Category: Book Reviews

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Book Review: Murder in an Irish Castle (A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #12) by Verity Bright  @BrightVerity  @Bookouture 

Murder in an Irish Castle
(A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #12) 
by Verity Bright

 

Amazon/ B&N /  BB

 

Irish whiskey, rolling green hills, a traditional Christmas feast and… a murder? Lady Swift will need the luck of the Irish to survive this holiday season!

Christmas, 1924. Lady Eleanor Swift has received a rather unexpected invitation to the village Christmas party in the tiny, rural hamlet of Derrydee in the west of Ireland. Eleanor is thrilled about exploring her ancestral roots at her late uncle’s estate and spending the festive season in a castle. Packing Gladstone the bulldog’s coziest Christmas jumper, they set off to the Emerald Isle with her butler Clifford in tow.

Arriving late at night, Eleanor and Clifford are shocked when they find a body sprawled in the snow on the winding country lane outside the estate. The local constable is immediately suspicious and all but accuses the pair of murder. This isn’t the warm Irish welcome Eleanor imagined!

Clifford is certain he recognizes the poor fellow from the funeral of Eleanor’s uncle – but what was their connection? Undeterred by the villagers’ lack of gossip on the matter, Eleanor is determined to get justice for the victim. The man’s pockets are suspiciously empty of personal effects, but closer inspection reveals an old key hidden in the heel of his boot. Could this unlock more than one mystery for Eleanor?

But when a fire breaks out at the castle on Christmas Eve, an even bigger question looms: is someone out to ensure the family line dies with Lady Swift? And will Eleanor’s first Irish Christmas be her last?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

Even those born with no ears has heard of it, miss.

My Review:

 

I continue with my infatuation with Lady Swift, Gladstone, her irreparably spoiled elderly bulldog, and Clifford, and her always prepared, highly astute, and perfectly impeccable butler. I adore this series, it has been as comically amusing as it has been deviously clever with murder mysteries that the little pea in my brain has never seen coming. This one was completely unsolvable, brilliantly plotted, and shrewdly paced. I’m already primed for their next escapade.

About the Author

.
Verity Bright is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing partnership that has spanned a quarter of a century. Starting out writing high-end travel articles and books, they published everything from self-improvement to humor, before embarking on their first historical mystery. They are the authors of the fabulous Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery series, set in the 1920s.
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Book Review: Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese @Berkley @chloe_liese

Two Wrongs Make a Right
by Chloe Liese

 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

Opposites become allies to fool their matchmaking friends in this swoony reimagining of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, Much Ado About Nothing.

Jamie Westenberg and Bea Wilmot have nothing in common except a meet-disaster and the mutual understanding that they couldn’t be more wrong for each other. But when the people closest to them play Cupid and trick them into going on a date, Jamie and Bea realize they have something else in common after all—an undeniable need for revenge.

Soon their plan is in place: Fake date obnoxiously and convinces the meddlers they’re madly in love. Then, break up spectacularly and dash their hopes, putting an end to the matchmaking madness once and for all.

To convince everyone that they’ve fallen for each other, Jamie and Bea will have to nail the performance of their lives. But as their final act nears and playing lovers becomes easier than not, they begin to wonder, what if Cupid’s arrow wasn’t so off the mark? And what if two wrongs do make a right?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Jamie smiles. It’s soft and small and crooked, but it’s there. I watch it unfurl, and my heart morphs into a gilded balloon that bursts, a shower of gold-leaf glitter sparkling in my chest.

“Don’t downplay your work,” she says fiercely. “Don’t make yourself small just because someone else has.”

He’s stuck around. Like a bug on fly paper.

…you are exquisitely precious to me.

My Review:

 

I delighted in this cleverly penned tale and have added this crafty author’s entire listing to my TBR as I have become her most rabid and fervent fangirl. Her deft storytelling kept a smirk on my face and caused the little pea in my brain to spark as I fell into her bewitchingly engaging tale which featured deliciously quirky yet authentic characters that were well-textured and are now indelibly etched on my gray matter. I adored them and their amusing vengeance plot of having an “Instagrammable romance”/fauxmance that quickly morphed into something much more carnal and delightfully steamy. I have a new favorite author to add to the top of my To Do list.

