Category Archives: Book Review

Book Review – Read, Write, Love at Seaside

16 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by in Blog Tour, Book Review, Contest, Sneak Peek

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Sweet with Heat: Seaside Summers features a group of fun, flirty, and emotional friends who gather each summer at their Cape Cod cottages. They’re sassy, flawed, and so easy to relate to, you’ll be begging to enter their circle of friends! Start reading FREE with Read, Write, Love at Seaside! 

*****

Read, Write, Love at Seaside

Sweet with Heat: Seaside Summers #1

by Addison Cole

Releasing June 14th, 2017

World Literary Press

Blurb:

Bestselling author Kurt Remington lives to write. He spends twelve hours a day in front of his computer, rarely leaving the seclusion of his beach-front property, where he’s come to finish his latest thriller — that is, until free-spirited Leanna Bray nearly drowns in the ocean trying to save her dog. Kurt’s best-laid plans are shot to hell when he comes to their rescue. Kurt’s as irritated as he is intrigued by the sexy, hot mess of a woman who lives life on a whim, forgets everything, and doesn’t even know the definition of the word organized.

Leanna’s come to the Cape hoping to find a fulfilling career in the jam-making business, and until she figures out her own life, a man is not on the menu. But Leanna can’t get the six-two, deliciously muscled and tragically neat Kurt out of her mind. She tells herself she’s just stopping by to say thank you, but the heart-warming afternoon sparks an emotional and unexpectedly sweet ride as Kurt and Leanna test the powers of Chemistry 101: Opposites Attract.

*Read, Write, Love at Seaside by Addison Cole is the sweet edition of New York Times bestselling author Melissa Foster’s steamy romance novel Read, Write, Love. The stories and characters remain the same, and convey all of the passion you expect between two people in love, without any explicit scenes or harsh language.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34845082-read-write-love-at-seaside

Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/203990-sweet-with-heat-seaside-summers

*FREE in ebook format

Buy Links:   AMAZON | B&N | KOBO | iBOOKS | GPLAY

*****

Excerpt:

Leanna Bray was wet, cold, and floundering. Literally. She’d been floundering for twenty-eight years, so this was nothing new, but being pummeled by rain, wind, and waves, chasing a dog that never listened? That was new.

“Pepp—” A wave knocked her off her feet and she went under the water, taking a mouthful of saltwater along with her. She tumbled head down beneath the surface.

Now Pepper and I will both drown. Freaking perfect.

Something grabbed her arm, and she reflexively fought against it, sucking in another mouthful of salty water as she broke through the surface, arms flailing, choking, and pushing against the powerful hand that yanked her to her feet.

“You okay?” A deep, annoyed voice carried over the din of the crashing waves.

Cough. Cough. “Yeah. I—” Cough. Cough. “My dog.” She blinked and blinked, trying to clear the saltwater and rain from her eyes. The man’s mop of wet, dark hair came into focus. He held tightly to her arm while scanning the water in the direction of where she’d last seen Pepper. His clothes stuck to his body like a second skin, riding the ripples of his impressive chest and arms as he held her above the surface with one arm around her ribs.

“Come on.” She coughed as he plowed through the pounding surf with her clutched against his side. She slid down his body, and he lifted her easily into his arms, carrying her like he might carry a child, pressing her to his chest as he fought against the waves.

She pushed against his chest, feeling ridiculous and helpless…and maybe a little thankful, but she was ignoring that emotion in order to save Pepper.

“My dog! I need to get my dog!” she hollered.

Mr. Big, Tall, and Stoic didn’t say a word. He set her on the wet sand and tossed her a rain-soaked towel. “It was dry.” He pointed behind her to a wooden staircase. “Go up to the deck.”

She dropped the towel and plowed past him toward the water. “I gotta get my dog.”

He snagged her by the arm and glared at her with the brightest blue eyes she’d ever seen—and a stare so dark she swallowed her voice.

“Go.” He pointed to the stairs again. “I’ll get your dog.” He took a step toward the water, and she pushed past him again.

“You don’t have t—”

He scooped her into his arms again and carried her to the stairs.

*****

Review:

This is the absolutely perfect beach/summer read (even more so since it is set in the Cape … on the Cape?  Whatever – there is sand involved.)  Cole brings the right amount of fun in the sun, humor with heart, and characters that capture your attention.

Kurt is fantastic from the beginning.  He’s a little OCD and likes to be alone while he writes.  And pretty much all he does is write, but when happy-go-lucky Leanna comes crashing into his life she quickly stirs things up.  Like the awesome guy he is, though, he takes it in stride – there is no angst or drama over her bubbliness to his stoicism.  Instead she helps to bring him out of his shell, reminding him that there is more to life than his books, and that he needs to get out to enjoy it.

And he complements her as well.  She’s been drifting for years but she seems to have found a calling in her jam business.  Unfortunately she doesn’t have a clue what it means to really go after this as a career, but with some help from her friends and the support that Kurt gives her she starts to figure things out.

This is a super sweet romance, with just enough heat to keep your attention but without ever getting too explicit.  (I haven’t read this series by Foster, but I’m definitely curious if Kurt was a little less refined in the original  🙂 )  The story is very smooth and moves along at a good pace – very realistic with Kurt and Leanna getting to know each other, figuring out whether they fit together, and (of course) falling in love.  There’s a ton of friends introduced here so it looks like we’ll have plenty of stories to keep us entertained … and I’m looking forward to every one!

*****

Author Info:

Addison Cole is the sweet alter ego of New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Melissa Foster. She writes humorous and emotional sweet contemporary romance. Her books do not include explicit sex scenes or harsh language. Addison spends her summers on Cape Cod, where she dreams up wonderful love stories in her house overlooking Cape Cod Bay.    

Website: https://addisoncole.com/

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

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16711767.Addison_Cole

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/addison-cole

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Addison_Cole_

Newsletter: www.AddisonCole.com/Newsletter

*****

Giveaway:

Win an Addison Cole Tote Bag Prize Pack

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/521ac4c81311/

*****

Click on the banner below to check out the rest of the tour … including a look at Book 2 in the Sweet with Heat Seaside Summers series!

Book Review – Dancing in the Rain

12 Monday Jun 2017

Posted by in Book Review

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Dancing in the Rain

by Kelly Jamieson

Happily ever afters aren’t just for fairy tales. In this heartfelt novel, a retired athlete must become a father to the daughter he never knew—just as he discovers the power of love with a woman who reignites his passions.

Drew Sellers is drowning in broken dreams and empty beer bottles. Hockey was his world, until a bum knee reduced him from superstar to has-been. Then he learns that, thanks to a one-night-stand back in college, he’s the father of a preteen girl with major issues. Her protective aunt sees right through Drew’s BS, but “Auntie P” is no stereotypical spinster. With her slender curves, toned legs, and luscious lips, she has Drew indulging in fantasies that aren’t exactly family-friendly.

At another point in her life, Peyton Watt would have been all over a cocky alpha male who pushes all her buttons like Drew. Right now, though, she needs to focus on taking care of her niece during her sister’s health crisis, all while holding down a job and keeping her own head above water. Besides, Drew’s clearly no father of the year. He’s unemployed. He drinks too much. And he’s living in the past. But after Peyton gets a glimpse of the genuine man behind his tough-guy façade, she’s hooked—and there’s no going back.

