Tasty Book Tours Release Blast: Heart Breaker

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Handcuffs aren’t just part of their job...

HEARTBREAKER

Filthy Dirty Love #1

Stacey Kennedy

Releasing Jan 31st, 2017

Handcuffs aren’t just part of their job in this sizzling new standalone novel by USA Today bestselling author, Stacey Kennedy.

Veteran cop, Maddox Hunt, is all about the job. Sure, there are women—lots of women, truth be told—but there’s no one special. Until a one-night stand from his past, rookie Joss O’Neil is assigned to his division. Suddenly, all he can think about is her. The scent of her. The taste of her. 

Fresh out of field training, Joss has thrown herself into her job, determined to kick-start her career. And while police work has its thrills, her gorgeous new boss is what really gets her pulse pounding. Too bad he’s nothing but a distraction. Especially since he’s as devastatingly handsome as she remembers, and his sexy smile arrests her heart.

Now that Joss is back in Maddox’s life, he has a plan: satisfy her fantasies and fulfill his every dark desire. Nothing is off limits. Her pleasure is the endgame . . . but even the best-laid plans have a way of falling apart. Despite his best attempts to keep his distance and have things remain only about the pleasure, Maddox soon finds himself breaking the only law he’s set for himself. Don’t fall in love.

STACEY KENNEDY is the USA Today bestselling author of the Dirty Little Secrets and Club Sin series. She writes deeply emotional romances about powerful men and the wild women who tame them. When she’s not writing sensual stories, she spends her time in southwestern Ontario with her real life hero, her husband, their two young children, and her other babies: a mini labradoodle named Jax and a chocolate labrador named Murphy. Stacey is a proud chocolate, television show, Urban Barn, and wine addict. She likes her heroes in her books like she likes her coffee . . . strong and hot!

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TLC Book Tours Book Review: The Worthington Wife

About The Worthington Wife

Paperback: 448 pages

Publisher: HQN Books (December 27, 2016)

Sharon Page sparkles in this poignant and irresistibly entertaining follow-up to her breakout novel, An American Duchess 

Lady Julia Hazelton is the most dazzling among 1920s England’s bright young things. But rather than choosing the thrill of wanton adventure like so many of her contemporaries, Julia shocks society with her bold business aspirations. Determined to usher the cursed Worthington estate into a prosperous, modern new era, and thus preserve her beloved late fiancé’s legacy, the willful Julia tackles her wildest, most unexpected adventure in Cal Carstairs, the reluctant new Earl of Worthington.

The unconventional American artist threatens everything Julia seeks to protect while stirring desires she thought had died in the war. For reasons of his own, Cal has designed the ultimate revenge. Rather than see the estate prosper, he intends to destroy it. But their impulsive marriage—one that secures Julia’s plans as well as Cal’s secrets—proves that passion is ambition’s greatest rival. Unless Cal ends his quest to satisfy his darkest vendetta, he stands to ruin his Worthington wife and all her glittering dreams.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

About Sharon Page

New York Times and USA TODAY  bestselling author Sharon Page is author of more than 20 books. Sharon has won two RT Bookreviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards, two National Readers’ Choice Awards, the Colorado Award of Romance, and the Golden Quill.

The mother of two children and wife of a terrifically supportive husband, Sharon has a degree in Industrial Design and worked in structural engineering before fulfilling her dream of becoming an author.

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Connect with Susan

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Review:  I adore books set in the 1920s. I harbor a secret desire to have a flapper dress, someday about 80 lbs from now.

That said I'm on the fence with this book. First its book two in a series. How do I always miss book 1? I am forever starting a series on book 2..

So now my TBR pile has grown by one book.

What I found wonderful about Cal and Julia's story is the descriptions of the time period. Its very easy to get swept into the book and you can visualize the surroundings. I get pulled into these types of stories because of my love of Downton Abbey and that sort of thing.

Lady Julia reminded me a bit of Lady Edith to be honest. She lost a love to the Great War and another to because of their class. Really, all she needed was one love interest to disappear or leave her at the altar. She's the best part of the book. She has a big heart and wants to help people, yet she has strong ties to class. She's part modern woman, part old school aristocrat. That is what made her a little frustrating at times. She wanted the independence of the modern woman, but she still clung to the big estate.

Cal is an American that has inherited Worthington and he bears a grudge on the family. If you read on, you'll know why and frankly if you are like me, you'll think that they deserve it too.

Yet somehow the two find each other and they fall in love.  Julia brings out the goodness in Cal.

You get a little bit of the Upstairs/Downstairs in this book, and for awhile it doesn't quite make sense why, until the mystery involving the disappearance of some village girls is about to be solved. I wish this part of the story could have been a little more connected with Julia and Cal. It seems like a side story that is almost an afterthought.

There was a lot going on in this book, with mystery and a bit of romance, some of which seem pretty hurried, but it was an enjoyable read. One that would make me want to go back and read An American Duchess.

