Category: Book Reviews

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Book Review: One More Promise (Band on the Run #2) by Samantha Chase

One More Promise

by Samantha Chase

 

Goodreads

Amazon

B&N

 

Dylan Anders is making amends
…to his family
…to the public
…to the woman who just walked into his life

Paige Walters must learn to forgive
…her busy father
…her bossy sister
…and the wonderful man she horribly misjudged

Ambitious Paige Walters is ecstatic when she’s hired to recruit musicians for a literacy campaign—it’s her chance to prove she’s got the chops to make it in the family business. When Dylan steps in, she immediately dislikes him and vows not to let the fallen idol screw it up. But as the work brings Paige and Dylan closer together, their attraction grows…and so do their challenges…

Shaughnessy Brothers: Band on the Run series
One More Kiss (Book 1)
One More Promise (Book 2)
One More Moment (Book 3)

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Leave it to his parents to think all he needed to get started on this new life was a new suitcase.

 

Ariel didn’t smile. She rarely did. She thought it caused wrinkles.

 

She wasn’t even his usual type, but it turned out his usual type wasn’t particularly good for him.

 

A man knew when to pay attention, and Dylan learned early on that food was to Paige what flowers were to some women.

 

My Review:

 

This was a relatively light and easy to follow story with a slowly developing romance between Dylan, a newly rehabbed and tattooed bad boy rock-star with his reputation in tatters; and Paige, the mousy, uptight, and generally overlooked yet anxious to please PR executive who was assigned to be his handler. Paige worked in her father’s firm and her family was rather vile, yet they provided most of the comic relief.

If you have ever read a romance novel at any time in your life then, of course, you already know the outcome, yet the story was entertaining with a few delightfully naughty bits, and the characters were sweet and endearingly flawed.  Although, I was slow to fully warm up to Paige as she was initially rudely judgmental and inflexible.  I did not expect the former hard-partying man-ho rock-star to be the most level-headed, considerate, and thoughtful character in the book, but I adored the sweet and sexy Dylan.

Most girls/women have had a rock-star or famous actor fantasy or two – um thousand, yes, I will fess up… I’ll own it and wave my hands in the air like I do not care. While I don’t read rocker romances often, there are times I need something lighter in tone to break up the tedium or alleviate the residual heaviness from over-servings of angst or brain scrambling thrillers, and this sexy bad boy with a bad rep for fast living and hard partying came at a good time. And well, it’s from Samantha Chase, nuff said.

About the Author

Website

Twitter

Goodreads 

Amazon

New York Times and USA Today Bestseller/contemporary romance writer Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan’s Return, in November 2011. Although she waited until she was in her 40’s to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Her motivation to take that step was her students: teaching creative writing to elementary age students all the way up through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams gave Samantha the confidence to take that step as well.


When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading contemporary romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina.

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Book Review: A Different Game (A Wrong Game Novel) by Charlie M. Matthews

Book: A Different Game (A Wrong Game Novel)
Author: Charlie M. Matthews
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: 30th January

#ADifferentGameTour


Add to your reading list now: Goodreads
Buy The Book


Blurb

You know that saying: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

I found out that it was true. At least, that’s what I’d thought a year earlier when a few stolen moments with this one, unexpected girl, turned my heart to mush.

I thought she was different.

I thought she was special.

But it turned out I was wrong.

I was the kind of guy who learned from his mistakes quickly, so I moved away, threw myself into my budding football career, and I was determined to make something of myself and focus on my future.

And it worked, despite me missing her.

For a short while, I had everything figured out again.

Then, in one split second, it was all gone, ripped out from beneath my feet.

An injury forced me back home to Winslow to face the world I’d left behind.

But I wasn’t the same man when I returned.

I was different now. Too different for everything to go back the way it was before.

-Jake

 

I wasn’t the relationship type. I was the girl who mothers warned their sons about. I was the local piece of trash.

At least, that’s what they all thought.

None of them ever really knew me at all. None of them except him.

And then he left me… alone and confused. He forced me to hate him, to hate them all. I wanted to drift away. Leave Winslow far behind me and start afresh someplace else. Someplace new. Somewhere I could become anything and anyone I wanted to be.

But then he came back, dragging with him every moment, every explicit memory I had of us together and dumping them unceremoniously at my feet.

I wanted to keep hating him.

I wanted to resist.

But he was different now.

So cold, so angry, and sexy as all hell.

He’d changed, and all my plans for a happy ever after were shattered the moment he made the decision to return and show me exactly what I’d been missing while he’d been gone. I was screwed.

