• Home
  • Book Review
  • Contest
  • Blog Tour
  • Sneak Peek
  • About

Romantic Reads and Such

~ Book Blogger & Reviewer

Romantic Reads and Such

Tag Archives: Babette de Jongh

Spotlight – Coming Home to Magnolia Bay

12 Tuesday Sep 2023

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour, Contest, Sneak Peek

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Babette de Jongh, Coming Home to Magnolia Bay, Welcome to Magnolia Bay series

People and pets find their forever homes in this charming small-town romance from Babette de Jongh featuring:

*A single mom doing her best
*Her young son who needs a helping hand
*An animal trainer who might be the answer to their troubles
*A bustling animal rescue where everyone gets a second chance
*The magic of humans who know how to communicate with animals

Coming Home to Magnolia Bay 

Welcome to Magnolia Bay Book 3 

by Babette De Jongh 

Genre: Small Town Contemporary Romance

Blurb:

Sara Prescott’s eight-year-old son Max wants a dog. But their apartment doesn’t allow pets, and the divorced single mom can’t afford the certified seizure-alert dog Max needs. Instead, she and Max volunteer at the Furever Love Animal Shelter. Max forms a special bond with Jett, a big black bully breed and three-time loser who keeps getting dumped.

Animal Trainer Justin Reed comes back home to Magnolia Bay and visits the shelter to find a dog actor for a TV series set in nearby New Orleans. Justin chooses Jett, but the shelter’s director rejects his application because Jett needs a finally-forever home, not a job with an end date. The shelter’s resident animal communicator proposes a win-win. Justin can use Jett as an animal actor if he also trains Jett as a service dog for Max.

Sara and Justin have no business indulging their mutual attraction. Sara is focused on her son, and Justin will be leaving soon. But Max and Jett have other ideas… 

**Only .99 cents! **

Amazon * Apple * B&N * Kobo * Bookbub * Goodreads

*****

Excerpt:

“Close your eyes,” Reva said in an I’m-about-to-hypnotize-you tone. “Allow the seat to support your body. Relax into it.”

Justin sighed, releasing a little of the tension he’d been holding on to. Maybe if the telepathy thing didn’t work, she’d let him take a nap.

“Put your focus on your breath, on the sound of your breathing, on the feeling of the air moving into your body and filling your lungs.”

The sound of the car’s tires receded, and he found that it wasn’t so hard after all to focus on his breathing.

“Now, imagine that your body is an empty straw, and that your breath is moving through you, coming up from the soles of your feet when you inhale…then moving back down through your body from the top of your head when you exhale.”

She paused while he took a few slow breaths. “How’re you doing?”

“Mmm.” He might fall asleep if she didn’t hurry up with the animal telepathy bit.

“Imagine what it would look like if you were sitting in a quiet room with Jett. Imagine it like it’s a movie scene you’re remembering. You’re sitting in a soft, comfortable chair, and you see Jett walk up and sit in front of you. Imagine him giving you his attention as if he’s waiting for your next command.” She waited a few beats. “Can you imagine it?”

“Yes.” But he couldn’t believe that imagining scenes in his mind had anything to do with animal communication.

“Good. Hold on to that scene in your mind. In a minute, you’re going to ask Jett a question. He might answer with words, or you might imagine a visual image like a snapshot or a short movie clip. Or he might send emotions or even the memory of a taste or a smell. Are you ready?”

“Yes.” But even as he said the word, anxiety skittered through him. What if he couldn’t do it?

Even more disturbing, what if he could?

“Ask Jett to let you know where he is.”

Justin’s anxiety intensified. The visual image of Jett and him sitting together in a room had fled his mind, leaving nothing but darkness. Strange swirls of color and light bloomed behind his closed eyelids. “I don’t see anything. Just color and light and swirls of energy.”

“You’re trying to see with your eyes. That’s not the way telepathic images come through. It’ll feel more like dreaming or like remembering something that happened a long time ago. Like remembering a place you’ve been or the way someone’s voice sounded.”

He quit focusing on the swirling energy behind his eyelids and tried to recapture the visual of him and Jett sitting together. A flash of something—like a word he was trying to remember but couldn’t—caught his attention but faded before he could catch it. He made a sound of frustration.

“That’s okay,” Reva said in a calm, quiet voice. “Just start over.”

Once again, he brought that image to mind, of Jett sitting in front of him, waiting for instruction on what to do next. The snapshot morphed into a movie clip… Justin imagined Jett coming closer and propping his chin on Justin’s knee. Justin manipulated the scenario by reaching out and stroking Jett’s head. He imagined himself leaning forward and asking the question again. “Where are you?”

