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Book Review: Trusting The Vine (Romancing the Vine #3) by Gemma Brocato

 

Trusting The Vine

Romancing the Vine #3

by Gemma Brocato

Goodreads

Amazon

 

 

Brynn Dormir spends her day tidying up after guests at her wine country bed and breakfast inn, a job she prefers over cleaning up her mother and sister’s messy affairs. Unlike her family, business-minded Brynn never believed in love, a notion solidified after her ex tries to kill her. She understands the formula to make homemade scouring products much better than any recipe for romantic happiness.

Looking for a fresh start, psychologist Josh Hart has ended a disastrous partnership and relocates to Hopland to cover his mentor’s practice. Checking into the Carlysle, he can’t fight his attraction to the B and B’s lovely owner. Although she’s not a patient, he longs to get her on his couch for entirely different reasons.

But Josh’s crazy former partner wants him back at work and in her bed . . . and Brynn’s criminal ex wants to finish the job.

Josh and Brynn will have to learn to trust each other in order for love to conquer all.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

She’d never married, but had indulged in a string of disastrous affairs over the last ten years. As a psychic, she should have known things wouldn’t work out with the man she was with at the time.

My Review:

While it was an entertaining, quick and easy to follow read, I struggled some with this book as the broody rigid personality traits of Brynn are not among my favorites, needless to say, she wouldn’t be on my invite list of gal pals for Wino Wednesdays as she was a bit tiresome, although the poor thing had cause to be cautious. Luckily her flaky family and vivacious friends helped to restore some balance to her world. I adored Josh and marveled at his patience. The premise was interesting and the storyline held a bit of intrigue and peril from a pair of unstable exes, as well as the slow burn romance while the ever kind and indefatigable Josh endeavored to win Brynn’s trust before the steamy bits fogged up my tablet.

 

About Gemma Brocato 

 

Gemma’s favorite desk accessories for many years were a circular wooden token, better known as a ’round tuit,’ and a fortune from a fortune cookie proclaiming her a lover of words; someday she’d write a book. All it took was a transfer to the United Kingdom, the lovely English springtime, and a huge dose of homesickness to write her first novel. Once it was completed and sent off with a kiss even the rejections, addressed to ‘Dear Author’, were gratifying.


After returning to America, she spent a number of years as a copywriter, dedicating her skills to making insurance and the agents who sell them sound sexy. Eventually, her full-time job as a writer interfered with her desire to be a writer full-time and she left the world of financial products behind to pursue an avocation as a romance author.
Her gamble paid off when she was a 2012 Finalist in the prestigious Golden Pen contest for Romantic Suspense and she received contracts for her first and second book.

Weaving Adventure and Romance Together

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Book Review: The Test (The List #2) By Tawna Fenske

The Test

 (The List #2)

by Tawna Fenske 

 

“The hottest, sexiest, most hilariously fun opposites attract story I’ve ever read!” – USA Today bestselling author Samanthe Beck

This is a test. A test of every life decision Lisa Michaels has ever made.

Lisa thought she’d gotten everything right: The nicest condo, the right career, the best hair, and a perfectly adequate sex life with her stockbroker fiancé. But when the fiancé ditches her at the altar, Lisa’s left questioning every decision she’s ever made. What if her instincts have been steering her wrong all along? And what if she tested that theory by spending one month doing the exact opposite of what she’d normally do?

A crazy-hot fling with a tattooed steelworker from the wrong side of the tracks seems like a good starting point…

Each book in The List series is STANDALONE:
* The List
* The Test

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I can’t see his face, but his shoulders look like he spends his spare time bench-pressing SUVs.

 

Is this foreplay? I have no idea. Gary’s idea of foreplay was muting the ten o’clock news and patting the mattress beside him. Don’t think I didn’t notice how he’d peer at the stock market crawl over my shoulder.

 

Did I ever tell you I used to volunteer at this museum?… There’s an exhibit on the third floor called Oregon Adventure… My first month here, I caught a couple going at it on one of the bunks in the Lewis and Clark exhibit… They were buck naked, right there between the bearskin rug and the display of nineteenth-century muskets.

 

Does anyone else feel self-conscious shopping for cucumbers? Like you’re standing there squeezing them and checking out the length and girth to make sure you get the best one, and you look over to see every creepy guy in the produce section is staring at you.