 

Chloe Liese writes romances reflecting her belief that everyone deserves a love story. Her stories pack a punch of heat, heart, and humor, and often feature characters who are neurodivergent like herself. When not dreaming up her next book, Chloe spends her time wandering in nature, playing soccer, and most happily at home with her family and mischievous cats.

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Book Review: Chaos at Carnegie Hall (A Fiona Figg & Kitty Lane Mystery #1) by Kelly Oliver

Chaos at Carnegie Hall
(A Fiona Figg & Kitty Lane Mystery #1)
by Kelly Oliver

Amazon /  Apple /  B & N  / GP  / BB

Can Fiona catch a killer and find a decent cup of tea before her mustache wax melts?

1917. New York.

Notorious spy, Fredrick Fredricks, has invited Fiona to Carnegie Hall to hear a famous soprano. It’s an opportunity the War Office can’t turn down. Fiona and Clifford are soon on their way, but not before Fiona is saddled with chaperone duties for Captain Hall’s niece. Is Fiona a spy or a glorified babysitter?

From the minute Fiona meets the soprano aboard the RMS Adriatic it’s treble on the high C’s. Fiona sees something—or someone—thrown overboard, and then she overhears a chemist plotting in German with one of her own countrymen!

And the trouble doesn’t stop when they disembark. Soon Fiona is doing time with a group of suffragettes and investigating America’s most impressive inventor Thomas Edison.

When her number one suspect turns up dead at the opera and Fredrick Fredricks is caught red-handed, it looks like it’s finally curtains for the notorious spy.

But all the evidence points to his innocence. Will Fiona change her tune and clear her nemesis’ name? Or will she do her duty? And just what is she going to do with the pesky Kitty Lane? Not to mention swoon-worthy Archie Somersby . . .

If Fiona’s going to come out on top, she’s going to have to make the most difficult decision of her life: the choice between her head and her heart.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Eliza had taken to calling me “Aunt Fiona.” Only seven years her senior, I was hardly old enough to be her aunt. Technically, I suppose I was old enough. Still, “Aunt Fiona” sounded positively hideous— the kind of homely aunt one locked in an attic and only allowed out when the company had gone home— and altogether too informal for my tastes.

I may have overdone it with the face powder, but she’d been overly enthusiastic with her rouge. She looked like a radish.

I had to admit, there was something reassuring about Clifford and his carefree manner— an ease born of a life of comfort, privilege, and abstaining from contemplation.

I was just telling Marc about my in-laws. The only obscenities they don’t use to describe me are the ones they can’t pronounce.

This was a task for Clifford. He could chat up a turnip and find out what lay beneath its roots.

My Review:

 

This was an easy, enjoyable, and lively read that kept me guessing and entertained. I admired Feisty Fiona, she was independent and ahead of her time. The writing style was easy to follow and descriptive and pulled colorful and detailed visuals to my mind’s eye. The engaging storylines were well-paced and populated with unique, amusing, and authentic characters. I’m already looking forward to more of Ms. Figg’s breezy adventures.

I

 

About Kelly Oliver

Kelly Oliver grew up in the Northwest, Montana, Idaho, and Washington states. Her maternal grandfather was a forest ranger committed to saving the trees, and her paternal grandfather was a logger hell-bent on cutting them down. On both sides, her ancestors were some of the first settlers in Northern Idaho. In her own unlikely story, Kelly went from eating a steady diet of wild game shot by her dad to becoming a vegetarian while studying philosophy and pondering animal minds. Competing with peers who’d come from private schools and posh families “back East,” Kelly’s working-class backwoods grit has served her well. And much to her parent’s surprise, she’s managed to feed and clothe herself as a professional philosopher.