Drew is at a crossroads in his life – his hockey career is over and he has no idea where he’s going to go next.  He’s wallowing in self-pity and just treading water.  And then he finds out he has a 12 years old daughter he never knew about and he’s got to decide whether he is ready to part of her life.  It’s not easy for him, especially since her mother is facing a serious health crisis so whatever decision he makes has to be made soon.

Peyton is kinda at a crossroads of her own.  Her job is in NYC but her sister and niece need her in Chicago.  She’s doing the best she can to juggle caring for her sister, helping her niece, and keeping up with her work.  Bringing in a former hockey player with lots of baggage just adds to her load.  Especially when there are sparks between them that are hard to ignore.

This is an emotion packed book – between the health issue, the newly found dad, work problems, life problems, tween problems … there’s a lot going on here but Jamieson keeps it real.  While I doubt a lot of people ever have to worry about a long-lost child appearing, there are all sorts of forks in the road that we have to face.  These are very relatable events and they are delivered in a way that draws you in, keeping your heart engaged & your tear ducts on notice  🙂  These people aren’t perfect and they make mistakes along the way, but they face things head on, do the best they can and work it out.  We should all hope that we have their strength, courage, and heart when we need them.

Book Review – Called Out

09 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by in Blog Tour, Book Review, Contest, Sneak Peek

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

Summer is the perfect time to fall in love with a baseball player  🙂

*****

Called Out

Calling It #3

by Jen Doyle

Releasing May 29, 2017

Carina Press

Blurb:

Jack “Ox” Oxford is used to being alone. Granted, when you screw over your friends, being alone isn’t always a choice. Playing for the Chicago Watchmen is a last-ditch effort to save his career…and right some of his past wrongs. He’s not expecting a warm reception, but he’s also not expecting a flat tire to change everything.

Recovering control freak, single mom and semiprofessional chaos wrangler Lola Deacon McIntire doesn’t need an arrogant ballplayer to swoop in and save her from anything, much less her flat tire. And she definitely doesn’t need her body to betray her and decide this is the guy to wake up her rusty libido. She isn’t about to upset her sons’ lives for any man—much less one who so clearly doesn’t think he’s dad material.

Jack never thought he’d find someone who wanted to build a life with him, but the more time he spends with Lola and her boys, the more it starts to feel permanent. Even tough-as-nails Lola concedes there just might be a future here—the big, beautiful, messy future neither of them was looking for—but only if Jack will accept he deserves it.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34372440-called-out

Goodreads Series Link https://www.goodreads.com/series/183668-calling-it

Buy Links:    AMAZON | B & N | GOOGLE | ITUNES | KOBO

*****

Excerpt:

The only person who didn’t seem to notice was Jack. She didn’t particularly expect any special treatment, and it was clear he wasn’t interested in a long, happy life together any more than she was. But when he pushed his plate aside and started to say his goodbyes, she did have to turn her back to make sure her face didn’t betray her disappointment.

When he did finally come up behind her to say goodbye, it was without leaning in and whispering in her ear, and he kept his hands far away from her. It was clear that whatever had happened between him and Deke—and Lola could read a room enough to know that something had happened—meant things were about to come to an end.

Lola was okay with that. She hadn’t really expected anything after the other morning anyway. Still, it was an effort to plaster a smile on her face, especially when he nodded his head toward the hallway. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Lola sighed. “Cover me?” she said to Mary. And then she turned to move past him and walked straight ahead.

“So,” she said when they got to the back hallway. She didn’t think it counted as breaking up when they weren’t together, but she’d never actually been broken up with before so she wasn’t sure. And although she wasn’t willing to make it easier for him, she wasn’t about to make it hard.

“So,” he said. He was nervous. This was going to be worse than Lola had thought.

Well, it wasn’t going to be worse than having Tuck show up in his police uniform the night of the accident, or spending all those long lonely nights when Dave was deployed wondering whether he was still alive.

“Obviously,” Jack said, “we have two very different lives.”

Yep. Lola nodded for him to go on.

“And we both know I am not by any means a catch.”

It kind of depended on how you defined it, but this wasn’t the time to agree or disagree. She clasped her hands behind her back.

“This is probably a really, really bad idea.” He ran his hands through his hair and Lola tried not to think about how cute he was. How cute it was, to have the big, bad Iceman be so nervous because of her. Even if it was because he was about to tell her that he never wanted to see her again.

“But how would you feel about seeing me tonight after you get off?”

“I’m sorry?” That was not what she’d expected him to say.

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Not get off. That innuendo was not intentional. I meant after you’re done with your shift.”

Wow. He wasn’t even making double entendre jokes. This was seriously strange. And not how she’d expected this to go.

He started pacing.

“I, uh…” He cleared his throat. “Jules mentioned the babysitter puts your kids to bed and stays over on the nights you work late.”

“She did?” Jules was so much more of a troublemaker than she led anyone to believe.

Jack nodded. “I was thinking maybe I could pick you up and take you to dinner somewhere.”

And now Lola was irritated. Never mind that ten o’clock was too late to have dinner. “Seriously? We’re doing the dating thing?” She may have had her breakdown earlier, but it didn’t change her overall goal. “What part of ‘fuck me against the wall’ did you not understand?” Lola was fairly certain she’d been clear on that.

Jack tensed before straightening up to his full height. Then the Jack she knew was back and in front of her—crowding right up against her, pinning her between him and the wall. This time his grin was natural and easy and entirely carnal—just the way she liked it. “I never said fucking against the wall was off the table. I just thought maybe you’d like to grab a bite first.”

Resisting the impulse to say that she would, actually, like to take a bite out of something first, she set her lips in a grim line. Was this truly what he wanted? Or was it just what he thought she wanted, despite what she’d said? Trying to keep the frustration out of her voice, she said, “I don’t want to go on dates, Jack. I don’t want a boyfriend. I don’t want another thing to add to the list.” She wasn’t pulling punches. Not today.

Although he winced and said, “Ouch, babe. That was harsh,” he didn’t seem overly upset. Especially not as he slid his thigh between her legs, looking entirely as if he were going to eat her up. “I don’t want to go on dates, Lola.” He brought his hand up between them. “And I really don’t want a girlfriend.” Though he seemed utterly calm, she could feel his heart beating as rapidly as hers was. “But I do have a list, and it includes fucking you repeatedly, and not just against the wall.” Then his hand closed over her breast, and he pinched the increasingly sensitive tip, and to her annoyance, she couldn’t hold back her gasp. Right here in the hallway of her family’s restaurant.

“I do, however,” he said, “have higher standards than an unheated, unfinished farmhouse.” Her breath hitched as he rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, twisting just enough for a moan to make its way out of her throat.

“Hey,” she managed to say. “That’s my unheated, unfinished farmhouse you’re talking about. Be careful what you say.”

He smiled but didn’t reply. Unless you counted taking her earlobe between his teeth and giving enough of a tug for her to feel it shoot down to her core.

“Okay.” She needed to work at not being quite so easy. “I suppose that could be added to my list, too.”

“Great.” His voice low and raspy, he didn’t pull back. “So what do you say?”

