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Book Review: Has Anyone Seen My Sex Life? by Kristen Bailey

Has Anyone Seen My Sex Life?
by Kristen Bailey

Amazon /B&N/ Kobo/ Apple/ GP 

It’s normal for your washing machine to get more action than you, right?

I wake up, bleary-eyed. It’s been two years, six months and three hours since I last shaved my legs, and the llama-patterned knickers I’m wearing have seen better days.

We have seven minutes before the kids wake up, and my husband shuffles closer. ‘Ouch,’ he says, a piece of Lego sticking into his back.

Then, a light comes on in the landing. Small footsteps creep down the stairs. A little voice screams, ‘IS SOMEONE COMING TO MAKE BREAKFAST?!’

All hope of having some ‘alone time’ is replaced with wondering if we’ve run out of Cheerios, thinking about the overflowing laundry, and remembering that I forgot to take out the recycling. Again.

Just a typical Monday morning for the Morton family…

Except today, when I go downstairs in my dressing gown, I find something. Something belonging to my husband. Something that definitely wasn’t in the wedding vows. And it’s either going to make us… or break us.

An utterly hilarious and unmissable novel for anyone who has ever felt like they spend more time washing the dishes than getting lucky. Fans of Why Mummy Drinks and The Unmumsy Mum, and rom-coms by Sophie Ranald and Sophie Kinsella, will ugly laugh at this gloriously funny and relatable read.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Nothing is more sobering than looking at yourself in your underwear under a fluorescent bathroom glow. My stomach looks like a collapsed cake. My thighs look like rolled pork joints. I poke at them to see if I can carve out a thigh gap… I look down. Jesus, where are my boobs and stomach going? It’s like they’re trying to flee from me in different directions – gravity is not my friend.

 

I have a Morton brother either side of me: my brother-in-law to my left, to my right my husband, who keeps adjusting the tartan gown to protect my modesty… ‘Careful there, Meggers. Don’t need the whole world seeing your growler…’ I laugh hysterically at the mention of the word and do a lion impression.

 

She told people I had implants put in me arse. Who the heck wants their bum to look bigger?

 

‘There’s no such thing as heaven,’ Eve informs me. ‘ He’s just dust now and his dog ghost lives in the hills and will gallop around and sleep in the bushes scaring the squirrels.’

 

 My Review:

 

I smirked, giggle-snorted, and barked with gleeful mirth throughout this cleverly penned and superbly crafted tale. This was my first exposure to the beguilingly wondrous wit of Kristen Bailey and I became a rabid fangirl halfway through page one.   Her engaging writing style was crisp, rib-tickling, rife with smart edgy banter and humorous innuendo, and called up delightfully amusing visuals that danced behind my eyes.   I am greedy for all her past and future words and have added her name to the top of my List Of Favorite Cool Beings.

About the Author

Mother-of-four, gin-drinker, binge-watcher, receipt hoarder, enthusiastic but terrible cook. Kristen also writes. She has had short fiction published in several publications including Mslexia & Riptide. Her first two novels, Souper Mum and Second Helpings were published in 2016. In 2019, she was long-listed in the Comedy Women in Print Prize and has since joined the Bookouture family. She hopes her novels have fresh and funny things to say about modern life, love, and family.

You can find out more about her on Twitter (@mrsbaileywrites), Instagram (@kristenbaileywrites) and Facebook.

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Book Review: Been There, Married That by Gigi Levangie Grazer 

Been There, Married That
by Gigi Levangie Grazer

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 Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / B&N / GP

A hilarious new novel full of Hollywood glitz, glamour, and scandal.

When he changes the locks, she changes the rules.

Agnes Murphy Nash is the perfect Hollywood wife – she has the right friends, the right clothes, and even a side career of her own as a writer. Her husband Trevor is a bigshot producer, and from the outside it looks like they’re living a picture-perfect celebrity life, complete with tennis tournaments and lavish parties.