Water. The word popped into Justin’s mind, immediate and clear. Then he remembered going to the river with his parents when he was very small. He remembered being afraid to step into the muddy waves. Afraid that he’d be swept away.

His father had been so angry, so dismissive of Justin’s fears. He’d picked Justin up by the arms and thrown him backward into the cold water. It had hit him like a smack on the backside, then shot up his nose and down his throat when he went under. Anxiety swamped him, and he sat up, shaking his head to dispel the vivid memory. “This isn’t working.”

*****

Catch up with the rest of the series:

Warm Nights in Magnolia Bay

Welcome to Magnolia Bay Book 1

Welcome to Magnolia Bay where:
*The animals interfere in their owners’ love lives
*Everyone (humans and animals alike) has an opinion about everything
*The neighbor is as infuriating as he is gorgeous
*And a sprinkle of hope is just the right thing to have you believing in love again

Abby Curtis lands on her Aunt Reva’s doorstep at Bayside Barn with nowhere to go but up. Learning animal communication from her aunt while taking care of the motley assortment of rescue animals on the farm is an important part of Abby’s healing process. She is eager to begin a new life on her own, but she isn’t prepared for the magnetism between her and her handsome, stubborn and distracting new neighbor.

Quinn Lockhart snapped up the foreclosed estate next door determined to renovate and flip the beautiful bayou property. It’s all part of a plan to make a financial comeback and reconnect with his estranged son. Definitely not part of the plan is the noisy petting zoo next door dragging down his property value. But getting rid of it becomes more difficult when he falls for the lovely and passionate Abby and bonds with an abandoned wolf dog who’s mournfully waiting for his family to return. For humans and animals alike, it will take all the courage they can muster to learn to love again. But that’s a journey worth taking—with a little help from their furry friends.

You’ll fall in love right along with Abby as animals and humans alike find unexpected ways to connect, nurture each other, and thrive.

Amazon * Apple * B&N * Google * Kobo * Bookbub * Goodreads

Magnolia Bay Memories 

Welcome to Magnolia Bay Book 2 

Babette de Jongh brings you a bright and hopeful romance filled with:
*People and animals who get a second chance
*A community that makes everyone feel at home
*Friends-to-lovers romance that proves everyone deserves a forever home

Struggling widow Heather Gabriel takes a job at Magnolia Bay’s Animal Shelter to provide for her family. She isn’t ready to be anything more than colleagues with Adrian Crawford, the shelter’s new business consultant. But the shelter’s animal communication expert Reva Curtis knows there’s more attraction between Heather and Adrian than they let on, and she’s determined to bring them together. With the help of Heather’s three children and all the animals at Bayside Barn, Heather and Adrian soon realize they can have a future together…if they can let go of the past.

Small town romance will never look the same once you’ve traveled to Magnolia Bay!

“Charming…a satisfying blend of romance and animal cameos.”—DEBBIE BURNS, bestselling author of the Rescue Me series

“Babette de Jongh’s books are crafted with heart and humor, roaring heat and cuddly love.”—JOANN SKY, author of the Biggest Little Love Story series

Amazon * Apple * B&N * Google * Kobo * Bookbub * Goodreads

**Celebrate National Black Dog Day on Oct 1 with Hear Them Speak!**

Hear Them Speak 

A Twelve-Week Course in Telepathic Animal Communication 

by Babette de Jongh

Genre: Nonfiction, Pets, Animal Communication 

Would you like to know what your animal companion is really thinking? If you’re holding this book, the ability is literally within your grasp. Hear Them Speak is an engaging and easy-to-follow twelve week course that guides you through the process of discovering your own superpowers of telepathic animal communication. With real-life examples to increase understanding and tasks to help you practice your emerging skills, animal communicator Babette de Jongh walks you through every step of the journey to claim your innate ability to hear them speak. 

Amazon * Goodreads

*****

Author Info:

Babette de Jongh is a telepathic animal communicator, energy healer, Reiki Master, and award-winning romance writer who has taught ballet, yoga, elementary school, and animal communication. Whether it involves a happy-ending romance, a way of self-nurturing, or help in understanding our companions, the cohesive thread that ties all these things together is a desire to save the world, one happy ending at a time. 

Babette’s first romance novel, Angel Falls, won two Readers’ Choice awards. In Hear Them Speak, Babette helps humans better understand their animal companions. In Welcome to Magnolia Bay, a romance series from Sourcebooks Casablanca, a telepathic animal communicator conspires with the human characters’ animal companions to help everyone—humans and animals—find forever love.

