#BookReview- Mid-October #reads @Jacqui_Nelson Jacqui Murray @DWallacePeach @WordDreams

Mid-October Book Reviews from Three Fabulous Writers!

Generally, I like to give separate posts for book reviews, but I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately (your fault!), that I decided to post three of them today.

Ready?

Here we go!

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The posts on this site may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission should you make a purchase using a link.

Against All Odds by Jacqui Murray

First up, is a spellbinding tale set in the time of early man. Jacqui Murray is a marvel at creating a prehistoric world that readers can easily relate to.

This is the third book in her acclaimed Crossroads Trilogy and we get to learn what happens when favorite characters such as Xhosa and Pan-do reach the land of their dreams.

Xhosa is faced with new challenges as former bandmates arrive, testing her leadership, and enemies from the past threaten their peace.

The author’s meticulous attention to detail shines in these stories. The research alone must have taken months!

While Against the Odds can be read as a standalone, I recommend reading the series in order to gain a better understanding of these complex characters.

Survival, relationships, formidable foes, this series has it all!

About the Author

Biography

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, and a contributor to NEA Today. You can find her resources at Structured Learning. Read Jacqui’s tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days here on Amazon Kindle. Also, read her new series, Man vs. Nature, starting with Born in a Treacherous Time–also on Kindle.

A Bride for Heddwyn by Jacqui Nelson

A Bride for Heddwyn is the second book in Jacqui Nelson’s Songbird Junction series set in 1878 Colorado.

It is the story of three young women bound together by an orphanage upbringing and a love of music, and three brothers who will do anything to protect the women they love.

Oriole knows how dangerous it can be for a single woman, she and her sisters have been under the thumb of a controlling man for too long. When he is caught and jailed, she decides it’s time to chase down her missing sibling. But the man who calls himself their uncle escapes prison and is determined to force them back into a sideshow- entertainment to earn him his fortune.

Heddwyn has been fascinated by the quiet Oriole from the first time they met (and kissed). His awkwardness makes it hard for him to communicate his feelings, but when danger erupts, threatening Oriole and her sisters, Heddwyn gets the chance to prove his devotion.

I love Jacqui’s ability to create characters that warm the heart!

About the Author

Biography

Fall in love with a new Old West… where the men are steadfast & the women are adventurous. You’ll find Wild West scouts, spies, cardsharps, wilderness guides, and trick-riding superstars in my stories. Those are my heroines. Wait till you meet my heroes! My love for historical romance adventures with grit and passion came from watching Western movies while growing up on a cattle farm in northern Canada. I’ve been nominated for over 20 awards and won the RWA® Golden Heart® & the Laramie® — but my best reward is hearing from readers who have enjoyed my stories.

Liars and Thieves by D. Wallace Peach

Liars and Thieves is book 1 in the Unraveling the Veil fantasy series.

Three outcasts, thrust into an alliance by fate, by oaths, and the churning gears of calamity, must learn the truth. For they hold the future of their world in their hands.

What do a changeling, an elf, and a goblin have in common? A rather unlikely union.

Alue (elf), Talin (changeling), and Naj (goblin) find themselves thrust together in a desperate search to find who, or what, is causing the rift between their cultures and the murder and disappearances of their people.

For centuries, the three races have lived next to each other and trade resources, following the dictates set by their elders. But when a mineshaft, built by elves, caves in and men go missing, accusations begin to fly.

Why is the mine heading into goblin territory? What do the changelings know? Why do the elves cut wood not belonging to them, endangering changeling lives. Why do goblins control the Savan crystals needed for survival?

Round and round the blame flies, escalating toward an unavoidable war between the races- unless three misfits can save them all.

I am a huge fan of this writer’s work. She is unparalleled when it comes to vivid scene descriptions.

Here are a couple of my favorite lines:

Alue and her wardens rode into Ka Varine as the trees blushed like shy maidens beneath the eyes of twilight.
Liars and Thieves by D. Wallace Peach

The mechanical clock in the center of Ka Radiff tolled the early hours of morning, the sky a black blanket of wool with the promise of dawn embroidered across the hem.
Liars and Thieves by D. Wallace Peach

D. Wallace Peach has written an unputdownable fantasy series- I’m already starting the next book, Allies and Spies!

About the Author

Biography

D. Wallace Peach started writing later in life after the kids were grown and a move left her with hours to fill. Years of working in business surrendered to a full-time indulgence in the imaginative world of books, and when she started writing, she was instantly hooked. Diana lives in a log cabin amongst the tall evergreens and emerald moss of Oregon’s rainforest with her husband, two dogs, bats, owls, and the occasional family of coyotes.

For book descriptions, excerpts, maps, and behind the scenes info, please visit http://dwallacepeachbooks.com.

For her blog on all things writing, please visit http://mythsofthemirror.com.

Check out all of my book recommendations on BookBub

October 21, 2020October 20, 2020

Jacquie Biggar39 Comments

#BookReview- How Lulu Lost her Mind by Rachel Gibson #WomensFic

From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Gibson comes the story of a mother-daughter journey to rediscover the past before it disappears forever.

Lou Ann Hunter’s mother, Patricia, has always had a passionate nature, which explains why she’s been married and divorced five times and spooned enough male patients to be ousted from three elderly care facilities. She also has Alzheimer’s, which is why she wants to spend the rest of her life surrounded by childhood memories at Sutton Hall, her family’s decrepit plantation home in Louisiana.

Lou Ann, a.k.a. Lulu the Love Guru, has built an empire preaching sex, love, and relationship advice to the women of America—mostly by defying the example her mother has set for her. But with Patricia suddenly in need of a fulltime caretaker, Lou Ann reluctantly agrees to step out of the spotlight and indulge her mother’s wishes, even if it means trading in her Louboutins and Chanel N°5 for boots and mosquito repellant.

