Book Review: JACKSON (Eternity Springs: The McBrides of Texas Trilogy #1) by Emily March

JACKSON (Eternity Springs: The McBrides of Texas Trilogy #1)

by Emily March

 

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / B&N

Kobo / Apple / Google / Macmillan

 

Synopsis:

From New York Times bestselling author Emily March comes Jackson, the newest novel in the critically acclaimed Eternity Springs series.

Sometimes it takes a new beginning
Caroline Carruthers thinks she buried her dreams along with the love of her life…until a stranger named Celeste dares her to chase a dream all on her own. Moving to Redemption, Texas, is chapter one in Caroline’s new life story. Opening a bookstore is the next. Finding love is the last thing on her mind as she settles into this new place called home. But when she meets a handsome, soulful man who’s also starting over, all bets are off.

to reach a happily-ever-after
Jackson McBride came to Redemption looking only to find himself, not someone to love. Ever since his marriage ended, he’s been bitter. Sure, he used to believe in love—he even has the old song lyrics to prove it—but the Jackson of today is all business. That is, until a beautiful young widow who’s moved to town inspires a change of heart. Could it be that the myth of Redemption’s healing magic is true…and Jackson and Caroline can find a second chance at a happy ending after all?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

While she was girly enough to appreciate being called “ pretty,” she didn’t like “little lady” under any circumstance. Consequently, she had starch in her spine and scissors on her tongue as she lifted her face.

 

Boone was a flirt, but he was an honest flirt. And being a lawyer and a man with baggage, he hardly kissed a woman without getting a permission slip beforehand, signed in triplicate and notarized, prior to lips touching lips.

 

She was terrible. Stiff and awkward. She froze up the same way she did like when she needed to do math in public. She got the choreography of the dance step down, but it wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t dance. It was more Frankenstein stumbling out of the castle.

 

She’s a piece of work, Caroline. I know she’s been through a trauma, but she’s a Southern girl. Where’s her grit? Where’s the steel in her magnolia?

 

My Review:

 

Jackson was an easy, sweet, and pleasant read cast with endearing and interesting characters, and was an excellent introduction to bridge an established series and begin a new one. As with the previous books of hers I’ve read, Ms. March’s writing was lushly detailed with periodic hits of wry humor and amusing observations. I was stunned to noticed she currently has thirty-nine books listed on Goodreads, thirty-nine! Of which I’ve only read three, I need to rectify the error of my ways and get crackin’.

About the Author

Amazon
Goodreads
Website

Emily March is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the heartwarming Eternity Springs series. A graduate of Texas A&M University, Emily is an avid fan of Aggie sports and her recipe for jalapeño relish has made her a tailgating legend.

Book Review: The Accidental Girlfriend by Emma Hart

TAGlive2

The Accidental Girlfriend, an all-new hilarious romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Emma Hart is available now!

 

THE ACCIDENTAL GIRLFRIEND - DRAFT1 (1)

Top Tip: Don’t put out an online ad offering your services as a fake date. Someone will take you up on it.

And it won’t just be for one night.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I ended up being Mason Jackson’s fake girlfriend.

He didn’t even want me to be. No—his sister was solely responsible for me being his date for his ten-year high school reunion.

Now, she’s responsible for telling his parents our relationship is real.

We have no choice. We have to act like this isn’t all a mistake, like it’s not all fake, like we’re totally, completely, utterly, head-over-heels in love with each other.

Simple, right?

Wrong.

TAGlive4

Download your copy of The Accidental Girlfriend today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2HQvW8q

AppleBooks: https://apple.co/2uxT9DN

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/TAGEmmaHart

Nook: http://bit.ly/2WDf3S9

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2OxtYdD

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2VQEBut

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

You know, if we were monkeys, she’d be the kind of person I’d fling my poop at.

 

This is why you’re single. The only filter you use is on Instagram.

 

“Give the kid a break, Nadia,” Grandpa Ernie said, wiping his mouth with a napkin and reaching for his whiskey. “He’s only twenty-eight. Men don’t have alarm clocks in their genitals like you women.”

 

It’s about time you got back out on the market before you go stale. Women are starting to date younger men, did you know that? I see it all the time on that celebrity channel with the housewives.

 

She was the kind of woman who’d run out of f*s to give by her fifth birthday and couldn’t care less what anyone thought about that. There was a chance we could be friends. I regularly found myself lacking in f*s. Unless I stubbed my toe, then they all came pouring out.

 

“I’ve got a list of grievances, if you’d like to hear them.” “Why don’t you keep them up your sleeve for now, Aunt Pru? You never know when you’ll need them.” “Quite right, quite right. I’ve been saving them for my speech at your wedding, but I’m starting to think you’ll never get married.”

