Review: "Promise My Love" (A Braden Novella) by Melissa Foster

Synopsis:

Sweet and sexy wedding romance, PROMISE MY LOVE, the follow-up novella to DESTINED FOR LOVE (The Bradens). Catch up with all of your favorite Bradens and enjoy Rex Braden and Jade Johnson’s wedding.

Publishing first in the Sweet Life boxed set for Diabetes in May 2015, and released as a stand alone novella in August 2015.

Genre: Contemporary Romance

My Review:

Promise My Love is a dream come through for fans of the The Bradens. Melissa Foster uses this novella to bring us back to the Braden ranch in Colorado and check in with the entire Braden clan. As Rex and Jade are preparing for their wedding, we get a wonderful opportunity to check in with recent births and pregnancies, and all of the developments of the Braden family members and the loves of their lives.

Despite the shorter length than a typical Melissa Foster novel, the author manages to infuse the entire gamut of emotions: fear, happiness, love, anxiety... you name it, you experience it in this novella. The author even gives us an opportunity to see the wonderful relationship between horses and people as the family deals with a potential illness in their beloved Hope, their mother's horse who spends most of the book not feeling well. The diagnosis and treatment are a wonderful testament to the love that this family has for each other and the horse that they know helps sustain their father.

All in all, a wonderful catch up with the Bradens. Rex is still a fantastic hero and, as expected, comes up with a creative solution to their wedding challenge that creates a wonderfully-romatic end, or is it a beginning, to their love story. And his emotional outburst at the wedding - classic!

Links:

Goodreads • Amazon • Barnes and Noble • Kobo • iBooks

About the Author:

Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes contemporary romance, new adult, contemporary women’s fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the World Literary Café and Fostering Success. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success. Melissa has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine.

Melissa hosts an Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.

Melissa is available to chat with book clubs and welcomes comments and emails from her readers. Visit Melissa at The World Literary Cafe 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.

Find the author on the following sites....

Facebook   Twitter    Google+   Goodreads   Pinterest 

Review: "Thrill Me" by Susan Mallery

Synopsis:

Maya Farlow learned the hard way to depend only on herself, so when she fell too deeply for the bad-boy charms of Del Mitchell, she did the only thing she could—she ran. Stunned, Del left Fool's Gold to make his name and fortune in extreme sports. 

Now ten years later, Maya's been hired to promote her hometown's new slogan, The Destination for Romance. The celebrity spokesman is none other than Del, the man she dumped but never forgot. Awkward! 

Although Del's not the type to hold a grudge, he's determined to avoid falling a second time for the woman who broke his heart. He's a daredevil, not an idiot. Trouble is, in all his adventures, he never found a rush as exhilarating as Maya's kiss. Maybe risking his heart will prove to be the biggest thrill of all… 

Genre: Contemporary Romance

My Review:

Just when I was ready to write off Fool's Gold as jumping the shark, Susan Mallery has done it again - she has sucked me back in and made me fall in love with Fool's Gold all over again.

As with all of Susan Mallery's book, Thrill Me is a very well written book. The storyline flows effortlessly, the development of the characters is compelling, and the emotion is woven wonderfully into the story until you can no longer tell whether the emotions you are feeling are yours or the characters in the book. I found myself tearing up several times while reading this book - a sure sign that the author has created a book that touches your heart.

I think what struck me the most about Del and Maya's relationship is that it just happens. It didn't happen like a normal relationship - boy meets girl, boy asks girl out, girl stresses over what to wear, boy and girl date, boy and girl kiss, boy and girl have sex. Del and Maya had a relationship previously, so it was natural for them to reconnect when they both found themselves back in town and working together. A comfortable working relationship progresses into a couple of innocent kisses, and then Del and Maya are back together again. And then they're just working partners again, and then they're together. They never define their relationship - they just happen into it. It is especially interesting when the characters observe that's how their relationship happened.

