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Book Review: Batter of Wits by Karla Sorensen

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“Heartfelt, hilarious, with a dash of angst…Karla Sorensen shines with the perfect feel-good read!” –Author Catherine Cowles

Batter of Wits, an all-new funny and heartwarming romance from Karla Sorensen, is now available in Kindle Unlimited!

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Hate at first sight couldn’t possibly exist, right?

That’s what Grace Buchanan thought, before her useless car stranded her on the side of a deserted road just inside the Green Valley city limits.

When Tucker Haywood—tall and handsome and full of southern charm— shows up to help, her reaction to him is the strongest thing she’s ever felt in her life, and it makes no freaking sense.

It doesn’t make much sense to Tucker either. Not why she hates him, or why he finds her so intriguing. He knows well enough that Grace is moving to Green Valley for a fresh start, not to distract him when he’s got no room for something like her in his life.

The complications between them are endless, but that doesn’t stop her definitely not love-at-first-sight feelings from changing into something else entirely.

Grace and Tucker are about to learn the hard way that in Green Valley, hating someone has never tasted so sweet.

‘Batter of Wits’ is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #5 in the Donner Bakery series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

He could talk a snake into crutches, if he put his mind to it.

 

Don’t you get all high and mighty, Francine. If I had legs like hers, I’d work the pole too.

 

My brother smiled wide, and if his thick skull had a window in it, I would’ve seen the wheels spinning.

 

It was as if her brain was built with subtitles, because her facial expressions were so clear, so obvious, everything she was thinking played across that face as if someone was typing them in all-capped, bold letters.

 

This man would need a lobotomy to get over his anger with me.

 

She snatched the book from Maxine’s hand. “Ladies,” she said with a smile. “This one is mine.” The cover caught the light, a half-naked man clutching a scantily clad woman to his brawny chest. Maxine rolled her eyes. “Who do you think is fighting you over it, Ruby?” “You’d want it too if you read the last one. There was a scene in a ship that had me in hot flashes for a solid week.”… Ruby looked down at her book, and I snapped another picture, the rapturous expression on her gently wrinkled face had me grinning.

 

Shame didn’t go down easily when you tried to swallow it…

My Review:

 

Oh, happy, day! Another cleverly penned and sassy Smartypants Romance book to savor, smirk, and giggle snort over. I am a new disciple of Ms. Sorensen having only read her previous contribution to this witty series with Baking Me Crazy, and I am totally enamored with her after reading this snarky yet sweet and deliciously entertaining tale.   I adore her highly amusing and seamless style of snappy banter, indomitable biddies, quirky characters, and shrewdly irreverent insights. My burgeoning TBR now includes her entire backlist and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Excerpt

When I looked down, her hands were fisted on the countertop, shaking from the effort of keeping them still.

“I’d take a picture of that,” I told her, voice low and charged.

She tilted her chin up toward me. “Of what?”

In the low light of the apartment, her eyes glowed like melted gold.

“Your hands.” I licked my suddenly dry lips. “I feel like they’re telling me something that I can’t figure out.”

Grace peered down at the fists she was making, and her fingers relaxed, the skin no longer white around her knuckles.

“What are they telling me, Grace?” I begged.

She ducked under my arm and I exhaled heavily. Without the heat from her body against mine, I took a second to get myself under control. When I turned, she was handing me her camera.

“Go ahead,” she said.

I tilted my head. “You want me to take your picture?”

Grace studied the camera, carefully removing the lens cap and pulling it up to her eyes. She aimed it at my face, and I wondered what she saw. If I looked like I was one thread away from snapping, because that’s how I felt.

I’d never felt like I was one quick step away from freedom, but here, I was. One nudge over the edge of the cliff, and she’d have me free falling without a parachute. I’d never, ever wanted it so badly.

When I heard the click of the shutter, I rubbed the back of my neck. “Can I see?”

She ignored me, pulling the camera away so she could look at the digital image on the back. Her lips curved in a secret little smile.

“What do you see?” I asked.

Her chest expanded on an inhale. “Frustration.” Her eyes met mine. “Want.”

Words lodged in my chest, and I couldn’t tear them loose.

I held my hand out and she passed the camera to me. With a rough swallow, I squinted at the tiny viewfinder once it was at eye-level. Grace came into my eye line, holding my gaze with such directness that I fought the urge not to throw the camera across the room simply because it was between us.

It was her turn to ask. “What do you see?”

My finger pushed the slick button on top of the camera, and her mouth curled in surprise that I took a shot.

I pushed the button again as she took a step closer.

“You’re not answering me,” she said lightly.

“Because I can hardly think straight when you’re looking at me like that.” My admission was rough and hard, out before I could stop it.

She took another step, within reach now, and one of her hands slid up my forearm.

One more picture, the sound of the shutter snapping between us like a shot.

Somehow, I set it down on the counter without smashing it.

“You can’t lie to a camera,” Grace said quietly, watching her hand on my arm before the other landed on my heaving chest. “It captures things as are they are, good or bad or ugly or beautiful.”

