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Book Review: Christmas on Lily Pond Lane By Emily Harvale

 

 

Christmas on Lily Pond Lane

By Emily Harvale

Amazon US / UK 

 

Snow is falling in Little Pondale, lights are twinkling and the smell of pine trees and roasting chestnuts fills the air …

But Mia Ward is in a bit of a jam. She’d planned to rent out Corner Cottage for Christmas but thanks to best friend, Ella Swann, it’s double-booked. Now Mia’s got to let one ‘party’ down, or find another cottage – fast.

Best friends and single mums, Cathy Cole and Christy Franks want their kids to have an old-fashioned Christmas. Ice-skating, carol singing, making decorations, and tobogganing are on their list of festive fun and Little Pondale is the perfect place. Especially as it has no mobile phone reception. That will make it harder for Cathy to be found.

City banker, Leo Hardman is wondering if renting a cottage for Christmas as an anniversary surprise for his parents, was such a good idea. Little Pondale may be where his parents met, but his mum doesn’t seem pleased to be back, and his brother, Hal isn’t happy that the village is so tiny and only has one pub.

Meanwhile, Jenny Lake is settling in at her cousin’s bakery, having left her (broken) heart in Florence, but Christmas was never her favorite time of year. And Reverend Glen Fox has taken over at St Michael and All Angels. He’s glad it’s a temporary post because village life is not for him.

But luckily, for locals and visitors alike, there’s a sleigh-load of Christmas magic heading for Lily Pond Lane; enough to put a sparkle in everyone’s festive season. Although Christmas may not go quite as each of them has planned.

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

I’ve got the kind of voice that makes a dog sound like a prima donna. Believe me, no one wants to hear me sing. Although I could make you a fortune if people had to pay to get me to stop.

My Review:

Reading this book gave me a contented and relaxed feeling, similar to that satisfying sense of pleasure felt after a good stretch or peaceful sigh. It was quick and enjoyable read and if you haven’t read the previous books in the series, this may pluck at your curiosity and lead you to do so. It will also put you in a festive frame of mind, even though it was months ahead of the holiday season when I read it. Love and good cheer were in the air of Little Pondale and visitors and residents alike are pairing off and getting all loved up during the week leading up to Christmas. Surprises always seem to be on the menu for this group and one visitor gave the gossipy old dear Heddie an eye-popping secret to expose. I adore these characters and this sweet series.

 

Author Bio –

Having lived and worked in London for several years, Emily returned to her hometown of Hastings where she now spends her days writing… and chatting on social media. Emily is a Member of the SoA, a PAN member of the RWA and a Pro Member of ALLi. She’s an Amazon bestseller and a Kindle All-Star. Emily loves writing and her stories are sure to bring a smile to your face and a warmth to your heart.


Emily says, “I write about friendship, family and falling in love. I believe in happing endings.” When she isn’t writing, she can be found enjoying the stunning East Sussex coast and countryside, or in a wine bar with friends, discussing life, love and the latest TV shows. Chocolate cake is often eaten. She dislikes housework almost as much as she dislikes anchovies – and will do anything to avoid both.

Social Media Links –  https://www.facebook.com/emilyharvalewriter

https://www.twitter.com/emilyharvale

https://www.instagram.com/emilyharvale

 

 

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Book Reviews: Cupid F*cks Up, and My T(r)oyboy is a Twat by Paula Houseman

Cupid F*cks Up

by Paula Houseman

Amazon UK  / US  / B&N

 

Ruth Roth is a straight shooter. Pity Cupid’s not.

Smart-mouth Ruth is an inspirational humor columnist for a popular women’s magazine. Recently divorced, she has found the love of her life. Without any help, mind you, from the little fat love god. Ruth has decided she herself is her one and only.

And she’s in a comfy place. Why wouldn’t she be? No need to yell ‘Put the bloody toilet seat down!’ No need to hoover toe-nail clippings off the carpet.

But then a silver-tongued Prince Charming fronts up in his shiny Merc and tickles her discarded, little-girl fantasies. He tells her their love is written in the stars.

It must be a misprint.

A romance with this particular PC is not so PC! Still …

Ruth’s life plays out more like ancient myth than fairytale. And what hot-blooded woman can resist forbidden fruit?

There’s a problem, though. Ruth does not have a hot-blooded mum. Ruth has a pain-in-the-arse mum whose squawking disapproval cranks the taboo up a notch.

All the more reason to take up with the stud! But it means taking on the harpy.

Tensions mount, and even Ruth’s man can’t protect her from the trash-talking voices in her head. It looks like he can’t muzzle his own either. When an earth-shattering revelation causes him to give her grief, it makes her feel like she’s dating her mother.

Taking the kind of advice she doles out to her readers is not so easy, and Ruth wonders if this love can survive. More to the point, is it worth the trouble?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Finding out he was adopted was bittersweet for Ralph. Bitter, because he felt betrayed by his adored and adoring adoptive mother, who withheld such important information from him. But sweet, because it meant he wasn’t swimming in the same shallow, fetid gene pool as the other idiots in his family— his father, his younger whiney sister, Louise (Louwhiney), and his two brothers, george and simon (who, according to Ralph, had no brains, miniscule penises, and were too common to be worthy of majuscule letters at the beginning of their names).