I love the brother dynamic of the Mitchell brothers. Del is a wonderful character with a great personality and fills his own spot in the family, but the author has opened the door to a lot of future stories about the Mitchell brothers by showing secrets that each of them is holding close - there are many we are only teased with and don't know the complete story yet, ourselves. And I look forward to heading to Happily, Inc. where two of the brothers have moved.

Susan Mallery hit a home run with Thrill Me and has a recommitted fan of Fool's Gold. Just when I was ready to close the door on a great small town, deciding their stories had all been told, she has set us up for so many stories in the future.

Links:

Goodreads • Amazon • Barnes and Noble • Kobo • iBooks

About the Author:

New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery has won the hearts of millions of readers around the world with books described as “immensely entertaining, intensely emotional” (RT Book Reviews), “hilarious” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram), and “heartwarming” (Publishers Weekly). One major retailer recently described her as “the queen of romantic fiction.” While she deeply appreciates the accolades of critics and booksellers, Mallery is even more honored by the enthusiasm of her readers and the word-of-mouth that catapults her toward the top of the bestsellers lists time and again.

Mallery lives in not-so-sunny Seattle with her husband, plus a toy poodle and two ragdoll cats who are not at all impressed by her growing fame.

Website: www.SusanMallery.com

Spotlight: "Chalk Lines and Lipstick" by Ophelia London

We're celebrating the release of CHALK LINES AND LIPSTICK by Ophelia London! Check out the excerpt and giveaway below!

Title: CHALK LINES AND LIPSTICK by Ophelia London

Age group: Adult

Genre: Cozy Mystery/Romantic Comedy

Publisher: Gemma Halliday

RELEASED! August 11, 2015

Goodreads

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1DGt2vz

BN: http://bit.ly/1DBca9G

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1DGtbiG

iBooks: http://apple.co/1IYoS2A

BLURB:

Maren Colepepper thought she had it all: a career at a fashion magazine, a successful boyfriend, and a glamorous New York lifestyle. She thought wrong. When her glamorous life suddenly goes belly up, Maren finds herself forced to take the only job she can find at a small town newspaper in the tiny northern California hometown she fled ten years ago.

While Maren expected her new job in no-wheres-ville to kill her with boredom, She never expected to be front row to a shooting on her very first day! Worse yet, Maren is knocked unconscious at the scene, and when she comes to, the body has gone missing and she's been scooped by another reporter. Talk about a bad first impression. Now Maren is hot on the trail of the story of a lifetime, involving a shady lumber mill and the foresting of old-growth redwoods—a ginormous crime in her neck of the woods! Between her suddenly flirty new editor, her supremely hot new neighbor, and a lovably meddling family, Maren find small town life anything but boring. But if she can't find the shooter before he strikes again, it may even become deadly!

Words from the Author:

Let’s talk about kissing…

My newest novel, Chalk Lines & Lipstick, is my first stab at a cozy mystery (pun obviously intended!) and is a bit of uncharted territory for this romance-writing chick. But after having ten romance novels published, I was ready for a new challenge.

However, I couldn’t seem to keep my cozy characters from making out!

The story is set in my hometown of Eureka, California. So we’re talking rain and fog and lots of dark and misty corners for mystery-ish things to happen. Thing is, whenever I put my characters in one of those corners, they went straight to making out. (You’re welcome!)

“Hey, I think that guy with the knife might want to kill me…but we better kiss for a while…”
See what I mean? Once I realized my romance crutch, I couldn’t bear to get rid of it. Because, let’s face it, kissing is totally awesome. Especially when it’s dark and public and rainy and you just…can’t…stop…yourself no matter what else is going on. Or wait, maybe that’s just me.


Either way, I’m thinking maybe I do have a bit of romance writing still left in me, and I will always defend the cozy make outs!