 

Her T-shirt is emblazoned with an electric guitar, the logo for the National Down Syndrome Association, and the words, “I’m rockin’ this extra chromosome.”

 

For future reference, most people bring cans of beer and Dinty Moore stew when they camp… Not an entire Riedel stemware set and an eighty-dollar bottle of port.

 

My Review:

 

I smirked and gasped my way through this delightfully naughty and amusingly clever and steamy tale of opposites. The premise was interesting, the storylines were entertaining, the characters were appealing and enticing, and the writing was witty and engaging. And if you just heard someone yell, “Home run!” – that would be me.

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Lisa was a fussy and pretentious socialite wannabe who was overly concerned about appearances and having or being the best. However, she felt an itch to sample or “test” the grittier or less refined sides of life, which included experimenting with the many unfulfilled items on her sexual bucket list by going against her instincts and doing the exact opposite of what she had or would have considered doing for the next thirty days. It was to be sex only with no relationship or emotional involvement, and she found the perfect specimen with which to do so.
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Dax was a heavily tattooed and dirty-talking hottie whom Lisa had met in a bar, although she had no idea he was also a wealthy and successful business owner, as being a shallow snob, Lisa hadn’t taken the time to look past his delectable and colorfully inked surface. I adored the witty and profane Dax; although I couldn’t quote much of his dialogue as he words were typically laced with obscenities. His sexual dynamics, lubricity, and bawdy banter were some of the many turn-ons for Lisa, who was quickly softening during their association with blooming relationship thoughts working their way in, which wasn’t supposed to be part of the plan.
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About the Author    

Goodreads

When Tawna Fenske finished her English lit degree at 22, she celebrated by filling a giant trash bag full of romance novels and dragging it everywhere until she’d read them all. Now she’s a RITA-nominated, USA Today bestselling author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with a quirky twist. Publishers Weekly has praised Tawna’s offbeat romances with multiple starred reviews and noted, “There’s something wonderfully relaxing about being immersed in a story filled with over-the-top characters in undeniably relatable situations. Heartache and humor go hand in hand.”

Tawna lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, stepkids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets. She loves hiking, snowshoeing, standup paddleboarding, and inventing excuses to sip wine on her back porch. She can peel a banana with her toes and loses an average of twenty pairs of eyeglasses per year. To find out more about Tawna and her books, visit www.tawnafenske.com.

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Book Review, Giveaway: Mr. Blakely by K. Webster

 

 

 

 

Mr. Blakely

by K. Webster

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

 Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Kobo | Apple | Barnes & Noble

The Dirty Bits from Carina Press give you what you want when you want it. Designed to be read in an hour or two, these sex-filled microromances are guaranteed to pack a punch and deliver a happily-ever-after.

It started as a job.

It turned into so much more.

Mr. Blakely is strict with his sons, but he’s soft and gentle with me.

The powerful businessman is something else entirely when we’re together.

Boss, teacher, lover…husband.

My hopes and dreams for the future have changed. I want—no, I need—him by my side.

This book is approximately 33,000 words

Editor’s note: All characters in this story are over eighteen and all sexual interactions are fully consensual.

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

The Dirty Bits from Carina Press: what you want, when you want it. Over-the-top sexy microromances designed to be read in an hour or two.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

Love is an animal you must capture and keep. Name it and own it. Allow yourself these things…

 

My Review:

 

Sizzle and snap, I wasn’t paying attention and had no idea what I was in for when I started this saucy little story, oh, my! Mr. Blakely was a freshly betrayed and divorced father of teenaged twin boys and in dire need of domestic help. His sons were not adapting as well as he had hoped and were in need of tutoring as well as attention and supervision after school and in the evenings while he was working late at his business or wooing clients. He was given Ava’s name and number and told she was a smart and helpful tutor, and the lovely young woman named Ava was hired to do just that the same day. A lovely young woman that stirred something deep and impossible as she was sweet and kind and an innocent eighteen-year-old high school senior and he was… significantly older than that, like twenty-five years older than that.

