgent or eccentric auntie. With this in mind, I found L.B. Dunbar’s After Care to be a refreshing and welcome change of pace and have a deliriously gleeful urge to erect an altar of pink typewriters in her honor. Not only were her characters highly appealing and alluring, they were smart and well seasoned. The premise was unique and relevant while the storylines were multi-layered, well-crafted, and wily. However, the writing wins the blue-ribbon prize as Ms. Dunbar’s word-craft was delightfully textured and insightful, witty, thoughtfully observant, hit all the feels, and sizzled and snapped with sensuality. I was quickly invested in the tale and remained happily engaged throughout.   Ms. Dunbar has a new fangirl.

 

 

ABOUT L.B. DUNBAR      

Avid drinker of Coca-Cola, L.B. Dunbar loves the sweet things in life. Her affair with all things romantic began with her first book at the tender age of six: Goldilocks and the Three Bears. One can never forget her first! From there, the reading journey includes a deep love of fairy tales, medieval knights, regency debauchery, and alpha males. She loves a deep belly laugh and a strong hug. Occasionally, she has the energy of a Jack Russell terrier. Accused, yes, that’s the correct word, of having an overactive imagination; to her benefit, such an imagination works well. Author of over a dozen novels, she’s created small town worlds, rock star mayhem, and MMA chaos. Her other duties in life include: mother to four growing children and wife to the one and only.

Media Links:

All things L.B.: www.lbdunbar.com

Stalk L.B.: https://www.facebook.com/lbdunbarauthor

Keep up with L.B.: https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/j7j2s0

Insta L.B.: www.instagram.com/lbdunbarwrites

Read L.B.: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8195738.L_B_Dunbar

Tweet L.B.: www.twitter.com/lbdunbarwrites

Pin L.B.: http://www.pinterest.com/lbdunbar/

Amazon L.B.: http://www.amazon.com/author/lbdunbar

Bookbub L.B.: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/l-b-dunbar

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Book Review, Giveaway: RUNAWAY GROOM I Do, I Don’t – Book 2 – by Lauren Layne

 
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“Lauren Layne gets the red rose for this one, and fans of The Bachelor will fall in love with this thoroughly charming story.”—Kate O’Keeffe, bestselling author
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RUNAWAY GROOM
I Do, I Don’t – Book 2
Lauren Layne
Releasing Jan 30, 2018
Loveswept

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For one charming playboy, getting cast on a Bachelor-esque reality TV show is the shock of a lifetime—until he finds love where he least expects it.

Gage Barrett’s reputation as a ladies’ man has been greatly exaggerated, but none of that matters after a drunken bet lands him on Jilted, a reality TV show that matches runaway grooms with wannabe brides. Now he’s stuck at a Hawaiian resort with nineteen women competing to drag him back to the altar—and one contestant who’s even more miserable than he is. Gage has no idea how feisty, independent Ellie Wright wound up in the cast, but it’s obvious she hates his guts. And if there’s one thing Gage likes, it’s a challenge. . . .

Ellie can’t believe she let her best friend talk her into exchanging her dignity for a glorified bikini contest. Still, she could use the exposure—her business is struggling—and she’ll probably be one of the first to get eliminated anyway. But Gage isn’t the shallow jerk Ellie anticipated—and he’s in no rush to send her home. As stolen kisses turn into secret trysts, she finds herself losing track of what’s real and what’s for the camera. With the wedding finale looming, this runaway groom is tempting Ellie to start believing in storybook endings.

NOW AVAILABLE!

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I was one of the few noncrazies in the early stages. One woman carried her pet turtle strapped to her chest. Another woman was stressing about whether the producers would want to count her dual personalities as one contestant or two.

 

Twenty-one. My life has come to this— being known as a number. I’m surprised they don’t tag my ear.

 

They’ve told me to pace myself, but that started to get hard when contestant number six told me (and the rest of America) that her hobbies include Brazilian waxes and flossing, and so help me God, I don’t even know if she was talking about her teeth.

 

But once, just once, I want someone I care about to look at the crapshoot that is my life, to take in the Jilted contract and the Killboy movie shoots and the never-ending tabloid rumors and say, “Yeah, that stuff sucks, but Gage is worth it.” I want to be worth it. Just once.