 

Unlike Xena, Warrior Princess —who slept in an ice cave for twenty-five years— I’d developed some pampered princess tendencies. I was now more Worrier Princess.

 

But the award for unrivalled faux pas went to Sylvia… ‘My son the doctor did all he could,’ she told them. I didn’t think it was the right time to correct her. (Myron was a dentist. He had fallen short of Sylvia’s dream of him becoming a doctor, but she regularly cashed in on his title, Doctor Roth.) Chalky-skinned, she dabbed at her weepy eyes with a tissue. She regained her composure and continued. ‘Myron tried to revive his father with artificial insemination.’

‘You could have called me,’ she accused. ‘I might have been dead on the floor like your father was. I could have composted.’ … ‘I think you meant decomposed.’

 Casper liked watching the occasional scary movie… Casper assured me he felt loved and wouldn’t become Freddy Krueger. With his powers of persuasion, I worried that he’d become a lawyer or a politician instead.

My Review:

 

While still cleverly amusing, this book was considerably more angsty with relationship and family issues and more introspective and emotive than the first in the series.   Ruth and Ralph were both laboring through significant life events, transitions, and revelations. There were several emotional teeter-totters and periods in the story where Ruth was shrewish and cruel; I wanted to pull her hair.   Ruth’s procrastination and on and off attempts at soul-searching on her journey of empowerment was entertaining but not without hiccups. Romance was all around for the group and I was all swoony over Ralph, although he could have also used a few kicks to dislodge his cranium from his gluts. This has to be the quirkiest cast of characters ever assembled and they continue to intrigue and expand with the oddest of eccentricities. The introduction of the colorful and peculiar character of Hector yielded an entirely new level of rib-tickling levity.

My T(r)oyboy is a Twat

by Paula Houseman

Amazon UK / US / B&N

 

Love, romance, marriage, and a dark little secret. Shh … Small things let loose can grow out of hand.

Ruth Roth’s new husband can’t keep it in. If only he had all those years ago, things might be different now.

His big mouth sends every family member into hell. Except for Ruth’s late mother. She blows in from there. Seems the woman just won’t die. Or let up. Faaaark!

As if Mama’s ear-bashing isn’t enough, everyone else needs a scapegoat. Ruth is it. Somehow, this mess is her fault.

With everything falling apart, she feels overwhelmed. Until a hunky celebrity pants man—who clearly wants to get into hers—befriends her and makes her feel all warm and fuzzy. At the same time, an educated silicone seductress has designs on hubby.

Temptation abounds. But it’s overshadowed when a startling discovery throws Ruth and her man into uncharted waters, and life comes crashing down.

Ruth has survived plenty with the help of her friends. And as a writer, her wry wit, dirty muse, and a bent for ancient mythology have sustained her. This, though, might be her undoing.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

‘Buyer’s remorse, I’ll bet! I did tell you, you should’ve lived with him first. It’s one thing to tolerate his particular brand of crazy when you’re not sharing a living space, but Ruthie, you should’ve insisted on a try-before-you-buy policy.’

 

Men want a happy ending; women want happily ever after.

 

My Review:

 

I struggled valiantly with this installment to the series as the main characters were struggling and the storylines were 75% angst, yet thankfully, the remaining 25% sparkled with Ms. Houseman’s unique form of wit, wry snark, and clever humor. Due to family issues, my newly beloved couple of Ruth and Ralph quickly dropped out of sync after their lovely wedding, and the fallout was heartbreaking and painful. Worse yet was the immature and baleful behaviors they fell into and couldn’t seem to slide out of. As I am no fan of angst, their suffering grew repetitive and tedious for me, although that is just my preference as I know lots of fellow readers who devour it like a lapsed dieter at a buffet. Despite my discomforts, Ms. Houseman often found inventive means of sprinkling humorous bits in the midst of their despair. R&R were able to pull it together and appeared stronger than ever when the story ended with yet another upending surprise. Write quickly Ms. Houseman, you have me fully invested and hopelessly addicted to this oddly quirky and habit-forming group of eccentrics.

New Aussie words for my expanding vocabulary list include “have Buckley’s” which Wiktionary defined as having no chance; and “Ocker” which Mr. Google indicated was the stereotype of the uncultured Austrian who tends to be crass, guzzle beer, and speak with a thick dialect. Is anyone else getting a sharp visual of Crocodile Dundee?

Author Bio – Paula Houseman was once a graphic designer. But when the temptation to include ‘the finger’ as part of a logo for a forward-moving women’s company proved too much, she knew it was time to give away design. Instead, she took up writing.

She found she was a natural with the double entendres (God knows she’d been in enough trouble as a child for dirty wordplay).

As a published writer of earthy chick lit and romantic comedy, Paula gets to bend, twist, stretch and juice up universal experiences to shape reality the way she wants it, even if it is only in books. But at the same time, she can make it more real, so that her readers feel part of the sisterhood. Or brotherhood (realness has nothing to do with gender).

Through her books, Paula also wants to help the reader escape into life and love’s comic relief. And who doesn’t need to sometimes?

Her style is a tad Monty Pythonesque because she adores satire. It helps defuse all those gaffes and thoughts that no one is too proud of.