-Melanie

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My Rating:

 

My Review:

The story for A Different Game continued from the first in the series, The Wrong Game, but could easily stand-alone.  The premise was interesting and the storylines featured a mercurial and atomically sensual relationship between two unlikely former college lovers with an unfortunate history, as well as uniquely dysfunctional family dynamics in both households.  The family drama had understandably resulted in significant and long-term damage to all parties.  While it was well-written, I struggled with this book as I am just not a fan of constant conflict and this story was a full-on angst-fest.  I was further hampered by my difficulty in scraping up an appreciation for many of the characters as they were not easily likable and more than a bit obnoxious and prone to immature and selfish behavioral patterns.  Yet Ms. Matthew’s unique brand of storytelling and compelling narrative held my attention and I couldn’t seem to put my Kindle down, despite my desire to growl and sigh despondently at the characters’ toxic and melodramatic train wreck displays.  Craftily written from a dual POV, I found considerably more enjoyment and appeal in the characters’ inner musings than in their interpersonal interactions.  Melanie was my least favorite of the cast with her past behaviors, which were briefly recapped from the previous book, being highly promiscuous as well as maliciously vile and toxic; and although she believed herself to have “changed” after college graduation, those behaviors were not all behind her as she could still switch on the vicious and cruel harpy and spitefully lash out at will.  Yikes.  While this one may not have been tailored to my personal preference, if you feast on angst, emotional conflicts, and relationship dramas, then this is the book for you.

About the Author

Charlie M. Matthews is a hopeless romantic, lost in her own world of fairy tales and adventures. A lover of art and painting, she’d happily trade in her everyday clothes in exchange for a paint smudged shirt. In the confines of her attic room, she is able to create a world that is unlike no other. Mixing fantasy and fiction to generate a piece of work that she could so easily lose herself in. With her wild imagination and passion for reading, Charlie stumbled upon a new love.

Writing…

What started as a distraction from the crazy little thing that is ‘life’, it soon became all too real. She no longer dreamt about the day her words would be published for all to see because that day had finally come true. It 2015 she released her first novel and hasn’t looked back since.

Charlie is a mum of three beautiful children, living in a small village on the outskirts of Oxfordshire, England. Born and raised in the busy town of Reading, she switched the bright lights and traffic jams for a quiet life in the sticks a little over eight years ago.

Between school runs and generally just doing the whole ‘mum’ thing, you’ll most likely find her slobbing out on the sofa, shouting at the tv screen while her favourite football team (Arsenal) are tearing up the field. And yes, no doubt there will be beer involved, or if she’s feeling extra girlie, maybe even a glass of vino.

Connect with Charlie on social media
Twitter: @C_MMatthews
Buy The Book




Other books in the series

The Wrong Game

Buy The Wrong Game
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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: Should’ve Been You  (Man Enough #3) by Nicole McLaughlin 

Should’ve Been You

 (Man Enough #3)

by Nicole McLaughlin 

Goodreads

Amazon

 

Childhood neighbors get a chance at love in Should’ve Been You, an achingly romantic novella in Nicole McLaughlin’s Man Enough series!

National Guardsman Jase Beckford wants to live a quiet life raising cattle and taking care of his mother. His childhood friend and neighbor Hannah is still his best friend, but when he walks into the Walters house one morning and sees her twin sister Becca for the first time in five years, he wonders if he missed out on something special.

Becca Walters has nursed a secret crush on Jase since childhood, but he always preferred Hannah, so she buried her feelings assuming her sister and Jase would one day turn their flirtation into a real relationship. And this Christmas, she is anticipating a proposal of her own, so Jase’s reappearance in her life doesn’t mean anything. Much. Okay, maybe more than Becca would like to admit.

However, when Becca’s sister gets engaged to someone who’s not Jase, Becca and Jase find themselves spending more together. And when secrets are revealed, suddenly those dormant feelings come back to life; but is the possibility of something between them worth risking the happiness of everyone they love?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Turkey Bacon… I have an open mind about many things, I’ll have you know. But the sanctity of pork fat is not one of them.

 

I was just thinking that if you’d been my middle-school teacher, I would not have been able to focus… All men— no matter their age—can appreciate a beautiful woman. Even teachers are fair game for the spank bank.

 

Aiden was a big guy. Goatee, shaved head, enough muscles for three men.

 

Sometimes I miss having a man around. I mean . . . obviously they have their uses.

 

My Review:

 

I enjoyed this quick and entertaining tale of a recent veteran who had returned to his small rural Kansas community while continuing to serve with the National Guard while establishing his new venture into cattle. His human relationships proved to be a bit trickier and considerably more complicated. I had not read the previous books in the series and apparently did not need to as was never confused, although I was feeling the prickling of curiosity as his fellow guardsmen sounded interesting and quirky. The premise was interesting and relevant, the storylines were easy to follow and engaging, and characters were likable and endearing. I was satisfied with the happy for now ending to the blossoming romance and would be interested in continuing the series with all the previous and future installments.

About the Author 

Amazon  Website

Nicole loves to read, bake, make lists, and binge watch an entire television show season in one day. She lives with her husband and three boys in a small town outside of Kansas City.