When she’s not writing mysteries, Kelly Oliver is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. She earned her B.A. from Gonzaga University and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University. She is the author of thirteen scholarly books, ten anthologies, and over 100 articles, including work on campus rape, reproductive technologies, women and the media, film noir, and Alfred Hitchcock. Her work has been translated into seven languages, and she has published an op-ed on loving our pets in The New York Times. She has been interviewed on ABC television news, the Canadian Broadcasting Network, and various radio programs.

Kelly lives in Nashville with her husband, Benigno Trigo, and her furry family, Mischief and Mayhem.

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

 

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Book Review: Murder Under A Bridal Moon (Mona Moon Mystery #10) by Abigail Keam  @AbigailKeam

Murder Under A Bridal Moon
(Mona Moon Mystery #10)
by Abigail Keam 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

 

Mona Moon is planning her wedding to Robert Farley, Duke of Brynelleth, when her preparations go haywire after one of her maids is found murdered. With just days before the blessed event, unwanted guests invade Moon Manor throwing a wrench into Mona’s plans and making it more difficult to seek the truth. Now Robert is a suspect in the maid’s murder. A missing gold brooch and twenty five-dollar bills are the only clues Mona has to find the murderer. She must clear Robert from suspicion or he will call off the wedding, saying he refuses to taint Mona’s good name. Can she discover the killer before the wedding, or will the murderer witness the breakup between Mona and Robert? Was that the intention all along? 

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

That red head of his is so bright, it looks like his head is on fire from a distance.

Get ready, old chap. Marriage is less about love and more about who is right.

There are men in this world, who can’t stand the regular Joe having a good life. These men have always gotta be stepping on someone. Makes them feel important, and they are usually standing behind a flag or a Bible to knock the other guy down. Don’t let these people take your dreams away.

It was a gut feeling she couldn’t explain except that it felt right— like thread going through a needle.

Envy is a horrible taskmaster. It turns the nicest people into snakes.

My Review:

 

My second Mona Moon adventure and I continued to be delightfully enamored with the moxie entrepreneur/sleuth. In this entertaining installment, Ms. Moon was dealing with errant family members, a sneaky yellow journalist, wedding preparations, a hotel full of guests, and an eccentric and infamous gate-crashing wedding guest named Georgia O’Keeffe; all of whom required a bit of special handling while she was also trying to solve the latest murder. People seem to drop dead around her with regularity.

Ms. Keam’s writing style and storylines were unfailingly engaging, flowed smoothly at a good pace, and were easy to follow. The characters were colorful, authentic, and well-detailed with brain-tickling descriptions and amusing quirks and observations. I’m primed for more Moon adventures.

 

 

About the Author
One thing Miss Abigail loves to do as an author is to write real people and events into her stories. “I am a student of history and love to insert historical information into my mysteries. My goal is to entertain my readers, but if they learn a little something along the way—well, then we are both happy. I certainly learn a lot from my research, and I hope my readers come away with a new appreciation of beekeeping from my Josiah Reynolds Mysteries.”
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Book Review: Well Acquainted (London Ladies Embroidery #2) by Laney Hatcher @SmartyPantsRom

Well Acquainted
(London Ladies Embroidery #2)
by Laney Hatcher

Well Acquainted, an all-new swoony second chance historical romance from Laney Hatcher, is available now in Kindle Unlimited!

There are three things you need to know about Lady Eliza Morgan:

1. In addition to being a busy physician, she’s an accomplished seamstress.

2. She’s the victim of a broken heart.

3. The man who shattered it is the one man she can never have.

Some things are better left in the past, but Eliza has spent years running from hers. When the man who upended her life re-enters it in the most unexpected way, Eliza must decide if reacquainting herself with Nicolas is worth the heartache. He’s charming and irritating and makes her realize there is so much more than the life she’s been living. But first, she must confront her painful past if she and Nicolas have any hope for a future.