 

Thankfully, that ship has sailed and sunk.

 

My Review:

 

This wickedly funny treasure was a total delight; my face got a workout from near constant giggle-snorting and smirking as I read.   The characters were adorable and uniquely appealing, I was endlessly entertained by Lauren’s sharp wit and clever snark, she was a feisty and saucy minx. Written in my favorite dual POV, the crisp and engaging storylines sparkled with irreverent humor and impudent levity. I couldn’t get enough of it and rued reaching the last page.

 

Excerpt:

“I’ve seen you eat nothing but junk. Are you one of those irritating people who can eat what they want and put on no weight?”

“Okay, first.” I held up one finger. “You look like you could walk into the cast of the Avengers, so don’t come at me with that. Also, I run. Every day. And I don’t always eat junk.”

“You run?” His eyebrows shot up.

“I don’t know if I should be insulted or not.”

“No, I just—you don’t look like a runner.”

“And you don’t look like Chris Hemsworth, but here you are on my sofa looking like a dark-haired Norse god,” I shot back. “What’s your point?”

He held up his hands, fighting another laugh, one that made his eyes shine. “Hey, I have a physical job. I rarely get to the gym, but I’m always moving.”

“Have you ever worked behind a bar? I’m not exactly running a call center back there. It never stops sometimes.”

“Do I look like I mix cocktails?”

Doing what he’d done just minutes before, I took a long, hard look at him, from head to toe.

It was a mistake.

If I were a sloth, I wouldn’t just climb him like a tree; I’d hang off him for a nap, too.

Lord, he was hot.

Focus, Lauren.

“No,” I said. “You look like the lone wolf who waits for the cocktail-drinking girls to accidentally spill their drinks on your shoes.” I glanced at the time. “Speaking of, I have to go and make those cocktails.”

Mason grinned. “You want me to come and get hit on by drunk girls?”

“As someone who has no say in your life whatsoever, I don’t care what you do.” I stood up and looked at him over my shoulder. “As your fake girlfriend, I’m a bit of a tiger, so I wouldn’t.”

“I know.” He snorted, following me to the front door with his laptop tucked under his arm. “I’ve seen you play the possessive girlfriend. If this weren’t all fake, I would have been a little turned on.”

I locked the front door and tossed my hair over my shoulder. “Please. You were totally turned on.”

He said nothing as we headed for the stairs.

“You can say something. That was a joke.” I glanced at him, heat rushing to my cheeks.

His lips pulled into a smirk, eyes flashing. “I reserve the right to not respond.”

About Emma Hart

Emma Hart is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty novels and has been translated into several different languages.

She is a mother, wife, lover of wine, Pink Goddess, and valiant rescuer of wild baby hedgehogs.

Emma prides herself on her realistic, snarky smut, with comebacks that would make a PMS-ing teenage girl proud.

Yes, really. She’s that sarcastic.

EmmaHart

Connect with Emma

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

BookBub: http://bit.ly/2Dr0atq

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2Dq42ez

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2EBbZNe

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2D91d3T

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmahartauthor/

Stay up to date with Emma by joining her mailing list: https://www.emmahart.org/newsletter

Website: https://www.emmahart.org/home

Book Review: Room 553 by Britney King

.
Title: Room 553
Author: Britney King
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Release Date: June 20, 2019

 

.
“𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦.”
 
For Max and Laurel, nothing is off limits when they meet in room 553. Their illicit affair is exhilarating, passionate—and dangerous. 
 
Driven as much by compulsion as pleasure, Max can’t stop. His mistress is Jesus on the streets, and Satan in the sack. But when things take a sharp and sudden turn for the worse, he finds himself ensnared in a trap of his own making. 
 
Under heavy scrutiny by the police and the media, Max is hailed as a cold and evasive womanizer. He made mistakes, to be sure. But does that make him a killer?
 
Unnerving and addictive, Room 553 is a vivid and sensual psychological thriller that weaves a story of cruelty, reckless desire, and blind, bloody justice.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

There are a lot of things a woman permits a man to be. Indifferent is not one of them.

 

The read I get on Dr. Jones is that she’s the type who has ten cats and piles of clutter spread among the excess of belongings she refuses to get rid of.

 

My words tasted bitter and foreign, like they were coming from someone else’s mouth, someone I didn’t yet know.

 

My heart leaped so high into my throat that I could have easily opened my mouth and touched it.