Paula lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband. No other creatures. The kids have flown the nest and the dogs are long gone.

Social Media Links –

Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulahouseman

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/PaulaHouseman

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulahouseman

 

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Book Review: Odyssey In A Teacup (Ruth Roth #1) by Paula Houseman 

Odyssey In A Teacup

Ruth Roth #1

by Paula Houseman 

 

Amazon US / UK  / B&N

A tut-tutting, big-breasted, modern-day gorgon; a humorless schoolmarm with an unfortunate name and freakishly long, yellow incisors (yeesh)—these are the kinds of people Ruth Roth regularly encounters. Add in daily dealings with an acerbic mother who squawks like a harpy, a father with a dodgy moral compass and a God complex, a bitchy mirror, and Ruth’s existence feels like a Greek tragicomedy.The idiocy of daily life makes sense to Ruth when she develops a fascination with ancient mythology. She learns that the deviant gods and spectacular monsters of bygone myths are alive and well in the backwoods of our psyche; that there’s always one who escapes suppression and can have the whip hand in our lives. Ruth’s is one of the most unwelcome societal presences—the goddess of obscenity. And talk about ugly!

Ruth can relate to this immortal. Not in looks; Ruth is quite comely. But she feels unwelcome in her own family (she gatecrashed her mother’s womb only two months after her brother vacated it). Despite being labeled the ‘black sheep’, or maybe because of it, Ruth takes on her nemeses, bravely and brazenly (her dirty goddess doesn’t give a rat’s about social niceties). But our heroine is war-weary. And the yearning to fit in somewhere—anywhere—eventually undoes her. We must look on helplessly as Ruth loses her soul.

She wants it back, though!

Just as well the mad characters in her mind and experiences won’t quit. Just as well Ruth never loses her wry wit. And where her nearest and dearest attempt to keep her shrunken into a wholesome package of conformity, Ruth’s two closest girlfriends simply won’t allow it. And then there’s Ralph Brill.

Ruth’s hot-looking, eccentric cousin and best friend, Ralph is her staunchest ally. Also a misfit in his family, he has his share of problems including a st-t-t-tuttering brutish father, and an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder—Ralph needs to do everything twice, twice.

Ruth relies on his repeated encouragement and the support of her girlfriends as she embarks on an odyssey. A good homeopathic dose of ancient mythology helps her find her way back through the sludgy shame and irrational fears choking her spirit. Then just when all seems well, Ruth faces an apocalypse …

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Ralph staunchly and compassionately defended his brothers: ‘They’re only aggressive because they’ve got such über-small penises.’

 

I was learning about ancient Greece in history class. Greek mythology was a very large component of this because my teacher had a passion for it. His name was Zero Kosta … poor bastard… this man must have truly felt like he was worth nothing from the get-go. Suddenly, my name didn’t seem so bad. I think Mr Kosta had first- hand knowledge of ancient times because he looked like he was raised from the crypt. He was cadaverous.

 

In our family, Joe had a special aptitude for farting. And he was renowned for it in the Jewish community. There were whispers: Psst, did you hear what Joe Roth did during the visiting dignitary’s speech? What chutzpah! Still, never heard anything like it before! and, That’s Ruth Roth. Her father’s the one who farts in public. This earned him the nickname ‘Joe Blow’ (clever, but also dumb because he was anything but your average Joe).

 

If the eyes are the window to the soul … what if someone’s cross-eyed? Is that like looking through a bay window?

 

When I was seven, Joe backed up against my freshly ironed school shirt, which was hanging on the linen closet door. He deposited a fart in the shirt pocket. ‘For safekeeping,’ he’d said. The teachers didn’t think it was too funny that day when I told them I had a fart in my pocket.

 

My Review:

 

Paula Houseman is found treasure. My face kept a near-constant smirk and my reading of this vibrant and cleverly amusing story was frequently and forcefully interrupted, as I was laughing so hard I could not see. I adored it start to finish and had 5 pages of favorite quotes. The book was packed with a full cast of peculiarly eccentric, neurotic, and quirky characters who had starring roles in Ruth’s memories of her most calamitous and psyche-scarring life events. The storylines and writing were highly entertaining and I was hard pressed to put my Kindle down. Her father’s legendary flatulence issues alone caused several bouts of giggle-snorting.   Ms. Houseman is my new favorite author and I will fangirl her hard. I am thrilled to have two more of her masterworks on my Kindle, but I cannot imagine how she could possibly top the humorous storytelling of this one. And I have doubled my newly established Aussie Vocab List with the new entries of furphies – which are erroneous stories; fossick – to rummage or search; stoush – a commotion or dust-up; and Strine – the English language as spoken by Australians as well as their accent.

 

 

Author Bio 

 Paula Houseman was once a graphic designer. But when the temptation to include ‘the finger’ as part of a logo for a forward-moving women’s company proved too much, she knew it was time to give away design. Instead, she took up writing.

She found she was a natural with the double entendres (God knows she’d been in enough trouble as a child for dirty wordplay).

As a published writer of earthy chick lit and romantic comedy, Paula gets to bend, twist, stretch and juice up universal experiences to shape reality the way she wants it, even if it is only in books. But at the same time, she can make it more real, so that her readers feel part of the sisterhood. Or brotherhood (realness has nothing to do with gender).