She let her head fall back against the wall as she closed her eyes. Dorie was right. The date itself didn’t matter. She had no illusions about Jack and she wasn’t looking for a replacement for Dave. But she was a thirty-six-year-old woman who had a whole lot of living left to do. She took a deep breath as she opened her eyes, “Okay.”

In a startlingly gentle way, he brushed her cheek with his thumb as he smiled. “I’ll be back at ten to pick you up.”

Keeping the wall at her back, she nodded. “It’s not a date.”

“Not a date,” he repeated, bending down and touching his lips to hers, giving the slightest of reminders as to what his mouth was truly capable of. Then he backed away, keeping his eyes on her until he disappeared from sight.

*****

Review:

I read the first book, Calling It, and fell in love with Doyle’s writing.  (Don’t ask me how I managed to miss her others.)  She delivers down to earth, regular people who are engaging and interesting but not too full of drama.  Their problems seem normal and relatable, and you finish the book feeling like you just made friends.  In Called Out she once again givers her readers characters that they can fall for and a story that captivates.

If you read Calling It you remember Jack because he was Nate’s best friend … until Jack slept with Nate’s fiancé … and got her pregnant.  If you haven’t read it, don’t worry – Doyle makes sure you know all about it  🙂  But what we didn’t get before were a lot of details and no we get Jack’s side of the story!

And I feel so bad for the guy.  His childhood, while privileged, was awful.  His parents were (and still are) emotionally abusive, so Jack has a hard time truly valuing his worth off the baseball field.  He’s never really let himself get involved, with anyone.  Until Nate.  And he screwed it up, publicly and big time.  Now he’s going to do what he can to at least salvage his career because he doesn’t feel like he can really expect anything more.

Lola is struggling to raise four boys on her own but she has a great support system of friends and family.  And that includes Nate.  So being attracted to the man who treated him so terribly is definitely not something she wants.  But as she spends time with Jack it gets harder and harder to resist him.  Especially when she finds out there is more to the man that the cold demeanor he’s shown the world.

Mouthy, flirty, sexy Jack is so much fun.  And he just loves getting under Lola’s skin, which is such a hoot.  She’s not afraid to give back, though, which is fun as well.  But it’s when Jack’s secrets and fears start coming out that we truly start to understand the man.  That’s when he steals our hearts.

Emotionally-driven but humorous and fun, Doyle delivers a powerhouse romance that’s the perfect summer read.

*****

Author Info:

A big believer in happily ever afters, Jen Doyle decided it was high time she started creating some. She has an M.S. in Library and Information Science and, in addition to her work as a librarian, has worked as a conference and events planner as well as a Communications and Enrollment administrator in both preschool and higher education environments (although some might say that there is very little difference between the two; Jen has no comment regarding whether she is one of the “some”).

Author Links:   WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS

*****

Giveaway:

$25 Amazon Gift Card

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/521ac4c81305/

*****

Click on the banner below to check out the rest of the tour

 

Book Review – Run to Ground

08 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by in Book Review

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

Run to Ground

Rocky Mountain K9 Unit series

by Katie Ruggle

First in Katie Ruggle’s thrilling new Rocky Mountain K9 Unit series.

He lost his mentor.

He lost his K9 partner.

He almost lost his will to live.

But when a killer obsessed with revenge targets a beautiful woman on the run, Theo and his new K9 companion will do whatever it takes to save Jules before they lose their last chance at a happily ever after…

Theodore Bosco, grieving the death of his partner, is reluctantly fascinated by secretive newcomer Jules. Although his instincts scream that he should avoid her, he can’t seem to stay away. It doesn’t help that Theo’s new K9 companion, Viggy, has fallen head over paws with Jules’s rambunctious family.

Or that when he’s with Jules, Theo finally knows peace.

When Jules kidnapped her siblings, whisking them away from abuse to the quiet anonymity of the Colorado Rockies, she never expected to catch the eye-or the heart-of a cop. All it would take is one wrong move and she’ll lose everything. Yet as Jules attempts to fight her growing attraction to the brooding K9 officer, another deadly threat lurks much closer to home. Someone’s gunning for Theo and Viggy, and they’re willing to take out anything…or anyone…who gets in the way of revenge.

**potentially minor spoilers ahead**

I feels so bad for Jules and her siblings.  While Ruggle never gives you 100% of what her stepmom did to them, you get enough to know it really wasn’t good.  And that she didn’t have a lot of choice but to get them out any way she could.  It’s not an easy choice but she tried to go the normal route and get legal custody but was thwarted time and again.  When you run out of options and you are desperate …

They end up in a little mountain town in Colorado.  And in the sights of a sexy, but super broody, K9 cop.  He’s dealing with some issues of his own, which makes him not the best of company right now.  Throw in a jumpy waitress who has reason to be afraid of the law and it sends his spidey senses tingling  🙂

I’m not sure how realistic it is to think that someone who is on the run would have ANYTHING to do with someone who could easily throw them in jail – and there is a lot of back and forth about it – but Theo does give her reason to trust him.  The fact that he so easily lets her keep her secret also might not be all that realistic but he’s willing to believe his gut that says she’s a good person and see how it plays out.  And since it looks like there is a chance that the rest of this series will be interconnected with Jules, we may get to see how that goes.

So that’s her side, but there is a whole other part of the story about his issues with the death of his partner, trouble with his new K9 partner, plus some baddies that do deadly things around town.  It all meshes well into a romantic suspense story that will have you caught up until the final unmasking … and ready to find out what happens when the next cop finds himself falling for a girl with trouble on her tail.

Book Review – The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband

07 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by in Blog Tour, Book Review, Contest, Sneak Peek

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , ,

The always delightful Julia Quinn is back again with more about the Bridgerton ancestors.

*****

The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband

Rokesbys #2

by Julia Quinn

Releasing May 30, 2017

Avon

Blurb:

While you were sleeping…

With her brother Thomas injured on the battlefront in the Colonies, orphaned Cecilia Harcourt has two unbearable choices: move in with a maiden aunt or marry a scheming cousin. Instead, she chooses option three and travels across the Atlantic, determined to nurse her brother back to health. But after a week of searching, she finds not her brother but his best friend, the handsome officer Edward Rokesby. He’s unconscious and in desperate need of her care, and Cecilia vows that she will save this soldier’s life, even if staying by his side means telling one little lie…

I told everyone I was your wife

When Edward comes to, he’s more than a little confused. The blow to his head knocked out six months of his memory, but surely he would recall getting married. He knows who Cecilia Harcourt is—even if he does not recall her face—and with everyone calling her his wife, he decides it must be true, even though he’d always assumed he’d marry his neighbor back in England.

If only it were true…

Cecilia risks her entire future by giving herself—completely—to the man she loves. But when the truth comes out, Edward may have a few surprises of his own for the new Mrs. Rokesby.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31931722-the-girl-with-the-make-believe-husband

Goodreads Series Link https://www.goodreads.com/series/165625-rokesbys

Buy Links:      AMAZON | B & N | GOOGLE | ITUNES | KOBO

*****

Excerpt:

Manhattan Island

July 1779

His head hurt.

Correction, his head really hurt.

It was hard to tell, though, just what sort of pain it was. He might have been shot through the head with a musket ball. That seemed plausible, given his current location in New York (or was it Connecticut?) and his current occupation as a captain in His Majesty’s army.

There was a war going on, in case one hadn’t noticed.

