What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon #BookReview #Historical #TimeTravel @aharmon_author

An Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post bestseller.

In an unforgettable love story, a woman’s impossible journey through the ages could change everything…

Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time.

The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy’s long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman’s disappearance is connected to her own.

As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland’s independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she’s willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she’d find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?

Biography

Amy Harmon is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New York Times Bestselling author. Her books have been published in eighteen languages, truly a dream come true for a little country girl from Utah.
Amy Harmon has written thirteen novels, including the USA Today Bestsellers, The Smallest Part, Making Faces, and Running Barefoot, and the #1 Amazon bestselling historical, From Sand and Ash. Her novel, A Different Blue, is a New York Times Bestseller. Her USA Today bestselling fantasy, The Bird and the Sword, was a Goodreads Best Book of 2016 finalist. For updates on upcoming book releases, author posts and more, join Amy at http://www.authoramyharmon.com.

Book Review

Raised by a loving grandfather, Anne Gallagher is heartbroken at his death. She follows his last wishes and takes his ashes home to Ireland to spread them on the lough near the home where he’d grown up.

The moment she lands, Anne is overcome by a sense of history and tries to find out more about her grandfather’s life as a child. She has a few photos of her mother, father, and their best friend, Dr. Thomas Smith.

After visiting the graves of past members of her family, Anne rents a boat and heads out on the lough, only to get lost in a sudden fog. Frightened, she calls for help and gets shot by a stranger in a trawler.

When Anne awakens, it is to find herself in the care of a man who looks exactly like the Thomas Smith from her photos and it soon becomes clear that nothing is as it should be.

They can’t forget, they never will, the wind and waves remember Him still.
“Thomas?”
I’d called to him before. I’d screamed his name across the water until I was hoarse and hopeless. But I called to him again. “Thomas?” His name hung precariously in the air, weighty and wishful, before it teetered and fell, sinking like a stone beneath the surface. The lough whispered back with liquid lips, slow and sighing. Tho-mas, Tho-mas, Tho-mas.
Harmon, Amy. What the Wind Knows

This story shines a light on the Easter Rising, a massacre that took place in 1916 and changed Ireland forever.

“I’ve been reading about Ireland—biographies and documentaries and collections and diaries. I’ve been doing research for six months. I have so much information in my head, and I don’t know what to do with it. The history after the 1916 Easter Rising is just a garbled mess of opinions and blame. There’s no consensus.” Eoin laughed, but the sound was brittle and mirthless. “That, my love, is Ireland.”
Harmon, Amy. What the Wind Knows

While the rebellion is a key part of the book, so to is the growing romance between Thomas and Anne- a forbidden love.

Anne is from the future. How can she stay in her mother’s time period, even though it gives her the opportunity to live with her grandfather when he was a child, and Thomas?

When she makes the decision to risk all, outside forces step in to separate her from the life she truly wants.

I can’t imagine all men love their women the way I love Anne. If they did, the streets would be empty, and the fields would grow fallow. Industry would rumble to a halt and markets would tumble as men bowed at the feet of their wives, unable to need or notice anything but her.
Harmon, Amy. What the Wind Knows

I didn’t know much about Ireland’s turbulent history. What I learned is that Irish people are proud of their culture and their land. They are passionate of what they believe in and won’t give up- no matter the odds.

What the Wind Knows is a sweeping saga of love and history that proves where there is hope, there is a chance.
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June 23, 2020June 22, 2020

Jacquie Biggar30 Comments

Where the Lost Wander by @AmyHarmon #Historical #BookReview @aharmon_author

In this epic and haunting love story set on the Oregon Trail, a family and their unlikely protector find their way through peril, uncertainty, and loss.

The Overland Trail, 1853: Naomi May never expected to be widowed at twenty. Eager to leave her grief behind, she sets off with her family for a life out West. On the trail, she forms an instant connection with John Lowry, a half-Pawnee man straddling two worlds and a stranger in both.

But life in a wagon train is fraught with hardship, fear, and death. Even as John and Naomi are drawn to each other, the trials of the journey and their disparate pasts work to keep them apart. John’s heritage gains them safe passage through hostile territory only to come between them as they seek to build a life together.

When a horrific tragedy strikes, decimating Naomi’s family and separating her from John, the promises they made are all they have left. Ripped apart, they can’t turn back, they can’t go on, and they can’t let go. Both will have to make terrible sacrifices to find each other, save each other, and eventually…make peace with who they are.

Attribution- Amazon

Biography
Amy Harmon is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New York Times Bestselling author. Her books have been published in eighteen languages, truly a dream come true for a little country girl from Utah.
Amy Harmon has written thirteen novels, including the USA Today Bestsellers, The Smallest Part, Making Faces, and Running Barefoot, and the #1 Amazon bestselling historical, From Sand and Ash. Her novel, A Different Blue, is a New York Times Bestseller. Her USA Today bestselling fantasy, The Bird and the Sword, was a Goodreads Best Book of 2016 finalist. For updates on upcoming book releases, author posts and more, join Amy at http://www.authoramyharmon.com.

My Review

Seeking a better life, widow Naomi May joins a wagon train with her family heading across the country to California. She knows it will be a tough journey but faces it with enthusiasm and a touch of trepidation.

When John Lowry agrees to help his uncle guide a wagon train as far as a fort where he is to deliver his father’s mules, he doesn’t expect to be instantly attracted to the beautiful Naomi. But their relationship is doomed to fail. He is half Pawnee, a man straddling two worlds. She is everything he wants but cannot have.

The trail is a hard taskmaster. Soon, the wagon train is faced with challenges they could never have imagined; hostile territories, lack of drinking water, dangerous river crossings, dysentery, and racial prejudice.

It’s been a long time since I was so caught up in a story. The author does a wonderful job drawing the reader into the hearts and heads of our two protagonists, John Lowry and Naomi May. We get real insights into the pride of indigenous people, the clash of two cultures, and those caught in the middle.

Favorite Lines

That’s what hope feels like: the best air you’ve ever breathed after the worst fall you’ve ever taken. It hurts.
Harmon, Amy. Where the Lost Wander: A Novel

This kiss is slow and languid like the Platte, hardly moving, while beneath the surface the silt shifts and settles. His arms snake around me, and my palms flatten over his heart, needing and kneading, and heat grows in my belly and in my heart and where our mouths are moving together.
Harmon, Amy. Where the Lost Wander: A Novel

…eventually, time thinks for us. It cuts through the fog of emotion and delivers a big bowl of reality, and feelings don’t stand a chance,” John says with bleak finality.
Harmon, Amy. Where the Lost Wander: A Novel

Where the Lost Wander is a sweeping saga of a love that knows no bounds and defies a nation at war. It’s real. It’s brutal. It’s unforgettable.
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Tips To Succeed On a Video Interview

Originally posted on Story Empire:
Hello, SEers. As you can see, today we are going to talk about the best foot forward position should you get the opportunity to do a video interview or presentation on YouTube or elsewhere. Before getting into the tips, let’s set the stage. You are launching a new book, and…

July 6, 2020July 6, 2020

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June #BookReviews from @JackieAshenden @SuzanneJenkins3 #amreading

I should be writing, I have looming deadlines and blank pages, but the garden is calling me to slip off my shoes and read a book. So I am 🙂 First in a bold, sexy new small-town Alaska contemporary romance series from Jackie Ashenden Deep River, Alaska boasts a fiercely independent though small population. The… Continue reading →

July 6, 2020

challenges

Garden #Perspectives- #SundayStills

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge is all about perspectives as chosen by Terri Webster Schrandt. You can see her photos and join the challenge here. I’ve squared all the photos for my entry for Becky’s for July Square Perspectives challenge. We’re spending most of our day out in the garden, so I thought I’d share some of… Continue reading →

July 5, 2020July 5, 2020

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June 10, 2020June 10, 2020

Jacquie Biggar10 Comments

#BookReview- If You Must Know by Jamie Beck #WomensFic @writerjamiebeck

Life turns upside down for two sisters in Wall Street Journal bestselling author Jamie Beck’s emotional novel about how secrets and differences can break—or bind—a family.

Sisters Amanda Foster and Erin Turner have little in common except the childhood bedroom they once shared and the certainty each feels that her way of life is best. Amanda follows the rules—at the school where she works; in her community; and as a picture-perfect daughter, wife, and mother-to-be. Erin follows her heart—in love and otherwise—living a bohemian lifestyle on a shoestring budget and honoring her late father’s memory with a passion for music and her fledgling bath-products business.

The sisters are content leading separate but happy lives in their hometown of Potomac Point until everything is upended by lies that force them to confront unsettling truths about their family, themselves, and each other. For sisters as different as these two, building trust doesn’t come easily—especially with one secret still between them—but it may be the only way to save their family.

Biography

Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Jamie Beck’s realistic and heartwarming stories have sold more than two million copies. She is a two-time Booksellers’ Best Award finalist, a National Readers’ Choice Award winner, and critics at Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist have respectively called her work “smart,” “uplifting,” and “entertaining.” In addition to writing novels, she enjoys dancing around the kitchen while cooking and hitting the slopes in Vermont and Utah. Above all, she is a grateful wife and mother to a very patient, supportive family.

Fans can learn more about her on the web (www.jamiebeck.com), which includes a fun extras page with photos, videos, and playlists. She also loves interacting with everyone on Facebook (www.facebook.com/JamieBeckBooks). For monthly fun tips, birthday sweepstakes and other exclusive content, join my newsletter at http://bit.ly/1V0d7Qi. NO SPAM–EVER. For updates on discounts, follow me on BookBub at http://bit.ly/2GBcLM3.