Upon her arrival at Sutton Hall, Lou Ann discovers that very little functions as it should—least of all Patricia’s mind. And as she adjusts to this new and inevitably temporary dynamic with the help of a local handyman and a live-in nurse, she is forced to confront the reality that neither her nor her mother’s future is going according to plan.

Heartrending at times and laugh-out-loud funny at others, How Lulu Lost Her Mind is the book for everyone and their mother. Fans of Emily Giffin, Kristan Higgins, and Jill Shalvis won’t be able to forget it.

About Rachel Gibson

Rachel Gibson is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over twenty-five novels, including The Art of Running in Heels and Just Kiss Me. She has received the RITA Award, the Golden Heart, the National Readers Choice Award, and more.

When not writing, you can usually find Rachel with her ’56 T-Bird at Classic Car shows where she kicks butt, takes names, and thinks she Suzanne Summers in American Graffiti.

My Review of How Lulu Lost her Mind

Lou Ann (Lulu, the love guru) keeps her life running in tip-top shape, everything except her eccentric mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s. When Patricia is evicted from her third senior care home for her romantic tendencies, Lou Ann is forced to set aside an important tour to take her mother back to her childhood home in Louisiana.

The plantation is in rough shape, the mosquitos are huge, and don’t even get her started about the alligators, but Lou Ann vows to make the best of a bad situation as long as it makes her mother happy.

While a sexy cajun handyman works on the mansion, Lou Ann and her mother delve into a long forgotten past and reconnect with each other in the process.

This book explores the horrible disease of Alzheimer’s in a humorous, yet heartwrenching way that is bound to touch readers. My grandmother passed away a few years ago from dementia and I found myself relating to Lou Ann’s frustration, pain, and love over the person who had taken over her beloved mother’s body.

Dementia changed my kind, sweet grandma into one who was often angry and scared. I pray that a cure will be found for this brain disease.

Check out all of my book recommendations on BookBub

August 11, 2020August 10, 2020

Jacquie Biggar12 Comments

#TuesdayBookReview- No More Mulberries by @MarySmithWriter #WomensFic

Scottish-born midwife, Miriam loves her work at a health clinic in rural Afghanistan and the warmth and humour of her women friends in the village, but she can no longer ignore the cracks appearing in her marriage. Her doctor husband has changed from the loving, easy-going man she married and she fears he regrets taking on a widow with a young son, who seems determined to remain distant from his stepfather.
When Miriam acts as translator at a medical teaching camp she hopes time apart might help her understand the cause of their problems. Instead, she must focus on helping women desperate for medical care and has little time to think about her failing marriage. When an old friend appears, urging her to visit the village where she and her first husband had been so happy. Miriam finds herself travelling on a journey into her past, searching for answers to why her marriage is going so horribly wrong.
Her husband, too, has a past of his own – from being shunned as a child to the loss of his first love.

Biography

Mary Smith has always loved writing. As a child she wrote stories in homemade books made from wallpaper trimmings – but she never thought people could grow up and become real writers. She spent a year working in a bank, which she hated – all numbers, very few words – ten years with Oxfam in the UK, followed by ten years working in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She longed to allow others to share her amazing, life-changing experiences so she wrote about them – fiction, non-fiction, poetry and journalism. And she discovered the little girl who wrote stories had become a real writer after all.
Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni: Real Stories of Afghan Women is an account of her time in Afghanistan and her debut novel No More Mulberries is also set in Afghanistan.
Mary loves interacting with her readers and her website is http://www.marysmith.co.uk.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000934032543
Twitter: https://twitter.com/marysmithwriter
Blogs: http://novelpointsofview.blogspot.co.uk
http://marysmith57.wordpress.com/2014/07

Mary lives in beautiful south west Scotland and is currently working, with award-winning photographer Phil McMenemy, on an illustrated book on the town of Dumfries.

My Review of No More Mulberries

When Miriam literally runs into the man of her dreams, Jarad, she doesn’t realize what a profound impact he will have on her future.

Convincing his family doesn’t come easily, but in the end their love triumphs and the young couple marry. Miriam takes to the cultural differences of her new country and thrives- until the sudden death of her husband.

Lost, desolate, but determined to raise their son in his father’s homeland, Miriam agrees to wed Iqbal and travel with him to his village to act as midwife in his clinic. Iqbal is kind and generous, but rigid in his belief of a woman’s place in his home.

Over time, resentment builds and when Miriam is offered a chance to get away to a teaching school for a couple of months she decides to accept.

What follows is a journey into the past for both Miriam and Iqbal, who carries burdens of his own.

This story is written with an obvious affection for the Afghan people and their culture. I enjoyed learning about a way of life so far removed from mine. Though Afghanistan has its problems, it’s a beautiful country with kind and caring people.

I give No More Mulberries 5 stars- this is a must-read!

Check out all of my book recommendations on BookBub

July 28, 2020July 27, 2020

Jacquie Biggar30 Comments

The Girl in The Love Song by Emma Scott #BookReview #YARomance @EmmaS_Writes

Now a Top 100 Amazon Bestseller*At Santa Cruz Central High School, they called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys…

Miller Stratton is a survivor. After a harrowing childhood of poverty, he will do anything it takes to find security for himself and his mom. He’s putting all his hopes and dreams in the fragile frame of his guitar and the beauty he creates with its strings and his soulful voice.

Until Violet.

No one expects to meet the love of their life at age thirteen. But the spunky rich girl steals Miller’s heart and refuses to give it back.

Violet McNamara’s life hasn’t been as simple as it looks. Her picture-perfect family is not so perfect after all. Her best friend Miller is her one constant and she is determined not to ruin their friendship with romantic complications.

But the heart wants what it wants. As Miller’s star begins to rise to stratospheric heights, what will it take for Violet to realize that she’s the girl in all of his love songs?