But this particular pounding—the one that felt more like someone was bashing his skull with a cannon (not a cannonball, mind you, but an actual cannon) seemed to indicate that he had been attacked with a blunter instrument than a bullet.

An anvil, perhaps. Dropped from a second-story window.

But if one cared to look on the bright side, a pain such as this did seem to indicate that he wasn’t dead, which was also a plausible fate, given all the same facts that had led him to believe he might have been shot.

That war he’d mentioned… people did die.

With alarming regularity.

So he wasn’t dead. That was good. But he also wasn’t sure where he was, precisely. The obvious next step would be to open his eyes, but his eyelids were translucent enough for him to realize that it was the middle of the day, and while he did like to look on the metaphorical bright side, he was fairly certain that the literal one would prove blinding.

So he kept his eyes closed.

But he listened.

He wasn’t alone. He couldn’t make out any actual conversation, but a low buzz of words and activity filtered through the air. People were moving about, setting objects on tables, maybe pulling a chair across the floor.

Someone was moaning in pain.

Most of the voices were male, but there was at least one lady nearby. She was close enough that he could hear her breathing. She made little noises as she went about her business, which he soon realized included tucking blankets around him and touching his forehead with the back of her hand.

He liked these little noises, the tiny little mmms and sighs she probably had no idea she was making. And she smelled nice, a bit like lemons, a bit like soap.

And a bit like hard work.

He knew that smell. He’d worn it himself, albeit usually only briefly until it turned into a full-fledged stink.

On her, though, it was more than pleasant. Perhaps a little earthy. And he wondered who she was, to be tending to him so diligently.

“How is he today?”

Edward held himself still. This male voice was new, and he wasn’t sure he wanted anyone to know he was awake yet.

Although he wasn’t sure why he felt this hesitancy.

“The same,” came the woman’s reply.

“I am concerned. If he doesn’t wake up soon…”

“I know,” the woman said. There was a touch of irritation in her voice, which Edward found curious.

“Have you been able to get him to take broth?”

“Just a few spoonfuls. I was afraid he would choke if I attempted any more than that.”

The man made a vague noise of approval. “Remind me how long he has been like this?”

“A week, sir. Four days before I arrived, and three since.”

A week. Edward thought about this. A week meant it must be… March? April?

No, maybe it was only February. And this was probably New York, not Connecticut.

But that still didn’t explain why his head hurt so bloody much. Clearly he’d been in some sort of an accident. Or had he been attacked?

“There has been no change at all?” the man asked, even though the lady had just said as much.

But she must have had far more patience than Edward, because she replied in a quiet, clear voice, “No, sir. None.”

The man made a noise that wasn’t quite a grunt. Edward found it impossible to interpret.

“Er…” The woman cleared her throat. “Have you any news of my brother?”

Her brother? Who was her brother?

“I am afraid not, Mrs. Rokesby.”

Mrs. Rokesby?

“It has been nearly two months,” she said quietly.

Mrs. Rokesby? Edward really wanted them to get back to that point. There was only one Rokesby in North America as far as he knew, and that was him. So if she was Mrs. Rokesby…

“I think,” the male voice said, “that your energies would be better spent tending to your husband.”

Husband?

“I assure you,” she said, and there was that touch of irritation again, “that I have been caring for him most faithfully.”

Husband? They were calling him her husband? Was he married? He couldn’t be married. How could he be married and not remember it?

Who was this woman?

Edward’s heart began to pound. What the devil was happening to him?

“Did he just make a noise?” the man asked.

“I… I don’t think so.”

She moved then, quickly. Hands touched him, his cheek, then his chest, and even through her obvious concern, there was something soothing in her motions, something undeniably right.

“Edward?” she asked, taking his hand. She stroked it several times, her fingers brushing lightly over his skin. “Can you hear me?”

He ought to respond. She was worried. What kind of gentleman did not act to relieve a lady’s distress?

“I fear he may be lost to us,” the man said, with far less gentleness than Edward thought appropriate.

“He still breathes,” the woman said in a steely voice.

The man said nothing, but his expression must have been one of pity, because she said it again, more loudly this time.

“He still breathes.”

“Mrs. Rokesby…”

Edward felt her hand tighten around his. Then she placed her other on top, her fingers resting lightly on his knuckles. It was the smallest sort of embrace, but Edward felt it down to his soul.

“He still breathes, Colonel,” she said with quiet resolve. “And while he does, I will be here. I may not be able to help Thomas, but—”

Thomas. Thomas Harcourt. That was the connection. This must be his sister. Cecilia. He knew her well.

Or not. He’d never actually met the lady, he felt like he knew her. She wrote to her brother with a diligence that was unmatched in the regiment. Thomas received twice as much mail as Edward, and Edward had four siblings to Thomas’s one.

Cecilia Harcourt. What on earth was she doing in North America? She was supposed to be in Derbyshire, in that little town Thomas had been so eager to leave. The one with the hot springs. Matlock. No, Matlock Bath.

Edward had never been, but he thought it sounded charming. Not the way Thomas described it, of course; he liked the bustle of city life and couldn’t wait to take a commission and depart his village. But Cecilia was different. In her letters, the small Derbyshire town came alive, and Edward almost felt that he would recognize her neighbors if he ever went to visit.

She was witty. Lord, she was witty. Thomas used to laugh so much at her missives that Edward finally made him read them out loud.

Then one day, when Thomas was penning his response, Edward interrupted so many times that Thomas finally shoved out his chair and held forth his quill.

“You write to her,” he’d said.

So he did.

Not on his own, of course. Edward could never have written to her directly. It would have been the worst sort of impropriety, and he would not have insulted her in such a manner. But he took to scribbling a few lines at the end of Thomas’s letters, and whenever she replied, she had a few lines for him.

Thomas carried a miniature of her, and even though he said it was several years old, Edward had found himself staring at it, studying the small portrait of the young woman, wondering if her hair really was that remarkable golden color, or if she really did smile that way, lips closed and mysterious.

Somehow he thought not. She did not strike him as a woman with secrets. Her smile would be sunny and free. Edward had even thought he’d like to meet her once this godforsaken war was over. He’d never said anything to Thomas, though.

That would have been strange.

Now Cecilia was here. In the colonies. Which made absolutely no sense, but then again, what did? Edward’s head was injured, and Thomas seemed to be missing, and…

Edward thought hard.

…and he seemed to have married Cecilia Harcourt.

He opened his eyes and tried to focus on the green-eyed woman peering down at him.

“Cecilia?”

*****

Review:

So I’ll be honest, this one is 4-ISH stars for me.  It definitely wasn’t a 3 star book but I’m not sure it is a solid 4 either and there are a couple of reasons for it.

Cecilia lies … and keeps lying.  It’s totally understandable how she got into the situation and works well for who they are to each other.  (There are cute little tidbits from the letters between Thomas and Cecilia at the start of each chapter that highlight this wonderfully.)  Yes, there are opportunities for her to come clean after Edward wakes up, but Quinn makes her reasoning for keeping her secret believable.  He’s having enough trouble dealing with his memory issues so you totally get why she chooses not to but it definitely makes things difficult for them.  And there are some readers who probably won’t appreciate the continued lying.