I slid an arm around her waist and tightened my grip until she was flush against me. My other hand pushed up the back of her neck and into her hair.

“This is insane,” she breathed, dropping her forehead onto my chest.

“No, it’s not.”

Grace lifted her head and pinned me in place. “Tucker, seventy-two hours ago, I hated you. You can’t tell me this doesn’t feel a little nuts.”

I couldn’t stop my smile. “You didn’t hate me. Not really.”

One eyebrow lifted. “Wanna bet?”

About Karla Sorensen

Karla Sorensen has been an avid reader her entire life, preferring stories with a happily-ever-after over just about any other kind. And considering she has an entire line item in her budget for books, she realized it might just be cheaper to write her own stories. It doesn’t take much to keep her happy…a book, a really big glass of wine, and at least thirty minutes of complete silence every day. She still keeps her toes in the world of health care marketing, where she made her living pre-babies. Now she stays home, writing and mommy-ing full time (this translates to almost every day being a ‘pajama day’ at the Sorensen household…don’t judge). She lives in West Michigan with her husband, two exceptionally adorable sons and big, shaggy rescue dog.

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Book Review: THE SUMMER VILLA by Melissa Hill 

THE SUMMER VILLA
by Melissa Hill 

Amazon  / B&N / Harlequin / Indiebound / Target /

Walmart/ Google / Apple / Kobo

ISBN: 9780778359982

Publication Date: April 28, 2020 

Publisher: MIRA Books

When a little white lie becomes the story of your life, what if the truth comes out?

For three women, it’s a life-changing trip: one finds the man of her dreams, another discovers inspiration amidst Italian food and culture, while a chance encounter with a handsome local usher in the ultimate life change for the third. But most importantly, it’s the beginning of a deep and lasting friendship between all three.

Now years later, Kim Weston – entrepreneur and owner of internationally successful Italian food and lifestyle business, The Sweet Life – has bought and restored the tumble-down villa to its former glory — and plans to reopen Villa Dolce Vita as a wellness/cultural retreat – a fitting honor to the root of her business inspiration.

To celebrate the villa’s grand opening, she and her Italian business partners are throwing a huge three-day party; flying a group of family, business and media contacts to the Amalfi Coast to join in the celebrations. And most importantly, the (still) close friends who started the journey with her: Annie and husband Nate, whose love story began at the villa, and single mum Eva, whose son was the result of an ill-advised Italian fling.

But in the run-up to the planned weekend in Italy, it becomes clear that not everyone is happy about the party, nor are they on board with such ambitious plans for the location. And, as Villa Dolce Vita’s grand relaunch draws closer, old memories and past secrets come to light, and the three old friends are forced to question if anything that happened on that first fateful trip to the villa is at all what it seemed.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Abandoned in the toilets at Connolly train station in the center of Dublin almost thirty years ago, she’d barely been breathing when she was found by a curious Irish Rail cleaner, who heard a noise from inside the ladies. There he found an infant, scarcely a few hours old, and had called for an ambulance. Even before she had a name, Annie was making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

 

She sighed inwardly. You could get lost in the guy’s accent, never mind his arms. It was like condensed milk— thick and sweet.

 

She smiled to herself in the darkness. This was obviously what people were talking about when they joked about Italian men… She’d had no idea what she’d been missing.

My Review:

 

This book had a bit of everything – women’s fiction, romance, family drama, and several mysteries. The premise and storylines were interesting and well nuanced with plenty of red herrings and misdirections to keep me guessing.

 

The characters were international and an odd lot of personalities, rich and poor, all attempting to run away from or avoid what their lives had become. And while a few of them were too good to be true, most were guilty of being selfish, less than honorable, hiding several uncomfortable or juicy secrets, and being more than a bit annoying and unlikable – in other words – like most people I know. Except for Colette who was a sweetie pie, her only flaw was being overly gullible, a problem I was once plagued with before I knew better and blossomed into the lovely shade of jaded cynic.

 

The featured locale was one of the most lovely places on earth, the Amalfi coast of Italy, and as the only safe and screaming baby-free mode of travel currently seems to be digitally provided or on the pages of a book, I was eager to utilize my Kindle as my passport.

 

About the Author

MELISSA HILL lives in south Dublin with her husband and daughter. A USA TODAY and international #1 bestseller, she is the author of 13 novels, including The Gift of a Charm and A Gift From Tiffany’s. The Gift of a Charm was a USA TODAY bestseller. Hailed “the queen of the big plot twist,” she combines all the warmth and humor of contemporary women’s fiction with plots that keep readers guessing from page to page. Melissa also co-writes forensic thrillers with her husband, Kevin, under the pseudonym Casey Hill, featuring crime scene investigator Reilly Steel. For more information, visit www.caseyhillbooks.com.

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Book Review: Dreaming of Italy by T.A. Williams

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Dreaming of Italy
by T.A. Williams 

Amazon / B&N / Apple /GP

Up for a dream promotion, Emma won’t let anything get in her way – not even love.