My Review

Pregnant, in love with her handsome husband and owner of her dream home, Amanda Foster believes she has the world by the tail- that is until he disappears on a so-called business trip, taking her mother’s life savings with him. And then she learns of his affair.

Erin Foster puts out a confident, take-no-crap attitude, but in reality she deeply mourns the loss of her father and the emotional distance between herself and the rest of her family. A messy breakup convinces her it’s time to make some changes in her life.

When Erin and Amanda’s mother has a series of accidents caused by stress, the sisters pull together to watch over her, get back the stolen money, and see that justice is served.

This is a well written story on family dynamics. Sometimes, life knocks us down, as Amanda learned, and the family we take for granted are the only ones we can truly count on to have our backs.

The characters are multi-dimensional and though the plotline went a little over the top, it was believable because of their reactions.

An enjoyable read!

“I voluntarily read an ARC of this book which was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.”

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May 7, 2020May 6, 2020

Jacquie Biggar16 Comments

#TuesdayBookReview- The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton #YANovels

No one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he’s got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. And he knows that he can count on his friends—true friends who would do anything for him, like Johnny and Two-Bit. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up on “greasers” like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect—until the night someone takes things too far.

The Outsiders is a dramatic and enduring work of fiction that laid the groundwork for the YA genre. S. E. Hinton’s classic story of a boy who finds himself on the outskirts of regular society remains as powerful today as it was the day it was first published.

“The Outsiders transformed young-adult fiction from a genre mostly about prom queens, football players and high school crushes to one that portrayed a darker, truer world.” —The New York Times

Biography

Susan Eloise Hinton’s career as an author began while she was still a student at Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Disturbed by the divisions among her schoolmates into two groups–the Greasers and the Socs–Hinton wrote The Outsiders, an honest, sometimes shocking novel told from the point of view of an orphaned 14-year-old Greaser named Ponyboy Curtis. Since her narrator was male, it was decided that Hinton use only her first initials so as not to put off boys who would not normally read books written by women. The Outsiders was published during Hinton’s freshman year at the University of Tulsa, and was an immediate sensation.Today, with more than eight million copies in print, the book is the best-selling young adult novel of all time, and one of the most hauntingly powerful views into the thoughts and feelings of teenagers. The book was also made into a film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and featuring such future stars as Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, and Tom Cruise.Once published, The Outsiders gave her a lot of publicity and fame, and also a lot of pressure. S.E. Hinton was becoming known as “The Voice of the Youth” among other titles. This kind of pressure and publicity resulted in a three year long writer’s block.Her boyfriend (and now, her husband), who had gotten sick of her being depressed all the time, eventually broke this block. He made her write two pages a day if she wanted to go anywhere. This eventually led to That Was Then, This Is Now.In the years since, Ms. Hinton has married and now has a teenaged son, Nick. She continues to write, with such smash successes as That Was Then, This Is Now, Rumble Fish and Tex, almost as well known as The Outsiders. She still lives in Tulsa with her husband and son, where she enjoys writing, riding horses, and taking courses at the university.In a wonderful tribute to Hinton’s distinguished 30-year writing career, the American Library Association and School Library Journal bestowed upon her their first annual Margaret A. Edwards Award, which honors authors whose “book or books, over a period of time, have been accepted by young people as an authentic voice that continues to illuminate their experiences and emotions, giving insight into their lives.”

My Review

An incredibly intimate portrayal into the lives of teenagers from ‘both sides of the track.’

I was hooked from the opening line:

WHEN I STEPPED out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.
The Outsiders- S.E. Hinton

Ponyboy Curtis and his brothers, Darry and Sodapop, are getting by after the deaths of their parents, but life isn’t easy. Darry had to quit school in order to care for his younger brothers, determined to keep his family together even though money is tight and trouble never far away.

The boys and their friends are known as greasers, often preyed upon by the rich socs who take pleasure in taunting them with all that they don’t have.

They had me down in a second. They had my arms and legs pinned down and one of them was sitting on my chest with his knees on my elbows, and if you don’t think that hurts, you’re crazy.
The Outsiders- S.E. Hinton

Life on the streets is brutal. Either you protect one another, or perish. The author does an incredible job of drawing the reader into Ponyboy’s life. It’s impossible not to have empathy for these tough, loyal, misunderstood young men.

“Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold . . .” The pillow seemed to sink a little, and Johnny died. You read about people looking peacefully asleep when they’re dead, but they don’t. Johnny just looked dead. Like a candle with the flame gone.
The Outsiders- S.E. Hinton

I first read this book as an English assignment way back in grade eight and it has stayed with me all of these years. This is a timeless story of disparity and inequality, never more important than in these uncertain times.

A must-read!

March 24, 2020March 23, 2020

Jacquie Biggar20 Comments

#BookReview- Long Shot by KeNnedy Ryan #SportsRomance @KennedyRWrites

★ A Top 30 Amazon Bestseller & RITA® Winner ★

A FORBIDDEN LOVE SET IN THE EXPLOSIVE WORLD OF THE NBA… .

Think you know what it’s like being a baller’s girl?
You don’t.
My fairy tale is upside down.
A happily never after.
I kissed the prince and he turned into a fraud.
I was a fool, and his love – fool’s gold.
Now there’s a new player in the game, August West.
One of the NBA’s brightest stars.
Fine. Forbidden.
He wants me. I want him.
But my past, my fraudulent prince, just won’t let me go

*Contains domestic/sexual abuse not involving the hero

https://amzn.to/2U6o9H9

Biography

A RITA® Award Winner and USA Today Bestseller, Kennedy Ryan writes for women from all walks of life, empowering them and placing them firmly at the center of each story and in charge of their own destinies. Her heroes respect, cherish and lose their minds for the women who capture their hearts.

Kennedy and her writings have been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Glamour and many others. She has always leveraged her journalism background to write for charity and non-profit organizations, but has a special passion for raising Autism awareness.The co-founder of LIFT 4 Autism, an annual charitable book auction, she has appeared on Headline News, Montel Williams, NPR and other media outlets as an advocate for ASD families. She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son.

Stay In Touch!

Facebook: facebook.com/KennedyRyanAuthor
Book Group: facebook.com/groups/681604768593989/
Twitter: @Kennedyrwrites
Instagram: @kennedyryan1
BookBub: bit.ly/KRBookBub
Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/7429243.Kennedy_Ryan
Google +: plus.google.com/u/0/+KennedyRyanAuthor/posts
New Release Text Alerts: Text Kennedy Ryan 797979

My Review

A raw, insightful story of survival against domestic abuse.

When August enters a quiet bar on the eve of the biggest night of his college basketball career, he doesn’t expect to meet the woman who will change his world.

Iris is fascinated by the shy, handsome baller who joins her for a drink, but she is in a committed relationship, so regretfully says goodbye at the end of the evening, never expecting how her life is about to change.

When I told my story, some said I was a hero. I’m not. I’m just a woman who ended up in a bad relationship with a bad man and had to fight my way out of it. I did what I had to do to protect my daughter and to protect myself. That doesn’t make me special, but it does make me a survivor.
Ryan, Kennedy. Long Shot (HOOPS Book 1) . Kindle Edition.

When Iris becomes pregnant(unplanned on her part) and is forced into bedrest, her dreams of a career and independence are placed on hold. Without her realizing how it happened, Caleb- her boyfriend- slowly and inexorably separates her from family and friends under the guise of love. A chance encounter with August reminds her of the friendship/attraction she’d given up and draws a jealous reaction from Caleb she doesn’t expect.

I’ve never been hit in the face. My mother didn’t bother disciplining me. Though I saw men hit her and my aunt from time to time, no man has ever hit me, so I didn’t know. I couldn’t have known that the first hit, that baptism into violence, doesn’t just sting the flesh. It startles the soul.
Ryan, Kennedy. Long Shot (HOOPS Book 1) . Kindle Edition.

I’m not going to lie, this is a brutal read. But, it’s also an important story- one that needs told. Domestic violence is one of the leading causes of death for women, and in many cases either goes unreported, or is swept under the carpet by an overworked law enforcement.

Women are victims of intimate partner violence more often and more severely than men

79% of police reported intimate partner violence is against women Women were victims of intimate partner homicide at a rate four times greater than men

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/stop-family-violence/problem-canada.html

Crisis Lines (24/7):

Vancouver Island Crisis Line: 1 888 494 3888

Women Against Violence Against Women: 1 877 392 7583

Battered Women’s Support Services: 604 687 1867

We need books like this to show us, we CAN WIN. Don’t give up the fight!

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March 16, 2020March 14, 2020

Jacquie Biggar8 Comments

A Simple Wedding by @LeighRDuncan #Romance #Reading

**Today we have the blog tour for A SIMPLE WEDDING by Leigh Duncan! Check it out and be sure to grab your copy today!**

Title: A Simple Wedding

Author: Leigh Duncan

Genre: Sweet Romance

About A Simple Wedding:

Fall in love with Heart’s Landing,a romantic wedding destination, in the first book of a Hallmark series.

Jenny always dreamed of getting married at Heart’s Landing. But when she finally visits the charming small town, she’s there to make wedding arrangements for someone else: her cousin, who also happens to be her boss and a famous movie star. Her cousin wants a simple wedding, not a media circus. To keep the event top-secret, she’s talked her assistant Jenny into pretending she’s the one getting married.

Nick, a baker and lifelong resident of Heart’s Landing, is intrigued by this bride-to-be who starts visiting his bakery for sweet treats and conversation. It seems strange that her fiancé isn’t at least little involved with the wedding plans.

As Jenny tries to keep up with her fickle cousin’s ever-changing demands—which exasperate the florist, the caterer, and several other vendors—she tries to hide her attraction to Nick. Meanwhile, the people in town talk Nick into trying to distract Jenny with a sightseeing tour in order to keep her from changing her mind again. The more time Nick spends with Jenny, the harder it becomes to remind himself that she’s already spoken for.