All this is only the beginning for a late bloomer who is just getting started. To find out more about Babette, everything she does, and everything she’s up to these days, please visit her website at http://www.BabettedeJongh.com.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

*****

Giveaway:

$20 Amazon 

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Like Loading...

Spotlight – Warm Nights in Magnolia Bay

07 Wednesday Apr 2021

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour, Contest, Sneak Peek

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Babette de Jongh, Warm Nights in Magnolia Bay

A romance that includes fur babies is almost guaranteed to steal my heart!

*****

Warm Nights in Magnolia Bay

by Babette de Jongh

Publication Date: 3/30/2021

Blurb:

An extraordinary new series from an extraordinary author…

Abby Curtis lands on her Aunt Reva’s doorstep at Bayside Barn with nowhere to go but up. Learning animal communication from her aunt while taking care of the motley assortment of rescue animals on the farm is an important part of Abby’s healing process. She is eager to begin a new life on her own, but she isn’t prepared for the magnetism between her and her handsome, stubborn and distracting new neighbor.

Quinn Lockhart snapped up the foreclosed estate next door determined to renovate and flip the beautiful bayou property. It’s all part of a plan to make a financial comeback and reconnect with his estranged son. Definitely not part of the plan is the noisy petting zoo next door dragging down his property value. But getting rid of it becomes more difficult when he falls for the lovely and passionate Abby and bonds with an abandoned wolf dog who’s mournfully waiting for his family to return. For humans and animals alike, it will take all the courage they can muster to learn to love again. But that’s a journey worth taking—with a little help from their furry friends.

You’ll fall in love right along with Abby as animals and humans alike find unexpected ways to connect, nurture each other, and thrive.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3huw2Rc 

B&N: https://bit.ly/2YztdHd 

Apple: https://apple.co/3jil7L7 

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3sfwCri 

Bookshop: https://bit.ly/2EyVzds 

BAM: https://bit.ly/34BeBeb 

Books2Read: https://bit.ly/2ZRYIN7

*****

Excerpt:

Sweaty and tired, Abby decided shoveling poop could wait until after coffee. She set up the coffeepot and hit the button to perk. She had just removed her boots when a deep bellow of human rage galvanized Georgia, who sprinted across the yard and squeezed under the fence. A second later, her sharp barking joined the new neighbor’s angry expletives. Abby ran barefoot along the hedgerow fence toward Georgia’s hysterical barking. 

A donkey’s cry made her heart race. How had Elijah gotten into the neighbor’s yard? Then she saw how. “Oh shit.” She climbed over a section of crumpled wire fencing and burst through a thick tangle of vegetation into a scene of mayhem and hysteria. 

The new neighbor charged toward Elijah and flung his hands in the donkey’s face. “Shoo. Get out.” 

Elijah reared, eyes rolling, ears pinned back. Abby grabbed a stout stick and rushed to defend her aunt’s traumatized donkey. “Stop! You’re scaring him.” 

Bawling in terror, Elijah veered around the man’s waving arms and leaped over the crumpled wire fence. Georgia—all thirty pounds of short, snarling protection—stood between Abby and the crazy neighbor. 

This mean man would not be getting any of the secret-family-recipe pound cake. 

Holding the stick out like a sword, Abby snatched Georgia up one-handed and held her close. While she and the dog both trembled with reaction, Abby glared at her aunt’s new neighbor. “What is wrong with you? You scared that poor donkey half to death.” 

The stupid neanderthal crossed his muscled arms in front of his wide chest. “Me? You’re asking what’s wrong with me? That big moose knocked me down!” 

“Moose? Elijah is just a baby! He would never—” 

“He stole my granola bar!” 

“He stole…what?” 

The man glanced at her stick. Like a warrior calculating his advantage in an armed conflict, he advanced, his expression fierce and his blue eyes so wild she could see the whites all around. “Your baby—who is the size of a moose, by the way—came onto my property, knocked me down, bit me on the ass, and stole a granola bar from my back pocket.” 

Georgia trembled in Abby’s arms and growled in promised retribution should the man come close enough for her to reach. 

Abby clutched the dog tighter. “I’m sorry if he hurt you. But you didn’t have to scare him.” 

“Your ass is fine. Mine’s the one that’s been wounded.” He lunged forward and wrenched the stick from her hand, then tossed it aside, ignoring Georgia’s escalating growl. “And yet you’re planning to attack me with a stick?” 

A hysterical giggle tickled the back of Abby’s throat. She bit her lips and patted Georgia. Laughing in the face of an animal-hating psychopath—maybe not the best move. “Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry. I hope your…” She smothered an irreverent snort. “I hope your ass will recover.” 