Given the common porno premise, I was bracing myself for cheesy or creepy, thankfully, it wasn’t. Other than a few cringe-worthy scenes this was actually a sweet and thoughtful romance with lots of naughty bits and a little bit of high school drama. There was an interesting and engaging plot with supportive relationships established among all the characters after a bit of a rocky start. Ava took good care of his sons and succeeded where Mr. Blakely could not as they improved in school as well as in their family interactions.   She studied French and was working toward saving for a trip to France, he softly spoke French endearments to her, bought her gifts including a car to ferry his sons home from school, and other trinkets, as she was always on his mind, as he was on hers. Mr. Blakely took special care of Ava, much better than her own family had, and after hours he tutored her in all manner of adult culinary games like hiding the sausage, find the pearl, and tickle the pickle. And it worked out very well for them, very well indeed.

About K. Webster

K Webster is the author of dozens of romance books in many different genres including contemporary romance, historical romance, paranormal romance, and erotic romance. When not spending time with her husband of twelve years and two adorable children, she’s active on social media connecting with her readers.

Her other passions besides writing include reading and graphic design. K can always be found in front of her computer chasing her next idea and taking action. She looks forward to the day when she will see one of her titles on the big screen.

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Book Review, Giveaway: Solace (The Hunter Series #2) by S.E. Cooper

 
Title: Solace
Series: The Hunter Series #2
Author: S.E. Cooper 
Genre: Contemporary Romance Suspense
Release Date: February 16, 2018 

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“I didn’t choose to love you,” I whispered. “But now that I do, no storm is strong enough to keep me away from you.”
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Nyah Hunter has always believed in love at first sight. When she first sets eyes on James Parker, ‘Big’ to his friends, Nyah realizes he’s the man she’s been waiting for all her life. The only problem is, Big doesn’t want to know. He has his reasons for keeping the beautiful blonde at bay, but Nyah won’t give up without a fight. How can he make her see that the safest place for her is as far away from him as possible?
For Big, loving Nyah means risking more than just his heart. It means confronting a past too painful to process and recalling haunting memories too bittersweet to share.
Intent on protecting those he loves, Big sets out to defeat his demons, once and for all; a battle that’s likely to see him perish in the process. Only, he hasn’t counted on the unusual collection of individuals willing to work together for the greater good.
With fresh hope in his heart and an unlikely army by his side, Big dares to dream that this time, he might get to live free.
However, has he underestimated just how far his enemy will go to destroy him?

 


 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

My hair hurt; I had no idea your hair could hurt, but apparently after a night on tequila and Jäeger it really could.

 

I decided that I could live my life on an almost romance. After all, a fantasy couldn’t hurt your feelings, and an illusion wouldn’t break your heart. If I had to make that moment last for a lifetime, I would.

 

The closest I’d ever got to sneaking around in bushes was when Dad had me track Mrs. Hozier’s stalker, and that was not a situation I cared to remember.

 

“Eh, hello,” Demo called, “Bad guy about to perform something nasty. The least you could do was give me your attention.”

 

 My Review:

 

Reading this story was like working out at the gym, it required effort with some of the movements being rather difficult and less than enjoyable, but it was a worthwhile and beneficial endeavor and I’m usually smiling with a sense of accomplishment by the time I finish. I recall having similar difficulties with the first book in this series as this cagey author seems to enjoy tossing the reader into the middle of the story and then slowly filling in the gaps with her steamy intrigue. Despite my petty frustrations and vexations with her pacing, Ms. Cooper has churned out yet another action-packed, cringe-worthy, and intriguing tale with lots of sexy yet filthy talking alpha males who cannot speak without expletives, sizzling sensual scenes, heartbreaking and tragic backstories, gruesome sadistic sociopaths, and lots of peril with several plot twists thrown in to keep us on our toes.

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I was being cruel. I knew it. I was losing my mind being so close to her, and I couldn’t bring myself to stop.

 


 

Her response was to tilt her head and moan lightly against my ear. 

 

“Look, Nyah,” I whispered, drawing closer to her hardened peak. “I’m barely touching you and yet, you’re about to come.” 