‘Well Acquainted’, a Penny Reid Universe Reimagining, is a full-length historical romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #2 in the London Ladies Embroidery series, Smartypants Romance Out of this World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

My Rating:

 

Favorite Quotes:

 

He was frightfully boring. And he made me boring. We were boring together. For some reason, I didn’t feel comfortable being myself when I was around Dr. Miles. And, fine, I knew I would never be the belle of any ball. But I could be quick-witted and a decent conversationalist. There was just something about being in Dr. Miles’s presence that leeched all interesting thought from my head.

It was like having permission to stare when I’d spent a lifetime looking away.

I laughed lightly before remembering myself. I’d forgotten what this was like— being charmed by, Nicolas. I could feel him tugging the amusement out of me like a string.

My Review:

 

I keep trying to like period historical pieces as I loved Downton Abbey, but I struggled with this tale as constant angst is just not one of my favorite things. While I admired the feminism of the main protagonist, Eliza, I found her insecurity and emotional immaturity annoying and tiresome as her inner conflicts were pedantic and tedious. While the writing style was easy to follow, the storylines and pacing were incrementally slow, repetitive, and rather monotonous. I adored the effervescent and patient character of Nicholas but I wanted to sigh and give Eliza a kick in her bussle.

 

 

About the Author

Laney Hatcher is a firm believer that there is a spreadsheet for every occasion and pie is always the answer. She is an author of stories that have a past, in a language of love that’s universal. Often too practical for her own good, Laney enjoys her life in the southern United States with her husband, children, and incredibly entitled cat.

Find Laney online

Facebook: https://bit.ly/3HkhbFE

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laney.hatcher/

TikTok: https://bit.ly/3CwREcY

Website: https://laneyhatcher.com/

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3EHkQeN

Pinterest: https://bit.ly/32G5BG8

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/laneyhatcher

Connect with Smartypants Romance

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Newsletter: https://smartypantsromance.com/newsletter/

 

 

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Book Review: A Forest Between Us (Crescent Pass Book 1) by Allie Winters @alliewintersauthor

A Forest Between Us
(Crescent Pass Book 1)
by Allie Winters

Amazon   / BB

 

 

A steamy new contemporary romance, A Forest Between Us, is available now on Amazon and free to read in Kindle Unlimited!

– Owen –
Harper Calloway is the one who got away.
Gorgeous. Vivacious. Witty. Everything my introverted self could never be. And though that single night five years ago is all I had with her, there’s no forgetting the girl who steals your heart.
So when the woman in question shows up on my doorstep demanding an annulment for a drunken Vegas wedding I don’t fully remember, it seems like a sign. A second chance to make good on that connection I’ve never felt with anyone else.
Except she doesn’t have any interest in reconnecting, even as things between us heat up the longer she stays in town. What will it take to convince her I want forever?

– Harper –
Owen Taylor is not who I expected.
Protective. Thoughtful. Humble. And the sexy lumberjack vibe he’s got going on? Who knew I was such a sucker for that?
I didn’t come to Crescent Pass to start anything up. My life is in Chicago, not the forests of the Pacific Northwest. But the longer I stay here waiting for an annulment, the harder it is to resist this rugged mountain man who shows me for the first time what it’s like to be understood. Cherished. Worshipped.
We both knew from the beginning this couldn’t last. So why has he gone and stolen my heart?

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

You are the one impulsive thing I’ll never regret.

 

My Review:

 

Having only recently discovered the delight of reading Allie Winters’ unique blend of humor and spice, I continue to revel in her clever wit and amusing storylines. It also doesn’t hurt that her tales are not only peppered with crisp levity but sheet-scorching sensuality as well. Once obtained, her stories tend to be gleefully devoured like a failed dieter on a binge.

I adored this endearing couple, they were both people I would enjoy knowing and spending time with. Both were smart, successful, witty, well-meaning, and hard-working, and while they were also opposite personality types, once they were finally in sync, they fit together with perfection. And oh, happy, day. This tasty missive was only the start of a new series, there is more of this delicious goodness yet to come!