Through her books, Paula also wants to help the reader escape into life and love’s comic relief. And who doesn’t need to sometimes?

Her style is a tad Monty Pythonesque because she adores satire. It helps defuse all those gaffes and thoughts that no one is too proud of.

Paula lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband. No other creatures. The kids have flown the nest and the dogs are long gone.

Social Media Links –

Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulahouseman

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/PaulaHouseman

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulahouseman

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Book Review: I Know You Know by Gilly Macmillan

 I Know You Know

by Gilly Macmillan

HarperCollins | Amazon | B & N

Paperback: 384 pages
 Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (September 18, 2018)

From New York Times bestselling author Gilly Macmillan comes this original, chilling and twisty mystery about two shocking murder cases twenty years apart, and the threads that bind them.

Twenty years ago, eleven-year-olds Charlie Paige and Scott Ashby were murdered in the city of Bristol, their bodies dumped near a dog racing track. A man was convicted of the brutal crime, but decades later, questions still linger.

For his whole life, filmmaker Cody Swift has been haunted by the deaths of his childhood best friends. The loose ends of the police investigation consume him so much that he decides to return to Bristol in search of answers. Hoping to uncover new evidence, and to encourage those who may be keeping long-buried secrets to speak up, Cody starts a podcast to record his findings. But there are many people who don’t want the case—along with old wounds—reopened so many years after the tragedy, especially Charlie’s mother, Jess, who decides to take matters into her own hands.

When a long-dead body is found in the same location the boys were left decades before, the disturbing discovery launches another murder investigation. Now Detective John Fletcher, the investigator on the original case, must reopen his dusty files and decide if the two murders are linked. With his career at risk, the clock is ticking and lives are in jeopardy…

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

If you can control where an interview takes place, you are part of the way to controlling the interview itself. Location matters. Fletcher’s wife announced she was leaving him when they were in the Costco car park. He didn’t see it coming. He remembers acutely the humiliation of loading bags into the boot of the car while she explained across the laden shopping trolley that their marriage was over. “Well, why are we buying in bulk then?” was all he could think to ask.

 

It’s a resting place for cold cases, and Fletcher thinks of it as an archive of failure. For every high-profile solve, there’s an unsolved crime shelved here. In each tidily filed box, Fletcher thinks, there are not just papers, photographs, and other case materials, but other things, invisible things. There are traces of the open emotional wounds an unsolved crime leaves on the families and detectives affected by it. There is also the shadow of something more rotten: the person who got away with it.

 

Like a nodding dog ornament on a dashboard, she moves her head laboriously to look at Danny. Everything she does is so slow it makes Fletcher’s joints feel as if they’re liquefying under the strain of being patient.

 

I said you’re a prat, John Fletcher. Always have been, always will be. I’m fed up of you strutting about like you own the place when you passed your sell-by date years ago. The only time I’ll look forward to seeing you will be at your retirement party.

 

I did a bit of unscientific research on the subject—by which I mean to say that I looked it up on the internet…

 

My Review:

 

I was unprepared for the twists and turns of the diabolically clever Gilly Macmillan. Her fascinating yet despicable characters were as compelling as the well-crafted storylines they inhabited. They squeezed then broke my heart while holding me captive to my Kindle as I hissed and huffed my distress. No one was innocent, except for the condemned patsy, and no one was as they had initially appeared, it was brilliant.

 

Gilly Macmillan has strong word voodoo. Cunningly woven into this adroitly written book were the gut-churning savagery of children, blackmail, police coercion, nefarious manipulations, greed, ambition, corruption, and desperation. The writing was exquisitely nuanced, the wily characters were deeply damaged and irreparably flawed yet keenly described and depicted in a cleverly magnetizing manner. It was riveting, yet tragic and heartbreaking. I was enthralled and even though she turned me inside out, I covet her mad skills and greedily want all her words.

 

New additions to my Brit Vocab list include tearaways which Mr. Google tells me is a wild or reckless person; bung which is a bribe or payoff; and cobblers which apparently has two meanings as it is nonsense to some, and testicles to the Cockneys – although those two things are pretty much the same thing to me 😉

I was provided with a review copy of this stunningly well-crafted book by HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.

 

About Gilly Macmillan

Gilly Macmillan is the Edgar Nominated and New York Times bestselling author of What She Knew. She grew up in Swindon, Wiltshire and lived in Northern California in her late teens. She worked at The Burlington Magazine and the Hayward Gallery before starting a family. Since then she’s worked as a part-time lecturer in photography, and now writes full-time. She resides in Bristol, England.

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

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Book Review: Flow (Men of Inked: Southside 2) by Chelle Bliss

Flow

(Men of Inked: Southside 2)

by Chelle Bliss

 Release date: 2nd October

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Add to your TBR

Flow is the second book in the new, steamy Southside series by USA Today bestselling author Chelle Bliss.