Planning this wedding couldn’t be more complicated…and what will happen once the truth comes to light?

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Moonlight In Vermont

A Simple Wedding Leigh Duncan

“No buts. If you need to adjust the plans, just do it.” He managed to angle his body away from hers, a move that back- fired when he ended up facing her. Staring down at Jenny’s pert features, he cleared his throat. “Why waste the energy fighting it? If you know it’s something you’re going to end up doing anyway, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and heartache if you just tackle it head on.”

Jenny’s dark eyes brightened. “That’s exactly what I need- ed to hear. Thanks, Nick.”

“Now, how can I help?”

She reached out. Her fingers barely made contact with his arm, but her touch sent tingles of awareness coursing through him. He tried telling himself that his was nothing more than the usual reaction of a man in the presence of a pretty woman, but he knew there was more to it than that. He was dangerously close to crossing a line with Jenny, something he absolutely wouldn’t do. Not even if she wanted him to.

“Well.” Jenny tilted her head and issued a challenge. “I need a bigger cake.”

“No problem.” He could easily add another layer to her wedding cake, maybe even two. But something in Jenny’s expression triggered a flicker of doubt. Had he just commit-

ted to more than he could deliver? Not exactly sure he was going to like her answer, he ventured a tentative, “How much bigger?”

Her gaze cut to one side. “Enough to serve two hundred and fifty guests.”

“Whooo.” Air whistled through his teeth. That was a lot more cake.

“I’ve been having second thoughts about the flavor, too.”

“Okay,” he said bracing himself. He’d known about Jenny’s soft spot for chocolate since the day they met. But to craft a cake in her favorite flavor for that many people would require extra work. He’d need to dowels to support each layer of the dense, heavy…

“Almond,” she said firmly.

Not chocolate? He frowned, recalling how her nose had scrunched up during the tasting. She didn’t even like almond.

“And it needs more, uh.”

“More what?” he asked, growing more perplexed by the moment.

“It needs more pizzazz.”

He took a breath. Of all the brides he’d worked with over the years, he would have sworn Jenny was the least likely to want a lavishly decorated cake. But maybe he didn’t know her as well as he thought he did. “I could pipe the icing to match the pattern of your dress,” he suggested, certain she’d consider the idea too ornate. “And add a cascade of rose-gold flowers down one side.”

A happy smile teased Jenny’s lips. “Yes. That’s it. Exactly.”

Nick folded his arms across his chest. They said no good deed went unpunished. He should have known offering ad- vice to a bride-to-be would come back to haunt him. This larger, fancier cake would take the better part of a week to

create. Worse, just when he’d sworn he’d keep his distance from Jenny, he’d have to work closely with her on a whole new design. “I’ll get on it first thing in the morning,” he promised on his way to the stairs.

“I’ll stop by in the afternoon so we can go over the par- ticulars. Save me a cupcake?”

Though he automatically agreed, he shook his head as he headed for the van. His determination to keep his distance from Jenny had lasted less than two minutes before she’d melted it, just like she’d melted his heart.

About the Author:

Author Leigh Duncan. (Photo by Chris Kridler)

Leigh Duncan, an Amazon bestselling author and a National Readers’ Choice Award winner, has written over two dozen novels, novellas and short stories, including A Simple Wedding,A Country Wedding, and Journey Back to Christmas for Hallmark Publishing, the Glades County Cowboys series for Harlequin, and her own Orange Blossom series. Leigh lives on Central Florida’s East Coast where she writes complex, heartwarming, and emotional stories with a dash of Southern sass.

Connect with Leigh:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Goodreads

March 10, 2020March 9, 2020

Jacquie Biggar15 Comments

#BookReview- Amanda in Alberta by Darlene Foster #ChildrensMystery @SuperMegaWoman

Amanda is delighted to show Leah aaround Alberta during her visit from England. They take in the Calgary Stampede, go on a cattle drive, visit Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, spend time with the dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrrell Museum and explore the crazy Hoodoos.When Amanda finds a stone with a unique mark on it, she doesn’t think it’s important until everyone seems to want it – including a very ornery cowboy. Is this stone worth ruining Leah’s holiday and placing them both in danger?Spend time with Amanda as she explores her own country while attempting to decipher the mysterious writing on the stone and keep it from those determined to take it from her.

My Review

Amanda is excited to show her friend, Leah (visiting from England), the sites in southern Alberta.

While at the Calgary Stampede Parade, a clown drops a stone with strange markings. Amanda rescues the stone from the road and tries to get the clown’s attention, but he’s gone. She decides to hang onto the rock to see if her Great-Aunt Mary, a famous paleontologist, might know what the markings mean.

Strange and frightening encounters occur while the girls are sightseeing the Stampede, a working cattle ranch, Drumheller with its world-famous dinosaur museum, and Writing on Stone Park- a Unesco World Heritage site. Someone wants the stone back and they aren’t above hurting the girls to get it!

Amanda in Alberta is a fun, page-turning mystery with interesting tidbits of indigenous history along with Alberta landmarks thrown in.
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While geared toward the pre-teen age group, this book has something for every reader to enjoy.

I give Amanda in Alberta four lovely kisses- Traveling with Amanda is an adventure!

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February 24, 2020February 23, 2020

Jacquie Biggar39 Comments

#NewRelease- Malice by @PintipDunn #Thriller @InkSlingerPR

**Today we have an release blitz for Pintip Dunn’s new YA fantasy thriller Malice! Check it out and be sure to grab your copy today!**

Title: Malice

Author: Pintip Dunn

Genre: YA Thriller with Fantasy elements

About Malice:

What I know: a boy at my school will one day wipe out two-thirds of the population with a virus.

What I don’t know: who he is.

In a race against the clock, I not only have to figure out his identity, but I’ll have to outwit a voice from the future telling me to kill him. Because I’m starting to realize no one is telling the truth. But how can I play chess with someone who already knows the outcome of my every move? Someone so filled with malice she’s lost all hope in humanity? Well, I’ll just have to find a way―because now she’s drawn a target on the only boy I’ve ever loved…

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Exclusive Excerpt:

Before I know it, I’m a foot away from the basketball court. The players are taking a break, and Bandit stands at the edge of the concrete, taking long pulls from a water bottle. Up close, his brilliant hair looks almost purple, and his T-shirt sticks to his back in sweaty patches, hinting at his solid muscles.

Now what? Do I clear my throat? Tap his shoulder? Going for broke, I do both at the same time.

He turns and lifts his eyebrows, as though wondering how a mere mortal such as myself dares to approach him. He’s tall—really tall. Almost a head above my five feet five. His jaw is chiseled, his shoulders broad. I’m so close that I can feel the heat rising off his body.

My brain scrambles. I forgot to check if I had any food in my teeth! Did I brush my hair this morning? Put on clothes?

Okay, so clearly I’m not naked, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what I’m wearing. Please don’t let it be the navy T-shirt with the faded splotches on the shoulder, from when I accidentally added bleach instead of detergent to the laundry.

I glance down. Jeans and a white tank top—my favorite shirt because it has Lin-Manuel Miranda’s autograph. More than passable.

“I, uh…” My entire vocabulary chooses that moment to flee.

His lids lower, and he looks at me, decidedly bored. “Yes? Can I help you?”

Three, four, five of his basketball friends angle their towering bodies toward us, probably wondering what the interruption is about.

Sweat gathers at the nape of my neck, and electricity hums along my skin. The Voice is about to zap me again. I just know it.

“Running out of time,” the Voice pipes up, as if on cue. “Tell him.”

Say the words and be done with it. Say the words. Say. The. Words.

“I love you,” I blurt. “That is all. Goodbye.”

I wheel around, ready to sprint, when a hand snags my arm. His hand.

“Wait a minute,” Bandit says, his eyes 2 percent less bored. “Are we in third grade? Do you want to give me a note asking if I love you back, so I can circle yes or no?”

My cheeks burn hotter than the sun assaulting my skin. Hotter, even, than the flames that got me into this mess.

I could really use that alien abduction right about now.

The object of my supposed affection smirks. “We can skip the note. Can’t say I blame you for falling for me. I mean, I’m a lovable guy. But have we actually met?” He lowers his voice. “Outside of your wildest dreams, that is.”

What Kirkus Review is saying about Malice:

“Well-drawn characters and playful twists keep this thriller fully charged.”

About Pintip Dunn:

Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of young adult fiction. She graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B., and received her J.D. at Yale Law School.

Pintip’s novel FORGET TOMORROW won the 2016 RWA RITA® for Best First Book, and SEIZE TODAY won the 2018 RITA for Best Young Adult Romance. In addition, her books have been translated into four languages, and they have been nominated for the following awards: the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire; the Japanese Sakura Medal; the MASL Truman Award; the Tome Society It list; the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award; and a Kirkus Reviews Best Indie Book of the Year. Her other novels include REMEMBER YESTERDAY, THE DARKEST LIE, GIRL ON THE VERGE, STAR-CROSSED, and MALICE.

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February 4, 2020January 31, 2020

Jacquie BiggarLeave a comment

Rules of Engagement by @JTGeissinger #NewRelease #SportsRomance @jennw23

Love is a battlefield for a quirky matchmaker and the cocky football star who hires her to find him a wife.

Rules of Engagement, an all-new laugh-out-loud standalone sports romance from J.T. Geissinger, is available now!

As the owner of Perfect Pairings matchmaking service, Maddie McRae earns her living helping others fall in love. Dubbed the Wedding Whisperer due to her success getting couples down the aisle, the sweet Southern belle knows that the foundation of wedded bliss is built on similarities: opposites might attract, but they don’t stay together.