 

My Review:

 

What fun!   Runaway Groom is destined to be a runaway hit. Packed with smart snarky humor, witty banter, poignant insights, and steamy love scenes, this rom-com is one of Ms. Layne’s best. The story was highly amusing, unfailingly entertaining, and well written with a dual POV. I may require Botox if I continue to follow this author as my face seems to maintain a near constant smirk while reading her clever arrangements of words.

 

Lauren Layne is the New York Times bestselling author of romantic comedies.  She lives in New York City with her husband.
A former e-commerce and web marketing manager from Seattle, Lauren relocated to New York City in 2011 to pursue a full-time writing career. She signed with her agent in 2012, and her first book was published in summer of 2013. Since then, she’s written over two dozen books, hitting the USA TODAY, New York Times, iBooks, and Amazon bestseller lists.
 

 

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Book Review: Don’t Be Afraid by C.A. Harms 

 

Don’t Be Afraid

by C.A. Harms 

 Goodreads

Amazon

 

Have you ever looked at someone and just knew,
knew that they were put in your life for a reason?
The one person that would be not only your best friend, but would be your absolute everything?
That’s how I felt the first time I saw him.
That one day when a few little words changed our entire lives forever…Don’t be Afraid, he said.
Life can change so quickly.
One moment you can be smiling and feeling as if you’re walking on clouds and the next, everything you love, everything you treasure crumbles at your feet.I told him to fight, I told him I needed him.
We needed him.
But there are just some fights that can’t be won…He was my angel then, and he’s still my angel now.
In a way, I believe he’s still looking out for us, giving us a future.
Sometimes it’s as if I can still feel his presence,
guiding us and keeping us safe.

So, I won’t be Afraid.
I’ll live. I’ll fight.
It’s what he would have wanted.

I’ll do it for him…

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I’m scared… I don’t know how to be me without you.

 

Miss him, fall apart. I’m here to pick you up, I promise.

 

He knew I couldn’t help but fall in love with you. How could anyone not see the beauty inside you and be weakened by it?

 

I promised her pancakes and eggs… There may have been a mention of chocolate chips too… What? Isn’t it in the aunt handbook that I should spoil my one and only niece every single chance I get?

 

My Review:

 

While the premise was relevant and predictable, the exceptional quality, depth, and poignancy of Ms. Harm’s writing, as well as the complexity of the explored emotions shared by the characters, were not; and those were the unexpected treasures I gleaned from this heartrending tale. The storylines were robust with all the feels, agony, fear, love, grief, satisfaction, levity, despair, elation, and completion. Tears were often close and on more than one occasion my eyes stung while my throat constricted and burned, and my chest tightened with threats of an ugly cry.   And while I typically prefer to eschew that phenomenon, this thoughtfully written and engaging story was more than worth my distress.

 

 

About The Author

   


C.A. Harms
Goodreads
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I am an Illinois girl, born and raised. Simple and true. I love the little things; they truly mean the most. I may have a slight addiction to my new Keurig—oh my, that thing is a godsend. And so fast too. I have two children who truly are the greatest part of my days, and their faces never fail to put a smile on my face. I have been married to my best friend for seventeen years, and looking forward to many more.

I am one of those authors that adore my readers. I love to hear from you. After all, it is because of each one of you that I continue to write.

 

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Book Review, Giveaway: All of You by Lindsay Detwiler

Title: All of You

Author: Lindsay Detwiler

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: January 27, 2018

Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing

Cover Designer: Soxsational Cover Art

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Add to TBR

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 AVAILABLE NOW! 
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Amazon: US | UK | CA | AU
Kobo | iTunes | Nook

 

There’s no such thing as impossible when it comes to saving the one who holds your heart.
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A sexy doctor who’s restricted by expectations.
A quirky poet who’s defined by her dark past.
All it takes is Alex Evans saving Marley Jade one fateful night for their futures to be realigned. And when a passion sparks between them, they must decide if they can piece each other back together and make love work.

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My Rating:

 

 

Favorite Quotes:

 

You know, not all men are the devil. Look at me. I’m not half bad.

 

He’s everything I’d never imagine my heart fluttering for… I’m more of a Wednesday Adams person, while he seems to be more like a Ward Cleaver. A very sexy, tempting Ward Cleaver, at that. Not that I’m judging. Okay, I’m judging

 

This black-haired, Converse sneakers girl has snagged the sexy, supersmart doctor. I don’t know how the hell it happened, but I think he’s under my super odd, not-so-charming spell.