But the job description of a Hollywood wife doesn’t cover divorce, which is the way Agnes’ life is headed after she comes home one day to find her credit cards cancelled and the security passwords to get into her enormous LA home changed. Oh, and there’s a guy there whose job it is to tase her if she tries to enter…which she does. Needless to say, Agnes’ husband is dead set on making sure she loses big time, but Agnes isn’t the type to just lie down and take it. In a world of fremenies and hot nannies, personal psychics and “skinny” jello shots, Agnes may be losing her husband, but could that mean getting her own life back?

Been There, Married That is a drop-dead hilarious battle of wills that will make you laugh out loud, cringe, and keep turning the pages to see what crazy disaster will happen to Agnes next…and how she’ll rise from the ashes.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

So hard to make cogent arguments against a smart tween while driving in LA; I needed to concentrate on swearing and shaking my fist at all the illegal left turns.

 

We all knew, deep inside, our kids were probably growing up to be entitled, overeducated blobs. We were raising hothouse flowers, unequipped to climb a fence or fry an egg or spend five minutes bored… “When the revolution comes,” I said, “our kids will be food.”

 

Lip filler lemmings… I’d tell them to jump off a cliff into the Pacific, but we all know silicone floats.

 

“No one’s reading like they used to. Have you ever considered hosting a YouTube channel?” “Yes! A lifestyle channel,” I said. “‘ Agnes’s Spectacular Guide to Failing.’ I’ll invite people who’ve failed miserably— our advertisers will be firearms, funeral homes, and pharmaceuticals.”

 

“Who’s opposing counsel?” she asked. “Ulger Blecks.” She whistled. “Why is it everyone whistles when they hear his name? Is he a dog?” “A pit bull that frightens rabies.”

 

“Let me tell you something, dearie,” Dad said and lowered his voice, which was how I knew he was heated. “The world was a better place when we settled matters with fists rather than lawyers.” I opened my mouth to object and found that I couldn’t argue with him. I would’ve loved to have popped Ulger in the mouth, but I feared he would eat it.

 

My Review:

 

This amusing tale was shot through with clever wit and razor-sharp snark while cast with mainly vapid, vile, exasperating, entitled, arrogant, shallow, and obliviously bone-headed characters who were of the type of ilk that I would never willingly share air.   The storylines had me rife with consternation and I was often simultaneously amused and intensely annoyed by the characters’ behaviors and poor choices. I will admit to being unfamiliar with many of the pop-culture references lavishly sprinkled throughout, so a considerable amount of the author’s cleverness flew right over my tiny pea-brained inhabited cranium and left me feeling more than a bit cretinous and imbecilic. The premise had such promise and the story threads had good bones with glimpses of cunning perceptiveness and sharp-edged humor that kept me reading to the end, but all in all, the odd pacing and unlikable characters consistently whittled at my enjoyment and rating.

About the Author

Gigi Levangie is the author of six prior novels, including The After Wife and the New York Times bestseller The Starter Wife, which was adapted as a miniseries for USA Network.

She is the original writer of the screenplay for Stepmom and has written for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, and other publications. Levangie lives in Los Angeles.

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Book Review: My Geeky Valentine by Jeanne McDonald

My Geeky Valentine
by Jeanne McDonald

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / B&N

It is often said that love is blind. It goes beyond normal conventions, and true love sees a person for the soul within. Love is finding that perfect someone even when they don’t necessarily meet your preconceived notions for your perfect match. In this charming collection of short stories by Jeanne McDonald, three couples discover that love is more than what meets the eye, and to never judge a geek by their cover.

Three short stories in one sweet and spicy book.
Included: Love Wanted, All of Me, You’re the One

*note: not all stories are Valentine’s day themed. This book was named as a tribute for Jeanne’s dearly departed mother who was a Valentine’s Day baby and married and loved her own geek until the day she died.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Life doesn’t always adhere to storybooks. Sometimes love isn’t all fireworks. Sometimes the one you need isn’t the one you seek. Sometimes love takes us by surprise and never lets us go.

 

I have to know more about a man who can use the term bumbling buffoonery in a sentence.