Which is why she’s holding out for her own Prince Charming, a perfect gentleman who will arrive one day and sweep her off her feet with his devotion, kindness, and charm.

Enter Mason Spark.

Rude, arrogant, and notoriously allergic to monogamy, the hottest quarterback in the NFL is Maddie’s polar opposite. He’s also her new client. Her gorgeous, infuriating new client who’s paying her an outrageous sum of money to find him a wife. With his multi-million dollar contract on the line due to his behavior on and off the field, bad boy Mason is willing to pretend to settle down.

But when he starts to fall for the adorkable matchmaker who can’t stand him, the playboy finds himself in the game of his life to keep something he never thought he’d lose—his heart.

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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Excerpt

He jerks his thumb at his mansion. “Don’t you want a tour?”

“Of Hearst Castle? No, thanks.”

His expression tells me how incomprehensible that is. “Everyone always wants a tour. Always.”

“I mean, it’s a very nice place, I’m sure.”

Now he looks insulted. He turns to stare at the house, then turns back to me. “Nice?”

“Please don’t take it personally. I’m not trying to start World War III here. A house like that just isn’t my thing.”

“Your thing?”

“Will you stop repeating everything I say?”

“It’s just that I’m having trouble with the fact that you don’t like my house. Everybody likes it. Everybody. Especially women.”

I sign in exasperation. “Oh, for goodness’ sake, Mason, I could give a flying fig what everyone else thinks. I’ll take my cozy little cottage over this place any day.”

“But why?”

I fold my arms across my chest and turn my torso toward him. “Why are you so upset that I don’t like it when you don’t like it, either?”

He shouts, “I never said I didn’t like it!”

“You didn’t have to. The closer we got to it, the more you constipated you looked.”

“That’s just my face!”

“Baloney. You hate your house. Admit it.”

Wild-eyed and wound up, he stares at me for a long, silent moment. Then he exhales in a huge gust and drops his head into his hands.

He says miserably, “I totally hate it. It’s awful, isn’t it?”

I pat his shoulder. “It’s beautiful, elegant, and absolutely ridiculous. Have you thought about asking the state legislature if they need new headquarters?”

He moans into his hands. “I don’t even have any furniture except a bed. You should hear how bad it echoes in there. And everything is marble, so it’s always freezing cold. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and think I’m sleeping in a mausoleum!”

I can’t help myself. I start laughing again.

He lifts his head and glares at me. “It’s not funny!”

“It’s so funny I can’t stand it.”

“Do you have any idea what I paid for this place?”

“Your gargantuan mausoleum?” I squint at it through the window. “I dunno. Bazillions?”

“Exactly! Bazillions!”

“I’m no financial whiz, Sparky, but I think they saw you coming.”

When he groans and drops his head against the headrest, closing his eyes, I try to reassure him. “I’m sure there’s some oil baron with twelve ex-wives and a hundred kids who’d love to move into it. With all the members of his country club. And their housekeeping staff.”

Mason opens his eyes and glares at me.

I try to stifle another laugh, but fail. “And the entire population of Portugal.”

“Ha ha.”

“Oh, lighten up. It’s not like you can’t sell it.”

Sounding panicked, he says, “But where would I live?”

“You say that like there are zero options between here and a cardboard box.”

“Name one.”

“There’s a house for sale at the end of my block.”

That astonishes him so much it leaves him speechless.

“You’re right,” I say solemnly. “It’s only a three-bedroom. There’s not enough space for both you and your ego.”

He looks away. “I’m just surprised you’d want me living on the same street as you.”

“Are you kidding? Imagine how much fun we could have screaming obscenities at each other over the backyard fences. The neighbors would love it.”

When he glances back at me and sees me smiling, he smiles, too. “Yeah, especially when they hear your PG version of cursing. ‘Dingwaddle’ this and ‘flying fig’ that. They won’t even know what language we’re speaking.”

We smile at each other so long it starts to get uncomfortable. I look away, patting my hair to make sure no stray strands have escaped from my bun.

After a rough throat clearing, Mason says, “I guess I’ll go in, then.”

“Okay. Goodnight. And thanks again for dinner. I love that place.”

When he doesn’t respond, I glance over at him. He’s staring back at me with the same warm look that flustered me at the restaurant. “You’re welcome, Pink. Anytime.”

“So I’ll send you all the information on Stephanie as soon as I vet her file. Okay?”

“Sure. Looking forward to it.”

An awkward silence follows. Finally, Mason breaks it by saying, “Sweet dreams.” He opens the door and starts to get out.

“Wait.”

He turns to me, his hand on the door and a question in his eyes.

“I, um, I need to say something.”

He groans. “You’re killing me, you know that?”

“No, this isn’t anything about you. You haven’t done anything wrong. This is about me.”

Eyes alight, he settles back into his seat. “This should be interesting.”

I search his face before I speak, because I want to be sure I don’t miss any change in his expression. “I’m sorry for teasing you about your ego. It’s not nice. And I don’t want you to think that I think there’s anything wrong with you, because I don’t.”

His face goes through several different emotions before it settles on something I can’t identify. It’s part pain and part pleasure, with a whole lot of ambivalence thrown in.

He says softly, “I know you don’t think there’s anything wrong with me. Which is what makes me assume your parents must’ve dropped you on your head a lot when you were a baby.”

“Oh, for crying out loud. I’m trying to apologize here!”

He grins. “You did. I heard you. And you don’t have to do it again, because I like it when you give me shit.”

When I quirk my lips, he amends quickly, “The business. I meant I like it when you give me the business. Nobody else mouths off to me the way you do.”

“Good to know,” I say, smiling. “Now that I know you like it, the gloves will come off, pal, so you better watch out.”

“I can hardly wait.”

We sit there grinning at each other, until Mason says, “Get outta here. I’ll talk to you next week.”

“Aye-aye, Captain.”

Then it all falls apart in slow motion.

I don’t know what makes me do it. I honestly don’t. One minute we’re smiling and saying goodbye, the next minute I’m impulsively leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Only he’s turning his head, so my target moves.

Where his cheek was supposed to be, suddenly his lips are there instead.

His warm, soft, beautiful lips, which part when they meet mine.

About J.T. Geissinger

J.T. Geissinger is a bestselling author of emotionally charged romance and women’s fiction. Ranging from funny, feisty rom coms to intense, edgy suspense, her books have sold more than one million copies and been translated into several languages.

She is the recipient of the Prism Award for Best First Book, the Golden Quill Award for Best Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, and is a two-time finalist for the RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America®. She has also been a finalist in the Booksellers’ Best, National Readers’ Choice, and Daphne du Maurier Awards.

Her first novel was published in 2012. Since then she’s written eighteen more novels. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, drinking wine, surfing the internet, and daydreaming about all the things she’s going to be when she grows up. She lives near the beach in Los Angeles with her husband and deaf/demented rescue kitty, Ginger.

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Website: http://www.jtgeissinger.com

January 29, 2020January 28, 2020

Jacquie BiggarLeave a comment

#BookReview- The Last Sister by Kendra Elliot #Mystery

Three sisters’ secrets collide in a shocking novel of suspense by the Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Mercy Kilpatrick series.

Twenty years ago Emily Mills’s father was murdered, and she found his body hanging in the backyard. Her younger sister, Madison, claims she was asleep in her room. Her older sister, Tara, claims she was out with friends. The tragedy drove their mother to suicide and Tara to leave town forever. The killer was caught. The case closed.

Ever since, Emily and Madison have tried to forget what happened that night—until an eerily similar murder brings it all back. It also brings FBI special agent Zander Wells to the Oregon logging town. As eager as he is to solve the brutal double slaying, he is just as intrigued with the mystery of Emily’s and her sisters’ past.

When more blood is shed, Zander suspects there’s a secret buried in this town no one wants unearthed. Is it something Emily and Madison don’t know? Or aren’t telling? And Tara? Maybe Emily can’t bear to find her. Because when Tara disappeared, she took a secret of her own with her.

Biography

***For a free Insider’s Guide to my novels, visit KendraElliot.com.***

Kendra Elliot has sold over 7 million books, hit the Wall Street Journal top ten bestseller list nine times, and is a three time winner of the Daphne du Maurier award.

Her 2017 release, A MERCIFUL DEATH, was a #1 Amazon overall bestseller and has been optioned for TV.

She is an International Thriller Writers’ finalist and a Romantic Times finalist. She grew up in the lush Pacific Northwest and still lives there with her family, three cats, and two Pomeranians. She’s always been fascinated with forensics, refuses to eat anything green, and can’t wait to wear flip flops every day.

My Review

Secrets from the past collide with a modern day murder in this thrilling suspense novel by Kendra Elliot!
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When restaurant owner Emily Mills goes to check up on a late-for-work employee, she comes upon a shocking crime scene. The woman is dead and her husband is found hanging in the backyard– a déjà vu moment for Emily who found her father the same way twenty years earlier.

A horrible coincidence or is there a mysterious connection?

FBI Agent Zander Wells is brought in to help the local sheriff’s department on a possible hate crime of a young couple, and finds a town steeped in secrecy.

As the investigation delves deep, a desperate criminal amps up his game, threatening Emily and her family. Will the truth cost the Mills girls their lives?

This is a gripping mystery with multiple storylines that all weave together into a surprising conclusion I didn’t see coming (Gotta love a good mystery!), but thought there were several threads left dangling by the end of the book to give it a 5* review. Racism is the leading factor in the storyline, yet the author doesn’t use it as a platform to teach us a valuable lesson- rather it’s sensationalized and then almost forgotten in the subsequent murder/mysteries that take place throughout the story. I feel that was an important moment lost.