Be ready for a hot, wild ride with the Gallo’s on the Southside

 

FLOW

❥ iBooks→ apple.co/2Mb4jW0

❥ Kindle → amzn.to/2n6lwoI

❥ Nook→ bit.ly/2NZJugO

❥ Kobo→ bit.ly/2AzVnIG

❥ Paperback amzn.to/2LLJjZP

**buy the 📚, get the  📱 for FREE!

❥ Amazon UK→ amzn.to/2NfyiAQ

❥ Amazon AU→ amzn.to/2oYPqMP

❥ Amazon CA→ amzn.to/2QjgRgC

 

 
The moment I looked into his eyes, I knew I was in trouble.
The second I heard his name, I knew I should stay away.
.
Our fathers were mortal enemies—Chicago crime bosses from rival families.
.
But that didn’t stop Leo Conti from pursuing me.
Being together was dangerous, reckless, and totally hot.
He wanted me. I wanted him.
.
Nothing could possibly go wrong, right?

.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but I disagree. My father learned; he just ignored the hell out of the lessons…

 

No other woman, besides my mother, scares the crap out of him quite like his sister. She’s a tiny thing, but man, the mouth on her gives me life goals.

 

“You’re going to need to cut down on your stress as soon as possible. Also, add some fiber to your diet. You’re constipated, which made the cramping worse than normal.” Daphne shoots me a death glare. “Bella… I always knew you were full of shit, but now the doctor’s confirmed it.”

 

“Your father wants to elope to Vegas and be married by an Elvis impersonator.” She rolls her eyes… “An ex-mobster in a gangster town is not a smart combo, dear.”

 

My Review:

 

Family drama plays heavy in this volume featuring the snarky drama queen of Daphne, who finds herself inexplicably drawn to the son of her father’s chief rival. Humor, angst, and sensual sizzle were well balanced throughout this smirk-worthy and engaging read. I adore Ms. Bliss’s bawdy humor and alluring characters. I am already feeling greedy for the next installment.

 

 

Maneuver (Men of Inked: Southside 1)

Available Now

❥Paperback: https://amzn.to/2m1NL7o

**buy the 📚, get the 📱 for FREE!

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.
https://www.instagram.com/authorchellebliss/JOIN MY READER GROUP

 

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Book Review: Fragments of Ash by Katy Regnery

Title: Fragments of Ash
(Inspired by “Cinderella”)
Collection: A Modern Fairytale
Author: Katy Regnery
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 1, 2018

 

Blurb

From New York Times bestselling author Katy Regnery comes a dark and twisted retelling of the beloved fairytale, Cinderella!

My name is Ashley Ellis…

I was thirteen years old when my mother – retired supermodel, Tig – married Mosier Răumann, who was twice her age and the head of the Răumann crime family.

When I turned eighteen, my mother mysteriously died. Only then did I discover the dark plans my stepfather had in store for me all along; the debauched “work” he expected me to do.

With the help of my godfather, Gus, I have escaped from Mosier’s clutches, but his twin sons and henchmen have been tasked with hunting me down. And they will stop at nothing to return my virgin body to their father

…dead or alive.

** Contemporary Romance. Due to profanity and very strong sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.**

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Fragments of Ash is part of the ~a modern fairytale~ collection: contemporary, standalone romances inspired by beloved fairy tales.

The Vixen and the Vet (Beauty & the Beast) – available now

Never Let You Go (Hansel & Gretel) – available now

Ginger’s Heart (Little Red Riding Hood) – available now

Dark Sexy Knight (Camelot) – available now

Don’t Speak (The Little Mermaid) – available now

Sheer Heaven (Rapunzel) – available now

Fragments of Ash (Cinderella) – available now

Swan Song (The Ugly Duckling) – coming soon

 

Purchase Links
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS
.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I place a premium on being heard, since so few people in my life have cared to listen.

 

That boy gives you tingles in the tinderbox? Well, hell. Let him strike a match already.

 

My Review:

 

A clever title for Ashley’s tragic and angsty tale of woe, one she later learned that had actually been far worse for her deceased mother.   In a creative flip from Cinderella, Ashley had a vicious and malevolent stepfather and twin stepbrothers. She fled to her only source of support and found herself in hiding with a sumptuous yet cranky and disgraced ex-Secret Service Agent. I enjoyed this engaging fairytale retelling, which was laced with elements of suspense, a coming of age and slow burn romance, loads of family drama, and a delightful bit of steam near the end. The characters were intriguing, the premise was entertaining, and the writing was emotive, heart-squeezing, and well paced.

Excerpt
All rights reserved. Used with permission.


Instead of going inside, I walk around the house, to the backyard, to see if I can help bring in any dirty dishes, but the picnic table is empty. All traces of our dinner party have already been cleaned up by the Ducharmes siblings.
 
I look up at the midnight sky, at the dozens and dozens of stars, and I wonder if Gus is right. What he says feels right, but I feel very young and very small as I stare up at the universe. It’s not wrong to give yourself over to loving if the chance arises.
 
“We get amazing night skies up here.”
 
I look over my shoulder and find Julian, tall, barefoot, and beautiful, walking toward me.
 
“Yes, you do,” I answer, giving him a shy and tentative smile before I turn my attention back upward.
 
My skin prickles with awareness. My lips tingle, remembering the insistent pressure of his. And elsewhere in my body, I clench hard, willing those deep-set tremors not to start up again right now. I want to believe what Gus has told me—that liking and wanting a man isn’t wrong—but it’s new to me, and I need a little time to reconcile my desire and conscience together.
 