Excerpt:

     Once we were on the road and had a plan, my heart stopped pounding so hard. I blew out a long, slow breath then looked at Patrick, so calm and helpful, taking care of things when I didn't have the brainpower to do it on my own. "Thanks," I said. "I'm not used to being the damsel in distress."

     "You're not. My car happens to be bigger than yours. If we have to dispose of the dead body of a circus freak"—he jerked a thumb toward the backseat—"I have more room. And a shovel."

Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author:



USA Today bestselling author Ophelia London was born and raised among the redwood trees in beautiful northern California. Once she was fully educated, she decided to settle in Florida, but her car broke down in Texas and she’s lived in Dallas ever since. A cupcake and treadmill aficionado (obviously those things are connected), she spends her time watching arthouse movies and impossibly trashy TV, while living vicariously through the characters in the books she writes.

Ophelia is the author of DEFINITELY, MAYBE IN LOVE; ABBY ROAD and CROSSING ABBY ROAD; the Perfect Kisses series including: FALLING FOR HER SOLDIER, PLAYING AT LOVE, SPEAKING OF LOVE, and MAKING WAVES; and the upcoming AIMEE AND THE HEARTTHROB for Entangled’s Teen Crush. Visit her at www.ophelialondon.com, but don’t call when The Vampire Diaries (or Dawson’s Creek) is on.

Twitter: @ophelia_london : Facebook : Website : Pinterest : Goodreads

Review: "Her Volunteer Cowboy" (part of the 12-Alarm Cowboys box set) by Donna Michaels (Harland County)

Synopsis:
Sparks reignite when one-nighters reunite. Can the firefighter/Guardsman convince the reforming bad girl she’s worth fighting for, or will she leave before he finds the courage to volunteer his heart?

Cowboy Tanner Hathaway, part time firefighter and National Guardsman, is great at volunteering his time, never his heart, but when his Pocono one-nighter shows up in Texas to help a friend, sparks ignite a flame neither of them expect. Can the county’s bad boy, convinced the reforming bad girl she’s worth fighting for, or will she leave before he has the courage to volunteer his heart?

My Review:

I always love coming back to Harland County, TX! Donna Michaels has introduced us to yet another wonderful, alpha, military, cowboy hero in Tanner. And add in a firefighter to boot. This guy is just about the perfect alpha hero. He even takes special care of an older man - his mentor - as his health is failing. It's hard to believe that with all of that going for him that he hasn't been snatched up yet. But perhaps he'd just been waiting for the right woman - and has likely found her in Gwen.

We met Gwen briefly in a previous book and she's a nice tie-in to the author's Citizen Soldier series (the Wynes). She's in town to help out while we meet the next generation of Harland County - the birth of Jordan's baby. We the reader discover early that Gwen and Tanner had met before and the heat they exuded in the Poconos has traveled clear down to Harland County, because the sparks between Gwen and Tanner are flying.

I liked how Gwen and Tanner both have some emotional baggage holding them back - Gwen with her years as a model and behaviors she's reformed, and the impact of those behaviors that she's still feeling. Tanner, who seems to be the one who is always helping, always volunteering, is struggling with his mentor declining due to Altzhimers. The two have some hiccups in their road to happily ever after, especially when Tanner lets his anger get the best of him. But, they are both good communicators and are quick to realize what they were to each other.

The author provides a very sensitive look into life with a person with Alzhimers and the emotional impact it has on the patient as well as those around him. I thought it was very tastefully done and gives me a look into those living with the disease.

One thing I really liked about this book is how the author transitions from one point of view to the other. In many books, you'll be hearing from one point of view and then they'll be a break - a chapter break or a section break - and then it'll be the other character's point of view. In this book, a scene will progress and all of a sudden, as the reader, I would realize I was hearing from the other character and I didn't realize it. I thought the best example of that is when Gwen was talking to her girlfriends in the ice cream shop, talking about men of course, and the men walk in. They join the conversation and almost immediately she's able to shift to Tanner's point of view. It was so seamless that I had to go back and find where it changed. I thought it was fantastic.