  

My Review:

 

There is no doubt; Britney King is an evil genius. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that she limits her substantial talents and devious powers to continue to delight and entertain rather than hiring out for actual crime. The cunning characters in Room 553 were markedly vile yet fatally alluring and intriguing, but as brilliantly devised as they were, it was her unique and clever writing style that ultimately wins the purple championship ribbon. Her well-crafted storylines were magnetic and unflinchingly compelling and quickly lured me into a consuming vortex that had me simultaneously smirking and cringing. I greatly admire her mad skills and covet all her clever arrangements of words. I fear I am irrevocably addicted and have unwittingly consumed her Kool-aid.

.
.
Britney King lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, children, two dogs, one ridiculous cat, and a partridge in a pear tree.
When she’s not wrangling the things mentioned above, she writes psychological, domestic and romantic thrillers set in suburbia.
 
Currently, she’s writing three series and several standalone novels.
 
The Bedrock Series features an unlikely heroine who should have known better. Turns out, she didn’t. Thus she finds herself tangled in a messy, dangerous, forbidden love story and face-to-face with a madman hell-bent on revenge. The series has been compared to Fatal Attraction, Single White Female, and Basic Instinct.
 
The Water Series follows the shady love story of an unconventional married couple—he’s an assassin—she kills for fun. It has been compared to a crazier book version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Also, Dexter.
 
Around The Bend is a heart-pounding standalone, which traces the journey of a well-to-do suburban housewife, and her life as it unravels, thanks to the secrets she keeps. If she were the only one with things she wanted to keep hidden, then maybe it wouldn’t have turned out so bad. But she wasn’t.
The With You Series at its core is a deep love story about unlikely friends who travel the world; trying to find themselves, together and apart. Packed with drama and adventure along with a heavy dose of suspense, it has been compared to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Love, Rosie.
The Social Affair is an intense standalone about a timeless couple who find themselves with a secret admirer they hadn’t bargained for. For fans of the anti-heroine and stories told in unorthodox ways, the novel explores what can happen when privacy is traded for convenience. It is reminiscent of films such as One Hour Photo and Play Misty For Me. 
 
Without a doubt, connecting with readers is the best part of this gig. You can find Britney online here: 
 
To get more– grab two books for free, by subscribing to her mailing list at britneyking.com or just copy and paste bit.ly/britneykingweb into your browser. 
Happy reading.
.

HOSTED BY:

Book Review: One Minute Later by Susan Lewis

One Minute Later

by Susan Lewis

 

Amazon US UK / CA / AU /

 B&NHarperCollins

 

Paperback: 512 pages

 Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (June 11, 2019)

International bestselling author Susan Lewis’ riveting, unforgettable novel of a woman whose life changes in an instant and the handsome young man with whom she shares a secret history—perfect for readers of Diane Chamberlain, Jodi Picoult and Susan Wiggs.

How well do you know the people you love? For one young woman returning to the past, the answer could be heart-shattering…

Vivi Shager is living her dream. Raised with drive and ambition by a resolutely single mother, Vivi has a thriving law career, a gorgeous apartment in London, and a full calendar that keeps her busy at work and at play. Then on the day of her twenty-seventh birthday, an undiagnosed heart condition sends Vivi’s prospects for the future into a tailspin. After escaping her roots nearly a decade ago, she’s forced to return to her childhood home to be cared for by her devoted and enigmatic mother. Vivi has always known the woman is hiding something and now she’s determined to find out what it is. Though her condition makes her fragile and vulnerable and she’s afraid of what may happen, her spirit remains strong. Then comes an unexpected ray of light.

Josh Raynor, a local veterinarian who his sisters claim is too handsome for his own good, brings a forbidden love to Vivi’s world. Josh and Vivi are soon inseparable, unaware of the past their families share. All Vivi knows is that Josh is wrestling with a demon of his own…

Then quite suddenly the awful truth is staring Vivi in the face and it changes everything.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I felt as though we were fitting back into a place we’d only ever left temporarily. Then, when I saw the house, this house, sad and neglected, I thought, I swear this, I thought it gave a little sigh of relief when it realized it was us— and if you laugh, I’ll leave you.

 

She realized there would be no bucket list for her— or not one that included daredevil stunts, long-haul flights, or weeks of hot, passionate sex on a beach in the South Seas with a younger version of George Clooney.

 

“We’ve become reducetarians.” Sam blinked. “What’s that when it’s at home?” he demanded. “It means we still eat meat… but a lot less of it, which is good for our health, the planet, and animals.”

 

My Review:

 

This was an informative and thoughtfully written book that held my coronary muscle in a vise and had me contemplating the various aspects and complicated issues and emotions surrounding organ donation. Ms. Lewis’s writing was highly emotive and insightful as well as lushly detailed with descriptions that involved all the senses in addition to setting the emotional tone for each scene.