His lips twitched, a quickly stifled smile. “I guess it will, eventually.” He let the smile have its way, and it transformed his face from surly to sexy. Straight white teeth and deep blue eyes contrasted with deeply tanned skin. His sun-bleached brown hair hadn’t been combed this morning; he looked like a man who’d just tumbled out of bed and wouldn’t mind getting right back in, given sufficient motivation. 

Not that she was interested in providing any such motivation. Hadn’t she learned her lesson? Hadn’t losing everything—her job, her self-respect, and the child she’d come to love—hadn’t that experience taught her anything? 

It most certainly had. She was done with men. Done. 

He crossed unfairly muscular arms over unfairly toned abs. “Enjoying the view?” 

Her face heated. “Well enough.” She couldn’t deny that she’d been staring. But her appreciation of his well-developed form was purely academic. 

“Only fair, I guess.” He swept an appreciative glance from her bare feet to her heated cheeks. His blue eyes shining with humor, he trapped her gaze in his. “I bought this place for the view, but I didn’t know until recently what a bargain I was getting.” 

“Oh?” She glanced down at her dirt-smeared attire, a getup not likely to inspire such a flattering comment. Had he seen her yesterday with her robe gaping open? Or worse… Had he seen her skinny-dipping last night? 

Excerpted from Warm Nights in Magnolia Bay by Babette de Jongh. © 2021 by Babette de Jongh. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

*****

Author Info:

Babette de Jongh is an award-winning romance author, professional animal communicator, energy healer, and teacher…saving the world, one happy ending at a time. Visit her anytime at babettedejongh.com.

*****

Giveaway:

3 copies of Warm Nights in Magnolia Bay

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54ca7af71046/

~

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Like Loading...

FTC Disclaimer - see bottom of page for complete statement, but please be aware that in many cases I am provided a book to read. However my opinions are my own & no guarantee of positive review is given by any party.

Recent Posts

  • Review – Cowboy Needed
  • Review – In a Heartbeat
  • Review – Worth the Fall
  • Review – Shattered
  • Review – Keeping Score
  • Review – Chasing Home
  • Review – Love It Or List It
  • Review – Boyfriend Without Benefits
  • Book Review – Persistent
  • Spotlight – Shattered
  • Review – Duke
  • Review – The Roommate Game
  • Review – Irresistibly Wicked
  • Spotlight – A Love for a Lifetime
  • Spotlight – Hate To Be The One
  • Spotlight – Training Mr. Right
  • Review – Yule Be Mine
  • Spotlight – Sin Bin with the Scrooge
  • Review – Tinsel & Tools
  • Spotlight – Vixen’s Guide to Christmas
  • Spotlight – If You Claim Me
  • Review – Hit the Ground
  • Review – Rookie Season
  • Review – Love You, Mean It
  • Review – Rebel Bride
  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Threads

Email me

romanticread@gmail.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Follow Romantic Reads and Such on WordPress.com

Facebook

Facebook

Instagram

"Like everything else in the Rosewood River series, I enjoyed the heck out of this one." Full review at romanticread.com 🔥COVER REVEAL & PRE-ORDER ANNOUNCEMENT🔥 "From their Hallmark Channel worthy meet-cute to Holly finally finding herself, it’s just so sweet." Full review at romanticread.com "So emotional and with characters that captured me from the first page." Full review at romanticread.com "Loved, loved, loved me some Travis" Full review at romanticread.com Coming soon - REBOUND CONTROL by @jodioliverauthor releasing January 9th! "There’s a reason Piper Rayne is on my must read list and it shows from start to finish here. So much of the feels (heartache and sweet moments alike), steaminess, humor, and love from family, both born & found." Full review at romanticread.com "I just loved the two of them together – the way they kind of accidentally slide into a relationship, complete with teenagers, pets, and a fixer-upper house is just priceless." Full review at romanticread.com "While this the first in this series I’ve read (and this author for that matter), I really enjoyed myself ... their courtship and HEA made me happy." Full review at romanticread.com