Lost Boys is a new series of interconnected, coming-of-age standalones from USA Today bestselling author Emma Scott, coming in 2020

Biography

Emma Scott is a USA Today and Wall St. Journal bestselling author whose books have been translated in five languages and featured in Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, New York Daily News and USA Today’s Happy Ever After. She writes emotional, character-driven romances in which art and love intertwine to heal, and in which love always wins. If you enjoy emotionally-charged stories that rip your heart out and put it back together again, with diverse characters and kind-hearted heroes, you will enjoy her novels. Visit http://www.emmascottwrites.com

RECENT RELEASES

Someday, Someday (M/M standalone)

A Five-Minute Life (standalone)

Bring Down the Stars (Beautiful Hearts #1)

Long Live the Beautiful Hearts (Beautiful Hearts #2)

COMING SOON:
A new YA/NA series of interconnected standalones, coming in 2020

“At Santa Cruz Central High, we called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys.”

The Girl in the Love Song (Lost Boys #1) : http://bit.ly/2MLnYhU
The Shadows of Yesterday (Lost Boys #2) : http://bit.ly/37BsCHh
The Last Piece of his Heart (Lost Boys #3) : http://bit.ly/2QeVlfa

You can follow me at all the places…

Super-cute NON SPAMMY newsletter: http://bit.ly/2nTGLf6

Author page: https://www.facebook.com/EmmaScottwrites/

Reader group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/906742879369651/

Attribution: Amazon.com

My Review

Homeless after his father deserts their family, thirteen-year-old Millar Stratton doesn’t have much faith in anyone- until he meets Violet.

Violet lives a privileged life and has never known what it means to be poor, but that doesn’t stop her from reaching a hand out to help the grungy looking boy who appears on her doorstep.

Soon, an unbreakable bond grows between the two and when Millar is diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes after a scary situation, Violet vows to watch over him.

A ball and chain of rules and diets and restrictions, needles and pills that I’d have to carry across a tightrope without a net, for the rest of my life.
The Girl in The Love Song- Emma Scott

High school is tough for the street kid, even though Millar and his mom now live in a dumpy two bedroom apartment. He’s watched Violet blossom throughout the years and it makes him proud, and jealous of every guy who tries to go out with her.

Violet doesn’t understand how she went from geek to popular kid, but it’s kind of nice to have fun her last year of high school before she starts the strenuous studies for med school. She just wishes Millar was by her side as more than a friend. Violet’s parents loved each other and now they constantly argue- cementing her fear of taking her and Millar’s relationship to the next level.

Millar is madly in love with Violet, but doesn’t dare step over the limits of their friendship for fear of pushing her away. Instead he opens his heart the only way he knows how- writing songs that allow him to pour out his feelings in the melodies.

Millar, together with a ragtag group of friends, learn that life’s lessons can knock you down, but love can change the outcome.
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This book had me in tears a couple of times. It puts a spotlight on T1D (Type 1 Diabetes) and the life-threatening complications associated with this disease. My grandson was diagnosed five years ago. He’s now thirteen (like Millar) and has faced many of the symptoms described. It is my hope and prayer that one day soon a cure will be found.

Until then, I am grateful amazing writers like Emma Scott can use their platforms to shed a light on illnesses, racial diversity, sexual discrimination, and homelessness.

We need to do more to change our world.

June 24, 2020June 23, 2020

Jacquie Biggar17 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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#Bookreview – Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Jacquie Biggar

What Amazon says Take two stubborn fools, mix a touch of fate, stir in some desire, and you have the recipe for a?Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Sophia Shaughnessy left her beloved home in order to prove once and for all she was more than a pretty face to her family and ex-boyfriend, Tony. But,…

October 28, 2020

Guest Post

#NewRelease- HIS DISINCLINED BRIDE by @aladyinfrance #RegencyRomance #OneClick

HIS DISINCLINED BRIDE by Jennie Goutet is out now! Be sure to order your copy of this sweet Regency romance today! Title: His Disinclined Bride Author: Jennie Goutet Genre: Regency Romance About His Disinclined Bride: Theirs is not a love match. She’ll make sure of it. Kitty Stokes never imagined she’d be so weak as… Continue reading →

October 28, 2020October 28, 2020

challenges

An Ode to A Friend- #FictioninaFlash #WritingCommunity

It’s Week #22 of Suzanne Burke’s Fiction in a Flash Challenge Write up to 750 words on the photo prompt. Go where your muse leads you. Check out some of the fabulous entries and join in here An Ode to A Friend It’s strange how empty my world is without you. I realize now how… Continue reading →

October 27, 2020October 26, 2020

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!

June 10, 2020June 10, 2020

Jacquie Biggar12 Comments

The Girl in The Love Song by Emma Scott #NewRelease #Romance @EmmaS_Writes

…

…

At Santa Cruz Central High School, they called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys…

…

The Girl in the Love Song, book one in the Lost Boys, an interconnected coming-of-age series of standalones, from USA Today bestselling author Emma Scott, is live!

Until Violet.

No one expects to meet the love of their life at age thirteen. But the spunky rich girl steals Miller’s heart and refuses to give it back.

But the heart wants what it wants. As Miller’s star begins to rise to stratospheric heights, what will it take for Violet to realize that she’s the girl in all of his love songs?

The Girl in the Love Song features two original songs written by Emma herself.

Download today or read for free in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2UdV79C

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/TheGirlintheLoveSongES

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2MLnYhU

About Emma:

Emma Scott is an internationally bestselling author whose books have been featured in Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, New York Daily News and USA Today’s Happy Ever After. She writes emotional, character-driven romances in which art and love intertwine to heal, and in which love always wins. If you enjoy emotionally-charged stories that rip your heart out and put it back together again, with diverse characters and heroes with a heart of gold, you will enjoy her novels.