Links:

Goodreads

Her Volunteer Cowboy is currently available as part of the 12-Alarm Cowboys Box Set

Goodreads • Amazon • Barnes and Noble • Kobo • iBooks

About the Author:

It’s all my mother’s fault.

She read to me before I could read and opened up that magical world where I still reside today. Then came television and movies. Now I had three avenues that fed my imagination...and boy could I eat! As you no doubt figured out, this lead to my writing career. I’m a NY Times, USA Today, and Amazon Bestselling Award winning author. Phew, that was a mouthful! Multi-published in e-book and print with several publishers, I certainly have a ton of voices in my head.

I’m happily married to a military man for 28 years.  We have four children and several rescued cats. Michael’s been in the Army National Guard since before he graduated. The Guard has been a part of our lives right from the start. It was only natural for the military to spill into my writing.  God bless the military and their families. Thank you all for your sacrifices. ♥

You already know my mom inspired my love of reading,but it was my dad who got me hooked on movies. Even now, if I had the time, I could happily go from one movie to another all day long. They are the reason I love mixed genre and why I can’t just stick to just one in my writing, although, as you can tell, I have a soft spot for cowboys and the military.

Well, that’s about it. Thanks for getting to know me a little better. Remember, keep reading to your children. The journey you’re igniting is precious. And the next time you’re at the movies, turn around. I just might be the person sitting behind you. No, not the one throwing popcorn (it’s too expensive to waste). I’m the one already imagining the sequel.

Website: http://www.donnamichaelsauthor.com/

Release Day Review: "Home Ice" by Catherine Gayle

Synopsis:

There’s only one person Portland Storm head coach Mattias Bergstrom allows to see his soft side: his sister, who was born with Down syndrome. She lives in Sweden, so he doesn’t worry he’ll accidentally reveal other than the hard-assed defenseman-turned-coach his players know. At least not until his sister’s doppelganger leaps for one of his young D-men before the team’s charity skills competition and melts Mattias’s frozen heart. 

Paige Calhoun has her hands full with four exceedingly boy-crazy, hockey-loving daughters—three teens and a pre-teen with Down syndrome. Everyday life is a challenge. Taking all four girls to the StormSkillz event with no assistance? The magnitude of her task was daunting enough before her youngest spotted the hockey player of her dreams and barreled through the crowd to claim him.

The team’s sexy-as-sin coach intervenes, and Paige feels just as boy crazy as her daughters. Charmed by the youngest, he decides to give the girls a weekend they’ll never forget. It never crossed his mind that, in doing so, he might end up giving himself an unexpected happy ever after with Paige.

When it comes to hockey, Mattias has a Home Ice advantage. But when it comes to life? He likes the look of Paige’s arena. 

Genre: Contemporary Romance

My Review:

Home Ice is a novella in the Portland Storm series and the only complaint I have is that it wasn't a longer book - it ended too soon. In typical Catherine Gayle fashion, she includes an aspect of a social element to each of her books and in Home Ice, it's living with a child with Downs Syndrome. The author wonderfully depicts the sweet innocence of Paige's daughter with DS. Mattias is immediately drawn to Paige's daughter because he has a sister with DS. And then he sees Paige, and he is a goner!

Also in typical Catherine Gayle fashion, Home Ice has plenty of heat. Having older children myself, I enjoyed seeing a bit more of a "mature" love relationship. The author demonstrates the challenge of dating with children, and planning around alternate weekends, and babysitters, and having to go out as a family instead of a couple. But that didn't take away from the heat that Mattias and Paige generate when they are away from the prying eyes of the kids. Woo Hoo - hot!

Paige's older, teenage kids also add a fun aspect to the story, with their giggling worship of the Portland Storm players, their teasing of their mother when Mattias asks her out, and even their horror when they try to text their mom and Mattias, and suffer the fate of autocorrect. It all made the love story seem very real and very relatable.