 

Working for a major Hollywood film company isn’t all glitz and glam. But when Emma gets sent to tour around Italy to scout the perfect location for a new blockbuster movie, she’s not going to complain. Especially when it could make or break her career…

Historical adviser for the project Mark is a distraction that Emma does not need. As they explore the beauty of Italy, Emma starts to fall for the mysterious Mark, and soon finds herself torn between her job and her heart.

From the wild, northern mountains of Piedmont, down the vibrant coast of Cinque Terre, and through the rolling hills of Tuscany, Emma’s journey becomes one of self-discovery as she questions her priorities in life.

This heartwarming story of romance and redemption is the perfect read for fans of Tilly Tennant, Holly Martin, and Daisy James.

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

JM did have his ever-present right-hand man, conveniently named Dexter, perched on a stool at his side to fill him in if her name should escape him. With his minute stature alongside his six-foot-six employer, Dexter had always reminded Emma of one of those little fish who swim around sharks, even venturing into their mouths to remove parasites and keep the predator healthy.

 

Where do I start? He eats everything with a spoon. Doesn’t trust forks. Seriously, you should see him with steak. He drinks half a pint of black coffee for breakfast out of an old tooth mug that’s rumoured never to have been washed. He carries the mug around with him hooked to his belt wherever he goes. They say he meditates for ten minutes before and after every bowel movement. He never wears green. I forget the rest, but you’ll love him. He’s a hoot.

 

A little quirky?? You really like understatements, don’t you? Erasmus is looking at quirky in the rear-view mirror. I’ve got a poodle that’s saner than he is.

My Review:

 

This is the second time I have a perused a gentle, sweet, and satisfying read courtesy of T.A. Williams, and both stories featured Brits who were traveling through Italy, and as luck would have it, I adored them both.   The storylines were cleverly interconnecting, pleasantly enjoyable, slowly building, and easily relatable, while cast with likable characters I wanted to root for. And oh, what a drudgery, the characters were tasked with scouting locations for a romantic movie to be shot in Italy. The writing style was easy to follow, colorfully descriptive, and flowed smoothly with interesting and amusing little twists and teases to pluck at my curiosity and keep my interest primed. The only problem I encountered was the uptick in my appetite due to mouthwatering descriptions of the sumptuous meals ingested and enjoyed by the lucky characters. I may have gained a few pounds from all that delicious pasta.

 

About the Author

Amazon
Goodreads
Website

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Firstly, my name isn’t T A. It’s Trevor. I write under the androgynous name T A Williams because 65% of books are read by women. In my first book, “Dirty Minds” one of the (female) characters suggests the imbalance is due to the fact that men spend too much time getting drunk and watching football. I couldn’t possibly comment. Ask my wife…

I’ve written all sorts: thrillers, historical novels, short stories, and now I’m enjoying myself hugely writing humor and romance. Romantic comedies are what we all need from time to time. Life isn’t always very fair. It isn’t always a lot of fun, but when it is, we need to embrace it. If my books can put a smile on your face and maybe give your heartstrings a tug, then I know I’ve done my job.

I‘ve lived all over Europe, but now I live in a little village in sleepy Devon, tucked away in southwest England. I love the place. That’s why you’ll find leafy lanes and thatched cottages in most of my books. Oh, yes, and a black Labrador.

I’ve been writing since I was 14 and that is half a century ago. However, underneath this bald, wrinkly exterior, there beats the heart of a youngster. My wife is convinced I will never grow up. I hope she’s right.

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Book Review: Cutie and the Beast by M.E. Carter

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Welcome back to Weight Expectations, where the unexpected is likely to happen.

Cutie and the Beast, an all-new roommates-to-lovers romantic comedy from M.E. Carter, is now available in Kindle Unlimited!

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Living with her mother seemed like a good idea at the time. But Elliott Donovan’s living arrangements are not working for her anymore. Desperate to get back on her financial feet after a divorce and out from under her mother’s thumb, Elliott takes a job in the child care center at Weight Expectations, a local gym.

It has everything she needs – family-friendly hours, more pay than she expected, and a super cute trainer who just happens to have part of his house for rent.

Abel DiSoto was living the good life until his wife walked out taking half of the family income with her. The blow to his ego was bad enough, but after a fire at the gym scattered Abel’s clients, and consequently his commissions, he’s stuck figuring out how to make ends meet, too. Renting out the master suite of his house to his new co-worker seems like an easy solution. They’re both mature adults, they both have eight-year-old daughters, and their work schedules coordinate so they can lend each other a helping hand to ease the burden of single parenthood.

The only downside? Living like a blended family when you’re not actually a family can present some challenges.

Welcome back to Weight Expectations, where the unexpected is likely to happen.