 

About the Author

Allie is the author of the Suncoast University series, the Bishop Brothers series, and the Lessons Learned series. She lives in sunny Florida with her husband, daughter, and two cats. A librarian by day, she spends her nights writing happily ever afters. She enjoys reading, playing video games, and all things Disney.

Find Allie Winters online

Website: http://bit.ly/357VYOr

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/389mnNO

Facebook: http://bit.ly/3b5KJdk

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3pOJNhB

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Book Review: Frost Falls at the Potting Shed (The Potting Shed, #1) by Jenny Kane @JennyKaneAuthor @AriaFiction

Frost Falls at the Potting Shed
(The Potting Shed, #1)
by Jenny Kane 

Amazon  / B&N / GP / BB

It has always been Maddie Willand‘s dream to take over her father’s plant nursery. But after his sudden death, she is devastated to discover that she might lose The Potting Shed forever.

Maddie’s bossy older sister, Sabi, is joint owner of the nursery, and she’s convinced that the best thing for both of them would be to sell up. Determined to keep the business going, Maddie can’t afford any distractions, but staying focused might be harder than she thinks when – after a major garden center chain puts in an offer – her search for legal advice throws her into the path of an attractive lawyer named Ed…

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Grade-one snob syndrome.

Maddie glared at her houseplant. ‘Comments like that are not helpful.’

My Review:

 

This was a fun and engaging women’s fiction read featuring sisters at odds over their struggling family business in a small British village. The characters were well-etched and knowable, while not always likable – like most family members are in real life. Maddie was an endearing, driven, and lonely soul who not only talked to her plants but held intense conversations and arguments with them. The storylines were easy to follow, well-paced, and mild enough to recommend to my elderly mother’s church ladies’ book club.

I also gleaned a new addition to my Brit Words and Phrases list with berk, which is British slang for a stupid person. I have plants of my own to tell this one too.

 

 About the Author

Jenny Kane is the bestselling author of many romantic fiction series. These include the Mill Grange series, Abi’s Cornwall series, and the Another Cup series. She has had bestsellers in the Amazon Romance, Contemporary Fiction, and Women’s Fiction charts and multiple bestsellers. If you enjoy Jenny’s writing, then why not follow her author page, for updates on all of her new releases?

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Book Review: Folk Around and Find Out (Good Folk: Modern Folktales #2) by Penny Reid @ReidRomance  @SmartyPantsRom

Folk Around and Find Out
(Good Folk: Modern Folktales #2)
by Penny Reid 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

She’s about to teach him a lesson he won’t soon forget.

Folk Around and Find out, an opposites attract, single-parent contemporary romance set in a small town from New York Times bestselling author Penny Reid is out now!

He needs to get her out of his system. Just once…

Hank Weller doesn’t help people. He leaves that do-gooder nonsense to his best friend, Beau Winston. Hank does what he wants, when he wants, with whomever he wants—and Hank does not want to hire Charlotte Mitchell to be an exotic dancer at his club, The Pink Pony. Sure, he can’t help noticing the dips and curves of her, how shrewd, smart, and funny she is, the fire in her hazel eyes. He’s always noticed. She’d probably draw a crowd and entice the regulars. But after Charlotte’s messy, public divorce made Hank’s club out to be the culprit—and made her the single mother of four kids—he doesn’t need or want any additional bad press courtesy of Charlotte Mitchell. Or the distraction. Unfortunately for him, the town’s prettiest charity case doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of the words nope, no, and never.

Charlotte Mitchell doesn’t much like Hank Weller. Once upon a time, she used to. Years ago, she liked him a whole heckofalot despite other folks in town labeling him as “eccentric” and “nonconformist,” which were polite southern alternatives to “filthy rich” and “self-centered douchebag.” Her opinion of him changed dramatically after he volunteered to be her date to junior prom and then promptly stood her up. They haven’t so much as acknowledged each other in over a decade. But a sudden family emergency means Charlotte needs access to Hank’s club ASAP. Unfortunately for her, the narcissistic fancy-pants doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of the words help, generosity, and compassion.