 

His voice! Good God, it was like angels singing. The choirs of Heaven opened up, and I was somehow lucky enough to get a live performance.

 

My Review:

 

This quick and easy to follow book consists of three unrelated yet amusing and engaging short stories that were very easy to fall into and provided three satisfying HEAs, which is what I always want from any story and no less from those with a Valentine’s Day theme.

About the Author

 Twitter

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Jeanne McDonald enjoys writing contemporary romance filled with spice, drama, and humor. As JM Dodd, Jeanne explores the supernatural, relishes in the world of fantasy, and dabbles in contemporary fiction.

Jeanne is the founder of the author co-op, Enchanted Publications, and is an avid supporter of autism awareness.

When she’s not spending time with her amazing son or her dog, Bacon, she can be found reading, writing, enjoying a great film, or cooking for friends. In her house, there’s always music or a podcast playing.

A proud Texan, Jeanne currently resides in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with her son and Bacon.

You can learn more about Jeanne and her books at www.jmdodd.us

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Book Review: New Beginnings At Glendale Hall (Glendale Hall #2) by Victoria Walters

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New Beginnings At Glendale Hall
(Glendale Hall #2)
by Victoria Walters

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / Kobo / Apple

Two weddings and a baby…but who will get their happy ever after?

Emily Prescott’s life isn’t going to plan. Her dreams of starting a family with fireman boyfriend Greg and opening up her own bakery in London feel like they will never come true. So when a wedding
invite arrives from her oldest friend, Beth Williams, Emily is thrilled. Not only will she get to return to her childhood home in Scotland, but best of all – Beth wants her to bake the wedding cake!

However, her excitement is cut short when she discovers that Greg has cheated on her. Devastated by his betrayal, Emily flees to Glendale Hall, Beth’s grand estate in the Highlands, and tries to distract herself with helping with the wedding plans, but that’s not easy when Greg keeps hounding her to forgive him. Then she’s introduced to Glendale’s new young and handsome vicar Brodie, and things become even more complicated.

When Emily discovers that Greg’s betrayal runs deeper than she imagined, she finds herself with a whole host of decisions to make, especially when she discovers her long-awaited dream is finally being fulfilled – at exactly the wrong time…

Escape to Scotland and fall in love with this gorgeous and inspiring romance from the bestselling author of Coming Home to Glendale Hall! The perfect feel-good read for fans of Holly Martin, Heidi Swain, and Jill Mansell.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I can only hope you never have any problems in your life, Hazel, because no one will be at all sympathetic if this is how you treat other people going through a tough time.

 

I think that if you’re the kind of person who worries about not being good enough then you have nothing to worry about. The people who think they can do anything and everything are not always the people you want to be around, are they?

  

My Review:

 

This story needs a warning label for dieters as the delicious descriptions of divine baked goods had my mouth watering and ample stomach area groaning for sugar and butter.   The tale was insightfully written from the first person POV of Emily, a character I often wanted to give a pinch and swat to the back of the head for being so indecisive, lily-livered, and easily manipulated by her selfish boyfriend, even after knowing he had betrayed her.   ARG!  But then again, maybe I’m too harsh, as I do tend to espouse to the Lorena Bobbitt School of Revenge. The engaging storylines were relevant, slowly paced, heartfelt, and highly caloric. But be aware – this book is a bane to dieters everywhere and apt to cause diabetes 😉

 

About the Author

Victoria Walters writes up-lifting and inspiring stories. Her moving debut novel THE SECOND LOVE OF MY LIFE was chosen for WHSmith Fresh Talent and shortlisted for an RNA award. Victoria was also picked as an Amazon Rising Star. Her heart-warming new novel SUMMER AT THE KINDNESS CAFE is available to download now.

As well as being an author, Victoria also works as a Waterstones bookseller and buys far too many books there. She lives in Surrey with her cat Harry (named after Harry Potter). Victoria is not only obsessed with books but loves buying slogan tops, mugs, and notebooks, and posting them all on Instagram.