 

Vivi Shager thought she was a healthy woman who had the world by the tail.   She was an intelligent and successful professional who frequently traveled internationally for work and had recently run a marathon. But apparently not, as meeting her friends for lunch to celebrate her twenty-seventh birthday and in a most distressing turn of events, her world and her heart imploded with a series of three heart attacks and was given the life expectancy of one year without a transplant. Not a good birthday at all then. The rest of the book slowly evolved over a year forward and thirty years back with two timelines following two different families until their storylines intersected and a lovely romance blossomed.

 

While the premise and much of Vivi’s narrative was fraught with tension, family drama, and uncertainty; there were more pleasant elements to be found in the back and forth over thirty years of the Raynor family narrative. I adored every generation and timeline of this lively and loving clan, although they also endured more than their fair share of tragedy as well.

 

I cannot imagine the ghoulish and demoralizing effect of waiting for someone to die so I could continue to have a chance at living. Or to rush to the hospital for that long-awaited surgery, only to be stopped in my tracks when the donor’s family would not consent. Devastating. I learned so much about this process that I would have never stopped to consider. I also picked up a new word and a phrase to add to my Brit Vocabulary List with pong – which is British informal for an unpleasant smell, and “What’s that when it’s at home?” – which apparently means ‘I have no clue what you are talking about.’ I will be eagerly waiting for a chance to slip these into use.

 

I was provided with a review copy of this poignant and thought-provoking book by HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.

 

About the Author

Susan Lewis is the internationally bestselling author of more than forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense, and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband, James; stepsons, Michael and Luke; and mischievous dogs, Coco and Lulu.

Find out more at her website, and connect with her on Facebook.

Book Review: The Lemon Sisters by Jill Shalvis

blog tour banner-2.jpg

The Lemon Sisters by Jill Shalvis

Release Date: June 18, 2019

LemonSisters cover.jpeg

The Lemon Sisters, an all-new standalone contemporary romance by Jill Shalvis.

When Brooke’s older sister, Mindy, shows up at her door with her three kids in tow, she barely recognizes her sibling who looks like she’s on the verge of a total breakdown. While adventurous, wanderlust Brooke was always the problem child, eager to slip free of Wildstone and its small-town constraints, Mindy was the golden child, who never had a hair out of place or a GPA below 4.0. The Mindy that arrives at Brooke’s apartment however, is a far cry from the ever-perfect doctor’s wife.

Brooke’s further stunned when Mindy asks to trade places with her for a few days so she can pick up her pieces and put herself back together. What Mindy doesn’t realize is that Brooke is just as broken. Her sister needs her though, so Brooke takes the kids and returns to Wildstone.

But how does one go home after seven years away and what feels like a lifetime of secrets? It doesn’t take long for Brooke to come face-to-face with her past, in the form of one tall, dark, sexy mistake. But Garrett’s no longer interested, or so he says. Only his words don’t match his actions, leaving Brooke feeling things she long ago shoved deep.

The sisters begin to wonder if the childhood taunts were true, are they lemons in life? In love? True or not, they know one thing—you can’t run far enough to outpace your demons. And when long-dead secrets surface, they’ll have to overcome their differences and learn that sometimes the one person who can help you the most is the one you never thought to ask.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

You’re not fat, you’re just . . . easier to see.

 

Millie came back into the room wearing black tights with strawberries on them and a strawberry-red dress. She pointed to the pockets. “I’ve just got to fill my snack holes and I’ll be ready to go.” Brooke thought this was brilliant. “Every outfit should have snack holes.” Millie nodded sagely.

 

Her hair looked like she’d come out the wrong end of an explosion.

 

“What if reincarnation is real and in your next life you come back as a dog? Or a cat? Or worse, a man? You’ll have wasted it.” She shrugged. “I’d be a good cat. I’m bitchy and I don’t like anyone.”

 

Want to know the things a guy doesn’t know he’s bad at until he’s married? Making the bed, laundry, being correct, and breathing.

 

You couldn’t handle me even if I came with instructions.

 

Mindy eyed the crowd. “Everyone’s skinny and beautiful.” “Yeah, so feel sorry for them because of all the Taco Tuesdays they’ve clearly missed.”

 

…oh my God, you’re also wearing my sandals. At my funeral, make sure to sit me up so I can see which of my clothes you’ve stolen to wear.

 

“Junior year of high school, you came over to my family’s house to watch a movie. You and my grandpa promptly fell asleep… And around halfway through, still dead asleep, you popcorn farted loud enough to wake the dead. Pop, pop, pop.” He grinned. “My grandpa fell out of his chair.” And the old man’s dentures had gone skittering across the room.