 

Her response was to push me harshly against the brick wall. I waited for her to raise her hand and slap me, instead her body hit mine with such force she winded me. Kicking my legs apart, she moved between them.
Then she kissed me.
She. Kissed. Me.
Her hot mouth plundered mine, and she took until I was the one who was breathless. Moving her hands roughly over my chest, she pulled at my shirt until it came loose, and she could feel bare skin beneath her fingertips.
This was not the way I thought this would go. The woman was out of control. I was loving every damned second of it. I wrapped my arms around her back and hauled her too me. We kissed to the point it became painful, but neither of us came up for air. I decided that if I was going to die here and now, in this courtyard, it would be worth it just to have witnessed this beautiful woman become wild in my arms.
I smiled against her mouth when her hand moved lower, and she crudely groped at my dick through the denim. I ground my hips against her hand, loving the feel of her fingers on me, my body instantly responding to her frantic touch. When she mewled her approval into my mouth, I was done for. I grabbed hold of her waist with the intention of turning us, until I was the one leading this fervent encounter we found ourselves in. She chose that moment to break the kiss and step back out of my reach.
A few feet away, she stood breathless and turned on to all hell. Her hair was in disarray, her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were burning into mine in a way I had yet to experience. I decided she had never looked more beautiful. She was like a fallen angel halfway to hell.
Me, I was confused as fuck, but in the best conceivable way.
She smirked at me and I narrowed my eyes.
“You know, Parker?” She smirked. “I’m barely touching you, and yet, you’re about to come.”
I swallowed hard, her intentions now clear.
“Well played, darlin’.” I grimaced, “Well played.”
She should leave now.
While we both wanted more.
I was left to contemplate the fact I’d just been owned by an angel, but she was no stronger than I was. Her body was humming in anticipation, the rise and fall of her chest making her breasts move in the most delightful of ways. Her eyes were pulling with desire, growing heavier by the second, as she fought for control of her senses.
I could barely hold my ground.
But I had to, for both our sakes.

 

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S E Cooper lives in Scotland with her husband, their two boys, two crazy cats and a bonkers bunny. She has always loved to read and write stories but it wasn’t until she discovered the wonderful world of self-publishing and became inspired by some of her favorite Indie Authors that she decided to take the plunge herself. Her hobbies include spending time with family and friends, photography, reading and daydreaming.

 

 

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Book Review: Fix My Fall (The Fix Series #3) by Carey Heywood

 

Title: Fix My Fall
Series: The Fix #3
Author: Carey Heywood
Genre: Romantic Comedy
 Release Date: February 16, 2018

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Blurb
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Abby Thompson’s love life is a disaster. Everyone around her is blissfully falling in love, while she’s busy binge-watching anime. The last thing she needs is a walking temptation, in the form of ex-nerd turned dreamy astrophysics professor, Spencer Hill, aka her new client.
It’s her job to find Spencer his dream home, NOT fantasize about a ride on his space rocket. But the sparks between them are impossible to ignore, and
soon, Abby is wondering if her losing streak in love could be turning around.
Can she get over her anxiety he’s got her out-brained, and can he let go of the past and the fear that the girl he crushed on in high school is still out of his league?

 

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

If I didn’t need money so bad I would consider referring him to someone else. He’s so hot it’s distracting.

 

Earth’s atmosphere is twenty-one percent oxygen which makes my current level of breathlessness confusing.

 

Abby said you looked different but I didn’t believe her. You get bit by some radioactive spider in your lab man? ‘Cuz, holy shit, you’ve grown.

 

He smiles up at me, oblivious to the spinach leaf stuck to one of his back teeth. I point to my teeth. “You have something stuck in your teeth.” He nods, unbothered by this news. “I was saving it for later.”

 

That doesn’t stop me from carrying out a pretend conversation in my head. These are my favorite kind because I can control both sides of the conversation and not get in any trouble for saying what I want.

 

“Do you have a giant computer?” The corners of his eyes crinkle with his smile. “Huge.” “Oh, this conversation is starting to feel like foreplay.” He chokes, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he coughs. “Science talk as foreplay. You might be my dream girl.”

 

My mouth waters like he’s fresh baked bread and I’m on a no carb diet.

 

My Review:

 

I am on book three of my continuing expedition of veneration and adoration for Carey Heywood and her The Fix Series. I cherish and pine for this author’s delightful wry humor and sweet and steamy stories between her releases. The books I have read so far have been a joy to read, amusingly clever, low conflict, written in my favorite dual POV, and pleasantly breezy with appealing and lovably quirky characters with a bit of edge. Her books do my heart good and tend to keep a smirk in place while reading. I adored Spencer, not only was he highly intelligent and sexy, he was patient, kind, thoughtful, polite, and a perfect gentleman who was also a gentle man – which is nirvana to me. Being a man of science and never having had a relationship, the clever and crafty Ms. Heywood has the brilliant and sexy Dr. Hill patiently and wisely applying the scientific method to his interactions with his high-school crush/current realtor Abby, he postulated a theory, formulated a hypothesis, performed his research, and gathered evidence from his experiments. Ingenious!