You can discover more about Victoria – and find pictures of Harry the cat – by following her on Instagram at @vickyjwalters, on Twitter at @Vicky_Walters or by visiting her blog at https://victoria-writes.com/

 

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Book Review: Baby I’m Yours (Angel Sands #5) by Carrie Elks

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Title: Baby I’m Yours (Angel Sands #5)
Author: Carrie Elks
Genre: Small Town, Accidental Pregnancy Romance
Release Date: Feb 12, 2020
Cover Designer: Najla Qamber

Two tiny lines that change everything…

Doctor James Tanner is gorgeous, successful and decisively single.

He’s also a widower with a broken heart.

When he meets a beautiful woman on a fateful night out, their chemistry shocks him to the core.

Harper Hayes is irresistible.

With her pink-tipped hair and tantalizing smile, she makes him forget all his pain.

One night together won’t hurt, will it?

One night to get her out of his system.

Then he’ll leave in the morning without a backward glance.

But actions have consequences, and this one will change their lives forever.

And when Harper sees those two little lines she knows exactly what that means.

Now she just needs to find her baby’s father.

What a shame she doesn’t even know his name…

 





Excerpt

“I’m sorry I walked out that night,” he said when he closed the break room door behind them. “I don’t usually do that kind of thing.”

“Walk out after a night of amazing sex?” She raised an eyebrow.

“I meant having the amazing sex in the first place. But yeah, I don’t usually walk out without a word either.” He shook his head. “It was an asshole thing to do. The least I could have done was taken you to breakfast.”

“Don’t worry. Breakfast was included with the room. And it isn’t your midnight ghosting I wanted to talk about.”

“It isn’t?”

“Nope.” She glanced at the door, as if to make extra sure it was closed. “Look, this is embarrassing and not at all how I imagined spending my day. I’d assumed I’d never see you again, and I was okay with that. Or as okay as you can be after waking up to an empty bed.” She took a deep breath. “So anyway, the thing is, I didn’t give you an STD that night, but you did give me something.”

“You think I gave you an STD?” He shook his head. “I couldn’t have.” She was the first person he’d had sex with in three years. “You’ve got the wrong guy.”

“I haven’t.” She pulled her lip between her teeth, her gaze meeting his. “It wasn’t an STD you gave me, James. It was a few extra sperm; I’m pregnant.”

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

It was as though reality had run into the room and slapped him hard in the face.

 

Is that a pager? … I didn’t know anybody still used those; I thought they disappeared with rotary phones and conscription.

 

“I’m never going to have this baby,” Ember told her, gritting her teeth. “I’ll be the only pregnant woman carrying around a teenager in her stomach. They’ll put me on TV shows as a medical miracle.” “I should record this,” Ally said, unable to bite down a grin. “Then next time you think about getting pregnant I’ll bring it out and show you. It’ll be better than any contraceptive.”

 

You of all people should know it’s not where you’ve come from that matters, but where you’re going.

 

“And for the record, fairytales suck. You ever read a real one? Not the Disney version, but as they were originally written? In Cinderella, the ugly stepsisters chop off their feet and have their eyes pecked out. The Little Mermaid gets left by the prince and pines for him forever in the ocean.” Ember grimaced. “Seriously, don’t ever aim for the fairytale.”

  

My Review:

 

Pregnancy is one of my least favorite tropes, but I didn’t seem to mind this one as the engaging storylines were cleverly amusing, well-paced, insightfully written, and plumbed all the feels. While I haven’t read them all, I have thoroughly enjoyed every book I’ve ever picked up from this perceptive wordsmith. So, of course, being the greedy book hoarder that I am, I now covet them all.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carrie Elks Headshot

Carrie Elks writes contemporary romance with a sizzling edge. Her first book, Fix You, has been translated into eight languages and made a surprise appearance on Big Brother in Brazil. Luckily for her, it wasn’t voted out. Carrie lives with her husband, two lovely children and a larger-than-life black pug called Plato. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found baking, drinking an occasional (!) glass of wine, or chatting on social media.