Overall, a good story,

I give The Last Sister 4 lovely kisses

“I voluntarily read an ARC of this book which was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.”

Check out all of my book recommendations on BookBub

I love having guests on the blog. If you have a new release, a sale or just want to chat, send me an email via the contact page and we’ll set something up. Hope to see you soon!

January 28, 2020January 27, 2020

Jacquie Biggar21 Comments

#BookReview- Heartbreaker by @BJDanielsAuthor #Suspense

He’ll risk everything to rescue her…

Ex-military man Thom Grayson has debts to pay. So when a plane crashes in the mountains near his cabin, he’s hired to find the wreckage—and the kidnapped woman believed to be the sole survivor. But when he locates Geneva, or “JJ” as she insists on being called, she’s not at all what he expected.

JJ isn’t sure she can trust the mysterious man who’s come to her rescue. But she has secrets of her own—secrets she’ll do anything to keep. So she’ll follow his instructions and keep her distance to get off this mountain alive without blowing her cover. As dangerous conditions force them together—and the undeniable chemistry between them ignites—he’ll protect her at any cost. But when the morning light comes, will the truth tear them apart?

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2RKvjj5

Biography

NYT and USA Today Bestselling author B.J. Daniels was born in Texas but moved with her family to Montana at the age of five. Her first home was a cabin in the Gallatin Canyon and later a lake house on Hebgen Lake outside of West Yellowstone.

Most of her books are set in Montana, a place she loves. She lives now in a unique part of the state with her husband and three Springer Spaniels.

When she isn’t writing, she loves to play tennis, boat, camp, quilt and snowboard. There is nothing she enjoys more than curling up with a good book.

http://www.bjdaniels.com

My Review

When JJ helps herself to a client’s fancy lake-house for the weekend, she doesn’t expect to be accosted, drugged, and flown into the mountains- and then the plane crashes and the fun really begins!

After Thom loses his wife, he closes himself off and builds a cabin in the woods. But when an old friend comes to him for help, Thom can’t say no. Little does he realize that the spoiled, rich granddaughter he’s supposed to be searching for isn’t the one he finds.

This is a fast-paced romantic suspense with enough twists and turns to keep me turning the pages. The mountainous setting is well-written and adds another layer to what is an adventurous story.

I give Heartbreaker 4 lovely kisses- Fun Read!

“I voluntarily read an ARC of this book which was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.”

Check out all of my book recommendations on BookBub

I love having guests on the blog. If you have a new release, a sale or just want to chat, send me an email via the contact page and we’ll set something up. Hope to see you soon!

January 22, 2020January 22, 2020

Jacquie Biggar9 Comments

Making You Mine by @Melissa_Foster #Romance #Reading @InkSlingerPR

**Today we have the release week blitz for Melissa Foster’s MAKING YOU MINE! Check out this fantastic new contemporary romance and be sure to grab your copy today!**

Title: MAKING YOU MINE

Author: Melissa Foster

Genre: Contemporary Romance

About MAKING YOU MINE:

Discover the magic of New York Times bestseller Melissa Foster’s writing and see why millions of readers have fallen in love with the fiercely loyal and sassily sexy characters in the Love in Bloom big-family romance collection. Love in Bloom novels are written to stand alone or may be enjoyed as part of the larger series, so dive right into this fun, sexy romance featuring Graham Braden’s business partner, Knox Bentley!

In MAKING YOU MINE…
Knox Bentley never liked the pomp and circumstance that came with being wealthy. He’d distanced himself from his pretentious family and their fortune as a young adult and found his own path to success. But even with the world at his fingertips, he realizes something is missing, and after a long stay overseas, he finally knows exactly what it is. His no-strings-attached hookups with Aubrey Stewart, an exquisite and stubbornly independent blonde, are no longer enough for him. They connect on every level, but Aubrey is a fierce businesswoman with a new movie channel on the horizon and no time for much else. She is the deal he can’t close, the precious jewel even his billions can’t buy. Now that he’s back in the States, he’s determined to show her that what they have goes beyond the bedroom and finally make her his.

Love in Bloom novels feature alpha male heroes and sexy, empowered women. They’re flawed, funny, passionate, and relatable to readers who enjoy contemporary romance and women’s fiction. For avid readers of the Love in Bloom series, you may have met sexy and hilarious Knox Bentley, Graham Braden’s business partner, in Trails of Love, and Aubrey Stewart, one of the badass billionaire founders of the Ladies Who Write (LWW), in Anything for Love.

Get Your Copy Today!

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Also available in audio

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Excerpt

Aubrey opened the gift box slowly, surprised to find a black and gold lipstick container.

“Oh my gosh.” Presley snagged the gift and inspected it. “Yup. Tom Ford’s Original Sin. You’ve got yourself a classy dirty boy.”

“Give me that.” Aubrey grabbed the lipstick and set it on the desk. She lifted another note from the box and read it. “‘Because putting on lipstick usually leads to taking these off.’” She shot a look at her friends. “This ought to be good.” She whipped off the lid, and her body tingled at the sight of a black lace thong and matching bra nestled within the tissue paper.

“Wow. Those are gorgeous,” Libby said. “May I?”

Aubrey shrugged and held out the box for Libby to feel the material.

“That’s Agent Provocateur,” Presley said as she admired the lingerie. “It’s made with French lace. Gorgeous. The man has—”

“Invaded my personal space and my privacy.” Aubrey snapped the lid back on the box, trying to ignore her racy thoughts of Knox tearing them off her.

“And I’m about to invade it even more.”

They all spun around at the sound of Knox’s deep, sexy voice. There he stood, six-plus feet of gorgeousness, clad in a black leather jacket, jeans, and black boots that probably cost more than Aubrey’s desk. A charming smile lifted his lips as he said, “Hello, ladies.”

About Melissa Foster:

Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance, new adult romance and women’s fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Readers adore Melissa’s fun, flirty, and sinfully sexy, award-winning big family romance collection, LOVE IN BLOOM featuring the Snow Sisters, Bradens, Remingtons, Ryders, Seaside Summer, Harborside Nights, and the Wild Boys After Dark. Melissa’s emotional journeys are lovingly erotic and always family oriented.

Melissa also writes sweet and clean romance under the pen name Addison Cole.

Melissa has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Her interests include her family, reading, writing, painting, friends, helping others see the positive side of life, and visiting Cape Cod.

Melissa is available to chat with book clubs and welcomes comments and emails from her readers. Visit Melissa on social media or her personal website.

Never miss a brand new release, special promotions or inside gossip again by simply signing up to receive your newsletter from Melissa.

Connect with Melissa:

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January 22, 2020January 22, 2020

Jacquie BiggarLeave a comment

The Story of Us by @TeriWilsonAuthr #Romance #Reading @Hallmark @InkSlingerPR

**Today we have the excerpt reveal for Teri Wilson’s upcoming romance from Hallmark, THE STORY OF US! Check out the excerpt and be sure to pre-order your copy today!**

Title: The Story of Us

Author: Teri Wilson

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Hallmark

About The Story of Us:

A box of love letters from the past
may hold the key to the future…

Jamie always adored True Love Bookstore and Café, and now she’s the owner. But businesses are struggling in her small town, and her beloved store is threatened by a new retail development scheme.

Sawyer, Jamie’s former high school sweetheart, startles her when he comes to town for the first time in fifteen years. She soon learns he’s the architect of the proposed development and he’s there to sell local business owners on his plan. Sawyer had no idea that Jamie had bought the bookstore and poured everything she had into it. If he takes it over, he’ll break her heart a second time.
Jamie’s discovery of a box of old love letters and valentines might hold the key to saving her shop. And after all this time, could love be in the cards for Jamie and Sawyer, too?

Pre-Order Your Copy Today:

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Exclusive Excerpt:

Sawyer’s gaze locked onto hers, and as much as Jamie knew she should look away, she just couldn’t. The lines around his eyes were new, as were the sharp angles of his jawline, but those warm brown irises of his were exactly the same. These were the eyes that had seen her at a time when no one else had. She’d been nothing but a quiet, book-loving dreamer, and he’d brought her out of her shell and shown her that the world could be every bit as colorful and vibrant in reality as it was in the novels she loved so much.

Meeting Sawyer O’Dell had changed her. He’d helped her become the woman she was today, because she’d loved the person he’d seen when he’d looked at her with those eyes—interesting, enchanting.

His.

What would it be like to feel that way again? To be loved and cherished by the only person she’d ever truly wanted to build a life with? To have her heart put back together by the man who’d broken it when he’d been just a boy?

The thought was intoxicating. It made her do things she knew she shouldn’t—like step closer to him so that their breath mingled together in the evergreen air, causing her to smile to herself as his gaze drifted slowly, purposefully to her lips. Her breath hitched as he dipped his head. She’d never wanted a kiss so badly in her life— not even when she’d been sixteen years old and he’d bent toward her in the exact same way for the very first time.

His hand was on her waist and his lips were just a whisper away—a heartbeat, a breath, a memory. And Jamie’s heart felt as if it were opening like a favorite book, one whose pages hadn’t been read in a long, long time. She let her eyes drift closed, because she knew this story by heart. The story of Sawyer and Jamie…

The story of us.

But in the sliver of a second before their lips met, someone said Jamie’s name, and the book slammed shut.

“Jamie?”

Her eyes flew open. She and Sawyer blinked at each other, as if they couldn’t quite get their bearings. Then they both turned their heads in the direction of the speaker.

No. Jamie’s stomach tied itself into a knot. It couldn’t be him. What on earth was he doing there?

She bit her bottom lip, still tingling from the missed opportunity. She’d been waiting fifteen years to kiss Sawyer O’Dell again, and apparently, she’d have to wait even longer. “Matt?”