‘Cutie and the Beast’ is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is book #3 in the Cipher Office series, Knitting in the City World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“I’m making a hard rule—no glitter. I don’t care what projects the kids have, do not bring glitter in this room.” I laugh at her insistence, mostly because I get where she’s coming from. “Agreed. I am not vacuuming satan’s decorations off this floor.”

 

I could have probably bounced a quarter off the abs on her. I, on the other hand, have lost actual quarters in my fat roll.

 

“Cougar guidelines?” “Half your age plus seven is how young you can date without it looking weird… When you’re old, like for real old, he’ll still be young enough to cater to your every whim.” Elliott’s eyebrows shoot up, and I can tell she’s visualizing all the ways her future self could benefit from this. “I’ve always wanted to have a cabana boy fanning me and feeding me grapes.” “There ya go!” Joey exclaims. “He can even wear a speedo!” Elliott’s eyes flash over to mine and she gives me a flirty shrug. “Make sure you keep those abs in shape.”

 

I really don’t want it to be here. I love my mother, but I prefer loving her from a distance.

My Review:

 

I am enamored with M.E. Carter’s deft and agile writing style, endearingly flawed yet well-meaning and hard-working characters, and the relevant and relatable issues tucked into her well-crafted and highly engaging storylines. I have relished these cleverly amusing Smartypants Romances, each one has been a snarkalicious smirk-fest and most have been giggle-snort worthy as well. M.E. Carter’s contributions to the series have provided me with both and I had the fleeting thought of amassing an altar of sweatbands and sweets in tribute to her keen wit, snappy banter, and amusing yet insightful observations.   However, I was unable to follow-through on this scheme, as the materials seemed to mysteriously disappear as I pondered the design. I am already eagerly awaiting the arrival of her next missive on my beloved Kindle.

 

 

Excerpt

In my haste to not be late, I barrel right into a woman coming through the front door.

Grabbing her arms to steady her from falling, I apologize profusely. “I’m sorry! I didn’t see you. Are you all right?”

Smiling tightly, the blonde isn’t thrilled a random stranger practically ran her over. But she’s polite anyway. “I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? You aren’t hurt?” I don’t think she is, but sometimes I don’t know my own strength.

This time her smile is a little more genuine. “I’m sure. You sure are in a rush.”

Letting go of her arms, I feel like she needs an explanation other than me racing around like an idiot. “I’m the one parent who has a tendency to be late for school pickup. The lady at the front desk gives me a nasty evil glare if she has to call me.”

This woman, whose name I still haven’t bothered to ask, laughs and I’m struck by how cute she is. She’s definitely a few years older than I am, but not by much. There’s nothing about her that necessarily stands out in a crowd, but her smile is genuine. This is a woman who likes to laugh and have fun. I always gravitate toward those people, which gives me a fleeting thought: I should have noticed my ex-wife hardly ever smiled for real. Laughing was even rarer unless it was at someone else’s expense. Those should have been easy indicators she wasn’t the one for me.

“Parker Elementary?” the blonde asks.

“Yeah.” I give her a quizzical look. “How did you know?”

“Do not mess with Ms. Alexander’s routine. She will cut a bitch.”

My laugh comes easily, and I find myself hoping this woman is a new member. She’s funny. I love it when clients have a sense of humor. Offering her my hand, I introduce myself. “I’m Abel. Trainer here at Weight Expectations and father of Mabel in second grade.”

She places her cold hand in mine. “Elliott. Interviewee for the childcare position and mother of Ainsley, also in second grade.”

“Ah! Well it’s nice to meet you. Fingers crossed I’ll see you here later as a fellow employee. And if not here, at Parker Elementary as a fellow parent. Hopefully not in Ms. Alexander’s line of sight.”

Elliott holds up her gloved hands and crosses her fingers around each other. “Wish me luck. Now run fast.”

About M.E. Carter

My name is M.E. Carter and I have no idea how I ended up writing books. I’m more of a storyteller (the more exaggerated the better) and I happen to know people who helped me get those stories on paper. I love reading (read almost 200 books last year), hate working out (but I do it anyway because my trainer makes me), love food (but hate what it does to my butt) and love traveling to non-touristy places most people never see. I live in Houston with my four kids, Mary, Elizabeth, Carter and Bug, who was just a twinkle in my eye when I came up with my pen name. Yeah, I’ll probably have to pay for his therapy someday for being left out.

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Book Review: Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles

Simon the Fiddler
by Paulette Jiles

Amazon / B&N / HarperCollins

 Publisher: William Morrow (April 14, 2020)

The critically acclaimed, bestselling author of News of the World and Enemy Women returns to Texas in this atmospheric story, set at the end of the Civil War, about an itinerant fiddle player, a ragtag band of musicians with whom he travels trying to make a living, and the charming young Irish lass who steals his heart.

In March 1865, the long and bitter War between the States is winding down. Till now, twenty-three-year-old Simon Boudlin has evaded military duty thanks to his slight stature, youthful appearance, and utter lack of compunction about bending the truth. But following a barroom brawl in Victoria, Texas, Simon finds himself conscripted, however belatedly, into the Confederate Army. Luckily his talent with a fiddle gets him a comparatively easy position in a regimental band.