Goodreads

Archives

  • December 2025 (12)
  • November 2025 (12)
  • October 2025 (6)
  • September 2025 (12)
  • August 2025 (15)
  • July 2025 (22)
  • June 2025 (18)
  • May 2025 (10)
  • April 2025 (20)
  • March 2025 (21)
  • February 2025 (13)
  • January 2025 (17)
  • December 2024 (12)
  • November 2024 (14)
  • October 2024 (11)
  • September 2024 (7)
  • August 2024 (11)
  • July 2024 (8)
  • June 2024 (13)
  • May 2024 (13)
  • April 2024 (9)
  • March 2024 (17)
  • February 2024 (9)
  • January 2024 (11)
  • December 2023 (10)
  • November 2023 (15)
  • October 2023 (14)
  • September 2023 (13)
  • August 2023 (15)
  • July 2023 (11)
  • June 2023 (14)
  • May 2023 (12)
  • April 2023 (19)
  • March 2023 (17)
  • February 2023 (4)
  • January 2023 (6)
  • December 2022 (7)
  • November 2022 (11)
  • October 2022 (8)
  • September 2022 (12)
  • August 2022 (14)
  • July 2022 (17)
  • June 2022 (11)
  • May 2022 (16)
  • April 2022 (15)
  • March 2022 (13)
  • February 2022 (7)
  • January 2022 (17)
  • December 2021 (21)
  • November 2021 (12)
  • October 2021 (20)
  • September 2021 (14)
  • August 2021 (10)
  • July 2021 (7)
  • June 2021 (14)
  • May 2021 (23)
  • April 2021 (19)
  • March 2021 (21)
  • February 2021 (11)
  • January 2021 (14)
  • December 2020 (13)
  • November 2020 (13)
  • October 2020 (13)
  • September 2020 (5)
  • August 2020 (10)
  • July 2020 (4)
  • June 2020 (13)
  • May 2020 (11)
  • April 2020 (12)
  • March 2020 (14)
  • February 2020 (11)
  • January 2020 (10)
  • December 2019 (5)
  • November 2019 (10)
  • October 2019 (12)
  • September 2019 (14)
  • August 2019 (6)
  • July 2019 (13)
  • June 2019 (18)
  • May 2019 (13)
  • April 2019 (16)
  • March 2019 (20)
  • February 2019 (19)
  • January 2019 (14)
  • December 2018 (12)
  • November 2018 (18)
  • October 2018 (22)
  • September 2018 (20)
  • August 2018 (17)
  • July 2018 (15)
  • June 2018 (21)
  • May 2018 (16)
  • April 2018 (21)
  • March 2018 (20)
  • February 2018 (21)
  • January 2018 (22)
  • December 2017 (21)
  • November 2017 (19)
  • October 2017 (25)
  • September 2017 (22)
  • August 2017 (21)
  • July 2017 (21)
  • June 2017 (29)
  • May 2017 (29)
  • April 2017 (23)
  • March 2017 (25)
  • February 2017 (23)
  • January 2017 (22)
  • December 2016 (22)
  • November 2016 (27)
  • October 2016 (28)
  • September 2016 (20)
  • August 2016 (23)
  • July 2016 (21)
  • June 2016 (24)
  • May 2016 (26)
  • April 2016 (25)
  • March 2016 (24)
  • February 2016 (39)
  • January 2016 (24)
  • December 2015 (25)
  • November 2015 (27)
  • October 2015 (27)
  • September 2015 (27)
  • August 2015 (36)
  • July 2015 (31)
  • June 2015 (21)
  • May 2015 (24)
  • April 2015 (30)
  • March 2015 (30)
  • February 2015 (26)
  • January 2015 (22)
  • December 2014 (21)
  • November 2014 (32)
  • October 2014 (34)
  • September 2014 (28)
  • August 2014 (34)
  • July 2014 (45)
  • June 2014 (44)
  • May 2014 (44)
  • April 2014 (38)
  • March 2014 (42)
  • February 2014 (38)
  • January 2014 (36)
  • December 2013 (32)
  • November 2013 (35)
  • October 2013 (33)
  • September 2013 (24)
  • August 2013 (19)
  • July 2013 (20)
  • June 2013 (18)
  • May 2013 (19)
  • April 2013 (19)
  • March 2013 (22)
  • February 2013 (14)
  • January 2013 (17)
  • December 2012 (8)
  • November 2012 (16)
  • October 2012 (12)
  • September 2012 (11)
  • August 2012 (13)
  • July 2012 (3)

 

 

 

 

 

 

FTC Disclaimer

I have received ARCs of books free from NetGalley (and many moons ago from BookTrib.com) to review but the majority of the stories are either bought by me or provided for free from the publisher, author, or PR company. The opinions I share are my own and in no way are influenced by an author or publisher. There is no promise of a positive review by any party and there is no additional compensation. Unless otherwise noted, I am not affiliated with any contest or other event mentioned on this blog and I do not receive a paid endorsement for any post.

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Romantic Reads and Such
    • Join 603 other subscribers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Romantic Reads and Such
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d