Connect with Emma:
Amazon author link: https://amzn.to/2yUnFKJ

Webpage: emmascottwrites.com

Facebook: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottFB

Reader group: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottEntourage

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottBB

Instagram: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottIG

Twitter: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottTW

Stay up to date with Emma by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/2nTGLf6

June 8, 2020June 8, 2020

Jacquie Biggar16 Comments

The Girl in The Love Song by Emma Scott #CoverReveal #Romance @EmmaS_Writes

At Santa Cruz Central High School, they called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys…

The Girl in the Love Song, book one in the Lost Boys, an interconnected coming-of-age series of standalones, from USA Today Bestselling author Emma Scott releases on June 7, 2020!

Cover Designer: Lori Jackson

Until Violet.

No one expects to meet the love of their life at age thirteen. But the spunky rich girl steals Miller’s heart and refuses to give it back.

But the heart wants what it wants. As Miller’s star begins to rise to stratospheric heights, what will it take for Violet to realize that she’s the girl in all of his love songs?

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2MLnYhU
Enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card: https://bit.ly/TGITLSCoverGive

About Emma:

Emma Scott is an internationally bestselling author whose books have been featured in Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, New York Daily News and USA Today’s Happy Ever After. She writes emotional, character-driven romances in which art and love intertwine to heal, and in which love always wins. If you enjoy emotionally-charged stories that rip your heart out and put it back together again, with diverse characters, and heroes with a heart of gold, you will enjoy her novels.

Connect with Emma:

Amazon author link: https://amzn.to/2yUnFKJ

Webpage: emmascottwrites.com

Facebook: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottFB

Reader group: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottEntourage

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottBB

Instagram: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottIG

Twitter: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottTW

Stay up to date with Emma by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/2nTGLf6

May 4, 2020May 3, 2020

Jacquie Biggar17 Comments

#TuesdayBookReview- What You Wish For by @KatherineCenter #WomensFic

“The story’s message, that people should choose joy even (and especially) in difficult and painful times, seems tailor-made for this moment. A timely, uplifting read about finding joy in the midst of tragedy, filled with quirky characters and comforting warmth.”—Kirkus (starred review)

From the New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away comes a stunning new novel full of heart and hope.

Samantha Casey is a school librarian who loves her job, the kids, and her school family with passion and joy for living.
But she wasn’t always that way.
Duncan Carpenter is the new school principal who lives by rules and regulations, guided by the knowledge that bad things can happen.
But he wasn’t always that way.

And Sam knows it. Because she knew him before—at another school, in a different life. Back then, she loved him—but she was invisible. To him. To everyone. Even to herself. She escaped to a new school, a new job, a new chance at living. But when Duncan, of all people, gets hired as the new principal there, it feels like the best thing that could possibly happen to the school—and the worst thing that could possibly happen to Sam. Until the opposite turns out to be true. The lovable Duncan she’d known is now a suit-and-tie wearing, rule-enforcing tough guy so hell-bent on protecting the school that he’s willing to destroy it.

As the school community spirals into chaos, and danger from all corners looms large, Sam and Duncan must find their way to who they really are, what it means to be brave, and how to take a chance on love—which is the riskiest move of all.

With Katherine Center’s sparkling dialogue, unforgettable characters, heart, hope, and humanity, What You Wish For is the author at her most compelling best.

Biography

Katherine Center is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away and the upcoming Things You Save in a Fire (August 2019), as well as five other bittersweet comic novels. She writes about how we fall down—and how we get back up. Six Foot Pictures is currently adapting her fourth novel, The Lost Husband, into a feature film starring Josh Duhamel and Leslie Bibb. Katherine has been compared to both Nora Ephron and Jane Austen, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” Katherine recently gave a TEDx talk on how stories teach us empathy, and her work has appeared in USA Today, InStyle, Redbook, People, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, Real Simple, Southern Living, and InTouch, among others. Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her fun husband, two sweet kids, and fluffy-but-fierce dog.

Sam Cassidy loves her job as librarian in the cute and eccentric elementary school she ran to after falling for a fellow teacher at her previous school. The staff are the best and Principal Max and his wife, Babette, accepted her like a daughter.

Then Max died and everything changed.

Babette’s neurotic son-in-law becomes head of the board and immediately appoints a new principal about as different from Max as it was possible to be- oh, yeah, he’s also the man Sam had fallen for in her previous life.

But this Duncan Carpenter wasn’t anything like the funny, sweet guy she remembered. This Duncan Carpenter wanted to bleed every drop of personality out of their precious school. He installed security gates, locks, metal detectors, and painted over their bright colorful artwork, turning their whole world gray.

He had to go.

Then Sam learned Duncan’s deepest, darkest secret and suddenly getting rid of him became so much harder to do.

This is my first book by this author and I am so glad I picked it up! Filled with insightful, heart-wrenching moments it will live on in your thoughts for a long time after turning the last page. I will definitely be reading more from Katherine Center.

“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

April 13, 2020

Jacquie Biggar11 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!

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!

March 16, 2020March 14, 2020

Jacquie Biggar8 Comments

#BookReview- A Favor For A Favor by @HelenaHunting #SportsRomance

From the New York Times bestselling author of Pucked and A Lie for a Lie, a new stand-alone romance about trading favors, battling wills, and winning love.

When I joined Seattle’s NHL expansion team, I thought it was the start of something great. But nothing ever goes the way you expect. Take my introduction to my new neighbor. She came rolling in on the hot mess express at midnight, making a racket while she tried to get into my team captain’s apartment. Did I mention that he’s married to a woman who definitely was not her?

Imagine my surprise when I end up with an injury that has me out of the game for weeks, and she’s the one to offer to help me. I should probably add that she’s not the captain’s mistress. She’s his sexy, pastel-haired younger sister.

So we come up with an arrangement: she rehabs me so that I can get back on the ice sooner, and she can add a professional athlete that isn’t her brother to her client list. Seems simple enough. As long as I can keep my hands to myself and my hormones in check.