 

I’m usually pretty low-maintenance because, well, when you live in a town with about five eligible bachelors, all of whom you’ve already slept with at one point and decided against, looking like a cover girl isn’t exactly a priority.

 

My Review:

 

All Of You was a quick, easy to follow, emotive, and heart squeezing story with a sweet and transformative romance between admirable and endearing characters. Written from a dual POV the premise straddled several genres and could be considered part New Adult, women’s fiction, small-town, contemporary romance, and family drama; although all that doesn’t really matter to me as I mainly consider it a well written, entertaining, and engaging read. The storylines were realistic, well constructed, and held my interest and attention throughout.   I enjoyed and cared about the characters and wanted to know all about them. Marley was a bit offbeat for her small-town. She was tattooed, converse clad, clever, and partially broken yet sweet and easily lovable. I was quickly drawn to her and remained quite curious throughout while the wily writer gradually revealed their tragic family secrets at a tantalizing pace, which kept me intrigued and eager for each new tidbit. Alex was the perfect book boyfriend although both characters produced a new and improved version of each other by the book’s satisfying conclusion.   Sigh, they have inspired me today, I seem to be looking forward to the next rainstorm and am even considering pulling out my long mothballed kayak. Miraculous!

 

 AVAILABLE NOW! 

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Amazon: US | UK | CA | AU
Kobo | iTunes | Nook

 

Facebook I Twitter I Website
A high school English teacher, an author, and a fan of anything pink and/or glittery, Lindsay’s the English teacher cliché; she love cats, reading, Shakespeare, and Poe.
She currently lives in her hometown with her husband, Chad (her junior high sweetheart); their cats, Arya, Amelia, Alice, and Bob; and their Mastiff, Henry.
Lindsay’s goal with her writing is to show the power of love and the beauty of life while also instilling a true sense of realism in her work. Some reviewers have noted that her books are not the “typical romance.” With her novels coming from a place of honesty, Lindsay examines the difficult questions, looks at the tough emotions, and paints the pictures that are sometimes difficult to look at. She wants her fiction to resonate with readers as realistic, poetic, and powerful. Lindsay wants women readers to be able to say, “I see myself in that novel.” She wants to speak to the modern woman’s experience while also bringing a twist of something new and exciting. Her aim is for readers to say, “That could happen,” or “I feel like the characters are real.” That’s how she knows she’s done her job.

Lindsay’s hope is that by becoming a published author, she can inspire some of her students and other aspiring writers to pursue their own passions. She wants them to see that any dream can be attained and publishing a novel isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

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Book Review: Smoke and Mirrors (City Limits Series #3) by M. Mabie

Smoke and Mirrors
by M. Mabie

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Smoke and Mirrors is LIVE, 99¢, and FREE in KindleUnlimited!

Contemporary Romance| Second Chance Romance

Smoke and Mirrors is the third standalone in the City Limits series. It features a new couple navigating their second-chance romance. Enjoy this love story between a fireman who has returned home from the military and the single mom he left down the street. Welcome to Wynne.

Blurb

My best laid plans had backfired. I’d thought by putting miles between myself and my first love that she’d be free to live whatever life she’d wanted, but when I came back from serving my country and Faith was raising her little girl alone, it was time to make new plans.

In eight years, not a single day had passed when she wasn’t on my mind, and not a night went by when I didn’t miss her. She was fierce and stunning and didn’t need a man in her life, but when the time came—and she wanted one—the line would start behind me.

Like smoke, I’d let her slip through my fingers once, but I’d never forgive the man in the mirror if I let it happen again. She was the fire inside me that would never burn out.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Mrs. Downing, now isn’t a good time to flirt with me. They’re going to think you have a head injury.

 

He licked his fork clean and then stuck the plastic handle in the front pocket of his denim overalls. He patted the disposable silverware and said to me, “I’ll need this for dessert.”

 

I’ve got baggage. Luggage, really. Tons of it.

 

I sent them a pic of you cleaning out Darrell’s gutters… Oh, come on. You took your shirt off twenty feet away from my window. Girl code mandates sending a picture to my best friends.

 

Son, the inside of this house is like its heart, and it’s beautiful. But the front porch is the face and it looks like a divorcee who needs night cream.

 

“I think she’s poopin’. She’s been in the bathroom for a long time.” There was some rustling around on the other end, and then she bellowed. “Mom, are you still poopin’? Aaron’s on the phone… I’ll talk to you until she’s done. Sometimes it takes a while.” Again she shouted at her mother. “Do you need some toilet paper?”