Weeks later, on the eve of the Confederate surrender, Simon and his bandmates are called to play for officers and their families from both sides of the conflict. There the quick-thinking, audacious fiddler can’t help but notice the lovely Doris Mary Dillon, an indentured girl from Ireland, who is governess to a Union colonel’s daughter.

After the surrender, Simon and Doris go their separate ways. He will travel around Texas seeking fame and fortune as a musician. She must accompany the colonel’s family to finish her three years of service. But Simon cannot forget the fair Irish maiden and vows that someday he will find her again.

Incandescent in its beauty, told in Paulette Jiles’s trademark spare yet lilting style, Simon the Fiddler is a captivating, bittersweet tale of the chances a devoted man will take, and the lengths he will go to fulfill his heart’s yearning.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I am faithful to my friends and you can go to hell and shovel ashes.

 

She must take great care. Trust in God, her mother said, but never dance in a small boat.

 

Damon watched amazed as the man touched his hat and stood aside, but then this was the way of it when somebody carried a musical instrument, who knows why but they treat you like a woman carrying a baby. That plus a threatening glare would clear the way. Soldiers and others watched them pass with interested looks because they carried instruments and there is not a human being on earth who does not have a favorite song, lacking only somebody to play it.

 

He knew that he did not play music so much as walk into it, as if into a palace of great riches, with rooms opening into other rooms, which opened into still other rooms, and in these rooms were courtyards and fountains with passageways to yet more mysterious spaces of melody, peculiar intervals, unheard notes.

 

Pressley was a fat, pale man with slow movements and protruding eyes. He had a very deep voice that seemed to issue from him as if it had first been cast into him from somewhere else.

My Review:

 

I’m still contemplating and ruminating over the unusual style and approach of this book. It took me twice as long to finish as it normally would for a book of the same length. The writing style was oddly captivating, yet arduous to get through as it was laden with a staggering amount of well-researched language and items of the time, as well as intricate details of the tiniest of minutia, much of which was unfamiliar and surprisingly interesting but at other times quite tedious and laborious to wade through, and significantly slowed the storylines which progressed in accelerated bursts and slow easy starts.   Yet I remained oddly intrigued and curious as to their fate throughout this slowly unfolding story.

 

The emotional tone was taut with tension and fraught with angst, frustration, contained rage, imminent peril, fear, thirst and hunger, yearning, intense poverty, lack of social or legal recourse, and unrelenting exhaustion. Although, slivers of clever humor sparkled among the gloom and doom of the aftermath of war and the mistreatment and abuse of power exercised over the citizens and defeated soldiers by the arrogant victors.   I greatly enjoyed the pearls of wisdom and uncanny literary quotes and observations from the secondary character of Damon. What a dreadful period in history to have lived through. I am far too spoiled by my creature comforts. I require indoor plumbing, electrical current, ready transportation, and unrestricted access to the all-important major food groups – like grapes and chocolate.

I was provided with a review copy of this oddly compelling book by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins.

About the Author

Paulette Jiles is a novelist, poet, and memoirist. She is the author of Cousins, a memoir, and the novels Enemy Women, Stormy Weather, The Color of Lightning, Lighthouse Island, and News of the World, which was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award. She lives on a ranch near San Antonio, Texas.

Find out more about Paulette at her website.

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Book Review: Willow’s Wedding Vows by Debbie Viggiano 

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Willow’s Wedding Vows
by Debbie Viggiano 

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA  

Wedding vows have never been this personal…

Willow has been living with marriage-shy Charlie for more years than she cares to remember and is old-fashioned enough to want a wedding band and a loads-of-sex honeymoon before stretchmarks and nipple shields.

So when the once-wary Charlie surprisingly goes down on one knee, Willow doesn’t question why her boyfriend is suddenly so keen to rush her into saying “I do”.

The first clue comes as Willow is zipped into her Cinderella dress, the second as she bobs into the wedding car, and the third as the Roller swings towards its fairy-tale destination… leaving a shell-shocked Willow desperately trying to figure out what to do next.

A bride can do anything she wants on her wedding day, but nobody expected her to do this…

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Kev had more faults than the cracks in Earth’s crusts and could be feistier than a racehorse waiting for the off at the Grand National.

 

Jean was now turning to face Willow, her face looking like a walrus who’d anticipated a fish supper but been given tofu.

 

She told me I have all the passion of a pensioner at a rave.

 

Karen, pursing her lips. ‘Don’t do that… That thing with your mouth. Makes it look like a cat’s bum.’

My Review:

 

This was a fun and delightfully comical tale full of saucy humor, conflicted characters, and a few selfish, contemptible, sleazy, and vile lying cheats. At first, I was restless and alarmed at the rocketing infidelity and breezy disregard Charlie exhibited toward Willow, as well as her lack of observational skills, complete gullibility, and inability to consider warnings. Willow was a sap, quite slow on the uptake, and more than a bit ditzy, but that “sneery little voice in her head” knew better. I have one of those too, although mine generally makes naughty observations and floods my mind with useless bits of information when I’m trying to recall something important like how many calories are in ice cream or my true age.