“When I lived in DC, it was what I missed the most, besides Noelle. More than the cheese. More than the beer. More than the skiing.” He stops, standing beside me, staring up at the firmament. “I missed Vermont’s night skies. And the millions of stars.”
 
“I can see why,” I say. “When I lived in LA, I never saw stars.” I giggle. “I mean, I saw the people kind, but not the sky kind.”
 
“Who’s the most famous person you ever met?”
 
“Hmm. Maybe . . . Gigi Hadid . . . or Bella? Hmm . . . Or Cara Delevingne? Kate Moss mentored my m—Tig for a while, um, and she knew Gisele, of course. Also—”
 
“Wait a second! Gisele? Did you ever meet Tom Brady?” he asks, his voice eager.
 
“Let me guess.” I glance at his face. “Patriots fan?”
 
“The biggest.”
 
“Tig went to their wedding, but I never met him. Sorry,” I say, giggling as he lays a hand over his heart and pretends to cry. “Speaking of the rich and famous, Noelle tells me you met the vice president while you worked in Washington.”
 
“She did?” His teasing expression disappears quickly as he straightens, dropping his hand. “Uh, yeah. Long time ago.”
 
“Not so long,” I say. 
 
“Yeah, well . . . I guess it just feels like a while ago.” I wait for him to say more, hoping to learn why he left Washington so abruptly, but he stretches his arms over his head and yawns. “I’m tired. You must be exhausted.”
 
“At school I was on the dining hall rotation, which meant cooking for one hundred souls regularly. Tonight was a breeze.”
 
“Your soup was amazing.”
“Thank you.”
“The steak too.”
“Thank you again.”
“And the tart.”
“That was your sister. Let her know you thought so.”
“And the kiss.”
 
“Thank—” I’m grinning at him, but my eyes widen at his unexpected compliment, and I immediately look back up at the sky. It’s dark out so he can’t see my blush.
 
His chuckle is soft and low beside me, and maybe I’m wicked for not feeling more guilty, but I feel my smile grow as I trace Orion’s belt. I don’t dare look at him, but I feel him step closer to me, the warmth of his chest radiating against my back. If I moved slightly, one step even, his body would be flush against mine, and the shiver down my arms has nothing to do with the night chill. I want him to touch me, but I know he won’t.
 
As though he can read my mind, he whispers, close to my ear, “Not unless you ask.”
 
I close my eyes and say a prayer for strength and virtue, which, sadly, works, because the next thing I hear is his footsteps receding.
 
“Good night, sweet Ashley,” he says to my back, his voice a low rumble.
 
My eyes open slowly to the glittering heavens.
 
“Good night, sweet prince,” I whisper to Julian’s stars.

 

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Author Bio

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katy Regnery started her writing career by enrolling in a short story class in January 2012. One year later, she signed her first contract, and Katy’s first novel was published in September 2013.

Forty books later, Katy claims authorship of the multi-titled New York Times and USA Today bestselling Blueberry Lane Series, which follows the English, Winslow, Rousseau, Story, and Ambler families of Philadelphia; the six-book, bestselling ~a modern fairytale~ series; and several other stand-alone novels and novellas, including the critically-acclaimed, 2018 RITA© nominated, USA Today bestselling contemporary romance, Unloved, a love story.

Katy’s first modern fairytale romance, The Vixen and the Vet, was nominated for a RITA® in 2015 and won the 2015 Kindle Book Award for romance. Katy’s boxed set, The English Brothers Boxed Set, Books #1–4, hit the USA Today bestseller list in 2015, and her Christmas story, Marrying Mr. English, appeared on the list a week later. In May 2016, Katy’s Blueberry Lane collection, The Winslow Brothers Boxed Set, Books #1–4, became a New York Times e-book bestseller.

Katy’s books are available in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Turkish.

Katy lives in the relative wilds of northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, where her writing room looks out at the woods, and her husband, two young children, two dogs, and one Blue Tonkinese kitten create just enough cheerful chaos to remind her that the very best love stories begin at home.

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Book Review: Didn’t Sea it Coming by Andie M. Long

Didn’t Sea it Coming

by Andie M. Long

Goodreads / Amazon

 

The tides are changing in Withernsea.  Shelley’s adoptive parents make waves after they catch their daughter, Polly, with Drake Lord, a royal of the sea.

Holding Shelley responsible for the supernatural world invading their lives once more, they demand she splits them up or else they’ll expose the supernaturals of Withernsea to the rest of the world.

The residents of the sea aren’t keen on a human dating their royal either, especially a sea nymph intent on hooking Drake for herself.

Can Shelley intervene so that Polly and Drake can make love, not war?

Another hilarious read from the Supernatural Dating Agency series 
Rest of Series 
1 – The Vampire wants a Wife
2 – A Devil of a Date
3 – Hate, Date, or Mate?
4 – Here for the Seer
Books 1-3 available in a box set.
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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

He could have asked me anything at that moment. I was so sucked in I’d have given him a kidney.

 

…he is a fine steak all right. I’m worshipping at the feet of the guy who from now on shall be known as Sir Loins.

 

Who you gonna protest to? The only royalty you’re going near is Burger King.