 

He was her person, but even more amazing, he wanted her to be his person.

  

My Review:

 

I have delighted in each of the five cleverly written Jill Shalvis books I’ve been lucky enough to obtain, I don’t think it would be possible for her to churn out a less than stellar product as her narratives comfortably flow with a smooth fluidity and are all too easy to fall completely into. This story featured a family tree rife with quirky OCD traits through several generations, which added extra layers of humor as well as complications for the feisty characters who were not always likable yet were endearing and sympathetic. The storylines and writing style were highly amusing and pleasantly entertaining while hitting all the feels with thoughtful insights and emotive observations. I have quickly become an avid devotee or her smart wit and crafty word wrangling. Jill Shalvis has mad skills!

 

 

TLS - AN.jpg

Download your copy today!

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

Nook: http://bit.ly/2CqzYzY

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2YazSWj

Apple Books: https://apple.co/2Wh8Wml

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2ULl9Pw

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2TkD1zb

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2Iu9vW3

Blog Tour Teaser.jpg

Excerpt:

“Okay,” she said. “Time for me to go to bed.”

“Or you’re running,” he said. “Again.”

She closed her eyes and told herself to ignore the soft taunt. No matter what they’d been – or hadn’t been – to each other, she wasn’t looking for love with anyone, and certainly not a wash and repeat with the one man who could destroy her. It wasn’t as if she’d been a monk. She’d dated, but she hadn’t let anyone in. Not ever. Even Cole had complained about the brick walls she’d encased her emotions in.

And he was right. She could get involved to a point, but she always pulled back.

“You don’t have to run from me, you know,” Garrett said. “There’s no reason for there to be anything but honesty between us.”

Yes, there was… “Maybe I’m just not feeling it.”

Another soft laugh. “Okay.”

“Hey,” she said and poked a finger in his pec. His hard, ungiving, sexy pec. “If I was feeling it, you’d know.”

“Yeah? How?” he challenged.

“I’d be …flirty. I certainly wouldn’t be thinking of all of your faults.”

He grinned. How like a man to not be worried about his faults.

“So what are these so-called faults?” he asked, curious. Still not concerned.

“Well, for starters, you’re wearing black knit boxers with bananas on them.”

This made him laugh outright. “Someone sent me a subscription box. They come once a month. Last month’s pair had cocks all over them.”

“Like … chickens, or…?”

He was still smiling. “If you’re curious, I’ll be happy to wear them tomorrow and give you a peek.”

“Whatever,” she said. “And the fact that some woman sent you a subscription to undies is another reason I’m not feeling it. You’ve stayed friends with every single person you’ve ever met.”

“And that’s a fault?”

She shrugged. Of course it wasn’t a fault. It was the opposite of a fault. “Well, except for me, of course.”

“Because you don’t answer phone calls, texts, emails…” He tilted his head. “Tell me something.”

Oh boy. “What?”

“Why did you and your last boyfriend break up? That Cole guy.”

“I told you, he’s my boss.”

“But you’re sleeping together,” he said, his eyes holding hers prisoner. “Or you were.”

“How do you know that?”

He smiled grimly. “You just told me.”

Dammit. She crossed her arms over her chest. “We’re not together if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Why?”

“Why what?” she asked.

“Why aren’t you together?” he pressed.

“Because I don’t like him like that.”

Did his eyes warm very slightly, or was that her imagination? “Because you’re just not feeling it?” he asked mockily, using her words.

She rolled her eyes. “You think you’re funny. How about we talk about you. Tell me about the girlfriend you said you don’t have. The one who called you the other day for a hookup.”

“It wasn’t a hookup. She dumped me.”

She snorted. “Right. You expected me to believe a guy who looks like you do, and is funny and smart like you are, got dumped?”

“Actually, I expect you to believe whatever I tell you.” He shifted close until they were knee to knee. “Because I’ve never lied to you, Brooke. Never will.”

About Jill:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s sexy contemporary and award-winning books wherever romances are sold and click on the blog button above for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

Connect with Jill:

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JillShalvis/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillshalvis/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jillshalvis/

Tumblr: http://jillshalvis.tumblr.com

Newsletter: http://jillshalvis.com/contact/

Website: http://jillshalvis.com

Book Review: Love (Men of Inked: Southside #5) by Chelle Bliss

Love
(Men of Inked: Southside #5)

by Chelle Bliss

 

 Amazon / B&N / Apple / Google Play / Kobo

 

Angelo and Tilly never thought they’d find love again…but they’re about to say ‘I do’.