Biography

NYT and USA Today Bestselling author, Helena Hunting lives outside of Toronto with her amazing family and her two awesome cats, who think the best place to sleep is her keyboard. Helena writes everything from contemporary romance with all the feels to romantic comedies that will have you laughing until you cry.

Follow Helena on Instagram:
http://instagram.com/helenahunting

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My Review

Stevie Bowman is having a bad day. She had delays on her flight home, broke the wheel on her suitcase, and found her boyfriend humping another woman in their apartment- and, oh yeah, it’s her birthday. Yay.

Her brother, NHL captain of the new Seattle expansion team, saves the day by offering her his penthouse condo, but even that gets messed up by a rude and obnoxious neighbor wearing underpants and a big… attitude.

Bishop likes his sleep. He works hard to prove his value on the new expansion team- especially since his place as captain was usurped by his arch nemesis, Rook Bowman- and caring for his diabetic brother. He doesn’t need a pain-in-the-ass puck bunny showing up at Bowman’s (who’s married, by the way) in the middle of the night. Funny thing though, when he lays into her, she shoots it straight back to him even though he’s over a foot taller and twice her size. He kinda likes that. Not to mention, she’s got one hell of a… temper.

Stevie is determined to put the past behind her and focus on her new career as a sports rehab physiotherapist. She needs to prove to her brother, and herself, that she doesn’t need his help, so when Bishop injures his groin at a game, she reluctantly agrees to a favor for a favor. She helps him get back on the ice ahead of schedule, and he’ll write her up a recommendation. Except, a hot attraction threatens to derail their plans and ruin everything.

This book was so much fun to read that I had to go out and buy the next in series!

Favorite Lines

Did he just say my face is a boner-killer?
A Favor For A Favor- Helen Hunting

“A mistake becomes a choice when you make it more than once. Looks like maybe you should’ve thought about the consequences before you made yours.”
Hunting, Helena. A Favor for a Favor (All In) (p. 41). Kindle Edition.

The dialogue is raunchy at times, but it suits what I would expect from a hockey player and Stevie has two brothers and works in the sports industry, so again, it works. It takes a backseat to the humor anyway, which is outrageous!

Bishop is a sweetheart under all his bluster, while Stevie is vulnerable and trying hard not to show it. They make the perfect pair.

I give A Favor for a Favor 5 lovely kisses- This is a fun read!

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!

February 13, 2020February 12, 2020

Jacquie Biggar14 Comments

#BookReview- Malice by @PintipDunn #YAFantasy

What I know: a boy in my class 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 they’ve lost all hope in humanity? Well, I’ll just have to find a way—because now they’ve drawn a target on the only boy I’ve ever loved…

Biography

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.

Her novel FORGET TOMORROW won the 2016 RWA RITA® for Best First Book, and SEIZE TODAY won the 2018 RITA for Best Young Adult Romance. Her books have been translated into four languages, and they have been nominated for the following awards: the Grand Prix del’Imaginaire; the Japanese Sakura Medal; the MASL Truman Award; the TomeSociety It list; and the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award.

Her other titles include REMEMBER YESTERDAY, THE DARKEST LIE, GIRL ON THE VERGE, STAR-CROSSED, and MALICE.

My Review

Riveting! Time travel meets end of world prophecies in this spellbinding #fantasy by Pintip Dunn.
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Alice is a normal teenage girl going about her life until one day, a voice from the future informs her that she’s been chosen to save the world from a deadly virus.

Farcical?

The voice has a way of insisting that’s hard to ignore. Before long, Alice is on a life and death mission where every person is a suspect and murdering someone she cares about may be the only answer to solving a global annihilation.

There are so many elements to this story. The author does such a magnificent job of juggling them all into believable theories that she left me guessing to the very end how it would all turn out.

Favorite Lines

“Try.” The word is wrapped around a smile. “Reach for me. I’m waiting.”
Malice- Pintip Dunn

“I trust you because I noticed you long before you ever approached me on that basketball court,” he says quietly. “Because you bring two lunches to school every day, one for you and one for your brother. Because when I talk to you, sometimes you forget to blink. And so help me, that makes me feel like the most important person on the planet.”
Malice- Pintip Dunn

I love the depth and breadth of these characters. It’s impossible not to get caught up in their desperate fight to survive, and yet, it’s those quiet, intense moments like the one above that made my heart flutter.

I give Malice 5+ lovely kisses- Poignant and heart wrenching!

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!

February 7, 2020February 6, 2020

Jacquie Biggar27 Comments

#BookReview- Twenty Years After “I Do” by D.G. Kaye #Memoir @pokercubster

May/December memoirs.

In this personal accounting, D.G. Kaye shares the insights and wisdom she has accrued through twenty years of keeping her marriage strong and thriving despite the everyday changes and challenges of aging. Kaye reveals how a little creative planning, acceptance, and unconditional love can create a bond no obstacle will break. Kaye’s stories are informative, inspiring, and a testament to love eclipsing all when two people understand, respect, and honor their vows. She adds that a daily sprinkling of laughter is a staple in nourishing a healthy marriage.

Twenty years began with a promise. As Kaye recounts what transpired within that time, she shows that true love has no limits, even when one spouse ages ahead of the other.

Biography

D.G. Kaye was born and resides in Toronto, Canada. She is the author of Conflicted Hearts – A Daughter’s Quest for Solace From Emotional Guilt, Meno-What? – A Memoir, Words We Carry, Have Bags, Will Travel, P.S. I Forgive You, and her newest release – Twenty Years: After “I Do”. Kaye is a nonfiction/memoir writer and writes about her life experiences, matters of the heart and women’s issues.

Kaye writes to inspire others. Her writing encompasses stories taken from events she encountered in her own life, and the lessons that were taken from them. Her sunny outlook on life developed from learning to overcome some of the many obstacles that challenged her. From an emotionally neglected childhood, to growing up with a narcissistic mother, leaving her with a severely deflated self-esteem, D.G. began seeking a path to rise above her issues. When she isn’t writing intimate memoirs, Kaye brings her natural sense of humor into her other works.