FACEBOOK PAGE

FACEBOOK GROUP

TWITTER

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Book Review: The Third to Die by Allison Brennan

The Third to Die: A Novel
by Allison Brennan

Amazon / B&N / Apple/ Google / B-A-M

New York Times bestselling author and gifted storyteller Allison Brennan’s new standalone thriller features a troubled female police detective and an ambitious FBI special agent who wind up at the center of a ticking-clock investigation into a diabolical serial killer.

Brennan’s novel will launch a book-a-year series featuring a fabulous cast of recurring characters. It’s the story of a troubled female police detective and an ambitious FBI special agent who wind up at the center of a ticking-clock investigation into a diabolical serial killer, and the bond they forge in this crucible sets the stage for the future books in the series.

Detective Kara Quinn is visiting her hometown of Liberty Lake, Washington, after being placed on administrative leave by the LAPD, when she comes upon the mutilated body of a young nurse during an early morning jog. The manner of death is clearly ritualistic; she calls it in. Meanwhile back in DC, special agent in charge Mattias Costa is meticulously staffing his newly-minted Mobile Response Team. One of his first recruits is the brilliant FBI forensic psychologist Catherine Jones. When word reaches Matt that the Washington state murder appears to be the work of the Triple Killer–it will be the first case for the MRT. Jones has done the only profile on this serial killer, but she is reluctant to join the unit, still shaken by the death of her sister a year ago under circumstances for which she holds herself responsible. But only she holds the key to understanding the killer’s obsessive pattern–three murder victims, three deep slashes a piece, each three days apart, each series beginning on a March 3rd–3/3, then a three-year hiatus before he strikes again.

This time they have a chance to stop him before he claims another victim strikes, but only if they can figure out who he is and where he is hiding.

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“Six months… Six months and the triplets start kindergarten.” She looked at her FitBit. “Five months, twenty-six days.”… Kara was still hung up on triplets. She’d definitely shoot herself. Or never have sex again.

 

Small town cop with a small town girlfriend and a small town life. Kara almost felt sorry for him. Like he still believed in Santa Claus and she was going to burst his bubble.

 

My Review:

 

This was quite a complicated and multifaceted tale with a full cast of compelling, intriguing, and complex characters. I quickly fell into this brilliantly contrived, tautly written, and brain-tickling vortex that alternated between the killer and those doggedly working to find him and end his spree.

The storylines packed a visceral punch and were cunningly crafted, quickly paced, and occasionally cringe-worthy. I was rabid to know all the deets about everybody and everything, and even when I knew who the killer was and why – I was still rabid to know how it would resolve. Basically, I was rabid and close to hissing at any interruption of my perusal. Pity my poor little husband.

Despite her prolific body of work, this was my first exposure to the shrewd and haunting storytelling and profoundly insightful character development of Allison Brennan. I was an instant fangirl, although I wouldn’t want to get too close as I would imagine her interior life may be a bit scary to inhabit.

About the Author

Goodreads

Amazon
Website

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Allison Brennan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of three dozen thrillers and numerous short stories. She was nominated for Best Paperback Original Thriller by International Thriller Writers, has had multiple nominations and two Daphne du Maurier Awards, and is a five-time RITA finalist for Best Romantic Suspense. Allison believes life is too short to be bored, so she had five kids. Allison and her family live in Arizona..

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Book Review: When Adam Met Evie by Giulia Skye

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When Adam Met Evie
by Giulia Skye

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / B&N

 

When former Olympic Swimmer, Michael Adams—now Canada’s hottest reality TV star— insults his fake showbiz wife on social media, he escapes the ensuing scandal and jumps on the first flight to Australia. Desperate to experience ordinary life again—if only for a few weeks—he becomes “Adam”, just another tourist traveling through the Outback. But with a reward out for his safe return and his fame’s nasty habit of catching up with him when he least expects, he needs a better disguise… and he’s just found it.