Purchase Links
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Available at other retailers soon
Also Available
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS
Author Bio
New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author. Shewas born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia. Supporting her all the way are her husband, three sometimes-adorable children, a mischievous black cat, German Shepherd rescue puppy, and their nine-pound attack Yorkie.
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Book Review: Steal Away Home by Billy Coffey

 

Steal Away Home

by Billy Coffey




Paperback: 400 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson (January 2, 2018)

“This is a powerful story of grief, love, forgiveness, and holy mystery, and I loved it. Billy Coffey is a master storyteller.” —Lauren Denton, USA Today bestselling author of The Hideaway

Owen Cross grew up with two loves: one a game, the other a girl. One of his loves ruined him. Now he’s counting on the other to save him.

Owen Cross’s father is a hard man, proud in his brokenness, who wants nothing more than for Owen to succeed where he failed. With his innate talents and his father’s firm hand guiding him, Owen goes to college with dreams of the major leagues—and an emptiness full of a girl named Micky Dullahan.

Owen loved Micky from the first time they met on the hill between their two worlds: his middle-class home and her troubled Shantytown. Years later he leaves her for the dugouts and the autographs, but their days together follow him. When he finally returns home, he discovers that even peace comes at a cost. And that the hardest things to say are to the ones we love the most.

From bestselling author Billy Coffey comes a haunting story of small-town love, blinding ambition, and the risk of giving it all for one last chance.

“In one evening, a single baseball game, Coffey invites us into a lifetime. With lyrical prose and aching description we join Owen Cross on a journey of love, loss, faith, the unexpected—and America’s favorite pastime.” —Katherine Reay, author of Dear Mr. Knightley and The Austen Escape

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

The house looked wrong somehow, on some deeper level. Like sadness had distorted it as despair can a person. It spoke of a life beyond mere want, worse than disease. Shantytown was like a bruise on an apple that reached all the way to the core.

 

She offered a smile that reminded me of a bright ribbon tied to a broken gift.

 

The value in spending most of your Sunday morning having to sit still and listen to the most boring person you have ever known go on about your own badness was always lost to me.

 

A siren called in the distance. Horns blaring. It sounded as though every law enforcement officer in four counties was on its way, even though it was but one old Crown Vic traveling a little over two blocks from the sheriff’s office. Clancy stopped the car at an angle to the sidewalk. He parted the crowd like Moses, calling each man and woman he passed by name.

 

So much of my childhood was spent in such dreaming. The past was unchangeable, better forgotten, the present often boring toil. Yet my tomorrows shone like lights on some far hill, offering me guidance and direction.

 

You never know what to do when a parent dies. Doesn’t matter how old you are, you feel four years old again and lost inside some huge department store where bright lights shine in your eyes and everywhere are strangers that look like they’re one bad choice away from grabbing you.

 

My Review:

 

This was a challenging read for me for many reasons, and I adored and begrudged it in equal measure. I remain conflicted even now while writing this review and am struggling in how to rate and classify this genre-straddling story as there were interesting and original elements of so many to chose from; Sports, Coming of Age, Small-Town, Southern, Christian, Fantasy, Paranormal, YA, Romance, and Contemporary and Literary Fiction.

The wisdom, dialogue, and inner musings were often comprised of the peculiar and compromised grammar of the Appalachians and required additional thought to fully absorb, however it was more than worth the effort. Having been reared also in the South but further west by overly rigid and strict Bible banging hypocrites who forced me through the church doors every time they opened, I generally eschew Christian religious themes as narrow-mindedness greatly annoys me, and this proved to be more than a bit of a problem for me as I read.   However, the unusual twists to this story kept me reading despite my bias as the petty and small-minded tendencies were well affirmed and part of the tale.