 

It’s funny how a moment can be so big that you worry it won’t fit in your heart, but then you feel your insides swell and it finds a place.

 

My Review:

 

Smoke and Mirrors was a comfortable, pleasant, and easy read populated with adorable, endearing, quirky, and lovable characters. The premise was realistic, easy to follow, and relevant while the characters were common, small-town, everyday working-class people, who were uncommonly good and exceptionally appealing. I relished this sweet couple and Ms. Mabie’s engaging dual POV narrative from start to finish. Add in a precocious, feisty, and precious four-year-old then blend it all together with wit, cunning insights, smirk-inducing levity, a sweet and steamy love story, and clever writing, and you have a delightful and entertaining book to cherish and enjoy.   I didn’t notice how ingenious the title was until I made the connection of Aaron, the male protagonist, being a fireman. A kind, thoughtful, sweet, and sexy fireman. I fell in love with him right away and he just kept getting better and better. I hope Ms. Mabie continues this charming and breezy series in perpetuity; after all, she has an entire town to pick and choose from.

Smoke and Mirrors TEASER SQ

If you haven’t yet started the City Limits series of Standalone, you can find them on KU.

Roots and Wings(City Limits, #1 – Standalone)  bit.ly/CityLimits1

Sunshine and Rain (City Limits, #2 – Standalone) bit.ly/2CityLimits

 

City Lmits Facebook Cover Photo

Roots and Wings FB AD SIZE teaser

M. Mabie is the writer who made thousands of readers hate to love (and love to hate) the angst-filled contemporary romance, Bait.

She lives in Illinois with her husband. She writes unconventional love stories and tries to embody “real-life romance.” She cares about politics, but will not discuss them in public. She uses the same fork at every meal, watches Wayne’s World while cleaning, and lets her dog sleep on her head.

She has always been a writer. In fact, she was born with a pen in her hand, which almost never happens. Almost. M. Mabie usually doesn’t speak in third-person. She promises.

www.MMabie.com

Newsletter: mmabie.com/subscribe

Bookbub: bookbub.com/authors/m-mabie

Facebook: Facebook.com/AuthorMMabie

Take the Bait Reader’s Group: facebook.com/groups/takethebait

Instagram: @m_mabie

Twitter: @AuthorMMabie

Amazon: amazon.com/author/mmabie

 

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Book Review, Giveaway: Mend by Chelle Bliss

Mend 

by Chelle Bliss

 

From USA Today bestselling author Chelle Bliss comes a feel-good, sexy second-chance STANDALONE romance.

Six years ago, the only girl I ever loved moved away.
She said she’d come back to me.
She promised she’d write.
She swore she’d always be mine, but Evie Bailey lied.

Now, Evie’s back, and this time, I’m not letting her go without a fight.

Before senior year, I was forced to move away, leaving behind the only boy I ever loved.
He said he’d love me forever.
He promised nothing would tear us apart.
He swore he’d wait for me, but Jack Nelson lied.

Now, Jack wants to make me his again, but he may never be able to forgive my sins.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I loved her from the moment she walked into homeroom on the first day of eighth grade. The fact that she had on a Nirvana T-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans just made me fall even harder.

  

He’s about as exciting as a piece of toast… The man doesn’t even eat dessert. Who doesn’t eat dessert? It’s unnatural…He’s definitely not a keeper… I can’t be with someone who doesn’t appreciate a great cupcake or even a cookie, for shit’s sake.

 

Shave your bits, girl. You may get lucky tonight… I like a great hairy leg, but yours is a bit prickly. I don’t think Jack will approve… You’ll need a machete to get through that jungle, doll…

 

My Review:

 

Mend was a quick and easy read with an engaging, sweet, and somewhat steamy love story occurring over two time periods.   Packaged with endearing characters, an emotive and heart-squeezing yet entertaining narrative of young love, conniving villains, snarky levity, small-town pettiness, and a sweet first and second-chance romance; Chelle Bliss has completely satisfied my wishlist for today. Loves me some Chelle Bliss!