Sweet and scruffy British backpacker, Evie Blake, is taking a year out of her busy London life. Tired of lies and liars, she’s looking for adventure to heal her broken heart. So when the hot Canadian she meets at the campground offers to be her travel partner through Western Australia’s wild Kimberley region, she grabs the chance, unaware he’s got the world out looking for him.

He’s just a down-on-his-luck traveler, right?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

She seemed practical and sensible, and didn’t need an entourage to help her live out her life. He’d heard talk of the myth, so could it be that he’d actually come across one of those rare women who didn’t make a fuss?

 

When you retired, it was like your light bulb had gone out and you’ve been sitting in the dark ever since, still to replace it.

                      

 My Review:

 

When Adam Met Evie had an element of international flair, as the main characters were Canadian and British citizens who were taking an adventurous and somewhat fool-hearty trek through the Australian outback on their own, in a borrowed vehicle that had seen better days. This was an easy to follow and entertaining premise, yet the storylines evolved slowly and I often needed to scold myself to temper my impatience and to enjoy the adventure and scenic descriptions of the Australian travelogue, yet I certainly wouldn’t have minded if the story had progressed at a brisker clip.

I greatly enjoyed Evie but grew increasingly frustrated with the disheartening spinelessness of the character of Adam and his layers of subterfuge. The storylines incorporated unique and amusing events and a few juicy bits of sizzle and steam along their journey. I was quite taken and amused by the gray nomads and aspire to their level of carefree wandering.

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About the Author

Italian-born Giulia Skye spent her childhood watching classic Hollywood films and thinking up her own romantic stories. After two decades working in TV production, she knew turning those stories into novels would be much more enjoyable – and far cheaper – than turning them into films. She still keeps her hand in TV production but is at her happiest being a stay-at-home mum, spending time with her family, growing her own vegetables and conjuring up sizzling stories about sexy heroes meeting feisty heroines who aren’t always as they at first appear. When Adam Met Evie is her first novel, Book 1 of her “Take a Holiday” series.

Social Media Links 

Twitter handle: @giuliaskye

http://giuliaskye.com/my-books/

 

 

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Book Review: For Love or Money by Clodagh Murphy

For Love or Money
by Clodagh Murphy

 

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA  

B&N / Apple / Kobo

Lesley has always fancied herself as an amateur sleuth, a sort of modern-day Miss Marple without the support stockings.

So when Al wants to hire her to investigate his elderly uncle’s young fiancée, she jumps at the chance. It doesn’t hurt that the job will involve posing as Al’s girlfriend and joining his glitzy, star-studded family on holiday in Nice.

Stella still can’t quite believe she’s engaged to legendary actor Sir Peter Bradshaw. She accepted what she thought was a deathbed proposal. Now she has a living, breathing fiancé and a wedding to plan.

First, though, she has to get through a holiday in the South of France with Peter’s extended family, who all seem convinced she’s a gold-digger with her sights set on the family fortune.

As Lesley bonds with Stella over shopping trips and bottles of rosé, she thinks she has it all figured out. After all, it’s no great mystery why a young woman would marry a fabulously wealthy seventy-two-year-old with a heart condition, is it? It’s an old story.

And Al may be the nicest boyfriend she’s ever had (even if he is fake), but Lesley believes in instant attraction and there’s just no spark … no matter how fit he looks in his swimming trunks. So there’s no chance he’s going to grow on her.

But people have a way of surprising you, as she’s about to discover …

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

‘How do I know this isn’t all an elaborate ploy because you have designs on my wotsit?’ ‘I can assure you your wotsit will be perfectly safe. It won’t even know I’m there.’

 

‘I’m irresistible to women. Can’t you tell?’ Then suddenly his grin vanished and he shot her an intense intimate look that went straight to her groin. ‘Don’t you smoulder at me,’ she said crossly, feeling herself flush. Damn him! ‘Worked, though, didn’t it?’ He grinned happily… ‘Anyway, aren’t you supposed to be gay?’ she huffed, feeling flustered.