There was a highly skilled, well-crafted, and pervasive heaviness or emotive heft to Owen’s narrative that continually squeezed my heart as if his recounting of events was actually a heartfelt confessional of his regrets, anguish, and childhood discomfitures. Mr. Coffey’s unique and cunning writing style was new to me and while I found some of his story threads tediously repetitive, I also found myself frequently struck by hot licks of brilliance, thoughtful and deeply moving insights, and a poignancy that stung my eyes and constricted my throat.   There were five pages of favorite passages and saved quotes on my Kindle once I finished. All in all, it was oddly, unevenly, and annoyingly luminous. 

 

About Billy Coffey

Billy Coffey’s critically acclaimed books combine rural Southern charm with a vision far beyond the ordinary. He is a regular contributor to several publications, where he writes about faith and life. Billy lives with his wife and two children in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.

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Connect with Billy

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Spotlight: Scenes from the Hallway by Penny Reid

Scenes from the Hallway, an all new novella from USA Today bestselling author Penny Reid, is LIVE and as a special Valentine’s Day gift from Penny it’s FREE!

 

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Synopsis

From the USA TODAY Bestselling romantic comedy series, ‘Scenes from the Hallway,’ Knitting in the City #6.5

You know who I am.

I swear too much, I crack too many jokes, and I got a thing for Kat Tanner; a messy thing, a distracting thing, a getting-in-the-way-of-everything thing; a thing that makes being in the same room with the woman torture. Sometimes it’s the good kind. Mostly, it’s not.

What you don’t know is how it all started. You don’t know how we met, you might not know what happened in Vegas (or the morning after), and you definitely don’t know what happened after that.

You want to know the story before the story? Well . . . here you go.

But be careful what you ask for. As I’ve discovered the hard way, you might not like it.

‘Scenes from the Hallway’ is a companion short prequel/short story (11k words) for the upcoming book, ‘Marriage of Inconvenience,’ and includes the first 3 chapters of the soon to be released novel! (‘Marriage of Inconvenience’ releases March 6, 2018.)

WARNING This short story contains a lot of cussing. Do not download or read if you dislike curse words in novels.

WARNING

 

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Read Today for FREE!

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

iBooks: https://apple.co/2EoXv3f

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2BVE3NV

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

Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2o7gvfA

If you are a UK reader or live abroad, never fear! Scenes From The Hallway will be FREE in time for an evening Valentine’s Day read!

Amazon Universal: http://mybook.to/ScenesfromtheHallway

Meet Penny Reid:

Penny Reid is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the Winston Brothers and Knitting in the City series. She lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband, three kids, and an inordinate amount of yarn. She used to spend her days writing federal grant proposals as a biomedical researcher, but now she writes books.

PennyReid

Connect with Penny:

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

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2lakzsD

Twitter: @ReidRomance

Sign up for Penny’s Mailing List: http://pennyreid.ninja/newsletter/

www.pennyreid.ninja

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Book Review: Family Tree by Susan Wiggs

Family Tree

 by Susan Wiggs

 
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 Amazon 


Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (January 9, 2018)

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a powerful, emotionally complex story of love, loss, the pain of the past—and the promise of the future.

Sometimes the greatest dream starts with the smallest element. A single cell, joining with another. And then dividing. And just like that, the world changes. Annie Harlow knows how lucky she is. The producer of a popular television cooking show, she loves her handsome husband and the beautiful Los Angeles home they share. And now, she’s pregnant with their first child. But in an instant, her life is shattered. And when Annie awakes from a yearlong coma, she discovers that time isn’t the only thing she’s lost.

Grieving and wounded, Annie retreats to her old family home in Switchback, Vermont, a maple farm generations old. There, surrounded by her free-spirited brother, their divorced mother, and four young nieces and nephews, Annie slowly emerges into a world she left behind years ago: the town where she grew up, the people she knew before, the high-school boyfriend turned judge. And with the discovery of a cookbook her grandmother wrote in the distant past, Annie unearths an age-old mystery that might prove the salvation of the family farm.

Family Tree is the story of one woman’s triumph over betrayal, and how she eventually comes to terms with her past. It is the story of joys unrealized and opportunities regained. Complex, clear-eyed and big-hearted, funny, sad, and wise, it is a novel to cherish and to remember.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

It was one of those moments Gran used to call a key moment. Time didn’t simply tick past, unremarked, unnoticed. No, this was the kind of moment that made everything stop.   You separated it from every other one, pressing the feeling to your heart, like a dried flower slipped between the pages of a beloved book. The moment was made of something fragile and delicate, yet it possessed the power to last forever.