But he’s about to find himself schooled. Charlotte is going to teach Hank a lesson once and for all about basic human decency, whether he likes it or not.

Spoiler alert. . . he likes it. 😉

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Sure, excluding the kitchen staff and bouncers, my co-workers were all mostly naked and covered in glitter, but that didn’t bother me any. I worked with kindergartners nine months out of the year. They also liked to take off their clothes and paint their bodies with glitter.

This kid made no sense. Kids weren’t supposed to be interested in interesting things. They were supposed to be interested in pointless things, making too much noise, spreading disease, and telling stupidly long stories that had no ending and made no sense.

It was rare for me to be at a loss for words. I felt verbally bankrupt at the moment.

How much worse can my reputation get? I’m the town pity-project, as my mother loves to remind me all the time. I’m on the bless-your-heart bingo card.

Everyone knew Jackson James didn’t throw parties, or drink, or eat good tasting food, or have fun. If he were a paint color, he’d be beige. If he were a food, he’d be dry, white toast. How a firecracker like Charlotte had ever dated his boring ass, I had no idea.

My Review:

 

Reading Penny Reid’s cleverly penned missives is always good fun and a guaranteed smirk-producing activity. I adore her complex, multi-layered, and well-textured characters and the couple featured in this sparkling installment has become my new favorite. Even the secondary characters were brilliantly imbued with authentic and brain-snagging idiosyncrasies. I continue to be totally enamored with Hank days after finishing his tale.

Ms. Reid’s storytelling never fails to dazzle and delight me and I sank into this engaging tale as if I was sitting in the corner watching it occur. I may even have hissed a few times when the plagues of real life intruded upon my perusal.

And to prove my mother wrong in her stance that reading fiction was not educational and a waste of time, I am pleased to report that I learned a new word with “dingly” as well as a plethora of text emoticons, which I was required to Google to fully appreciate. As such, I owe Ms. Reid my undying gratitude for continuing to plug the holes in my knowledge that my scholarly endeavors have left sorely lacking. Obviously, future Reid editions are now compulsory reading.

 

Penny Reid is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of the Winston Brothers and Knitting in the City series. She used to spend her days writing federal grant proposals as a biomedical researcher, but now she writes kissing books. Penny is an obsessive knitter and manages the #OwnVoices-focused mentorship incubator/publishing imprint, Smartypants Romance. She lives in Seattle Washington with her husband, three kids, and dog named Hazel.

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Book Review: Knock Out (Fighting for Love, #4) by Jiffy Kate @JiffyKateWrites @SmartyPantsRom

Knock Out
(Fighting for Love, #4)
by Jiffy Kate 

Amazon  / BB

Knock Out, an all-new grumpy sunshine small-town romance from Jiffy Kate, is now available in Kindle Unlimited!

In the blink of an eye, Willow Bernard goes from stocking shelves at the Piggly Wiggly to kicking butt at Viking MMA.

Willow Bernard has taken a lot of hits in her twenty-two years but always manages to come back swinging. Hoping to fly under the radar for a change, she relocates to Green Valley. Her strategy works until one fateful phone call initiates a series of events that shakes up her quiet existence.

Tattooed adventure-seeker Ozzi Erickson goes where the wind takes him. When he blows into Green Valley for his big brother’s wedding—and to figure out his next move—he isn’t prepared for the knock-out punch coming his way.

With Ozzi sticking around the Tennessee mountain town, his brother gives him a temporary assignment as Willow Bernard’s trainer.

His job is to teach her how to fight. But will she have the skills required to protect her heart?

‘Knock Out’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #4 in the Fighting for Love series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.

Start the Fighting For Love series of standalones!

Read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Stud Muffin

http://bit.ly/300Pe1P

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

My dad laughs. “I hate to break it to y’all, but she never oohed and ahhed over any of you like she does this baby. What they say, about grandkids being your reward for making it through parenthood, is right.”