D.G. began writing when pen and paper became tools to express her pent-up emotions during a turbulent childhood. Her writing began as notes and cards she wrote for the people she loved and admired when she was afraid to use her voice.

Through the years, Kaye journaled about life, writing about her opinions on people and events and later began writing poetry and health articles for a Canadian magazine as her interest grew in natural healthcare. Kaye became interested in natural healing and remedies after encountering a few serious health issues. Against many odds, D.G. has overcome adversity several times throughout her life.

D.G. began writing books to share her stories and inspiration. Her compassion and life experiences inspire her to write from the heart. She looks for the good and the positive in everything, and believes in paying it forward.

“For every kindness, there should be kindness in return, Wouldn’t that just make the world right?”

D.G.’s Favorite Saying: “Live. Laugh. Love …and don’t forget to breathe!”

When D.G. is not writing, she’s reading. Her favorite genres of reading are: biographies, memoirs, writing and natural health. Kaye loves to read about people who overcome adversity, victories and redemption and believes we have to keep learning–there is always room for improvement! She loves to cook, travel, and play poker (when she gets the chance).

You can find D.G. on social media and her author and blog pages:
http://www.dgkayewriter.com
http://www.goodreads.com/dgkaye
http://www.amazon.com/author/dgkaye7
http://www.twitter.com/@pokercubster
http://www.facebook.com/dgkaye
http://www.about.me/d.g.kaye.writer
http://www.google.com/+DebbyDGKayeGies
http://www.linkedin.com/in/dgkaye7

My Review

Honest. Heartfelt. Compelling. D.G. Kaye’s memorable memoir is a must-read!
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Falling in love wasn’t in her plans. Falling in love with an older man changed her life.

What happens when you meet your other half in the twilight of his life? The author walks us through the thrill of falling in love, the reality of living with health issues, and the responsibility of becoming your husband’s caregiver.

Love is the bond that transcends and it’s proven with this couple as they travel life’s joys and obstacles with grace and laughter.

Over the last few years, I’ve become my mom’s caregiver and could relate to many of the issues broached in this book. Doctor and specialist appointments, nagging over proper nutrition requirements, cleaning and laundry for two homes, wheelchair operations, and over it all, the fear that you aren’t doing enough to keep them with you for a few more years.

I won’t lie- it scares me every day.

Thank you to the author for her honesty. It helps to know we aren’t alone, whatever our individual situations.

I give Twenty Years After “I Do” 5 lovely kisses- An Inspirational Read!

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!

February 6, 2020March 19, 2020

Jacquie Biggar30 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…

Get Your Copy Today!

Goodreads Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo Book Depository iTunes

Books-A-Million Google

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.

Connect with Pintip:

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February 4, 2020January 31, 2020

Jacquie BiggarLeave a comment

New Release- Weekend Wife by Erin McCarthy #RomCom #Romance @jennw23 @AuthorErin

“Weekend Wife is the perfect, irresistible romantic comedy!”

—Erin Nicholas, New York Times bestselling author

Weekend Wife, an all-new flirty and hilarious stand-alone rom com from New York Times bestselling author Erin McCarthy, is available now!

Billionaire businessman in need of a fake fiancée…

It should be the easiest job ever for an out-of-work actress, right?

All I have to do is pose as Grant Caldwell (the Third’s) fiancé for a fancy-pants weekend in the Hamptons. Easy. Wear designer clothing and sip champagne? Don’t mind if I do. Flirting with Grant? It’s so delicious I should be paying him.

Nothing can go wrong as long as if I can just keep my hands off of him.

But that’s the hard part. And I do mean hard.

Because Grant is sexy.

And bossy.

And surprisingly sweet, a real rarity in his pretentious family.

Oops. I’m not as good at faking it as I thought. Or maybe they call this method acting. Because it’s getting harder to figure out where my character ends and I begin…

It just might be the role of a lifetime.

Download your copy today or read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2vCLc3P

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3b9dbZs

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/2u3DcbV

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/397Id21

Add WEEKEND WIFE to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/35JEWEF

About Erin

USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Erin McCarthy sold her first book in 2002 and has since written over seventy-five novels and novellas in the romance and mystery genres. Erin has a special weakness for high-heeled boots, martinis, and Frank Sinatra. She lives with her renovation-addicted husband (he built her a bar, so it’s all good!) and their blended family of kids and rescue dogs.

Connect with Erin

Facebook: http://bit.ly/39K0yDk

Instagram: http://bit.ly/37EuvCQ

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2ZWtdQT

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

BookBub: http://bit.ly/2uqW6Jx

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2FrgL2d

Stay up to date with Erin by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/2tYmOsP

Website: https://erinmccarthy.net

February 3, 2020February 2, 2020

Jacquie Biggar4 Comments

A Favor For a Favor by @HelenaHunting #Romance #Reading @jennw23

“Bishop and Stevie’s relationship is pure, raw, can’t-take-your-eyes-off-the-the-page kindle crack. One of my favorite books by this brilliant author.” – LJ Shen, USA Today bestselling author

A Favor for a Favor, all-new standalone slow burn romance from New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting, is available now!

A new stand-alone romance about trading favors, battling wills, and winning love.

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/31LPGjq

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/AFFAF

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2msA1pY

Amazon Audible: https://amzn.to/2Gh4xtv

Audio: https://amzn.to/2kYpUZr

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2m17XK2

Excerpt

She makes me lift my arm and drapes it over her shoulder. She’s incredibly small compared to me. She tucks one arm under my knee and gently grips the back of my calf with the other. “On the count of three,” she orders. I tense up when she hits three. She gets my leg about six inches off the floor, which is when I scream bloody murder again and grab on to her with both hands.