About Teri Wilson:

Teri Wilson is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author of romance, women’s fiction and romantic comedy. Three of Teri’s books have been adapted into Hallmark Channel Original Movies by Crown Media, including UNLEASHING MR. DARCY (plus its sequel MARRYING MR. DARCY), THE ART OF US and NORTHERN LIGHTS OF CHRISTMAS, based on her book SLEIGH BELL SWEETHEARTS. She is also a recipient of the prestigious RITA Award for excellence in romantic fiction for her novel THE BACHELOR’S BABY SURPRISE. Teri has a major weakness for cute animals, pretty dresses and Audrey Hepburn films, and she loves following the British royal family. Visit her at http://www.teriwilson.net or on Twitter @TeriWilsonauthr.

Connect with Teri:

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January 20, 2020January 18, 2020

Jacquie BiggarLeave a comment

#BookReview- A Conspiracy of Bones by @KathyReichs #Mystery

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs returns with a new riveting novel featuring her vastly popular character forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, who must use all her tradecraft to discover the identity of a faceless corpse, its connection to a decade-old missing child case, and why the dead man had her cell phone number.

It’s sweltering in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Temperance Brennan, still recovering from neurosurgery following an aneurysm, is battling nightmares, migraines, and what she thinks might be hallucinations when she receives a series of mysterious text messages, each containing a new picture of a corpse that is missing its face and hands. Immediately, she’s anxious to know who the dead man is, and why the images were sent to her.

An identified corpse soon turns up, only partly answering her questions.

To win answers to the others, including the man’s identity, she must go rogue, working mostly outside the system. That’s because Tempe’s new boss holds a fierce grudge against her and is determined to keep her out of the case. Tempe bulls forward anyway, even as she begins questioning her instincts. But the clues she discovers are disturbing and confusing. Was the faceless man a spy? A trafficker? A target for assassination by the government? And why was he carrying the name of a child missing for almost a decade?

With help from a number of law enforcement associates including her Montreal beau Andrew Ryan and the always-ready-with-a-smart-quip, ex-homicide investigator Skinny Slidell, and utilizing new cutting-edge forensic methods, Tempe draws closer to the astonishing truth.

But the more she uncovers, the darker and more twisted the picture becomes…

Biography

Kathy Reichs’s first novel Déjà Dead catapulted her to fame when it became a New York Times bestseller and won the 1997 Ellis Award for Best First Novel. Her other Temperance Brennan novels include Death du Jour, Deadly Décisions, Fatal Voyage, Grave Secrets, Bare Bones, Monday Mourning, Cross Bones, Break No Bones, Bones to Ashes, Devil Bones, 206 Bones, Spider Bones, Flash and Bones, Bones Are Forever, Bones of the Lost, Bones Never Lie, Speaking in Bones and the Temperance Brennan short story collection, The Bone Collection. In addition, Kathy co-authors the Virals young adult series with her son, Brendan Reichs. The best-selling titles are: Virals, Seizure, Code, Exposure, and Terminal along with two Virals e-novellas, Shift and Swipe. These books follow the adventures of Temperance Brennan’s great niece, Tory Brennan. Dr. Reichs is also a producer of the hit Fox TV series, Bones, which is based on her work and her novels.

From teaching FBI agents how to detect and recover human remains, to separating and identifying commingled body parts in her Montreal lab, as a forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs has brought her own dramatic work experience to her mesmerizing forensic thrillers. For years she consulted to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina, and continues to do so for the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Québec. Dr. Reichs has travelled to Rwanda to testify at the UN Tribunal on Genocide, and helped exhume a mass grave in Guatemala. As part of her work at JPAC (Formerly CILHI) she aided in the identification of war dead from World War II, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Dr. Reichs also assisted with identifying remains found at ground zero of the World Trade Center following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Dr. Reichs is one of only 100 forensic anthropologists ever certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. She served on the Board of Directors and as Vice President of both the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, and is currently a member of the National Police Services Advisory Council in Canada. She is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

Dr. Reichs is a native of Chicago, where she received her Ph.D. at Northwestern. She now divides her time between Charlotte, NC and Montreal, Québec.

My Review

Pulse-pounding suspense ride!

Temperance Brennan is recovering from a delicate surgery and suffers from migraines and nightmares, so the last thing she needs is a strange man lurking in the shadows of her home late at night. But when she goes out to look for him he vanishes.

Then, a series af ghastly photographs are sent to her via text messages and leads her to a faceless corpse. Her new boss blocks her at every turn, forcing Tempe to work outside the system in order to track down the victim’s identity and his link to her.

This is my first Kathy Reichs book- though I LOVE the television series- and I was excited to get my grubby little hands on it. As you can see by her impressive bio, Dr. Reichs knows her stuff and this led to a, sometimes, jaw-dropping read!

Told in first party, it took me a bit to get into Tempe’s character, but I think that’s my own lack of knowledge and nothing to do with the quality of writing. The book is intelligent, gritty, clever, and filled with plot twists to keep even the most diehard mystery reader guessing.

I give A Conspiracy of Bones 5 lovely kisses- good stuff!

“I voluntarily read an ARC of this book which was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.”

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January 11, 2020January 10, 2020

Jacquie Biggar13 Comments

#BookReview- A Better Man by Louise Penny #Mystery

Catastrophic spring flooding, blistering attacks in the media, and a mysterious disappearance greet Chief Inspector Armand Gamache as he returns to the Sûreté du Québec in the latest novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny.

It’s Gamache’s first day back as head of the homicide department, a job he temporarily shares with his previous second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Flood waters are rising across the province. In the middle of the turmoil a father approaches Gamache, pleading for help in finding his daughter.

As crisis piles upon crisis, Gamache tries to hold off the encroaching chaos, and realizes the search for Vivienne Godin should be abandoned. But with a daughter of his own, he finds himself developing a profound, and perhaps unwise, empathy for her distraught father.

Increasingly hounded by the question, how would you feel…, he resumes the search.

As the rivers rise, and the social media onslaught against Gamache becomes crueler, a body is discovered. And in the tumult, mistakes are made.

In the next novel in this “constantly surprising series that deepens and darkens as it evolves” (New York Times Book Review), Gamache must face a horrific possibility, and a burning question.

What would you do if your child’s killer walked free?

Biography

LOUISE PENNY is the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. She has won numerous awards, including a CWA Dagger and the Agatha Award (five times) and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. She lives in a small village south of Montréal.

My Review

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache returns to duty on the eve of his son-in-law’s resignation amid internal upheavals, catastrophic spring flooding, and the murder of the young, pregnant goddaughter of one of his agents.

As Montreal, and most of Quebec, is threatened by bursting dams and rivers ready to burst their banks, Armand is thwarted at every turn by those who had him removed as head of the Sôreté. Adding to the stress, he’s pulled between his concern for the province and the distraught father of the missing woman.

While the investigation seems to lead in an obvious direction, evidence is hard to find. The closer the agents come to making an arrest, the more questions arise, making this case one of the hardest Gamache and Beauvoir have been faced with.

Louise Penny is a master of suspense!

Within the first few pages, the reader is fully invested in the characters. The love and trust between Jean-Guy and Armand is so strong we hurt when they hurt, and cheer when they succeed against impossible odds. Their relationship is complex, with Beauvoir now sharing his mentor’s office as head of the Sôreté, as well as being the husband and father to Armand’s daughter and grandson.

Three Pines, the Gamaches adopted village, is a key part of each book, with its cast of eclectic characters. I adore grouchy old Ruth and her swearing duck (really!), the gay couple who run the inn, Clara and her strange but talented paintings, and many more. The village is so realistically written, I feel as though I could drive there myself!

Each book in this series is easily read as a standalone, though it does have an overarching storyline.

I give A Better Man 5+ lovely kisses- recommended reading!

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January 7, 2020January 6, 2020

Jacquie Biggar23 Comments

#BookReview- Return to Christmas by Anne Stuart #HolidayRomance

Madison Simcoe has had enough. She’s a cold, lonely workaholic who’s been harassed one too many times by a fellow worker, it’s Christmas and the spirit is gone, and she feels like a stranger in her own life. A little retail therapy should cheer her up.

Macy’s is huge, a giant store full of wonders, and Madison’s happy place. So when she decides to indulge herself, pushing through the big doors on a cold afternoon in December, she’s not expecting to suddenly find herself in 1947, unable to leave the huge building. And she’s certainly not expecting to find incredibly hot Johnny Larsen, former Army spy during WWII, with a buttload of PTSD, artistic brilliance, and bad attitude, looking out for her.

Bad things happen, even at Christmas, but there’s magic in the air, and Madison is inconveniently in love with a man who must be long dead. Surely there’s a happy ending among the mistletoe and holly?

Biography

I’ve been writing since the dawn of time. A child prodigy, I made my first professional sale to Jack and Jill Magazine at the age of 7, for which I received $25 (admittedly my father worked for the publisher). Since then I’ve written gothics, regencies, romantic suspense, historical romance, series romance — anything with sex and violence, love and redemption. I misbehave frequently, but somehow have managed to amass lots of glittering prizes, like NYT, PW and USA Today bestseller status, Lifetime Achievement Award from the Romance Writers of America, and a decent smattering of Romantic times and RITA awards.
I live on a lake in Northern Vermont with my incredibly fabulous husband. My two children have flown the coop, but our two rescue cats do their best to keep us from being lonely.
In my spare time I quilt and play around with wearable art, and the rest of the time I write write write. Apparently women of a certain age get a rush of creativity, and I’m currently enjoying it. Too many stories to write, not enough hours in the day.

My Review

Madison is disenchanted with her job and the sexual harassment she faces on a daily basis. The holiday lights and gaiety add to her loneliness and she decides to drown her sorrows in the ritz and glamour of Macy’s.