 

Out on the terrace, Scott was engrossed in a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey. Lesley hoped he wasn’t looking there for insights into the female mind… ‘Don’t believe everything you read,’ Lesley said with a sniff. ‘Most women would still prefer a little spontaneity over a twenty-page contract. When it comes to sex, contracts aren’t the things you want to be lengthy.’

 

I have no desire to be twenty again. I think it suits me being a wise old owl. I’ve grown out of my looks and into my personality.

 

 My Review:

 

This was my first exposure to the effervescent and refreshing zing of Clodagh Murphy’s clever arrangements of words and I was an instant fangirl of this skilled and entertaining and raconteur. I was immediately captivated by the crisp and clever levity and flippant and acerbic wit that was liberally sprinkled on each page.   It was delightfully effortless reading that kept me smirking and giggle-snorting throughout perusal.   Dialogs were often peppered with smartly honed rapid-fire banter and sassy quips, while the canny storylines and magnetic characters were decidedly outside the box. And I couldn’t get enough.

 

Every character magically came alive on the page and they were diverse and immensely varied in nature, yet the vast majority were appealingly nonconformists and mischievous in some way. I was beguiled and besotted with this oddly endearing collection of audacious and irresistible individuals and their peculiar family dynamics. More, please!

 

About the Author

Clodagh Murphy lives in Dublin, Ireland and writes funny, sexy romantic comedies. She always dreamed of being a novelist, and after more jobs, than she cares to (or can) remember, she now writes full-time. For more information about her books or to sign up for her newsletter, visit her website at http://clodaghmurphy.com/.

Social Media Links  

Website: http://clodaghmurphy.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClodaghMMurphy

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/clodagh-murphy

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

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

 

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Book Review: Witness Protection Widow (Winchester, Tennessee #5) by Debra Webb 

Witness Protection Widow
(Winchester, Tennessee #5)
by Debra Webb 

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / B&N/ Apple / GP / Kobo

Don’t miss the high-stakes police procedural thriller from USA TODAY bestselling author Debra Webb.

Can the witness protection program keep her identity secret?

After Allison James finally escapes her marriage to a monster, she becomes the star witness in the case against her deceased husband’s powerful crime family. Now it’s up to US Marshal Jaxson Stevens, Ali’s ex-boyfriend, to keep the WITSEC widow safe. But as the danger escalates and sparks fly, will Jax be able to help Ali escape her ruthless in-laws?

Discover more spine-tingling suspense in the Winchester, Tennessee Thriller series:
In Self Defense
The Dark Woods
The Stranger Next Door
The Safest Lies
Witness Protection Widow

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

It was hard to believe now that she hadn’t recognized her fairy-tale life was too good to be true. The trouble was, she had needed it to be true. Sometimes a need was so powerful that it overrode good sense.

 

She’d expected to possibly end up in a funeral home before this was over. She just hadn’t expected to be alive.

 

 My Review:

 

Despite her prolific body of work, I had not sampled Debra Webb’s storytelling skills until recently stumbling into several books in her highly engaging series of The Undertaker’s Daughter, and I was an instant fan. Lucky me, this installment had an all too brief drop-in visit with my beloved characters from the previously mentioned series, which brought a delighted smile to my face. Ignore the cheesy cover and unimaginative book title as this was a quick, intriguing, active, satisfying, and well-paced hybrid tale of romantic suspense and second chance romance for first loves with likable and admirable characters, a hauntingly realistic storyline, and a pervasive sense of tension and peril.

 About The Author

Instagram: @DebraEWebb
Facebook: @DebraWebbAuthor
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Debra Webb is the award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of more than 130 novels, including reader favorites the Faces of Evil, the Colby Agency, and the Shades of Death series. With more than four million books sold in numerous languages and countries, Debra’s love of storytelling goes back to her childhood on a farm in Alabama. Visit Debra at www.DebraWebb.com
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Book Review: The Hollows (The Kinship Series #2) by Jess Montgomery

The Hollows
(The Kinship Series #2)
by Jess Montgomery
Hardcover: 352 pages
 Minotaur Books (January 14, 2020)

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / B&N 

 

Jess Montgomery showcases her skills as a storyteller in The Hollows: a powerful, big-hearted and exquisitely written follow-up to her highly acclaimed debut The Widows.