Those Erickson boys are finer than a frog hair split four ways… or five, I guess.

I will not cry today. I know the old song about it being my party and I can cry if I want to, but I don’t want to.

My Review:

 

The storylines were carefully built and slowly paced although still engaging. The storylines featured and carried over endearing and authentic characters from previous installments. The main character of Willow was admirable yet also rather heavy on the angst, which isn’t one of my favorite things, although I enjoyed the arc of her blossoming confidence and steamy romance and appreciated the welcome hits of wit and humor provided in the other characters’ encounters. There is one more brother to go, the grumpiest of the bunch, I’m already curious.

 

 

About the Author

Jiffy Kate is the joint pen name for Jiff Simpson and Jenny Kate Altman. They’re co-writing besties who share a brain. They also share a love of cute boys, stiff drinks, and fun times.

Together, they’ve written over twenty stories. Their first published book, Finding Focus, was released in November 2015. Since then, they’ve continued to write what they know–southern settings full of swoony heroes and strong heroines.

Find Jiffy Kate online

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

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2ki0mq5

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

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2kkDkPr

Website: http://www.jiffykate.com/

Connect with Smartypants Romance

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Book Review: Architecture and Artistry (Green Valley Library, #11) by Nora Everly @NoraEverly @smartypantsromance

 

Architecture and Artistry
(Green Valley Library, #11)
by Nora Everly 

Amazon  / B&N  / BB

 

Architecture and Artistry, an all-new opposites attract small-town romance from Nora Everly, is LIVE in Kindle Unlimited!

Sadie Hill has a lot going on.

New job, twin boys, deadbeat ex, and a mother from hell.

Her life is chaos and no matter how hard she holds on, every plan she makes flies straight out of her grasp.

The last thing she needs is for her devastatingly hot co-worker to become her new neighbor. A distraction like Barrett does not fit into her precarious plans for the future.

Barrett Monroe has got it going on.

His wicked ex-wife is nothing but a memory, his daughter is back home where she belongs, and he loves his job.

His control-freak ways have paid off and he can finally relax into his perfectly scheduled life—alone, just how he wants it.

The last thing he needs is an irresistible single mom and her adorable kids to move in next door. Sadie was hard enough to stay away from when she was just his co-worker.

But one night spent stranded in a snowstorm together finds these two sneaking around, sharing stolen kisses, and losing their hearts.

Will they give in to the flying sparks between them?

Or drive each other crazy fighting their feelings instead?

‘Architecture and Artistry’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #11 in the Green Valley Library series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Sadie, we both know forbidden love is the hottest kind. You have no chance. The more you fight it, the hornier you’ll get for each other. Y’all are like Green Valley’s Romeo and Juliet without the death. Well, maybe not Romeo and Juliet since you’re both hella old and our families get along, so never mind. Ahhhh! This is so hot. I’m excited for you. I would give anything to be in a sexy forbidden relationship!

I’m sorry I didn’t tell you immediately. I couldn’t figure out how to tell you without making your head blow up. I don’t want your head to blow up. You have enough going on, and I don’t want to clean up that kind of mess. I’m sure brain goo stains.

“Sadie is nothing like Leeann,” he pointed out. “For one, Sadie has never tried to run me over with her van. And for another, the flames of hell don’t trail behind her whenever she enters a room.”

Look in my eyes and memorize the way I see you. I don’t want you to ever forget it. No matter what happens, I will always love you. Always…

My Review:

 

This was a fun and lively tale that keep a smirk on my face throughout the majority of perusal, despite the inclusion of one of my least favorite tropes. I’m more than a bit rueful to leave this family behind as this volume completes the Monroe family saga, with the sweetest and kindest brother saved for the finale, and ooh la la, Ms. Everly ended the series with a bang as Barrett Monroe was nothing less than a delectable treat. The storylines were entertaining and engaging while laced together with clever wit, snarky humor, authentic and well-textured characters, and sensual scenes hot enough to melt my Kindle.

 

About the Author

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

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

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

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