Another great contribution to the Portland Storm series.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Links:

Goodreads • Amazon • Barnes and Noble • Kobo • iBooks

About the Author:

Catherine Gayle is a USA Today bestselling author of Regency-set historical romance and contemporary hockey romance with a New Adult feel. She’s a transplanted Texan living in North Carolina with two extremely spoiled felines. In her spare time, she watches way too much hockey and reality TV, plans fun things to do for the Nephew Monster’s next visit, and performs experiments in the kitchen which are rarely toxic.

If you enjoyed this book and want to know when more like it will be available, be sure to sign up for Catherine’s mailing list. You can find out more on her website, her blog, at Red Door Reads, at Hockey Romance, at Facebook, on Twitter, and at Goodreads. If you want to see some of her cats’ antics and possibly the occasional video update from Catherine, visit her YouTube account.

Review: "Cop on Her Doorstep" by Karen Docter

Synopsis:
In the six years since her husband was killed by S.W.A.T., Carrie Padilla has spent long hours at work, rebuilding a life for herself and her son. The little time she has at home is spent keeping her eight-year-old son out of trouble, but he is all too eager to try to be the man in the house. When a handsome cop shows up on her doorstep, her errant son in tow, Carrie's heart stutters. The sexy Italian cop sets off all kinds of bells in her system, and she knows there's only one thing she can do to save what is left of her family, her husband’s memory, and her heart...avoid her new neighbor at all costs.

S.W.A.T. officer Jake Stafani already lost one little boy to gang violence, the dead boy’s older brother is missing, and Jake's not about to let the same thing happen to a neighbor's son. He drags the youngster home only to discover much more than a passing interest in the boy's beautiful, but wary, mother. Forced to take a leave of absence after a bust goes awry, Jake can think of nothing better to occupy his time than to keep Carrie and her son safe, and locate the missing teen who holds the key to taking the gang off the streets, once and for all.


But Jake doesn’t count on his stubborn, intriguing neighbor distracting him from his job, or the passion that flares between them. He doesn’t expect her amazing son to steal a piece of his heart. Jake is ready to risk everything for Carrie, body and soul. But it’s not all up to him. If their new love is to survive, Carrie will need to be strong enough to see the man's beating heart behind the badge, to look beyond the pain of her past, and decide that loving again is worth the risk.

Genre: Contemporary Romance

My Review:

Karen Docter is a new author to me. I'm always skeptical when I read a book from a "new to me" author, but Karen Docter didn't disappoint. This book really touched me. It is an emotional read with compelling characters and a great storyline. I really think the author did a great job with her character development. Carrie is a strong woman. She's raising her son alone and managing a successful career. I like how she seems to have figured it out. And despite her son's escapades, she does realize that he's missing out on having a man in the house. I just don't think she ever expected that the man would end up being a cop. It was really neat how Carrie meets Jake literally on her doorstep - with her son beside him. And that was the start of a great, complicated, exciting relationship.

Gosh, I just love Jake. He speaks to Carrie in a rational, loving, kick-ass kind of way. He loves her, but he won't let her do something he doesn't think is right for her. I love how he let her learn for herself when he realizes he can't convince her, and when he admits that if she doesn't see what he sees, then maybe what he's seeing isn't real. I can't say enough good things about this hero.

Carrie's strength also means that she can be stubborn. She has hung onto her misdirected responsibility for her husband's death for a long time, and it takes the fear of possibly losing the love of her life to help her realize the reality of the situation - well, that fear, and the arguments of a good man who can be equally stubborn and refused to give up on the love of HIS life!

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who likes hometown heroes, strong women, sensitive men, and a great love story!

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Links:
Goodreads • Amazon • Barnes and Noble • Kobo

About the Author:

Amazon Bestselling Author Karen/K.L. Docter writes two different kinds of romance novels ... Contemporary Romance as Karen Docter: Romance…With a Kick! Romantic Suspense as K.L. Docter: Women hunted by killers…men who’d die to protect them.