Ms. Viggiano’s storylines were crisp and amusingly entertaining, the banter was snappy, her characters were enticing yet fatally flawed and humorously detailed, and her analogies were absurdly creative and called up sharply focused and ironic visuals.   I smirked, cringed, and giggle-snorted while I read and although I had solved the mystery of the identities of the guilty parties, I still enjoyed the bumpy ride all the way to disembarking the vehicle. This was my first exposure to the comedic stylings of Debbie Viggiano and I adored her clever humor and wry wit so much I have added her entire Goodreads listing to my TBR.

Ms. Viggiano has also provided me with two new additions to my Brit Words and Phrases list with gave it some welly – to use force, and ear-wigging – to eavesdrop.

About the Author

 

Amazon
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Website

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.Prior to turning her attention to writing, Debbie Viggiano was, for more years than she cares to remember, a legal secretary. She lives with her Italian husband, a rescued puppy from Crete, and a very disgruntled cat. Occasionally her children return home from uni bringing her much joy…apart from their gifts of dirty laundry.

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Book Review: The First Date by Zara Stoneley

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The First Date
by Zara Stoneley

 

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Right place.
Right time.
Wrong guy …

After breaking up with her childhood sweetheart, clueless dater Rosie has found herself in a boyfriend-drought. So when she finally swipes right on a guy who seems interested, she can’t wait to meet up IRL.

Until she’s left standing alone. In a bar. Ghosted.

Enter Noah. Confident, funny … and a serial first dater. Offering to give Rosie a crash course in seduction, this could be just what she needs. Until her matchmaker turns out to be the best date she’s ever had – and Rosie wonders if she wants the fake dates to be the real ones after all …

A hilarious, heartwarming romantic comedy about what happens when the wrong guy turns up at the right time, perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Debbie Johnson.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I go out looking for men, but I just find wankers and bell-ends.

 

He has missed birthdays, holidays and even Christmas on one memorable occasion – memorable because I have never heard my mum scream so loud or threaten to cut off his goolies and hang them from the highest branches of the tree. Quite honestly, at eight years old this held a morbid fascination and I did wonder what colour string she’d use and if she’d drape tinsel round them.

 

He chuckles, and it’s a rich, chocolatey sound that makes me squeeze my hands together, hunch my shoulders and want to rush round in circles laughing like an excited cartoon princess.

 

This could be like agreeing to enter a shark cage just because you want to look at the pretty penguins that they’re about to eat.

 

I really could have grabbed Noah and kissed him. As in totally snogged his face off. Tonsils, tongues and tits as my mate at school used to say when we were young and hormonally challenged.

 

…come on get a move on we’ve only got two hours and three minutes to get you defuzzed and looking completely au-naturel. And we all know that takes bloody ages! Can’t you just go for tarty and high-maintenance? I can achieve that in half an hour flat.

My Review:

 

I always enjoy losing myself to Zara Stoneley’s giggle-snort and smirk-worthy levity, wry wit, and endearingly awkward and quirky characters who tend to be more than a bit chipped, frayed, or fully cracked. This cleverly penned, maddeningly paced, slowly evolving, and highly amusing tale appeared to be a hybrid of women’s fiction, romantic/comedy, family drama, and slow-burn romance. I adore Ms. Stoneley’s comedically descriptive, multi-faceted, and well-nuanced writing style; she entertains while requiring me to expend a bit of effort to get there, which flavors that HEA all the sweeter.

And I picked up a naughty little entry for my Brit Word List with bell-end – which appears to be vulgar British slang for the end of the penis as well as a contemptible or foolish person. Like Rosie’s friend Bea, I’ve swum in that dating pool as well 😉

About the Author

Amazon
Goodreads
Website

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Zara Stoneley is the USA Today bestselling author of The Wedding Date.

Born in a small village in the UK, she wanted to be a female James Herriot, a spy, or an author when she grew up. After many (many) years and many different jobs, her dream of writing a bestseller came true.

She writes about friendship, dreams, love, and happy ever afters, and hopes that her tales make you laugh a lot, cry a little, and occasionally say ‘ahhh’.

Zara now lives in a Cheshire village with her family, a lively cockapoo called Harry, and a very bossy (and slightly evil) cat called Saffron.

Zara’s bestselling novels include ‘The Wedding Date’, ‘The Holiday Swap’, ‘Summer with the Country Village Vet’, ‘Blackberry Picking at Jasmine Cottage‘ and the popular Tippermere series – ‘Stable Mates’, ‘Country Affairs’ and ‘Country Rivals’.

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Book Review: The Treble With Men by Piper Sheldon

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The Treble With Men, an all-new secret identity romantic standalone from Piper Sheldon, is now available in Kindle Unlimited!