“Okay. That’s not going to work. The angle is too awkward.” She taps her lip and holds her finger up. “I have an idea.”

She ducks out from under my arm and hooks her fingers in the waistband of her yoga pants.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Calm down. Some bathing suits have less coverage than my underwear. Besides, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before.”

She kicks off her yoga pants, leaving her in a T-shirt and panties. They’re plain cotton boy shorts, which should be a good thing, but apparently my body doesn’t care that it’s not a satin or lace thong. All it cares about is the proximity of almost-naked pussy.

Rook’s sister is standing in my bathroom in her underwear. If I had a sister who looked like Stevie and I knew that she was standing in one of my teammate’s bathrooms half-naked, I would probably kick the shit out of the guy. Thankfully, I have a brother.

I try to keep my eyes averted, sort of, but I catch her reflection in the vanity mirror.

She has fantastic legs. Athletic. Strong. And her ass. Goddamn. She definitely does a lot of squats, based on how round and firm it looks. The ache in my groin turns into that stabbing pain again because I’m getting hard. I think about my grandmother in a bathing suit to counteract the effect of Stevie being partly undressed.

She steps into the tub, and I force myself to keep my eyes down, bringing up the image of that hot chick in the tub who turns into a rotting old lady in The Shining. That helps a bit. At least until Stevie moves into my personal space and starts touching me again. I mutter a string of profanity, especially when I feel her boob pressed against my arm for a few seconds. I have no choice but to latch on to her shoulder as we lift my leg over the edge of the tub. I’m sweating, I’m angry, and I hate my dick.

“I need you to stop touching me!” It’s stupid because I’m still holding on to her, not the other way around.

“Why are you yelling at me?” she shouts back.

“Because you’re half-undressed in my tub, and I’m a guy, and apparently my dick is a fucking sadist. It honestly feels like my balls are on fire right now. A semi has never] been this painful.”

“Well, close your damn eyes and think about dead things.”

“It doesn’t matter if I close them. The image of you in panties is burned into the back of my lids, probably for the rest of my fucking life. It’s all I can see.”

“You’d think you’d never seen a set of bare legs before.” She helps me lower myself into the tub and steps out.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a pair up close,” I grumble.

“Such a surprise, with your warm, fuzzy personality.”

About Helena Hunting

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of PUCKED, Helena Hunting lives on the outskirts of Toronto with her incredibly tolerant family and two moderately intolerant cats. She writes contemporary romance ranging from new adult angst to romantic sports comedy.

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January 29, 2020January 28, 2020

Jacquie Biggar2 Comments

Toxic Vengeance by @KayleaCross #NewRelease#RomSuspense @InkSlingerPR

Today we are celebrating the release of a new, romantic suspense title from Kaylea Cross. TOXIC VENGEANCE just went live, and you will not want to miss this series! Be sure to add the book to your TBR pile now and follow Kaylea for exclusive updates about the book and the Vengeance series.

Join Kaylea’s Reader Group for Exclusive News!

Toxic Vengeance by Kaylea Cross

Available Now

Amazon | Apple | Kobo | Nook

Book Blurb:

A past poisoned by lies.

Toxins expert Eden Foster was trained never to get close to anyone. She’s only broken that rule twice, and each time it ended in heartbreak. Her mentor was murdered in front of her, and now the man she was forced to deceive and leave behind has suddenly become a threat. She wants justice, but the only way she’ll get it is by joining forces with the only man to pose a threat to her guarded heart—the CIA contractor tasked with capturing and turning her in.

Risking a second chance could cost them everything.

Zack Maguire has spent his entire adult life serving his country, but this time, he’s torn between duty and his heart. Eden might not be the woman he thought she was, but he refuses to accept that everything between them was a lie. If she’s being hunted, he’s all in. He won’t sit back and do nothing when her life is on the line. As the danger mounts, he’ll do anything to protect her. And when their enemies close in, the only way they’ll live long enough to have a second chance is to let go of the past and learn to trust each other.

Add the book to Goodreads

OTHER BOOKS IN THE VENGEANCE SERIES

Stealing Vengeance

Amazon | Apple | Kobo | Nook

Covert Vengeance

Amazon | Apple | Kobo | Nook

Explosive Vengeance

Amazon | Apple | Kobo | Nook

Beautiful Vengeance – coming March 31

Amazon | Apple | Kobo | Nook

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AUTHOR INFORMATION:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kaylea Cross writes edge-of-your-seat military romantic suspense. Her work has won many awards, including the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence. A Registered Massage Therapist by trade, Kaylea is also an avid gardener, artist, Civil War buff, Special Ops aficionado, belly dance enthusiast and former nationally-carded softball pitcher. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband and family.

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January 21, 2020January 20, 2020

Jacquie BiggarLeave a comment

#BookReview- Good Luck with That by @Kristan_Higgins #WomensFic

New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins is beloved for her heartfelt novels filled with humor and wisdom. Now, she tackles an issue every woman deals with: body image and self-acceptance.

Emerson, Georgia, and Marley have been best friends ever since they met at a weight-loss camp as teens. When Emerson tragically passes away, she leaves one final wish for her best friends: to conquer the fears they still carry as adults.

For each of them, that means something different. For Marley, it’s coming to terms with the survivor’s guilt she’s carried around since her twin sister’s death, which has left her blind to the real chance for romance in her life. For Georgia, it’s about learning to stop trying to live up to her mother’s and brother’s ridiculous standards, and learning to accept the love her ex-husband has tried to give her.

But as Marley and Georgia grow stronger, the real meaning of Emerson’s dying wish becomes truly clear: more than anything, she wanted her friends to love themselves.

A novel of compassion and insight, Good Luck With That tells the story of two women who learn to embrace themselves just the way they are.