It’s also set in American during the Revolutionary War, which is a bit of a change for Quinn readers.  We’re used to lords and ladies causing trouble for each other in London or the English countryside.  While we don’t get a lot of the actual war, Quinn does do a good job of delivering the less pleasant parts for us and it gives the book a gritty feel.

While the beginning is a little slow – with the lying and not remembering – the book definitely picks up as they delve deeper into what happened to Thomas and deal with their deepening relationship.  Of course the truth comes out, causing a bit of havoc for them, but leads to a really great ending  🙂  Quinn writes some of the best historical romances out there and she definitely has some major skills, which are on display here.  The characters are detailed and you totally are there with them as they find themselves in a pretty awkward situation, rooting them on to what surely will be a HEA.

*****

Author Info:

Julia Quinn is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five novels for Avon Books, and one of only sixteen authors ever to be inducted in the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

*****

Giveaway:

Win a print copy of BECAUSE OF MISS BRIDGERTON (US Only)

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/521ac4c81301/

*****

Click on the banner below to check out the rest of the tour

Book Review – Falling For Her Brother’s Best Friend

05 Monday Jun 2017

Posted by in Blog Tour, Book Review, Contest, Sneak Peek

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

Fifteen years ago, three girls were thrown together because their brothers were best friends. Now they’re all grown up, and their brothers are grown up too. The Tea for Two series tells their stories. Fans of contemporary women’s fiction will become engrossed in this new series by New York Times Bestselling Author, Noelle Adams.

Click the image below to see the trailer video!Add FALLING FOR HER BROTHER’S BEST FRIEND to your TBR pile on Goodreads! Then keep reading to get an exclusive excerpt of FALLING FOR HER BROTHER’S BEST FRIEND. Be sure to enter the giveaway for a $15 Amazon gift card! One runner-up will receive their choice eBook from Noelle’s backlist.

*****

Falling For Her Brother’s Best Friend

Tea for Two book #1

by Noelle Adams

Release Date: June 7, 2017

Publisher: Noelle Adams

Word Count: 47K

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy

Tropes: Brother’s Best Friend

Price: $0.99 preorder; $2.99 regular

Blurb:

After too many bad decisions in romance, Emma is going on a man-fast. For the next six months, she’s fasting from men. No sex. No dating. No soulful gazes. No fond memories of her first crush. She’s going to spend the time focusing on her career, getting in touch with herself, and helping her two best friends with the launch of their new tea room. No men.

And that includes her brother’s best friend, Noah Hart, who has just returned to their hometown.

She doesn’t want Noah anyway. He might be even hotter than he was before, but he’s not a nice guy anymore. He’s made a fortune by acting ruthless in business, and the last thing he’s looking for is small-town domestic life. He doesn’t even want to be in town again, but a sick grandmother guilted him into it. Then he has nerve to not even recognize Emma when he sees her again. Maybe it’s been seven years, but a decent guy would remember his best friend’s little sister.

Noah is not a decent guy. Anyway, Emma is on a man-fast. And she doesn’t want Noah.

At all.

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

*****

She waited to see if Noah would complain about her walking home alone at night, but he didn’t. He just said, “I’ll walk with you.”

She started to object—automatically but for no particular reason—but she stopped the words from coming out. There was no reason he couldn’t walk a couple of blocks with her. He would probably insist on it, even if she tried to object.

“Okay,” she said. “Thanks.”

They didn’t speak as they walked down the sidewalk and crossed the street to her building. But she was intensely aware of Noah’s presence beside her. It felt so strong, so masculine, so… man.

Why the hell did she always seem to want him so much?

She should know better by now.

She was feeling strangely shy when they reached the front entrance to her building, and she turned to face him, dropping her eyes. “Thanks again.”

“No problem.” There was that husky note in his voice, the one she really liked.

She didn’t dare to look up at him. “I could have made it on my own, you know.”

“I know that.” God, just the sound of his voice sent shivers up and down her spine.

“No matter what you think, I’m not a little girl anymore.”

She had no idea why she was saying this. She was just rambling, too nervous to think through the words that were coming out of her mouth. And she was seriously having to hold herself back from reaching out toward him, taking hold his shirt and pulling him closer.

He smelled so incredibly good. Not anything as strong as aftershave, but something warm and expensive.

She wanted to smell him even more.

She wanted to feel him.

She wanted to taste him.

She wanted to…

He reached out and tilted up her face so she was looking at him. “I know you’re not a little girl, Emma.”

Emma.

He’d called her Emma.

“You do?” she whispered, the world shuddering in front of her eyes.

“Damn it, Emma,” he rasped thickly, raising his other arm so he was holding her face in both hands. “Surely you know I’m seeing you as anything but a little girl.”

She was trembling now, and there was absolutely no way she could hold herself back. He was holding her face like she was precious, and the look in his eyes…

So filled with heat and hunger. She’d never seen anything like it.

She grabbed onto his shirt like she’d always wanted to and drew him even nearer, and then he was finally, finally kissing her.

Naturally, she was kissing him back.

Excerpt from FALLING FOR HER BROTHER’S BEST FRIEND

Copyright © 2017 Noelle Adams

*****

Review:

(There might be some kinda, minor, maybe spoilers included – but nothing too big.)

I love the friends to lovers and the best friend’s sibling story-lines and Adams does a great job of giving readers a satisfying romance using them.  I love the idea that Emma had a crush on Noah for all these years and that it grows into something even more now that they are grown.  It’s not easy to be such a close knit group of siblings and friends so it isn’t something that they can take lightly.  Any issues will have long reaching consequences.

Which is a lot of the drama of the book.  Noah was devastated by his father’s abandonment as a child and that’s influenced a lot of his life – from his romantic relationships to his career.  When he’s finally tempted to delve into something deeper, but with Emma being his sister’s best friend and Emma’s brother being his best friend … what happens if he screws it up?

**Kinda, sorta spoiler**

And here’s where I have just a little bit of a problem because I just didn’t get the supportive, best friend vibe from the girls.  Noah’s sister brings up his history of running and it causes Noah to have second thoughts.  But then when they are all together as a group a few days later and Emma is going to go home and the only other person leaving is Noah, his sister is all blase about him taking her home.  She knows how they feel about each other and has already caused trouble between them and … she just waves and sends them on their way.  Not the best friend treatment that I would expect.  Plus, she’s his sister but she seems all conflict and no help when it comes to his iissues.  So while they hang out together a lot, I felt the boys were more committed than the girls.

But, while I didn’t feel the friendships like I expected, Adams does delivery well on the romance between Noah and Emma.  I feel where he’s coming from & I enjoyed seeing them get to know each other as adults and start to have real feelings for one another.  The conflict was wrapped up nicely all around, producing a good HEA ending.

*****

Author Info:

Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she reads any book she can get her hands on and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.

If you’d like to contact Noelle, please contact her at noelle.s.adams@gmail.com. Or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

*****

Giveaway:

Enter to win a $15 Amazon Gift Card! One runner-up will receive their choice eBook from Noelle’s backlist.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29362/

Book Review – Until You

02 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by in Blog Tour, Book Review, Contest

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

Warm, sunny days just beg for a wedding-themed romance, dontcha think?

*****

Until You

Bachelor Brotherhood Book 2

by Denise Grover Swank

May 30, 2017

Forever Mass Market Paperback, $7.99

Blurb:

“Swank’s fluffy, feel-good storytelling proclaims the primacy of love as a force to which everyone should surrender-the bachelors destined to star in future installments haven’t got a chance.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Only You

Never settle down. Ever.