Finding love once is hard, but twice is almost impossible.
I’d almost given up, but then Tilly Carter walked into my life.
The sweet talkin’ Southern girl stole my heart.

With my future walking down the aisle, and my entire family by my side, it’s time to make her mine forever.

LOVE is the fifth book in the USA Today bestselling Men of Inked: Southside series and a continuation of Angelo & Tilly’s story from Hook.

Men of Inked: Southside

Book 1 – Maneuver
Book 2 – Flow
Book 3 – Hook
Book 4 – Hustle
Book 5 – Love

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“First stop is Gavin’s for some martinis, then we have tickets to a show,” Daphne says over her shoulder. “What kind of show?” My stomach flips a little because Daphne’s looking at me in such a way that I know she isn’t telling me everything. “It’s like the ballet.” “Like the ballet?” I ask flatly. She nods quickly and hooks her arm with mine, leading me toward the sleek black limo. “There’re men dancing.”

 

I feel like I’m stuck somewhere in the naughtiest Twilight Zone episode, where all my relatives are freaks, and I suddenly realize I am too.

 

“We grew up. Shit isn’t all it’s cracked up to be either,” Thomas says. “Have kids, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. Biggest lie ever.”

 

“I’m not listening,” Gigi sings into her phone screen. “This is way too much information and oversharing from all of you, not to mention gross and the things nightmares of made of.”

It’s not all tight bodies, big tits, and hot guys. This is Florida. You have a better chance of seeing an old man with a beer gut wearing a Speedo on the beach than some hot young thing.

 

My Review:

 

I adore Chelle Bliss and her lively and close-knit Gallo clan, they are large, loud, and love each other hard. The men are gorgeous and bossy yet tender-hearted alpha males while the women are as feisty as they are lovely to look at. Written in my favorite dual POV, the smirk-worthy storylines were engaging, quickly paced, easy to follow, deliciously steamy, and laced together with highly amusing and irreverent levity.

 

Meet the Author

USA Today bestselling author Chelle Bliss currently lives in a small town near the Gulf of Mexico. She’s a full-time writer, time-waster extraordinaire, social media addict, and coffee fiend. She’s written over ten books and has two series available. She loves spending her free time with her boyfriend, 2 cats, and her hamster.

Before becoming a writer, Chelle taught high school history for over ten years. She holds a master’s degree in Instructional Technology and a bachelor’s in History. Although history is her first love, writing has become her dream job and she can’t imagine doing anything else.

http://chellebliss.com/

https://www.facebook.com/authorchellebliss1

http://chellebliss.com/newsletter/

https://twitter.com/ChelleBliss1

https://www.instagram.com/authorchellebliss/

JOIN MY READER GROUP

Book Review: The Cutting Room by Ashley Dyer

The Cutting Room

by Ashley Dyer

 

AmazonUS / UK / CA / AU

B&N / HarperCollins

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (June 18, 2019)

Detectives Ruth Lake and Greg Carver, introduced in the electrifying Splinter in the Blood, must stop a serial killer whose victims are the centerpiece of his macabre works of art.

While Britain is obsessed with the newest hit true-crime television show, Fact, or Fable? detectives Ruth Lake and Greg Carver are tormented by a fiendish flesh-and-blood killer on the loose.

Lured to a “crime scene” by a mysterious digital invitation, Ruth Lake is horrified by what she finds: a bizarre and gruesome tableau surrounded by a crowd of gawkers. The deadly work is the latest “art installation” designed by a diabolical criminal dubbed the Ferryman. Not only is this criminal cold-blooded; he’s a narcissistic exhibitionist desperate for an audience. He’s also clever at promoting his deadly handiwork. Exploiting England’s current true-crime craze, he uses social media to titillate and terrorize the public.

Ruth is joined in the investigation by her partner Greg Carver, who is slowly regaining his strength after a run-in with another sadistic criminal. But Greg can’t seem to shake the bewildering effects of the head wound that nearly ended him. Are the strange auras blurring his vision an annoying side effect of his injury, or could they be something more . . . a tool to help him see a person’s true nature?

In this utterly engrossing and thrilling tale of suspense, a pair of seasoned detectives face off against a wickedly smart and inventive psychopath in a tense, bloody game that leads to a shocking end.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

His smile somehow managed to convey both apology and mischief.

 

She was four foot ten and almost the same in circumference, she walked with a roll.

 

Drew Scanlon was what Carver, a London incomer, now recognized as a through-and-through Scouse scally. The type that could boast five generations of forebears who were also Scouse scallies, Liverpool born-and-dragged-up going back over a century. To qualify as a true scally, it was necessary to forswear aspiration as poncey and soft. Education was for snobs, steady jobs for knobheads. The trick was to never aspire to anything, do the minimum, and have enough street savvy to stay out of reach of the law.