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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.

 

 CONNECT WITH ME

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Book Review, Giveaway: When the Stars Come Out – A Cottonbloom Novel By Laura Trentham

 

When the Stars Come Out

A Cottonbloom Novel

By Laura Trentham

 

Cottonbloom. A beautiful, faraway place where a woman can escape her past—and find reason to stay forever in Laura Trentham’s When the Stars Come Out. . .

Willa Brown never planned to stay in Cottonbloom. She was on the way to somewhere else when she landed there and found work at the Abbot brothers’ garage. . .and a sense of comfort and safety that she had never known. The same holds true for Jackson Abbott himself. With one glance in her direction, he can make Willa’s heart melt. But what begins as an unrequited crush turns into something far more powerful than Willa could have ever imagined. . .

Jackson’s most meaningful relationship has always been with his car—and he’s not afraid to admit it. Still, he can’t help but become emotionally entangled with his new star mechanic Willa, who is definitely hiding some dark secrets of her own beneath the hood. Jackson desperately wants Willa to trust him, and to seek protection in his arms. But even as the two slowly surrender to their shared attraction, the danger lurking in Willa’s past remains a stubborn obstacle. Can she open up enough to give them both a chance at having real and lasting love?

 

Praise for When the Stars Come Out

“The fifth installment in the Cottonbloom series, following Leave the Light On (2017) is hot and sweet, and readers will cheer for Willa and Jackson. Fans of Kristan Higgins and Susan Mallery will love the immersive world that Trentham has created in Cottonbloom, a small southern town divided by the Mississippi River.” Booklist

“When the Stars Come Out is a tender and sexy small-town tale of blossoming love.” BookPage

Returning to Cottonbloom has never been sweeter, When The Stars Come Out is pure literary magic, it’s sure to have readers mesmerized from start to finish!! Red’s Romance Reviews, 5 stars

 

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Country Aire trailer park wouldn’t get a magazine spread unless it was in Trailers and Trash, but she’d lived in far worse places.

 

With curly red hair and dark blue eyes, she crackled as if an electrical current gave her endless energy.

 

The Honda coughed like a lifelong smoker that needed an oxygen tank.

 

The only new clothes Willa splurged on were underwear. Apparently, the line she wouldn’t cross in the name of poverty was buying used panties.

 

Everything the man did was sexy and arousing. She pictured him with a wrench in his hand and the flex of his biceps as he torqued a bolt. Her inner muscles clenched. Next time she saw him do that she might require resuscitation on the shop floor.

 

“I have a feeling all those Abbott brothers are good with their hands. I know Wyatt sure is. Comes from working on cars, I’d guess.” Sutton made a sound like she’d tasted something delicious.

 

 My Review:

 

This was a cleverly amusing, heart squeezing, emotive, and angsty read that was packed with family drama, quirky characters, and wry humor, and written from my favorite dual POV. Deftly detailed with lush descriptions the story flows in an agile and engaging manner while Ms. Trentham kept the sharp and colorful visuals smoothly scrolling through my gray matter while the stalwart and admirable character of Jackson was rattled from his routine enough to find what he needed was right under his nose, although the anxious and skittish Willa made him work for it.

When The Stars Come Out could easily be read as a stand-alone book although it continues on from the established storyline with many of the characters from the previous book in the series, Leave The Night On. And while you don’t need to have read the previous book, it was also an engaging and fun story and would deepen your enjoyment of this clever tale. I was intrigued by the various multi-layered storylines and characters as Willa’s secrets were slowly being revealed. Willa was a complicated and fretful character and I found her to be somewhat frustrating as she was severely lacking in interpersonal skills and was rather cowardly as her fight or flight response was always flight, which had lead to some bad decisions. Of course, I’ve never made any of THOSE myself. 😉 There were several subplots and lots going on yet the ending pulled most of it together nicely with a surprising twist and a few treats, while also lighting a fuse for the next installment, which I am already eager to get my mitts on.

 

Giveaway 

Enter to win the first four (4) books in the Cottonbloom series!

 Kiss Me That Way, Book 1

Then He Kissed Me, Book 2

Till I Kissed You, Book 3

Leave the Night On, Book 4

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Author Bio

An award-winning author, Laura Trentham was born and raised in a small town in Tennessee. Although, she loved English and reading in high school, she was convinced an English degree equated to starvation. She chose the next most logical major—Chemical Engineering—and worked in a hard hat and steel toed boots for several years.

She writes sexy, small town contemporaries and smoking hot Regency historicals. KISS ME THAT WAY, Cottonbloom Book 1, won the Stiletto Contest for Best Long Contemporary and finaled in the National Readers Choice Award. THEN HE KISSED ME, Cottonbloom Book 2, was named an Amazon Best Romance of 2016 and was a finalist for the National Excellence for Romance Fiction. TILL I KISSED YOU, Cottonbloom Book 3, is a finalist in the Maggie contest. LEAVE THE NIGHT ON, the latest Cottonbloom book, was named an iBooks Best Book of the Month and a Recommended Read from NPR.