 

Memories are strange things, aren’t they? You can’t touch them and hold them in your hands, but they have incredible power.

 

That’s the moment when everything changes. There’s before, and then after. And once a key moment occurs, there’s no going back to before. You make a choice, and it’s like ringing a bell. You can’t unring it. A key moment is a feeling. Your heart tells you. The point is, you have to pay attention.

 

That was how love worked sometimes… It filled every nook and cranny of your heart, and then one day you realized it had gone away. She wondered where those feelings went. Maybe they trickled into the atmosphere to be inhaled by someone else, a stranger who suddenly saw someone across the room and instantly fell I love.

 

 My Review:

 

This was my first experience enjoying Ms. Wigg’s amusing and dynamic storytelling and I immediately became an instant and ravenous fan. I adored her quirky characters, clever humor, and insightful narrative. Her storylines were poignant, entertaining, heart squeezing, intriguing, and thoughtfully written. The descriptive detail of her food preparations played havoc with my diet plan, ultimately causing me to run to the farmers market for my own fresh ingredients from her spark of culinary creativity. Her skillful wordcraft was a delight for all the senses and I doubt I could ever tire of feasting on her works.  I was provided with a review of this delicious book by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins.

 

 About Susan Wiggs  

 

Susan Wiggs is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty novels, including the beloved Lakeshore Chronicles series and her most recent novel, the instant New York Times bestseller Family Tree. Her award-winning books have been translated into two dozen languages. A native of a small town in upstate New York, she now lives with her husband at the water’s edge on an island in Puget Sound, and in good weather can commute to her writers’ group in a twenty-one-foot motorboat. A former teacher and graduate of the University of Texas and Harvard, Susan is also an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier, and a cautious mountain biker—yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book.

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






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Book Review: The Lucky Ones by Tiffany Reisz

 

The Lucky Ones

by Tiffany Reisz

Print Length: 368 pages

Publisher: MIRA (February 13, 2018)

They called themselves “the lucky ones”

They were seven children either orphaned or abandoned by their parents and chosen by legendary philanthropist and brain surgeon Dr. Vincent Capello to live in The Dragon, his almost magical beach house on the Oregon Coast. Allison was the youngest of the lucky ones living an idyllic life with her newfound family…until the night she almost died and was then whisked away from the house and her adopted family forever.

Now, thirteen years later, Allison receives a letter from Roland, Dr. Capello’s oldest son, warning her that their father is ill and in his final days. Allison determines she must go home again and confront the ghosts of her past. She’s determined to find out what really happened that fateful night — was it an accident or, as she’s always suspected, did one of her beloved family members try to kill her?

But digging into the past can reveal horrific truths, and when Allison pieces together the story of her life, she’ll learn the terrible secret at the heart of the family she once loved but never really knew.

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

If I wanted to judge people all day I’d either be a priest or get a Facebook account…

 

Allison looked into his eyes. He didn’t have bedroom eyes, not like McQueen did. Roland had hallway eyes—labyrinthine hallways made of marble and lit by torches resting in iron sconces. She could wander those shadowy hallways forever and never once feel lost.

 

He buys his Catholic guilt in bulk at Costco…

 

You know what they say…ours is not to wonder why. Ours is but to drink bourbon and rye.

 

There aren’t a lot of them around. True psychopaths make up about two percent of the population. In prison it’s more like… fifty percent. In politics, maybe ninety percent.

 

 My Review:

 

I don’t believe I know enough lofty adjectives or adverbs to fully extol the brilliance and craft of this spellbinding tale. I was consumed, enthralled, engrossed and embedded in this riveting tale from beginning to end. I was intrigued and beguiled by all the characters while also fearful I was going to learn something truly awful about them, which I did, but I still loved them anyway. The story was ingeniously crafted, cunningly paced, and loaded with all manner of itchy and twisty elements that squeezed my heart, set my brain on fire, and put a series of hot rocks in my throat. Tiffany Reisz is an evil genius and a clever wordsmith. I covet her mad skills and am wild with greed to amass and read every single thing she has and will ever write.