My Review:

 

I have enjoyed this series and have no idea what manner of creature or tribulations will next befall this quirky mix of humans and paranormals. Andie M. Long has rewritten the rulebook on interspecies mingling and mangling. The cleverly amusing storylines are rife with irreverent humor, witty banter, bawdy quips, and peculiar characters. I am eager for yet dreading the next installment, as it is supposedly the last in the series. Surely she could keep going as there are infinitely more potential love matches for the dating agency to make.

About The Author 

After twenty+ years of thinking about it, at the age of forty, I decided it was time to finally WRITE THE BOOK or forget about it. I studied two Open University Courses in Creative Writing and finally wrote my first novel. I’ve now written a ton of novels and have the ideas for so many more!

I live in Sheffield with my son and long-suffering partner. We now have a beautiful fur-baby called Bella. When not being a partner, mother, employee (I also work for the NHS) or writer I can usually be found on Facebook or Pinterest.

Stalk Andie Here:

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Book Review, Giveaway: Hidden Hearts by Lindsay Detwiler

 

Author: Lindsay Detwiler
Title: Hidden Hearts
Series: Lines in the Sand, prequel
Genre: Gay Romance
Release Date: September 29, 2018
Cover Designer: Claire Smith
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Add to TBR


 On sale now for 99c! 

“All along, Reed Wilder’s been this crazy rebel just waiting for me to let my guard down. And so, here we are, standing at the bar waiting to get the party started.”Sexy entrepreneur Lysander Wyatt has always believed in happily-ever-after thanks to his picture-perfect family. Now orphaned, he’s made a family of his own at his popular beach bar, Midsummer Nights. There’s just one thing missing—the forever kind of love he’s been looking for.

Reed Wilder, a guarded corporate man from Philadelphia, is looking for himself when he moves to Ocean City, Maryland. However, a rocky childhood makes him afraid of commitment. When he walks into Midsummer Nights and meets the attractive bartender who owns it, he’ll have to decide if love might actually be worth the risk. Will Lysander and Reed get on the same page about commitment, or will they continue hiding the true desires and fears of their hearts?

This sweet m/m standalone 35,000-word novella is also a prequel to the popular Lines in the Sand series.

My Rating: 

Favorite Quotes:

It’s unfortunate. My mom always told me the good ones are either serial killers or gay.

Now, listen, when the wedding comes along, I think you should pick purple as your color. I know, I know, you’re not crazy about it, but I look ravishing in purple.

I really couldn’t pin down when I’d “come out.” Jodie jokes I never went in to come out. I’ve just always been me. My family was always proud of me. My sexuality never had anything to do with defining who I am.

I ended up in the foster care system. I floundered around for a few years, tossed like a sack of unimportant belongings from house to house… It was so damn hard to find myself or to even know what love was because it was always temporary in my mind… But I think it’s why I struggle so much with the forever thing. Forever was never part of my vocabulary.

My Review:

Hidden Hearts was an engaging, quick, and easy to follow novella and written with a thoughtful and observant hand. I cherished these endearing and sensitive characters and enjoyed the forging of their sweet and tender romance. Ms. Detwiler’s storylines were perceptively detailed, keenly insightful, and delicately laced. I have thoroughly enjoyed each book in this series and eagerly await the next installment.

 

 

* * *
 Lines in the Sand Series 
Inked Hearts
(book 1)
Wild Hearts
(book 2)

On sale for half price!
books2read.com/wild-hearts

Texan Hearts
(book 3)
Only 99c!
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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: The Stylist by Rosie Nixon

The Stylist

by Rosie Nixon

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

In the tradition of The Devil Wears Prada comes Rosie Nixon’s debut novel, which follows a young woman who is thrown into the fast-paced world of fashion and glamour as she’s forced to navigate the treacherous Hollywood red carpets…while finding a fairytale love of her own.

“A stylish, fun read, I absolutely loved it!”—Jackie Collins

Amber Green loves working at Smith’s, London’s ultra-exclusive boutique frequented by everyone who’s anyone, including Mona Armstrong, the stylist to the stars. She is fierce, demanding, and can make or break a career with a snap of her manicured nails.

When Mona’s latest assistant walks out and with awards season arriving faster than you can say “Rodeo Drive”, Amber finds herself agreeing to work for one of the most infamous—and volatile—women in Hollywood. And the stars aren’t much better. Amber’s life is turned inside out as she becomes familiar with all Hollywood has to offer, on and off the red carpet.

As she begins to enjoy life in the dressing rooms of the hottest stars, Amber discovers she’s the one in the spotlight when she catches the attention of two very different men. But Mona’s behavior is growing increasingly erratic and unless Amber can out-style everyone in Hollywood, she’s in danger of being Mona’s latest fashion victim.

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

I stayed very still, waiting for her to throw a fit. Mona had the ability to scare me on a deep, primal level, like spiders.

 

It had been a while since I’d had a proper snog, but I didn’t remember it being quite as aggressive as this. The experience was beginning to feel more like a dental procedure than a kiss as his tongue explored my mouth.