The moment she enters through the revolving glass doors, she realizes something has changed; people are dressed in clothing from another era, but she assumes she’s stumbled into an expensive ad campaign.

Boy, was she wrong.

Johnny Larson is running away from nightmarish memories of the war and only wants to be left alone. But he can’t ignore the beautiful, confusing young woman who literally lands in his arms.

This was a different take on a time travel romance by one of the stars of the genre- Anne Stuart.

She has an amazing talent for taking a broken, unlikable hero and turning him into one the reader not only empathizes with but falls madly in love with. She is one talented writer and an inspiration to many.

Have you read any Anne Stuart books? Are you a fan?

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January 6, 2020January 5, 2020

Jacquie Biggar7 Comments

Can’t Buy Me Love by Janet Elizabeth Henderson #Romance #amreading @XpressoReads

Can’t Buy Me Love
Janet Elizabeth Henderson
(Sinclair Sisters Trilogy, #3)
Publication date: December 25th 2019
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

Three awesome series meet in one explosive book!

It turned out hell was a small town in the Scottish Highlands. Oh, sure, the locals called it Invertary, but Agnes Sinclair knew better—the town even had an old woman everyone called Satan. If that wasn’t a sign she was in hell, she didn’t know what was. All Agnes had ever wanted was to get out of Scotland, and now she was stuck there with no escape. And all because of one teeny, tiny incident (he totally deserved it!) that got her blacklisted in the hotel industry. Now, her only career option is managing a hotel owned by a guy who looks like Disco Santa, in a town where everyone marched to their own damn beat. And, as if being trapped in hell wasn’t bad enough, a spate of thefts at the hotel makes the owner call in a member of Benson Security to help her get to the bottom of them. Agnes doesn’t need help. She especially doesn’t need it from a sexy single father whose every breath tempts her to reevaluate what she wants out of life. A man who makes her wonder if Invertary is where she truly belongs.

***This is a full length, standalone romance with an HEA***

**It includes characters from the Invertary (Scottish Highlands) series and the Benson Security Series**

*You don’t need to have read any other books in any series to enjoy this one!*

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—

EXCERPT:

This is the start of the book, where we find out the heroine is in a job she doesn’t want and the hotel she works in has been suffering a spate of thefts since she started. No clues for guessing who’s suspect number one! So, the hotel owner calls in a member of the local security team to look into things. And Logan and Agnes do NOT hit it off!

It turned out the Catholics were right—purgatory was real. And it was a small town in the Scottish Highlands. Oh, sure, the locals called it Invertary, but Agnes Sinclair knew better. She wasn’t fooled by the picturesque loch or the rows of crooked white houses. Invertary was where souls came to have the hope sucked out of them—or whatever it was that happened in purgatory. Not being Catholic, Agnes wasn’t sure what went on there, but with a name like purgatory, it couldn’t be good. All she knew for sure was that she’d only been in town for three weeks, and already she’d lost the will to live.

“You called a security firm to investigate me?” She glared at her new boss, Dougal Jamieson, the owner of Invertary’s only hotel, and he didn’t even squirm.

He tugged down his red tartan waistcoat, which he’d teamed with a pink button-down shirt, and glared back. “I called them in to investigate the thefts. The ones you informed me were happening. Was I supposed to ignore them?”

“You were supposed to let me do my job and investigate them myself. That’s why you employed a hotel manager. To free you up to take care of the pub and build your new conference center.” The conference center that was still in the planning stage because the land Dougal needed to build it was being held hostage by an old woman the town called Satan. Which seemed appropriate, because if this was truly purgatory, Satan should live in it. Right? She really needed to find a Catholic and have them explain this stuff to her.

“You might be the day-to-day manager, but this is still my business,” Dougal snapped.

It was clear to Agnes, after only three weeks in the job, that Dougal didn’t actually want to let go of the responsibility of managing his hotel. So he’d taken to managing her instead.

In detail.

Every.

Single.

Day.

His micromanagement was beginning to make her skin crawl, and the urge to gag him and lock him in a closet grew stronger by the minute.

Dougal’s white brows furrowed as he huffed a breath that made his matching mustache and beard flutter. Her boss was Santa dressed as Elton John, with a booming voice and a deep Highland burr. Talking to him was like having a bad acid trip.

It was on the tip of her tongue to demand to know why he’d hired her when he seemed so set on doing the job himself. But Agnes already knew the answer—her sister’s husband had talked him into it. Yep, that’s how pathetic she’d become. Even though she’d spent ten years studying part time to get a degree in hotel management and had countless hours of practical experience under her belt, she needed her sister to find her a job.

There were days, like this one, when she second-guessed the decision that’d landed her in her current predicament. She’d been offered a job managing a large hotel that was part of a famous chain, and all she’d had to do to secure the position was have sex with the owner. Agnes had politely declined, kicking his nuts into next week as she did so. Less than twenty-four hours later, she’d been blacklisted throughout the entire UK hotel network. Which had led her to this moment—a face-off with disco Santa.

She should have had sex with the creepy hotel owner.

Taking a fortifying breath, she reached deep for what little patience ran in her genes. “I know this is your hotel, and I understand that I work for you. But I just want the opportunity to do my job before you decide you need someone else to do it for me.”

“This isn’t a judgment of your abilities.” Dougal’s voice reverberated off the walls. “It’s an attempt to give you some help. Benson Security can investigate the thefts while you manage the hotel.”

What was left hanging in the air between them was the fact the bulk of the thefts had only started when she’d arrived in Invertary. She looked her boss straight in the eye. “I’m not the one stealing from you.”

He smacked a beefy hand on her desk. “Did I say that?” He turned to the man leaning in the doorway. The man Agnes had been steadily ignoring since he’d arrived with her boss ten minutes earlier. “Did I, at any point, suggest my manager was stealing from me?”

Agnes tossed her long, straight blonde hair over her shoulder, folded her arms over her gray suit jacket, and tapped her toe. Yes, what exactly did the almighty ‘security specialist’ think of this situation?

The corner of the man’s mouth quirked as he uncrossed his arms and ankles and stepped into the room. At about five foot eight or nine, he wasn’t massively tall, but he would still tower over her. He wore a black long-sleeved tee with the sleeves pushed up, a pair of dark blue jeans, and brown suede boots. His thick, mahogany hair, shorter at the sides, was pulled back in a rough right parting. He reminded her of a younger Tom Cruise. Only with a nose that’d been broken at some point and set crooked. They shared the same lean, muscled physique, and the same amused sparkle in their eyes.

“What I think,” he said, “is that we all need to take a step back and calm down.”

And that was all she needed to hear to know he was an ex-cop—it was in his tone. The same tone she’d heard many times over the years. Perfect. This was just what she needed.

Author Bio:

Janet is a Scot who moved to New Zealand fifteen years ago. Among other things, she’s been an artist, a teacher, a security guard at a castle, a magazine editor, and a cleaner in a drop in center for drug addicts (NOT the best job!). She now writes full-time and is working on her 19th book. Her books have won several awards, including the Daphne du Maurier award for excellence in mystery and suspense. When she isn’t living in her head, she raises two kids, one husband, and several random animals. She survives on chocolate and caffeine.

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December 23, 2019December 22, 2019

Jacquie BiggarLeave a comment

In the Dark by Loreth Anne White #Suspense #BookReview @Loreth

A secluded mountain lodge. The perfect getaway. So remote no one will ever find you.

The promise of a luxury vacation at a secluded wilderness spa has brought together eight lucky guests. But nothing is what they were led to believe. As a fierce storm barrels down and all contact with the outside is cut off, the guests fear that it’s not a getaway. It’s a trap.

Each one has a secret. Each one has something to hide. And now, as darkness closes in, they all have something to fear—including one another.

Alerted to the vanished party of strangers, homicide cop Mason Deniaud and search and rescue expert Callie Sutton must brave the brutal elements of the mountains to find them. But even Mason and Callie have no idea how precious time is. Because the clock is ticking, and one by one, the guests of Forest Shadow Lodge are being hunted. For them, surviving becomes part of a diabolical game.

Amazon

Biography

Loreth Anne White is an internationally bestselling author of thrillers, mysteries, and romantic suspense. A three-time RITA finalist, she is also the Overall 2017 Daphne du Maurier Award winner, and she has won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Romantic Crown for Best Romantic Suspense and Best Book Overall, in addition to being a Booksellers’ Best finalist, and a multiple CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award winner.

A recovering journalist who has worked in both South Africa and Canada, she now resides in the haunting mountains of the Pacific Northwest with her family … where she tries to avoid the bears, albeit unsuccessfully! When she’s not writing, you will find her skiing, biking, or hiking the trails with her dog (aka the Black Beast). Or open water swimming. She calls this work, because that’s when the best ideas come.

You find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Loreth.Anne.White
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/Loreth
Or connect with her via her website at:
http://www.lorethannewhite.com

Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger on Pexels.com

My Review

The Truth Shall Set You Free!

Eight guests board a floatplane for a luxury trip into British Columbia’s wild interior. They expect to be pampered at a fancy new spa, and maybe come away with new job opportunities- what they don’t know is they are about to become pawns in a game where the only outcome is… death.

RCMP officer Mason Deniaud is transferred to the back of beyond when he goes off the rails after the loss of his wife and child. He expects to face some vandalism and speeding infractions- not a serial killer.

SAR expert Callie Sutton knows her mountains, so when a call comes in for a downed floatplane her team is called to action. She doesn’t expect the handsome, moody new cop who insists on being part of the rescue attempt- or the horrifically murdered body they find.

Callie and Mason soon learn there may be more people in danger and set out to find them with a huge storm on the horizon. But rain and snow isn’t the only hazard they will face.