About Tiffany Reisz 

 

 

Tiffany Reisz lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, author Andrew Shaffer.

 

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Book Review, Giveaway: Follow Me Back by A.L. Jackson

Follow Me Back 

The next seductive, unforgettable stand-alone romance in the FIGHT FOR ME series from NYT & USA Today Bestselling Author A.L. Jackson . . .

 

“This is why I read romance.” –Lauren Rowe, USA Today and Internationally bestselling author
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My loves – I am so beyond thrilled to finally get to share Kale and Hope’s story with you in FOLLOW ME BACK! Writing this book was a labor of love, and after everything, I think it might be my favorite book I’ve ever written. It’s super sexy and swoony, sad and sweet, and just filled my heart up so full there is no chance I will ever forget the way these characters made me feel. I hope you fall in love with them the same way I did! 
Enjoy!
xoxo – Amy 
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Blurb:

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The next seductive, unforgettable stand-alone romance in the FIGHT FOR ME series from NYT & USA Today Bestselling Author A.L. Jackson . . .
Kale Bryant. Arrogant. Gorgeous. Commanding.
This ER doctor is married to his job. His only vice is one-night stands and short-lived flings. He learned a long time ago loving someone isn’t worth the risk.
Harley Hope Masterson. Beautiful. Brave. Sweet.
The owner of a small coffee shop knows what it’s like to struggle. Embroiled in a bitter divorce, she’s threatened with losing everything.
When Kale accepts a new position down the street from Hope’s shop, he begins to question every wall he’s built around his heart.
He wants her in a way he hasn’t wanted anyone.
One touch is fire.
One kiss, and he’s spinning out of control.
But taking her won’t come without consequences.
Hope is in for the fight of her life. One neither of them saw coming.
Now Kale must decide if loving her is worth risking it all.
She will fight with everything she has.
But sometimes even hope needs a hero . . .
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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

So what if Pinterest had become my lover, keeping me company in the lonely nights.

 

The kid was a force field of joy.

 

Someone please tell me this is where we get to call the wanker names and talk about how horrible he is in bed and how his breath always stinks.

 

Of course, I’m responsible. I’m head matchmaker. I just walk through a crowd and all those love-connecting darts start flying out of me, striking whoever I walk by.

 

You set me on a path that I don’t want to stop walking. I will follow you anywhere.

 

My Review:

 

Sizzling sensuality, cute scene-stealing children, heart squeezing medical issues and an overriding tone of heavily emotive and angsty writing define this story. The premise and storylines were interesting and relevant and the characters were endearing and likable, but I struggled more than bit some while reading this book as there was far more repetitive angsty melodrama than I was comfortable with, but that is just my personal bias. I enjoyed Hope and Kale’s sweet and steamy romance until he apparently caught jaundice as he turned yellow with cowardice and abandoned her, not once but twice, especially during a harrowing period when she needed emotional support the most, which was deeply disappointing.

As always, Ms. Jackson’s writing was highly emotive, poignant, and pulls at the heartstrings while her more irreverent characters and the precocious children provided comic relief and amusing banter to help balance the tone. And I am happy to report that I learned a new pop culture reference that required the services of Mr. Google – “brown chicken brown cow.” It is always a good day when I can boast of acquisition of new knowledge. 

Kindle Fire HD 8 + Show Me the Way & Hunt Me Down Signed Copies + $25 Amazon GC Giveaway 

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About the Author

 

A.L. Jackson is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. She writes emotional, sexy, heart-filled stories about boys who usually like to be a little bit bad.

Her bestselling series include THE REGRET SERIES, CLOSER TO YOU, and BLEEDING STARS novels. Watch for A.L. Jackson’s upcoming novel, FOLLOW ME BACK, the second stand-alone novel in her brand-new FIGHT FOR ME SERIES.

If she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the pool with her family, sipping cocktails with her friends, or of course with her nose buried in a book.

Be sure not to miss new releases and sales from A.L. Jackson – Sign up to receive her newsletter http://smarturl.it/NewsFromALJackson or text “aljackson” to 33222 to receive short but sweet updates on all the important news.

Connect with A.L.

Facebook: http://smarturl.it/ALJacksonPage
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Bookbub: http://smarturl.it/ALJacksonBookbub
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