Karen’s contemporaries are delightful, spicy romances. She loves writing about real men and women with dreams and goals that don’t allow for a relationship just so she can throw them in each others path.

Her romantic suspense novels (as K.L. Docter) are also filled with romance, although the dangers the hero and heroine face are intense, usually because a serial killer is bent on ending one or both of their lives before they can fall in love. Karen/K.L.’s an award-winning author, a four-time Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® finalist, and won the coveted Kiss of Death Romance Writers Daphne du Maurier Award Category (Series) Romantic Mystery Unpublished division.


When she’s not saving her characters from death and destruction or helping them to fall in love, she loves camping and fishing with her family, reading, gardening & cooking. If she can do most of those things over a campfire, all the better!

Website: http://www.karendocter.com/

Spotlight and Giveaway: "Chalk Lines and Lipstick" by Ophelia London

We're celebrating the release of CHALK LINES AND LIPSTICK by Ophelia London! Check out the excerpt and giveaway below!

Title: CHALK LINES AND LIPSTICK by Ophelia London

Age group: Adult

Genre: Cozy Mystery/Romantic Comedy

Publisher: Gemma Halliday

Scheduled to release: August 11, 2015

Goodreads

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1DGt2vz

BN: http://bit.ly/1DBca9G

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1DGtbiG

iBooks: http://apple.co/1IYoS2A

BLURB:
Maren Colepepper thought she had it all: a career at a fashion magazine, a successful boyfriend, and a glamorous New York lifestyle. She thought wrong. When her glamorous life suddenly goes belly up, Maren finds herself forced to take the only job she can find at a small town newspaper in the tiny northern California hometown she fled ten years ago.

While Maren expected her new job in no-wheres-ville to kill her with boredom, She never expected to be front row to a shooting on her very first day! Worse yet, Maren is knocked unconscious at the scene, and when she comes to, the body has gone missing and she's been scooped by another reporter. Talk about a bad first impression. Now Maren is hot on the trail of the story of a lifetime, involving a shady lumber mill and the foresting of old-growth redwoods—a ginormous crime in her neck of the woods! Between her suddenly flirty new editor, her supremely hot new neighbor, and a lovably meddling family, Maren find small town life anything but boring. But if she can't find the shooter before he strikes again, it may even become deadly!

Excerpt:

"What is this thing?" His husky voice lilted through the darkness as he fisted the top of my hair.

"A bun."

"It's ingenious. Gives me easy access." His mouth flew to my neck, planting kisses down the side, leaving warmth and tingles all along the way. But despite his comment, a minute later, his hands tunneled into my hair, undoing the knot, releasing my hair to fall in heavy waves, which he interchangeably combed through with his fingers and then swept away from my neck to restore that "easy access."

His indecisiveness about what he wanted more was about the sexiest thing ever.

Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author:


USA Today bestselling author Ophelia London was born and raised among the redwood trees in beautiful northern California. Once she was fully educated, she decided to settle in Florida, but her car broke down in Texas and she’s lived in Dallas ever since. A cupcake and treadmill aficionado (obviously those things are connected), she spends her time watching arthouse movies and impossibly trashy TV, while living vicariously through the characters in the books she writes.

Ophelia is the author of DEFINITELY, MAYBE IN LOVE; ABBY ROAD and CROSSING ABBY ROAD; the Perfect Kisses series including: FALLING FOR HER SOLDIER, PLAYING AT LOVE, SPEAKING OF LOVE, and MAKING WAVES; and the upcoming AIMEE AND THE HEARTTHROB for Entangled’s Teen Crush. Visit her at www.ophelialondon.com, but don’t call when The Vampire Diaries (or Dawson’s Creek) is on.

Twitter: @ophelia_london : Facebook : Website : Pinterest : Goodreads