Ohio, 1926: For many years, the railroad track in Moonvale Tunnel has been used as a shortcut through the Appalachian hills. When an elderly woman is killed walking along the tracks, the brakeman tells tales of seeing a ghostly female figure dressed all in white.

Newly elected Sheriff Lily Ross is called on to the case to dispel the myths. With the help of her friends Marvena Whitcomb and Hildy Cooper, Lily follows the woman’s trail to The Hollows–a notorious asylum–and they begin to expose dark secrets long-hidden by time and the mountains.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Since her husband’s death, Lily has found that the absences of ordinary, predictable sounds— Daniel shaving in the washroom, Daniel humming, Daniel sitting on the edge of their bed to pull on his boots and then clunking his feet on the floor— are more noticeable than the sounds themselves ever were.

 

She’d also blushed then, redness rising up her chest and creeping over the top of her high-necked dress collar, as she realized for the first time in years… she was regarding a man and feeling surprisingly delicious tingles dance over her skin.

 

Marvena’s hand shakes as she points to something on the floor. A hooded cape, sewn from rough white cotton. The pointed hood has buttonholes to attach a face covering, with slits cut for eyes. Lily recoils, more startled by this than by the snake from moments ago.

 

Lily’s gaze hardens as she looks up at Abe, the tallest man she’s ever met, and so slender it’s hard to imagine he takes any joy in eating… his exaggerated Adam’s apple as still as a stone lodged in his throat, his chin and jawline shaved so smoothly as to suggest that even stubble is too scared to brush his face.

 

You’re sad, Lily. It’s been more’n a year, the length of time people give for mourning, but there’s no clock running on sorrow.

 

My Review:

 

I was quickly pulled into this quagmire of a tale by the mesmerizing storytelling quality, insightful observations, and perceptiveness of the writing. It was highly descriptive, swirling with atmosphere, and taut with raw emotions that were close to the surface as well as deeply buried – primarily frustration and grief. I was so deeply engaged I found myself holding tension in my body and clenching my teeth as I read. The main characters were deeply flawed women who were attempting to solve an intriguing murder in a small village that was, “inaccessible by automobile. Folks can get in and out only by train, mule, or foot,” all while struggling with their own personal issues and societal limitations of the 1920s. They were constantly on edge, physically and emotionally exhausted, hungry, anxious, frustrated and thwarted at every turn, yet striving to do their best and taking great personal risks. I cringed for them as I sucked down copious amounts of wine while they labored to untangle several complicated subplots to ultimately merge their diverse storylines.   This intensely complex book was ingeniously and cunningly contrived and well worth the effort.

 

I will admit my ignorance, I had no idea there was such a group as the WKKK— the Women of the Ku Klux Klan. I should not have been surprised, but I was, and profoundly so.   These not so secret groups were found all across the nation in the 1920s and were not just wives and daughters attending events with their families, but “an auxiliary women’s group, born of the KKK,” which had spun off from the suffrage movement and incorporated the tenets of prohibition and all the arrogance, antagonistic warfare, and bigotry of the KKK toward any person or group that was not white or Protestant.   Yikes. Those women sound like the worst type of insufferable battleaxes. Gasp – I hope none of them would fall out of my own family tree, which in retrospect would not seem all that unlikely as there appears to be an overabundance of diseased branches. 😉

About the Author

JESS MONTGOMERY is the Literary Life columnist for the Dayton Daily News and Executive Director of the renowned Antioch Writers’ Workshop in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Based on early chapters of The Widows, Jess was awarded an Ohio Arts Council individual artist’s grant for literary arts and the John E. Nance Writer-in-Residence at Thurber House in Columbus. She lives in her native state of Ohio.

 

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