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As far as Green Valley is concerned, Kim Dae disappeared into the Wraiths a decade ago. They were sort of right. Kim has spent her life since Jethro fighting her curious nature and trying to blend into the background. Unfortunately for her, a mysterious Maestro comes to town and takes quick notice of her for reasons unknown to anybody.

The masked conductor, known simply as Devlin, was already a source of much gossip thanks to his reputation for getting fired. Now, his sudden interest in the quiet fourth chair cellist has added fuel to the rumor fire. The new conductor of the symphony needs to learn to control his temper and finish his latest musical masterpiece and only the reluctant star of his symphony can help him do that. If Devlin can’t convince Kim to help to finish his latest composition he’ll lose everything.

Can Devlin and Kim compose without losing composure?

‘The Treble with Men’ is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #2 in the Scorned Women’s Society series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Richard Firmin and Andrew Gill were the co-presidents of the SOOK… Nobody else called them Andy-Dick, but as they were a package deal, it was just easier.

 

He pulled his baton from his coat jacket like it was Harry Potter’s wand…

 

“I hate guys like that. Don’t worry. If you want, I’ll kick his ass.” He flexed and kissed his biceps. “These guns haven’t lost their bullets.”

 

If you ever tell anybody I screamed like that, they’ll never find your body.

 

I’ll never agree to anything without hearing it first. That’s how people end up with a tattoo of a platypus on their ass.

 

Sleep had hit me so hard, I woke up in the same exact position I’d fallen asleep in, wondering what year it was.

My Review:

 

I enjoyed this installment twice as much as the first one, it was a wicked funny, multi-faceted, slow-burn romance. The multiple storylines were actively paced and written in my favorite dual POV featuring extremely complicated and oddly fractured characters who were struggling with themselves and each other.   Both were ducking for cover from their pasts by using dual personas while doing a rather pitiable job of functioning as either one. They were intelligent people who were living in their heads and essentially emotional and social idiots. I’m curious to see where this series goes next.

 

 

About Piper Sheldon

Piper Sheldon writes Contemporary Romance and Magical Realism books that hope to be New York Times bestsellers when they grow up. For now, she works as a technical writer during the day and writes about love the rest of the time. Of course, she also makes room for her husband, toddler, and two needy dogs at home in the Desert Southwest.

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Book Review: The German Heiress by Anika Scott

 

 

The German Heiress
by Anika Scott

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU /

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 Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (April 7, 2020)

“Meticulously researched and plotted like a noir thriller, The German Heiress tells a different story of WWII— of characters grappling with their own guilt and driven by the question of what they could have done to change the past.” —Jessica Shattuck, New York Times bestselling author of The Women in the Castle

For readers of The Alice Network and The Lost Girls of Paris, an immersive, heart-pounding debut about a German heiress on the run in post-World War II Germany.

Clara Falkenberg, once Germany’s most eligible and lauded heiress, earned the nickname “the Iron Fräulein” during World War II for her role in operating her family’s ironworks empire. It’s been nearly two years since the war ended and she’s left with nothing but a false identification card and a series of burning questions about her family’s past. With nowhere else to run to, she decides to return home and take refuge with her dear friend, Elisa.

Narrowly escaping a near-disastrous interrogation by a British officer who’s hell-bent on arresting her for war crimes, she arrives home to discover the city in ruins, and Elisa missing. As Clara begins tracking down Elisa, she encounters Jakob, a charismatic young man working on the black market, who, for his own reasons, is also searching for Elisa. Clara and Jakob soon discover how they might help each other—if only they can stay ahead of the officer determined to make Clara answer for her actions during the war.

Propulsive, meticulously researched, and action-fueled, The German Heiress is a mesmerizing page-turner that questions the meaning of justice and morality, deftly shining the spotlight on the often-overlooked perspective of Germans who were caught in the crossfire of the Nazi regime and had nowhere to turn.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

What a slippery thing conscience could be. It had driven her in two directions. To her father, with all the duties of family and work… And then she had been driven to help the workers, an act that put everything else at risk. One side of her conscience undermining the other. And still she had listened to both. She had thought she could do justice to both.

 

In Jakob’s experience, you had to watch the Tommies when they were being too nice. You never knew when they’d turn on you, remind you of what a Nazi you’d been, regardless of the truth. The Tommies would call you a lowly foreigner in your own country.

 

My Review:

 

She was called The Iron Fräulein, Clara Falkenberg was a curiously captivating and intriguing study of contrasts. Her mother was British yet appeared far more fanatic about the Nazi agenda than her opportunistic German father.   Clara was the only daughter and the publicity darling for her wealthy family’s ironworks business, which made several more fortunes during the war using forced labor. Clara was also the former Reich’s most eligible heiress and graced magazines on both sides of the ocean. However, in post-war Germany, her notoriety worked against her.