  

My Review:

 

A cunning serial killer, who was likened to the mythological Ferryman, had Liverpool churning, and his clever use of social media had his popularity soaring and his followers swarming each fresh crime scene for his artistic yet gruesome exhibits featuring the mutilated organs of his victims or graphics/videos of their demise. This was a complex and compelling thriller and I couldn’t seem to gain traction on the mystery, as it was slippery, confounding, multi-textured, and complicated by unreliable and deceitful characters with closets full of their own dark secrets.

 

The writing was intricately detailed with unusual descriptions and shrewd observations that occasionally included unexpected hits of wry humor. The storylines were layer upon layer of baffling clues with the struggling police officers personal issues and agendas swirling and tainting the mix.   The tension mounted and never let up, even upon reaching the last page, which completed this story but left a few loose personal threads to keep us primed to continue with the next installment, which I for one will certainly be watching for.

 

My Brit Vocabulary List expanded with the additions of: Scouse – Liverpool dialect; stab vest – body armor in the US we would call them Kevlar or bulletproof vest; warrant card – Police ID; and scally – rascal or miscreant, usually jobless, uneducated, and prone to crime.

I was provided with a review copy of this chilling thriller by HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.
.

About the Author

Ashley Dyer is a writing duo based in the United Kingdom.

Margaret Murphy is a Writing Fellow and Reading Round Lector for the Royal Literary Fund, a past chair of the Crime Writers Association (CWA), and founder of Murder Squad. A CWA Short Story Dagger winner, she has been shortlisted for the First Blood critics’ award for crime fiction as well as the CWA Dagger in the Library. Under her own name she has published nine psychological suspense and police procedural novels.

Helen Pepper is a senior lecturer in policing at Teesside University. She has been an analyst, forensic scientist, scene of crime officer, CSI, and crime scene manager. She has coauthored, as well as contributed to, professional policing texts. Her expertise is in great demand with crime writers: she is a judge for the CWA’s Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction Award, and is a forensic consultant on both the Vera and Shetland TV series.

Find out more at their website, www.ashley-dyer.com.

Book Review, Giveaway: 10-Code by Freya Barker

Title: 10- Code (Rock Point #4)
Author: Freya Barker
Genre: Romantic suspense

Release Date: June 17, 2019
Hosted by: Buoni Amici Press, LLC.

As a forty-one-year-old mother of three boys, working two jobs, Marya Berger doesn’t have the time or energy to consider a relationship. Especially after a lifetime of poor choices in the romance department. But when the disappearance of a young boy strikes a little too close to home, and a younger man she’s tried to ignore offers his help, she doesn’t stand in the way.

Single father, Dylan Barnes, the junior member of the La Plata County FBI team at thirty-three, has his focus firmly on his job and his son, Max. He’s certainly not looking to complicate his life, when he finds himself at his son’s soccer game, sitting beside the spirited brunette he can’t get out of his mind. Fate, however, appears to have different plans.

When an unspeakable crime draws the attention of the FBI, Dylan finds himself torn between his job and his instinctive need to protect Marya and her boys.

Available in Kindle Unlimited

AMAZON

 

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I don’t have a thing for older women… I have a thing for you. You happen to be older, that’s all.

 

Okay, you need to stop being perfect. My heart can’t handle it.

  

My Review:

 

I have stated this numerous times but it is worth repeating, I adore Freya Baker. I’m sad to see this series come to an end as I enjoyed these admirable, hard-working, and uniquely compelling men and women of La Plata County. The intriguing books of this series were all standalone yet seamlessly interconnected. Each was tautly written with topical issues, realistic suspense, and real-world concerns while cast with relatable yet imperfect characters who were doing their best to survive and rise above their untenable situations. The storylines were well-constructed, smartly paced, and cleverly nuanced, and although the subject matter may give some pause, the crimes were not graphically depicted although the plotted heinous behavior toward children in 10-Code was distressing to even contemplate, yet unfortunately occurs all too often.

 

Freya Barker inspires with her stories about ‘real’ people, perhaps less than perfect, each struggling to find their own slice of happy.

She is the author of the Cedar Tree and Portland, ME Series, the Northern Lights Collection and the Rock Point Series. She is also co-author of the SnapShot Series.

To see Freya’s complete backlist, or to find out what is coming down the pipe, visit freyabarker.com.