Biography

Kristan Higgins is the New York Times, USA TODAY, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of 19 novels, which have been translated into more than two dozen languages and sold millions of copies worldwide. Her books have received dozens of awards and accolades, including starred reviews from Kirkus, The New York Journal of Books, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal , People and Booklist. If you want to keep up with Kristan’s new releases and get a free short story, sign up for her mailing list at http://www.kristanhiggins.com.

Her books regularly appear on the lists for best novels of the year. Kristan is also a cohost of the Crappy Friends podcast, which discusses the often complex dynamics of female friendships, with her friend and fellow writer, Joss Dey.

The proud descendant of a butcher and a laundress, Kristan lives in Connecticut with her heroic firefighter husband. They own several badly behaved pets and are often visited by their entertaining and long-lashed children.

My Review

Good Luck with That is a heart-wrenching story about learning the hardest lesson of all- self-love.
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When best friends, Georgia and Marley, are called to their summer camp buddy’s deathbed it is a catalyst for change in their lives. All three girls had varying issues with weight loss, family acceptance, and ostracization and attacked the problem in different ways.

Emerson comes from an abusive background and uses food as a crutch, and later an addiction that ends her life.

Marley has a loving supportive Italian family, but feels unfulfilled both through lack of a meaningful relationship and the death of her twin at a young age.

When Georgia’s parents divorced she was left in the care of an cold, vindictive mother and brother with anger-management issues. She never felt good enough (read thin enough) in the eyes of her mother and the self-hatred carried into her marriage and caused her divorce.

This book hit home in so many ways. The dream as a child/teenager is to be accepted and liked by your peers. If you’re different in ANY way, the hyenas will rip you apart. It takes a strong family unit and a competitive spirit to survive those years- a friend you can trust helps, too.

I was one of the lucky ones. I kept my head down, did my work, and had a good support network. But, those years of doubt and anxiety carried into my adult life and contributed to the introverted person I’ve become.

It’s hard to admit that out loud. Overweight kids/adults would sooner be invisible than thrust into the spotlight. For some, like Emerson, it even means death.

Diversity comes in many forms; race, religion, sexuality. I believe body image should be included. Now is the time to change attitudes. Be the person who looks beyond the obvious to the essence of those who are afraid to speak and reach out to them.

It matters more than you know.

December 30, 2019December 29, 2019

Jacquie Biggar3 Comments

#BookReview- Someday, Someday by @EmmaS_Writes #MMRomance

EVERYONE needs to read this book! Riveting, electric, and poignant. Emma does not waste her words. Every sentence, every line of this story was magic.–Kate Stewart USA Today Bestselling Author

How long would you wait for love?

Max Kaufman was kicked out of his home as a teen and his life has been an uphill battle ever since. From addiction and living on the streets, to recovery and putting himself through nursing school, he’s spent the last ten years rebuilding his shattered sense of self. Now he’s taken a job as a private caretaker to Edward Marsh III, the president and CEO of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Max soon learns Marsh’s multi-billion-dollar empire is a gold and diamond-encrusted web of secrets and lies.

The longer Max works and lives with the Marsh family, the tighter the secrets tangle around him. And his heart—that he’s worked so hard to protect—falls straight into the hands of the distant, cold, and beautiful son of a dynasty…

Silas Marsh is set to inherit the family fortune, but his father is determined his heir be the “perfect” son. Before Silas can take over the company and end its shady business practices, he must prove himself worthy…and deny his true nature.

Silas must choose: stand up to his father by being true to himself and his undeniable feelings for Max. Or pretend to be someone he is not in order to inherit everything. Even if it means sacrificing a chance at happiness and real love.

Biography

RECENT RELEASES

A Five-Minute Life (standalone)

Bring Down the Stars (Beautiful Hearts #1)

Long Live the Beautiful Hearts (Beautiful Hearts #2)

COMING SOON

Someday, Someday (M/M standalone)

You can follow me at all the places…

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Author page: https://www.facebook.com/EmmaScottwrites/

Reader group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/906742879369651/

My Review

Life-changing!

When teenager Max Kaufman is caught kissing a boy by his confused and angry father he is banished from the family home and forced onto the streets. Lonely, scared and depressed, Max turns to drugs and soon spirals into the life of an addict. It takes the help of a kind stranger to turn his life around.

Years later, Max returns to Seattle to attempt a reconciliation with his family and accepts a position as a nurse for multi-billionaire Edward Marsh of Pharma Pharmaceuticals, a vocal homophobic. Max would quit, but he is drawn to the dark, moody, and incredibly handsome Silas Marsh and can’t walk away.

As a teen, Silas battled with the loss of his mother, his father’s growing bitterness, raging hormones, and his sexuality. When he embarrasses his father by getting caught with the son of an acquaintance he is sent to a ‘boys camp’ in the arctic for 6 grueling months of torture. He returns a cold shell of himself and after a rough recovery, including a bout with addiction to pain meds, he buries himself in his studies and rises to the top in his father’s firm.

Then a new nurse is hired, a man Silas met at a NA meeting and all the emotions he was programmed to reject, the overwhelming attraction for another man- Max- threatens to destroy the tenuous peace with his father. At the same time, Silas learns of Pharma’s complicity in providing the drug to thousands that turned them into addicts- and for many, death. Love for his brother, who suffers from aspergers disease, stops him from leaving the Marsh heritage, and his father, behind.

The growing attraction between Silas and Max creates a world of problems for both men, but love happens whether we’re ready or not.

There are so many levels to this story, I can’t articulate all of them. Scott expertly twines Max and Silas around the readers heart- you can’t help but hope for these two!
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Our country has faced an opioid crisis for years now. Thousands of lives have been lost- good lives. Fathers, mothers, children who should have the care and respect they deserve.

While Canada accepts and welcomes gay marriage, I am very aware that we have a long way to go in the way we treat anyone perceived as ‘different’.

It is books written with heart and soul like Someday, Someday that will hopefully make a difference.

I give Someday, Someday 5+ lovely kisses- get out the tissues!

“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

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