This is a fast-paced, thrilling whodunit that kept me guessing until the very end. As with all of Loreth Anne White’s books, her settings are eerie and atmospheric.
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The spooky lodge, secretive guests/prisoners, cryptic clues, a sinister poem, and a chessboard with pieces that keep losing their heads (literally!) all add to the mystery.

I give In The Dark 4.5 lovely kisses- dark and gritty suspense!

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November 30, 2019November 29, 2019

Jacquie Biggar11 Comments

The Princess Plan by @JuliaFLondon #Read #Romance @InkSlingerPR

**Today we have the blog tour for THE PRINCESS PLAN by Julia London! Check it out and be sure to grab your copy November 19^th!**

Title: The Princess Plan

Author: Julia London

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: November 19^th

About The Princess Plan:

Princes have pomp and glory—not murdered secretaries and crushes on commoners.

Nothing gets the tongues of London’s high society wagging like a good scandal. And when the personal secretary of the visiting Prince Sebastian of Alucia is found murdered, it’s all anyone can talk about, including Eliza Tricklebank. Her unapologetic gossip gazette has benefited from an anonymous tip about the crime, prompting Sebastian to take an interest in playing detective—and an even greater interest in Eliza.

With a trade deal on the line and mounting pressure to secure a noble bride, there’s nothing more salacious than a prince dallying with a commoner. Sebastian finds Eliza’s contrary manner as frustrating as it is seductive, but they’ll have to work together if they’re going to catch the culprit. And when things heat up behind closed doors, it’s the prince who’ll have to decide what comes first—his country or his heart.

Advanced Praise for The Princess Plan

“It completely charmed me… the chemistry is so delicious. I simply didn’t want to put it down.” —Nicola Cornick, USA TODAY bestselling author

“Charming, witty and warm. This is perfect historical romance.” —Sarah Morgan, USA TODAY bestselling author

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Excerpt:

Eliza knew her gown was not as beautiful as any of the other garments here. It was rather plain in comparison, really. She and Poppy had created it from two dresses. Poppy was quite talented with a needle, as it happened.

Eliza was talented, curiously enough, with the repair of clocks.

Her gown, made of white silk and blue tarlatan with sprays of blue flowers, floated over three tiers of skirt. Her waist and sleeves were adorned with ribbons bought for a dear sum from Mr. Key’s shop. The décolletage was scandalously low, but Hollis said that was the current fashion. It dipped into a little bouquet of gold and blue silk rosettes that bloomed between her breasts. “The gold matches your hair,” Poppy had observed as she’d curled and roped tresses of Eliza’s hair this evening, twining it with strands of gold leaf.

“Doesn’t it seem as if a clump of sod was dropped here and flowers sprang?” Eliza asked, trying to adjust the low bodice.

Poppy had cocked her dark head to one side and considered it. “Not…especially.” Her tone lacked conviction, and Eliza gave her a pointed look as she took in their reflections in the mirror, to let her know she didn’t believe her.

Hollis had proclaimed Eliza’s mask the best of the three that Caroline had bought from Mrs. Cubison, who was, according to Hollis, the premier modiste in all of London. It covered Eliza’s forehead and nose, and gold scrolls had been painted around the eyes. The mask rose from the right side of her face, sweeping up and arcing over her head. “It’s the Venetian style,” Hollis informed her.

Eliza didn’t know what style it was and would have no occasion to know, and neither did she care. She was grateful to Caroline for the invitation and for the very generous gift of the mask, but it seemed an extravagant waste of money to Eliza’s practical nature. Of the three of them, she was the one who seldom made social calls, who rarely received invitations that were not to do with her father. Who never had occasion to set foot in a masquerade ball. That was what happened to spinster caretakers—they fell from the view of society. Were it not for her dearest sister and wildly popular dearest friend, she’d never go anywhere at all. And even then, on the occasions she was included, she generally had her father to consider.

But tonight, she’d been utterly transformed into someone very different. She wore perfume where she generally smelled like old books and court papers. Her hair was artfully arranged instead of being bound haphazardly at her nape. And her borrowed shoes were embroidered, not scuffed like the ones she wore about the house every day. Thanks to Caroline’s magic, she was standing in Kensington Palace in an evening gown and wearing an exotic mask. To say this ball was a luxury for her was a terrible understatement. She intended to breathe in every moment and carry the memory of it around with her for the rest of her days. She didn’t fancy herself a Cinderella.

At least not until she discovered the glittery magic of the queen’s rum punch.

About Julia London:

Julia London is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of more than thirty romantic fiction novels. She is the author of the popular Cabot Sisters historical series, including The Trouble with Honor, The Devil Takes a Bride, and The Scoundrel and the Debutante. She is also the author of several contemporary romances, including Homecoming Ranch, Return to Homecoming Ranch and The Perfect Homecoming.

Julia is the recipient of the RT Bookclub Award for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction.

She lives in Austin, Texas.

Connect with the Author:

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November 20, 2019November 12, 2019

Jacquie Biggar2 Comments

Some Like it Plaid by @AngelaQuarles #NewRelease #TimeTravel @InkSlingerPR

**Today we have the release blitz for Some Like it Plaid by Angela Quarles! Check it out and be sure to grab your copy today!**

Title: Some Like It Plaid

Author: Angela Quarles

Genre: Time Travel Romance

About Some Like It Plaid:

When Ashley Miller sees a Craigslist ad for an all-expense paid vacation to Scotland with a handsome Highland “escort”, she’s all over it. Worn out from working two jobs to pay off the debts her scam artist ex-husband left her with, she just needs a friggin’ break already. Rolling, misty mountains of the Scottish Highlands, here she comes!

But one minute she’s sipping a latte and the next she’s zapped to the 2nd century and promptly informed she’s managed to wed her handsome Highlander without even an “I do.” Oh, hell no.

After a devastating tragedy, Connall’s tribe is left with few marriageable women. When his Druid priest suggests a place filled with bonnie lasses, he of course agrees to go fetch one for himself. But nothing prepared Connall for his sassy new wife, nor his tribe for a woman determined to see equal rights for all women.

Now the men are threatening revolt if he can’t rein his young wife in, but it might be too late. The women are demanding the men get “woke”—which of course makes no sense because they already woke that morn—and give women “the vote,” whatever the bloody hell that is. Despite all that, Connall can’t stop wanting to convince his wife to get naked, and he’s starting to wonder if he’s been bewitched.

Only the more he gets to know her, the more he starts to think she’s just what they needed. If only he survives her next demand…

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Exclusive Excerpt:

“Head out? Where are we?” That trickle of unease bloomed in her heart, her breath catching. Because his words were different. Somehow, he was speaking in a lilting but foreign language, and she’d not only understood every single word, but had answered in the same language.

To distract herself and, well, because her stomach chose that moment to growl, as if it knew she’d just been handed food and was all, Gimme, woman, she took a bite of bread.

The yeasty flavor burst on her tongue, along with the taste and crunch of oodles of grains. No dream she’d ever had was this vivid. The details were sharp, down to her being cold. And to the odd taste and texture of the bread. And her hunger.

The taste, though—a fuzzy memory poked. She took another bite, trying to chase it. Whatever it was, it had been buried so far in her past she couldn’t form it. Except for a fleeting, wonderful feeling of being cherished.

“Aye, we need to break camp and head to my tribe’s stronghold. And we’re in a land called Scotland.”

That last word was not in the same language—instead it was in her own—and he said it as if it were a strange word to him.

“What happened? How did we get here?” She’d asked this last night, but maybe he’d change his answer.

He strode toward her and knelt. She appreciated he would no doubt repeat himself but took the time to listen to her and patiently explain. “Mungan, our spellcaster, weaved strong magic. Brought me to your land, and then brought us both back here.” He held up a round stone incised with two parallel deep grooves around its center. As if that explained everything.

The hell it does. Some dude, even in a dream, was just whisking her about?

He waved to the two horses. “They left us mounts to ease our journey.”

She swallowed, trying to work moisture into her parched throat. “How long will it take to get to your…stronghold?”

“Only part of the morning.”

“How many hours?”

“Hours?”

“Yeah, how long? How many hours?” Was her Star Trek Universal Translator on the fritz already? The word “hours” had come out in English.

He shook his head and frowned. Then he pointed to the sun just barely visible as a pale glow behind morning clouds. “As long as it takes the sun to travel from there”—he slid his finger just a few inches away—“to there.”

She pulled in a deep breath. Oookay.

He marched over to a shaggy brown horse, grabbed the saddle, and swung himself up into it with one swift motion, like she’d seen in old cowboy movies.

Wow, that was hot.

She’d ridden her share of horses growing up in Nebraska but had never perfected that technique. She stepped up to her horse and stroked its mane, pulling in the musky scent of the beast, letting him smell her, adjust to her. The animal’s fur was thick and curly, its coarse hairs springing through her stroking fingers.

Is this real?

She stared at the imposing but gentle Highlander, and then at the horse she was supposed to ride. If she did as he asked, she’d no longer be “playing along” with her dream. She’d have to face what she hadn’t wanted to admit yet— hopping onto this horse would be accepting this wasn’t a dream. This step, this moment, felt real. Tangible.

About Angela:

An avid reader herself, Angela Quarles writes books she’d like to read–laugh-out-loud, smart, sexy romances that suck you into her worlds and won’t let you go until you reach The End. She is a RWA RITA® award-winning and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary, time travel, and steampunk romance. Library Journal named her steampunk, Steam Me Up, Rawley, Best Self-Published Romance of 2015 and Must Love Chainmail won the 2016 RITA® Award in the paranormal category, the first indie to win in that category. Angela loves history, folklore, and family history and combined it with her active imagination to write stories of romance and adventure.