Social Media Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLauraTrentham

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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

 

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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: Diamonds and Dirt Roads Billionaires in Blue Jeans #1 by Erin Nicholas

Diamonds and Dirt Roads
Billionaires in Blue Jeans #1
by Erin Nicholas 
 
                 
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A pretend relationship…within a pretend relationship.

Attorney Evan Stone knows every crazy stipulation in billionaire Rudy Carmichael’s will. After all, he wrote it. And he’s determined to make sure each one is fully met by Rudy’s triplet daughters. Even if that means dating the workaholic CEO, Ava. Or pretending to at least. And even if it means resisting the so-right-for-him-she’s-totally-wrong party girl, Cori.

Cori’s only got three things on her to do list from her dad:
• Move to Bliss, Kansas.
• Run his pie shop with her sisters for a year.
• No dating. For six months.

But stepping in for her sister when it’s clear that Ava and Evan aren’t fooling anyone with their “romance” isn’t really dating. And falling for her sister’s pretend boyfriend while pretending to be her sister…well, that’s ridiculous. No matter how real things feel whenever she and Evan are together.

THE SERIES

Billionaires in Blue Jeans
Not your typical billionaire romances…

A tough corporate CEO, a nerdy research scientist, and a globe-trotting party girl walk into a conference room…

Where the sisters, Ava, Brynn, and Cori, find out they have been named co-heirs to their father’s multi-billion dollar conglomerate. Whether they want it or not.

But they also inherit a list of conditions that have to be met:

One, move to Bliss, Kansas–wherever that is–for a year.

Two, run their father’s pie shop together. Yes, a pie shop.

Three, follow his edicts for their love lives. Yep, he went there.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right? But the girls are going to have some help. Evan, Parker, and Noah, best friends and lifelong residents of Bliss, are equally fascinated with and dreading the idea of meeting the triplets they’ve heard so much about. The small town guys didn’t know their kooky friend, Rudy, was a billionaire until he was diagnosed with cancer. But they did know he was a guy they would do anything for. Even help his very fish-out-of-water daughters navigate small town life. And make pie. And maybe fall in love.

It’s possible Rudy knew exactly what he was doing when he wrote his will.

It’s equally possible that he was completely crazy.

No matter what, everyone can agree on one thing…Bliss, Kansas is never going to be the same.

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My Rating:

 

Favorite Quotes:

 

There was plenty to mourn when it came to her and her father. His death was not even number one on the list.

 

He’d actually thought briefly about how a six-month public relationship with her would keep him essentially celibate, but then he’d quickly stopped thinking about that when he’d started to hyperventilate. He’d told himself he could make it for six months. He was a grown man, for God’s sake. He could sacrifice for a greater good. People went off to war, after all. And into space. And…other places where they couldn’t have sex for long periods of time even if he couldn’t think of one at the moment.

 

I’m sitting here feeling like a regular, dumb-ass guy who just happened to rub a lamp and ended up with a goddess genie in his lap and I was hoping to get a really good taste of you before you figured out how much better you could do.

 

You should never say all of it to me… All is a lot with me. I’m best in small doses.

 

My Review:

 

Diamonds and Dirt Roads was an entertaining and enjoyable read despite the somewhat complicated premise that featured well-educated, wealthy, and privileged identical triplets who were vastly different in personality and temperament, and requiring them to adhere to precise social and vocational stipulations while living together in a small-town, and gasp working in a pie shop selling their own creations, or forfeit billions in inheritance.  I enjoyed the well-crafted and multileveled storylines, which were as insightfully thoughtful as they were cleverly amusing. The characters were endearingly quirky, enticingly complex, and whip-smart. I reveled in Ms. Nicholas’s storytelling, clever levity, sharp wordplay, humorous and titillating verbal sparring, witty banter, sassy word duels, and provocative teasing. And in the midst of all this upheaval, role reversals, and family drama, a sweet, transformative, and steamy love story took root where it was not supposed to, which of course, made it all the more alluring. 

 

About the Author

 

Erin Nicholas is the author of sexy contemporary romances. Her stories have been described as toe-curling,  enchanting, steamy and fun. She loves to write about reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines and happily ever afters. She lives in the Midwest with her husband who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books, her kids who will never read the sex scenes in her books, and family and friends who say they’re shocked by the sex scenes in her books (yeah, right!).

You can find Erin on the web at  www.ErinNicholas.com, www.ninenaughtynovelists.blogspot.com, on Twitter (http://twitter.com/ErinNicholas) and even on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/erin.nichola…)