Workaholic Lanie Rogers lives a completely nomadic lifestyle. Her job keeps her on the move, and relationships are a complication she doesn’t need. That is, until she meets Mr. Tall, Dark, and Hotness at a pre-wedding party. Complicated? Maybe. But lately, Lanie’s life has been missing a little something—and sexy playboy Tyler Norris offers something she definitely can’t refuse.

Tyler has always been a little too popular with women for his own good. Ever since he and his buddies vowed to remain bachelors, Tyler figured he was safe from temptation. Lanie and her gorgeous brown eyes are about to prove him so, so wrong. With one kiss, the heat is intense. After one night, it’s pure combustion. It was supposed to be a no-strings fling—until these two commitment-phobes each discover the one undeniable exception to their rule.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2mLhQqb

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2lzjzPv

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2lrtUfl

iBooks: http://apple.co/2m95Amu

Google: http://bit.ly/2men69e

*****

Review:

I thought that once we’d moved on from Only You it wouldn’t matter that I hadn’t read any of the other wedding books by Swank … and I can’t figure out if I’m right or not.  I can’t find anything about Randy and Brittany but it plays out like these are people that should have been the couple in their own story.  It’s kinda strange because I feel like I should know them already but I can’t find them anywhere … unless they are maybe secondary characters?  If they are, then once again the fact that I jumped into a series (kinda) did me a disservice.  If they aren’t, then it is a little weird.  (Or maybe I need to work on my memory.)

Overall though the coupling of Tyler and Lanie is a wonderfully entertaining read.  Both Tyler and Lanie have their reasons for avoiding relationships but lucky for them it looks like they’ve both reached a point in their lives where they are ready for a change.  Their friends are pairing up and it’s causing them to evaluate themselves & what they truly want out of life.

And it couldn’t have happened at a better time because together these two are just down-right ah-dorable!  It’s a hoot as they first try to ignore their attraction and then hide it from her meddling cousin.  There’s a few truly hilarious slapstick moments that had me smiling and their verbal sparring is all sass & fun.  While things may have played out a little too conveniently (it is a romance), they have to have a HEA (because it is a romance).  Plus, once you see how Tyler wins his girl, you’ll be wishing you had been there to see it  🙂

*****

Author Info:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in the area until she was nineteen. Then she became a nomadic gypsy, living in five cities, four states and ten houses over the course of ten years before she moved back to her roots. She speaks English and smattering of Spanish and Chinese, which she learned through an intensive Nick Jr. immersion period. Her hobbies include witty (in her own mind) Facebook comments and dancing in her kitchen with her children. (Quite badly if you believe her offspring.) Hidden talents include the gift of justification and the ability to drink massive amounts of caffeine and still fall asleep within two minutes. Her lack of the sense of smell allows her to perform many unspeakable tasks. She has six children and hasn’t lost her sanity. Or so she leads you to believe

www.DeniseGroverSwank.com

www.Facebook.com/DeniseGroverSwank

Add Until You to your shelf on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2lz7p9a

Follow Denise Grover Swank on BookBub: http://bit.ly/2qkjfq1

Follow Denise Grover Swank on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2rDzzpG

*****

Giveaway:

Enter to win 1 of 10 free copies of Until You!

http://bit.ly/2n1Gnsc

*****

Book Review – Forever Mine

01 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by in Book Review

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

Forever Mine

Opposites Attract series

by Erin Nicholas

Maya Goodwin doesn’t believe in holding back. Ever. As a cop, she never hesitated to throw herself into harm’s way to save someone. Even after an injury on the job forces her to retire, she’s not afraid to keep risking it all to get the life she wants. With a new career teaching martial arts to kids already underway, she’s looking forward to the future – and taking a chance on the unbelievably hot Dr. Alex Nolan.

Maya – daring and spontaneous – is the exact opposite of what Alex always thought he wanted. But when a nine-year-old daughter he never knew existed shows up on his doorstep, Maya is the one who helps them hold it together. With love on the line, will the guy who’s always played it safe be willing to take the biggest risk of all?

I love the heroines and heroes in this series.  The women are fun and sexy and a whole lot geeky.  It’s so refreshing to see them actually be so into their particular thing and own it  🙂  And Nicholas does a fabulous job of giving them heroes who can actually appreciate them.

Maya is totally kick ass – she’s great with kids, strong & athletic, creative & fun … her only problem is that she doesn’t acknowledge limitations.  And unfortunately Alex is a hemophiliac, which means that he’s learned to be cautious.  It’s not stopped him from living his life, which is so admirable, but he can’t quite throw himself into things with the same enthusiasm that Maya does.

Life has also taught Alex to keep his condition to himself, which you can bet will cause some trouble between the two of them.  He spends a lot of time keeping his secrets and trying to separate the different parts of his life.  Unfortunately Maya’s go-for-it attitude doesn’t play by those rules  🙂   They will need some good communication and understanding to be able to figure out a place in the middle that will work for both of them.  But no one should underestimate Maya – that girls a fighter when things are important.

Entertaining and full of heart, Forever Mine helps cement Nicholas as a must-read author of charming contemporary romances.

(Characters will continue to reappear in each story, since they are such close friends, but it looks like each will stand on its own.)

Book Review – Under the Cherry Tree

31 Wednesday May 2017

Posted by in Blog Tour, Book Review, Sneak Peek

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Come meet Millie … and fall in love!

*****

Under the Cherry Tree

by Lilac Mills

Chick Lit

Date Published:  05/31/2017

Only $0.99!

Blurb:

“A feel-good, heart-warming, tear-jerking love story.”

The best sort of holiday read, recommended for fans of Jane Costello, Erica James, and Lucy James

My dog didn’t like men. Actually that was a lie – she didn’t like the men I chose. The only ones who rocked her world had been my father (who was no longer with us), Ross (who was gay), and the butcher on the high street (for obvious reasons).

When Jenni Meadows has the opportunity to expand her dog-grooming business she takes it, and when a nice man appears on her horizon but fails to make any sparks fly, she decides she has enough on her plate with her business without adding a boyfriend into the mix.

Besides, Millie doesn’t like him and when her dog doesn’t like a man, Jenni knows all about it. So why does Millie take a very strange liking to the new vet, especially since he has a taciturn expression, wears a wedding ring, and wields a needle?

Under the Cherry Tree is a tale of love and hope, waggy tails, and cold noses.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Under-Cherry-Tree-heart-warming-tear-jerking-ebook/dp/B06Y6KGPNP

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/under-the-cherry-tree-lilac-mills/1126237555?ean=2940154305980

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/under-the-cherry-tree

iTunes: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/under-the-cherry-tree/id1226984535

Book Launch: https://booklaunch.io/bookbuzz/under-the-cherry-tree

*****

Excerpt:

His name was Rupert, and that should have told me all I needed to know. Not that I’m nameist or anything, but with a name like that there was no way he came from the council estate up the road; the other kids would have decimated him! And he wasn’t a kid, not by a long stretch, not if that chest and those arms were any indication. He was tall too, like many rowers tend to be.