 

This was my introduction to the powerful and emotive word voodoo of Anika Scott and wow, does this gal have some major skills! The storylines were smartly crafted and absorbing, intricate, well scaffolded, intriguing, thoughtfully observant, and heart-squeezing while cast with a peculiar assortment of broken, flawed, complex, and often unlikable yet deeply compelling characters. I felt conflicted yet totally engaged from start to finish. And all this in a debut novel… the little pea in my brain just exploded.

 

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

About the Author

Anika Scott was a journalist at the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Chicago Tribune before moving to Germany, where she currently lives in Essen with her husband and two daughters. She has worked in radio, taught journalism seminars at an eastern German university, and written articles for European and American publications. Originally from Michigan, she grew up in a car industry family. This is her first novel.

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

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Book Review: Truths I Never Told You by Kelly Rimmer

 

Truths I Never Told You 
Kelly Rimmer

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After finding disturbing journal pages that suggest her late mother didn’t die in a car accident as her father had always maintained, Beth Walsh begins a search for answers to the question — what really happened to their mother? With the power and relevance of Jodi Picoult and Lisa Jewell, Rimmer pens a provocative novel told by two women a generation apart, the struggles they unwittingly shared, and a family mystery that may unravel everything they believed to be true.

With her father recently moved to a care facility because of worsening signs of dementia, Beth Walsh volunteers to clear out the family home to prepare it for sale. Why shouldn’t she be the one, after all? Her three siblings are all busy with their families and successful careers, and Beth is on maternity leave after giving birth to Noah, their miracle baby. It took her and her husband Hunter years to get pregnant, but now that they have Noah, Beth can only feel panic. And leaving Noah with her in-laws while she pokes about in their father’s house gives her a perfect excuse not to have to deal with motherhood.

Beth is surprised to discover the door to their old attic playroom padlocked, and even more shocked to see what’s behind it – a hoarder’s mess of her father’s paintings, mounds of discarded papers, and miscellaneous junk. Her father was the most fastidious, everything-in-its-place man, and this chaos makes no sense. As she picks through the clutter, she finds a handwritten note attached to one of the paintings, in what appears to be in her late mother’s handwriting. Beth and her siblings grew up believing Grace Walsh died in a car accident when they were little more than toddlers, but this note suggests something much darker may be true. A frantic search uncovers more notes, seemingly a series of loose journal entries that paint a very disturbing portrait of a woman in profound distress, and of a husband that bears very little resemblance to the father Beth and her siblings know.

A fast-paced, harrowing look at the fault in memories and the lies that can bond families together – or tear them apart.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Alicia came with him a few times, then suddenly stopped helping out. As far as I can tell, she’s very busy being a “media personality.” Given she hasn’t had an acting or modeling gig for at least a decade, “media personality” seems to mean she spends her mornings at the gym and her afternoons with her socialite friends, hoping she’ll make it into the frame of a paparazzi photo so she can complain about her lack of privacy.

 

Here, more than anywhere, I feel his absence. The room smells like Dad— his aftershave and deodorant linger in the air. This scent is warm hugs on sad days, and laughter over the breakfast bar, and suffering through the sheer boredom of the old black-and-white movie marathons he so loved to inflict upon us on rainy weekends.

 

Mrs. Hills and Aunt Nina insisted on taking me out for a bachelorette party the weekend before the wedding. I protested furiously at this, mostly because I wasn’t exactly excited by the idea of suffering through two octogenarians offering me sex advice.

 

“For your generation, these problems have names, and because they are defined, solutions can be found for them. But for my generation, we didn’t have access to those solutions and it made life endlessly complicated… and for women like your mother, endlessly cruel.” Two weeks ago I stuffed a script for Prozac into my tote bag, and it’s still there— resting between baby wipes and spare pacifiers and my purse. I clutch the strap tighter in my hand… Sometimes moments of change happen during quiet conversations like this, when a simple shift in perspective empowers you to make a choice you just haven’t been able to make before.

My Review:

 

I finished Kelly Rimmer’s latest work with tears in my eyes and hot rocks in my throat, a condition I had experienced several times during my perusal of this poignant and keenly written piece. Poignant is the word that keeps circling in my gray matter, and while accurate, poignant falls short of doing justice to this thoughtful penned story. Let me add a few more adjectives and adverbs in my paltry attempt to express my scattered thoughts, including – profoundly insightful, real-world issues, extremely relevant, heart-squeezing, painfully honest, highly emotive, sensitively handled, cleverly nuanced, masterfully written, and brilliantly paced.   Ms. Rimmer seems to have an adept and nimble skill at walking the line of both sides of a controversial subject and deftly and thoughtfully exposing the grim disparities, inequities, and nitty-gritty parts that neither side can ignore. I covet her mad skills and will ever remain her ardent fangirl for life.

About the Author

Kelly Rimmer is the worldwide and USA TODAY bestselling author of Before I Let You Go, Me Without You, and The Secret Daughter. She lives in rural Australia with her husband, two children, and fantastically naughty dogs, Sully and Basil. Her novels have been translated into more than twenty languages.