All Available in Kindle Unlimited

AMAZON

AMAZON

AMAZON

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: Confetti at the Little Duck Pond Cafe by Rosie Green

Confetti at the Little Duck Pond Cafe

by Rosie Green

 

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA 

Wedding fever is in the air in the village of Sunnybrook. With Ellie and Zak’s Big Day on the horizon, the sun is shining brightly on the Little Duck Pond Cafe community. But when dark clouds begin to roll in from more than one direction, several close relationships look to be under threat. Will the wedding of the year actually take place at all?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Practically the only bonus of getting older is that you don’t give a flying fart about what other people think of you.

 

Now, what can I get you from the drinks machine to get your strength up? Coffee that’s bitter enough to hold a grudge for years? Or hot chocolate that’s so pale and uninteresting, it could do with a week on a beach in Benidorm?

  

My Review:

 

This was a busy, eventful, and rather tumultuous installment with a variety of stressful events and health issues for several different characters. The devious Ms. Green cunningly provides enough charm and interesting new storylines to feed and maintain our addiction to the series while also dangling several loose ends to keep us craving more. She has also added to my Brit Word List with oxters – an Old English and Scottish word for armpit. I adore obscure words.

About the Author

Rosie Green has been scribbling stories ever since she was little. Back then they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by ‘the baddies’. Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger involved at all, unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love.​​Rosie’s brand new series of novellas is centered on life in a village café. Confetti at the Little Duck Pond Cafe will be the sixth in the series

Twitter – https://twitter.com/Rosie_Green1988

 

Book Review: Queen Bee by Dorothea Benton Frank

Queen Bee

by Dorothea Benton Frank

AmazonUS / UK / CA / AU

B&N / HarperCollins

Hardcover: 432 pages

Publisher: William Morrow (May 28, 2019)

Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank’s Carolina Lowcountry in this evocative tale that returns at long last to her beloved Sullivan’s Island.

Beekeeper Holly McNee Kensen quietly lives in a world of her own on Sullivan’s Island, tending her hives and working at the local island library. Holly calls her mother The Queen Bee because she’s a demanding hulk of a woman. Her mother, a devoted hypochondriac, might be unaware that she’s quite ill but that doesn’t stop her from tormenting Holly. To escape the drama, Holly’s sister Leslie married and moved away, wanting little to do with island life. Holly’s escape is to submerge herself in the lives of the two young boys next door and their widowed father, Archie.

Her world is upended when the more flamboyant Leslie returns and both sisters, polar opposites, fixate on what’s happening in their neighbor’s home. Is Archie really in love with that awful ice queen of a woman? If Archie marries her, what will become of his little boys? Restless Leslie is desperate for validation after her imploded marriage, squandering her favors on any and all takers. Their mother ups her game in an uproarious and theatrical downward spiral. Scandalized Holly is talking to her honey bees a mile a minute, as though they’ll give her a solution to all the chaos. Maybe they will.

Queen Bee is a classic Lowcountry Tale—warm, wise and hilarious, it roars with humanity and a dropperful of whodunit added for good measure by an unseen hand. In her twentieth novel, Dorothea Benton Frank brings us back to her beloved island with an unforgettable story where the Lowcountry magic of the natural world collides with the beat of the human heart.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

My mother sighed so hard then that the National Weather Service issued small craft warnings.

 

Cleopatra could not have put any more intention and effort into the seduction of Mark Antony. The only things I didn’t have were a CD of Barry White’s and a scented candle.

 

There are no more big choices at our age. You’ve made them. Now you have to wait for a promotion to do just what you’re doing, except more of it, for some stupid incremental raise. It’s a big fat snore.

 

Leslie stayed home the night before Archie and Sharon were to be married, probably to give her liver a rest. I was pretty sure the Gentlemen of the Tap were holding a candlelight vigil at Dunleavy’s Pub, praying for her swift return.

 

The gates of hell opened wide when she croaked… I smell sulfur.

In the Lowcountry, we believed bad things happened in threes. Becoming the third wife of a man twice widowed was a terrifying prospect.

 

 My Review:

 

I smirked and wore a near constant grin as I gleefully perused this delightfully engaging book. It was a treasure chest overflowing with wry wit and slyly deployed levity. I adore Dorothea Benton Frank’s amusing and captivating Lowcountry stories, this is the sixth one I’ve read and I have cherished each and every one of them. Her writing style is comfortable and engaging, yet deceptively insightful and cleverly observant. But it is her unforgettable, uniquely drawn, and deliciously peculiar characters that seal the deal for me. I will eagerly await her next offering.  I was provided with a review copy of this divinely penned book by HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.  

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank was born and raised on Sullivans Island, South Carolina. She resides in the New York area with her husband.

Find her on the web at www.dotfrank.com, or like her on FacebookTwitter, or Instagram.