Rupert and I moved in entirely different circles, and I don’t know what on earth possessed me to agree to go out on a date with him, though the three glasses of white wine I’d drunk may have had something to do with it. I was drinking for two, because Amber had just that morning found out she was pregnant, and that meant I had to drink her share. Oh, and don’t forget that chest. It bulged and rippled and clung to his body like I wished I could. I only took my eyes off it long enough to make sure he didn’t have two heads. The face above a set of extremely broad shoulders looked nice enough, so I didn’t bother to check again.

But why the hell had I agreed to let him take me shooting? Who actually did something like that on a first date? Dinner, a drink, maybe a concert, ice-skating at a push – but definitely not clay pigeon shooting.

The only redeeming thing was that he told me I could bring Millie. And did I mention his chest?  If that’s what rowing did for a man, I made a vow to meet more rowers (if this one didn’t pan out).

Rupert the Rower. I should have realised, even without the accent, that he was way out of my league. He was an ex-Kings student (private school – very private, because mummy and daddy had to have a great deal of money to send their children there, and he was the youngest of three boys).

Then there was the house, or should I say, mansion. As I trundled up the gravelled drive in my little Micra, Millie panting on the passenger seat, I was under the impression this was where the shooting meet was taking place, not that Rupert actually lived there.

I pulled my ten-year-old car into a space between a brand-new Range Rover and a top-of-the-range Jag, and clambered out. Hollington Hall. Nice. I wondered if they did wedding receptions. Not that I had any plans on getting married any time soon (had to find the right guy first), but it was something to consider for the dim and distant future. At least I wasn’t like some of my friends who had picked the dress, the shoes, and the bridesmaids’ outfits, all before their sixteenth birthdays! I was merely mildly interested.

Surprisingly, for a hotel, the front door was firmly closed.

After unclipping Millie from her harness, I carried her up the steps and placed her gently on the ground between a pair of tall columns, and tried to turn the door handle. Locked.

There didn’t appear to be a bell, but there was a huge knocker in the shape of a lion’s head, so I banged it a couple of times and waited until  it was opened by an elderly woman in a pinny. She frowned at me.

‘I’m here for the shooting,’ I said.

She gave me a blank stare.

‘With some guy called Rupert? Sorry, I don’t know his last name.’ Perhaps I hadn’t got the right place either, because the large hallway behind her looked nothing like a hotel reception area. It lacked a front desk, for starters. A sleepy spaniel lifted its head and blinked, but made no move to get up. It was probably so used to guests that another one, even one with a dog, was nothing to get excited about.

‘Master Rupert,’ the woman said, issuing me with a stony stare.

‘Pardon?’

‘His name is Master Rupert Hollington.’

‘I thought Hollington was the name of this place?’

‘It is.’ She opened the grand door a little wider, and moved to the side with a sigh. ‘I’ll let him know he has a guest.’

I stepped into the hall, my eyes on stalks. Rupert Hollington of Hollington Hall. Rupert the Rower, who’d gone to Kings and had a plummy accent, and who thought taking a girl clay pigeon shooting on a first date was a good idea.

I wanted the highly polished, black-and-white tiled floor to open up and swallow me.

The maid/servant/housekeeper (I had no idea what to call her – she might be his long-suffering nanny for all I knew) stalked down the hall and disappeared through a door at the far end, leaving me to stare up at the sweeping staircase with my mouth open. The place was huge!

‘Jessie, how lovely you could make it.’ Rupert strode up to me, both hands outstretched, and moved in for a double cheek peck.

‘Jenni,’ I corrected him, mortified.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Erm…yes?’

‘Jenni it is then, though I could have sworn you told me your name was Jessie.’

‘It was noisy in the pub,’ I said, trying to make him feel better, though to be fair, he didn’t seem in the least bit fazed that he’d got my name wrong.

Never mind, it was an easy mistake to make.

‘I see you’ve brought your dog,’ he said. ‘Does it retrieve?’

I glanced down at Millie, with her white fluffy fur and pink diamante collar. ‘Not even a stick,’ I admitted, wondering why he thought a West Highland Terrier would double up as a retriever. Now if he’d asked about her ability to dig holes…

Rupert looked a little put out, but recovered quickly. ‘No bother. Just don’t let it off the lead, or it might interfere with the real dogs.’

Was he calling my dog fake? Huh! She was as doggy as any other canine.

I had a feeling this date wasn’t going to go as well as I’d hoped, especially when he asked, ‘Are your wellies in the car?’

Wellies? What wellies? Oh dear; I hadn’t thought to dress for mud, assuming my leather boots and chunky jacket would be outdoorsy enough. Clearly not. When I took the time to really look at him, I realised he was wearing a Barbour jacket and a pair of green Wellington boots. Both the jacket and the wellies were liberally spattered with mud.

‘Is the shoot in a field?’ I asked, pleased to be able to display some shooting terminology.

He gave me an odd look. ‘Where else would it be?’

Maybe I should have done a bit more research on Google. ‘I’ve never handled a gun before,’ I admitted. ‘The only thing I know about it, is that you call “pull” and then do your best to hit the thingy.’

I was unprepared for his sudden burst of laughter. ‘Oh, my dear girl, you’re priceless!’

‘Eh?’ So what if I didn’t know the correct term for those flying disk things? I’d already confessed I knew nothing about shooting.’

‘We’re shooting pheasant,’ he said, taking my arm and guiding me towards the door he had appeared from.

I pulled back. ‘Wait. What? As in real, live birds?’

He nodded.

‘Ew. No thanks.’

‘You don’t have to touch them,’ he said, giving my arm a tug.

It wasn’t the touching which bothered me – it was the killing itself. Millie, close by my side, gave a small grumble in the back of her throat, half warning, half concern, and nudged my leg with her nose. I bent to pat her, using the movement as an excuse to shake off his hand.

‘Is it friendly?’ he asked, leaning forward and holding out his fingers for her to sniff.

Millie drew back behind my legs.

‘She,’ I emphasised the word, ‘is perfectly friendly.’ And Millie promptly made me into a liar by emitting a low growl.

I tugged at her lead in annoyance, vowing to give her a good telling off later. Not that it would do any good; if a dog had to be admonished for bad behaviour, the ticking off had to take place immediately after the event, else the dog would have no idea why its owner was cross.

‘I don’t think shooting is for me,’ I said, and turned to leave. Even if Rupert suggested doing something else instead, I wasn’t sure he was my kind of guy.

Millie simply confirmed my thoughts when I glanced down at her.

She was weeing on his wellies.

*****

Review:

This is a very British book – think Bridget Jones’ Diary – and that is going to be the perfect cup of tea for some readers.  But others not so much.  Let me explain  🙂

The entire book is from Jenni’s perspective as she goes thru a pretty major change in her life.  She’s single and has a habit apparently of kissing a few frogs, which she still does while at the same time learning a bit about herself.  There’s a lot of self-discovery and growth for Jenni, as well as quite a bit of assuming and misunderstanding.  But she comes out the other side better off … and with a HEA for herself.

Unfortunately, while we get a lot of her development and her missteps along the way, we don’t actually get a lot of the romance aspect of her eventually finding Mr. Right.  While Mills delivers a great read, it isn’t as much of a romance as some readers may like.