AMAZON – chellebliss.com/mend-amz

IBOOKS – chellebliss.com/mend-ibooks

NOOK – chellebliss.com/mend-nook

KOBO – chellebliss.com/mend-kobo

GOOGLE – chellebliss.com/mend-gp

SIGNED COPY – chellebliss.com/mend-signed

Mend Release Giveaway

Chelle Bliss is the USA Today bestselling author of Misadventures of a City Girl, the Men of Inked series, Enshrine, and the ALFA Investigations series. She hails from the Midwest, but currently lives near the beach even though she hates sand. She’s a full-time writer, time-waster extraordinaire, social media addict, coffee fiend, and ex high school history teacher. She loves spending time with her two cats, alpha boyfriend, and chatting with readers.

Where to follow and connect with Chelle Bliss

WEBSITE – FACEBOOK – NEWSLETTER – TWITTER – INSTAGRAM

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 Book Review: Girl Unknown by Karen Perry 

 Girl Unknown

by Karen Perry 



Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound


 Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (February 6, 2018)

“Explores emotional danger with relentless, surgical accuracy.”—Tana French, New York Times bestselling author of The Trespasser and Into the Woods

David and Caroline Connolly are swimming successfully through their marriage’s middle years—raising two children; overseeing care for David’s ailing mother; leaning into their careers, both at David’s university teaching job, where he’s up for an important promotion, and at the ad agency where Caroline has recently returned to work after years away while the children were little. The recent stresses of home renovation and of a brief romantic betrayal (Caroline’s) are behind them. The Connollys know and care for each other deeply.

Then one early fall afternoon, a student of sublime, waiflike beauty appears in David’s university office and says, “I think you might be my father.” And the fact of a youthful passion that David had tried to forget comes rushing back. In the person of this intriguing young woman, the Connollys may have a chance to expand who they are and how much they can love, or they may be making themselves vulnerable to menace. They face either an opportunity or a threat—but which is which? What happens when their hard-won family happiness meets a hard-luck beautiful girl?

 

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

There is an energy on campus during those first weeks of the new semester that is like nothing else. The air is charged with the frisson of possibility. A cheerful busyness takes hold, giving a new life and sheen to every faded surface, every jaded room… I felt it too— the beat of possibility, the urge to get a head start on the year. After seventeen years working at this university, I was still not immune to the buoyant lift of first-term energy.

 

We never had children because I didn’t want them. Any child I had with you might be born with a dorsal fin and several rows of teeth.

 

Mum had stepped toward the bed and was standing with one hand upon it, quietly contemplating it, when it occurred to me that the previous inhabitant had probably died in this room, in that very bed Mum was touching. And in all likelihood, my mother would die here too. A strange vertiginous thought. I felt like someone had punched me with it. I couldn’t escape the feeling that by moving her into this room I was somehow hastening her doom.

 

That night in the cold darkness at the top of the stairs, overhearing the conversation, that was the moment when things began to unravel for me… A pinched, mean voice inside me whispered: If you are not the love of his life, then what makes you so sure he is yours? … Like a stone dislodged deep inside me, I felt the structure of my being start to crumble.

 

She had the cool beauty of a glassy lake on a cold day— you wanted to stare at it, to take it all in, though you wouldn’t want to touch it. A coldness that seemed biting.

 

My Review:

 

Girl Unknown was a gripping and enthralling read that steadily built and maintained an intriguing and inescapable level of tension and suspense as well as an unmistakable sense of impending doom from the very first word of the bewitching prologue to its devastating conclusion.   I gasped in disbelief, cringed, flinched, held my breath, clenched my fist, and even growled in frustration at the annoyingly dense David, yet I was mesmerized by the storyline, transfixed by the narrative, embedded and engaged with the characters, and physically unable or unwilling to put my Kindle down any longer than necessary. The characters were as hypnotically intriguing as they were repellent and fractured. I loathed/loved/despised/pitied them in equal measure. Adulting did not happen yesterday. The storyline was cleverly well-crafted, alluring, and maddeningly fascinating while the writing was keenly honed, insightfully observant, well detailed, emotive, and infuriatingly well-paced. I must stalk these talented wordsmiths at every opportunity!

  

About Karen Perry

Karen Perry is the pen name of Dublin-based authors Paul Perry and Karen Gillece. Together they wrote Girl Unkown.

 Paul Perry is the author of a number of critically acclaimed books. A recipient of the Hennessy Award for New Irish Writing, he teaches creative writing at University College, Dublin.

Karen Gillece is the author of several critically acclaimed novels. In 2009 she won the European Union Prize for Literature (Ireland).

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