 

My Review:

 

The Stylist was a wryly amusing, high energy, and frantically paced story of a fish out of water shop girl thrown into the shark-infested waters of celebrities, award shows, and high fashion. I enjoyed the comical and clever observations made of hungry models and celebrities behind the scenes by the jet-lagged and frequently hung-over assistant who was kept unfed and largely unwashed as she scurried about covering for the increasingly unreliable and unstable stylist to the stars. The entertaining storylines moved quickly and were laced with levity and a large cast of quirky characters as well as a leather jacket wearing micro pig named Pinky, who, of course, was a hero.   Additions to my Brit Vocab list include “stodge,” which Mr. Google tells me is heavy and substantial food, and “squits,” an informal British word that is much more fun to say than diarrhea, and honestly, one can never have enough words for that.   I was provided with a review copy of this engaging read by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins. 

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About Rosie Nixon

Rosie Nixon is Editor-in-Chief of HELLO! where she has worked for the past eight years and has a love of all things celebrity, royal and fashion-related. Rosie previously held senior positions at glossy women’s magazines including Grazia, Glamour and Red. In her career, she has been lucky enough to attend a multitude of glamorous award ceremonies, premieres and showbiz weddings all around the world. Ever discreet and protective of the big stars she has worked with, Rosie’s experience has undoubtedly enabled her to write her debut novel, The Stylist, and the sequel, Amber Green Takes Manhattan.
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Book Review: The Boy at the Keyhole by Stephen Giles

 The Boy at the Keyhole

by Stephen Giles

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

304 pages

Hanover Square Press; Original edition (September 4, 2018)

Nine-year-old Samuel lives alone in a once-great estate in Surrey with the family’s housekeeper, Ruth. His father is dead and his mother has been abroad for months, purportedly tending to her late husband’s faltering business. She left in a hurry one night while Samuel was sleeping and did not say goodbye.

Beyond her sporadic postcards, Samuel hears nothing from his mother. He misses her dearly and maps her journey in an atlas he finds in her study. Samuel’s life is otherwise regulated by Ruth, who runs the house with an iron fist. Only she and Samuel know how brutally she enforces order.

As rumors in town begin to swirl, Samuel wonders whether something more sinister is afoot. Perhaps his mother did not leave but was murdered—by Ruth.

Artful, haunting and hurtling toward a psychological showdown, The Boy at the Keyhole is an incandescent debut about the precarious dance between truth and perception, and the shocking acts that occur behind closed doors.

“A fiendishly efficient, gorgeously written, nasty little thrill ride of a psychological thriller. I couldn’t put it down, and it’s entirely possible that I’ll never sleep again. A true tour-de-force of a debut novel.”–Lyndsay Faye, author of The Gods of Gotham and Jane Steele

“The Boy at the Keyhole is sinister and tight, amusing and intense, an emotional story of a sweet boy in a precarious psychological place. A fun and wicked read that is impossible to put down!”–Matthew Sullivan, author of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Ruth could do that. Make a decree, like a queen or something, that certain topics had reached their end and that would be that.

 

Now that he stood on the precipice of this wrongdoing, he felt the fluttering in his chest that made every breath sound as if he were sitting on a rattling train.

 

The same wine his mother said made his father prone to unsettling fits of national pride and falling asleep midsentence.

 

Part of the reason Samuel was sent to the local school and not somewhere more distinguished, like his father and uncle had, was because his mother didn’t want him turning out like his uncle Felix, who she said was a pompous buffoon wrapped in tweed, dipped in gin and rolled in horsehair.

 

Samuel saw the lies easily enough; they practically leached from her skin like poisonous gas. She twisted everything, turning the truth in on itself until it looked like something else.

 

My Review:

 

I am in quite a pique over the ending, or lack thereof, so rating this skillfully crafted book puts me in a quandary. The story didn’t seem anywhere near a stopping point, yet it ended. Gah – I am infuriated as I was riveted to my Kindle while reading and hissed in complaint at any interruption.   Needless to say, adulting did not happen today, as evidenced by my profane and childish reaction to hitting the last page. Yet, I cannot deny that Stephen Giles is a master storyteller who is extremely gifted with the word voodoo. His writing was mesmerizing and laced with observant details and massive insightfulness into the mind of a child. His characters were compelling and deftly written, I was eager to learn every little nuance I could wring from the narrative. His storylines were tautly written and adroitly textured, I was on edge and keenly interested throughthroughout. I couldn’t settle on a theory and developed and cast off several while reading. The housekeeper was vile and monstrous, harsh on a good day; the mother was absent, irresponsible, and self-absorbed; and the child – oh, he squeezed my heart, I ached for him. But that ending – he really left me hanging, would it have killed him to have kept going just a few more pages? It rankles, but I have to give him his due. Sigh, 5-Stars. This would make an excellent movie.

 

About Stephen Giles

Stephen Giles is the Australian author behind the lauded children’s series “Anyone But Ivy Pocket”, penned under the pseudonym Caleb Krisp. The series, published in the US by HarperCollins/Greenwillow and the UK by Bloomsbury, appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List, has been translated into 25 different languages and was optioned by Paramount Pictures.

Prior to selling his first book, Stephen worked in a variety of jobs to supplement his writing including market research, film classification and media monitoring. “The Boy at the Keyhole” is Giles’ first work for adults and the film rights for this book have been acquired by New Regency.