So.  If you are looking for a humorous, heartfelt journey piece with a happy ending then Under the Cherry Tree is definitely for you.  If you are looking for a more traditional love story, maybe come back here once you are in the mood for something a little different.

*****

Author Info:

Lilac spends all her time writing, or reading, or thinking about writing or reading, often to the detriment of her day job, her family, and the housework. She apologises to her employer and her loved ones, but the house will simply have to deal with it!

She calls Worcester home, though she would prefer to call somewhere hot and sunny home, somewhere with a beach and cocktails and endless opportunities for snoozing in the sun…

When she isn’t hunched over a computer or dreaming about foreign shores, she enjoys creating strange, inedible dishes in the kitchen, accusing her daughter of stealing (sorry – “borrowing”) her clothes, and fighting with her husband over whose turn it is to empty the dishwasher.

Website: http://www.lilacmills.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lilacmills

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

Promo Link: http://bookbuzz.net/blog/chick-lit-under-the-cherry-tree/

*****

Click on the banner below to check out the rest of the tour

Book Review – The Nanny Arrangement

25 Thursday May 2017

Posted by in Blog Tour, Book Review, Contest, Sneak Peek

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

One of my favorite authors is back with another installation of what is quickly turning into one of my favorite series!!!

*****

The Nanny Arrangement

Country Blues #2

by Rachel Harris

Releasing May 22, 2017

Entangled Bliss

Blurb:

Soft-spoken and shy Hannah Fisher is determined to make the man she’s loved her entire life finally see her as a woman. With the help of a makeover, a new mission—Operation Find My Happy—and the convenient forced proximity of a tour bus, she vows to win her best friend Deacon’s heart.

Former bad boy and current fiddle player Deacon Latrell has the world at his fingertips: a new gig with a famous band, plus his best friend on tour as his son’s nanny. Life couldn’t get much sweeter. Now if only he could stop imagining kissing the daylights out of his childhood BFF…

With one friend set on pushing the boundaries and the other afraid to rock the boat, one thing’s for certain—their story would make one heck of a country song.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29561320-the-nanny-arrangement

Goodreads Series Link https://www.goodreads.com/series/160087-country-blues

Buy Links: AMAZON | B & N | ITUNES | KOBO

*****

Excerpt:

Deacon released a heavy breath. Sometimes the right thing felt a hell of a lot like nausea. Resolved with what he had to do, he looked at the door…then slowly dropped his hand.

He’d give it another few minutes.

Calling himself ten shades of coward, he redirected his steps. A hot shower would clear his head. Maybe he’d even pull a Hannah and rehearse what he’d tell her in advance. It always worked for her, helping her control her stutter, and though Deacon didn’t have that particular problem, he was nervous as hell. If her head was even half as muddled as his was, this conversation wouldn’t be easy.

Frustrated, he shoved open the bathroom door harder than necessary. Fog and heavily scented air rushed to greet him, and it took a second for the reason to register. When it did, he came to an abrupt stop with one hand on the doorknob and one foot still in the hall.

Candy and flowers.

As the steam disappeared through the crack in the door, a vision appeared, plucked straight from his recent fantasies. Creamy skin, pink from the shower and wet with liquid drops, topped anything his imagination could’ve conjured. Damp ginger curls clung to a slender throat that was arched back, making a sexy silhouette as full lips trembled in a silent speech to the ceiling. Dark, spiky lashes lay across a flushed cheek, hiding a pair of expressive eyes he’d know anywhere.

Torture, thy name was Hannah.

Gone was the girl he’d known in high school. Erased was the rock he’d depended on in college. The goddess in the shower was a woman, a beautiful woman, with tantalizing curves, shapely legs, and the most incredible smile he’d ever seen.

The arousal flowing through his veins mocked his previous so-called resolve.

“Cherry.”

Her name came on a choked breath, but Hannah’s eyes snapped open. Smooth skin turned to stone as she stared at the ceiling, wide-eyed, before slanting those green eyes toward him in horror.

“Deacon!” Frantic, she tried to cover her body, slinging one arm over her perfect breasts while reaching for the folded towel on the counter with the other, only to quickly draw back her hand and slap it over her lower half as well.

It was the hardest thing he ever did, keeping his eyes above her waist. Taking one step forward, he grabbed the terrycloth and handed it over, not trusting himself to get any closer. When she took it from his hands, she could hardly look into his eyes. Deacon’s chest gave a hard kick.

Hannah made quick work of the towel, wrapping the terrycloth around her torso and clinging to the edges. She bit her lip and stammered, “Wh-what are y-you doing?”

It wasn’t remotely funny. The reappearance of her stutter meant she was either stressed or anxious, two things he never wanted to be the cause of. But he couldn’t help the laugh that broke free at the innocent question.

A full-bodied, unstoppable laugh that threw his head back with the force of it.

“What am I doing?” he repeated in amusement, hearing the gruffness of his own voice and dragging in a deep, floral-scented breath. “Oh, Cherry… I’m losing my ever-loving mind.”

*****

Review:

I don’t know how it is possible that I forgot just how much I LOVE Rachel Harris and her stories.  And while we do get the band and their SOs, all of whom appeared in the previous stories (Your’re Still the One and Accidentally Married on Purpose), this story really concentrates on Hannah and Deacon.  They have such a deep and emotional connection, and a history that goes back to their childhood – a time when they helped save each other.  It’s given them a bond that has lasted through a lot of ups and downs, so it is easy to see why romantic feelings could be a complication.

I love Hannah and I admire how much she’s willing to put herself out there to try to convince Deacon to see her as more than a friend.  Having a stutter as a child meant that she spent a lot of her formative teenage years as a bit of an outsider, so she doesn’t have a lot of experience being flirty or seductive. Besides the potential embarrassment there is also the chance that any moves on her part could affect her relationship with Deacon so it takes a lot to take that chance.

Deacon had an terrible home-life, with a mother who pretty much checked out on him.  The day Hannah brought him home to meet her family is the day everything changed.  He had people who loved him and cared for him and made sure to teach him how to be a good person.  Unfortunately he still has doubts about his worth and doesn’t want to take any chance that he could lose that, especially if it means he might not have Hannah in his life any more.  Unfortunately for him, Hannah’s got a plan  🙂

My heart just turns over for these two.  It’s scary taking the chance on something more when you could lose so very much.  But if they do take the chance and it lasts, their lives can only get better.  Harris does a fantastic job of making readers understand their connection and why they mean so much to each other, how hard it is to explore a romantic relationship and how hard it is not to, and delivers a realist look at what happens when proximity (and Sherri) heats things up.  Gotta love that girl!

Emotionally laden, The Nanny Arrangement showcases Harris talent for delivering genuine characters and captivating plots that draw you in and keep you coming back for more.

(Since this does focus a lot on the two main characters, it can stand on its own.)

*****

Author Info:

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Harris writes humorous love stories about sassy girls-next-door and the hot guys that make them swoon. Vibrant settings, witty banter, and strong relationships are a staple in each of her books…and kissing. Lots of kissing.

An admitted bookaholic and homeschool mom, she gets through each day by laughing at herself, hugging her kids, and watching way too much Food Network with her husband. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult romances, and LOVES talking with readers!

Author Links:   WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS

*****

Giveaway:

$15.00 Amazon Gift Card

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1cb554951101/

*****

Click on the banner below to check out the rest of the tour