Rating: 4 flowers

Great Escapes Book Tours Book Review: Time Out

Time Out (A Dodie O’Dell Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Publisher: Lyrical Underground (January 17, 2017)
Paperback: 240 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1601837226
E-Book ASIN: B01EQ2N1W6

Synopsis

The amateur actors at the Etonville Little Theatre may be known for chewing the scenery, rbut restaurant manager Dodie O’Dell has something more appetizing for them to sink their teeth into. She’s been taking bows in her small New Jersey town for her theme menus, designed to complement the local productions. This fall, the community theatre is staging Arsenic and Old Lace, set in 1940s Brooklyn, so Dodie is serving up hot dogs, Italian ices, egg creams, and knishes at the weekend food festival.

All is going well until Antonio Digenza, the ex-Off-Off-Broadway director of the show, dies dramatically while noshing on a knish. As rumors of food poisoning quickly spread, Dodie scrambles to rescue the Windjammer restaurant’s reputation. But when clues point to foul play, she’s faced with a cast of suspects all auditioning for the part of DiGenza’s murderer. She’ll need to act fast to shine a spotlight on the killer—before it’s curtains for another victim . . .

Review:  Time Out is the second book in a new series. I absolutely loved it. Dodie is a wonderful cozy mystery heroine and her other cast  of characters make the book a super fun read.

I read a lot of cozy mysteries, and I always look for something new and different when it comes to our amateur sleuths and Dodie is really different. She's a restaurant manager for her uncle's restaurant the Windjammer.

The death in this book doesn't really totally affect Dodie either, though at the beginning it looked like the victim might have suffered from food poisoning. What really surprised me was that it wasn't until the book was all but over that Bill, the police chief learns that there was more to Antonio's death than just a heart attack.

Antonio's the director of the community theater that is putting on Arsenic and Old Lace. He also has enough people that might want him dead and includes a couple of ex wives. His death has the whole community theater in an uproar to the point where they might not put the show on.

It was a fun story, and Dodie is one of the smarter cozy heroines that I've encountered, though I had a hard time figuring out why she involved herself so much in mystery, that wasn't a mystery, to the point where she was leaving her job at all times. Unlike most cozies, she doesn't own the Windjammer, her uncle does and he's the cook, and for someone that is crabby most of the time, I couldn't figure out why he didn't get on her case at all.

Honey was another strange character. She's another niece of Henry's and she sometimes seems to be muscling in on Dodie's job, but then she wants to go back to school too. She's an odd young woman.

When Dodie starts uncovering things in Antonio's past, that's when the story really gets interesting. Antonio definitely isn't a guy that you could like.

I definitely want to go back and read the first book in the series, because I'd like learn more about some of the secondary characters, and I definitely want to see what happens to Dodie and Bill.



Rating: 5 flowers

Tasty Book Tours Release Blast: Carnal Obsession

A romantic suspense with a twist.

CARNAL OBSESSION: 

HIS HEART'S PRISONER

Carnal Series

Reily Garrett

Releasing Jan 30, 2017

Life on the street molds emotional athletes.

Three years ago, her brother’s death marked the beginning of Kendra’s new life, an existence with no home, no family, and no friends. Time in the underground byways toughened her emotional shell with the loose association of like-minded street rats where survival meant compromise and constant vigilance.

Before he died, Billy had sent her a package in care of his teammate, Conner. For Kendra, re-entrance into polite society comes with a deadly price, as betrayal comes from both sides of the grave.

Conner Crofton owns the BDSM club Ambrosia. After failing to protect his teammate on their last covert mission, penance takes form as a promise to safeguard Billy’s little sister, a girl he’d unknowingly remanded to a world of darkness and uncertainty, deception and psychopathic stalkers.

The past will always haunt us. Each must earn forgiveness and trust as passion, guilt, deception, and betrayal, interweave a destiny formed long ago. A romantic suspense with a twist.

Reily Garrett is a West Coast girl transplanted to the East Coast. Past employments as an ICU nurse, private investigator, and military police officer has given her a host of different environments to add a real world feel to her writing.

Though her kids are her life, writing is her life after. The one enjoyed…after the kids are in bed or after they’re in school and the house is quiet. This is the time she kicks back with laptop, surrounded by her shepherds, to give her imagination free rein.

 In life, hobbies can come and go according to our physical abilities, but you can always enjoy a good book. Life isn’t perfect, but your imagination can be. Relax, whether it’s in front of a fire or in your own personal dungeon. Take pleasure in a mental pause as you root for your favorite hero/heroine and bask in their accomplishments, then share your opinions over a coffee with your best friend (even if he’s four legged). Life is short. Cherish your time.

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Book Review: The Long Dark Tea Time Of The Soul

Author: Douglas Adams
Title: The Long Dark Tea-Time Of The Soul
Publisher: Pocket Books
Publish Date: Oct 10, 1988
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb:  When a passenger check-in desk at London's Heathrow Airport disappears in a ball of orange flame, the explosion is deemed an act of God. But which god, wonders holistic detective Dirk Gently? What god would be hanging around Heathrow trying to catch the 3:37 to Oslo? And what has this to do with Dirk's latest--and late-- client, found only this morning with his head revolving atop the hit record "Hot Potato"? Amid the hostile attentions of a stray eagle and the trauma of a very dirty refrigerator, super-sleuth Dirk Gently will once again solve the mysteries of the universe...

Review: I've been trying to get into the Dirk Gently series. I've not been having a good time with it though.

Unlike the first book, Tea Time gets into the story fairly quickly and Dirk gets quickly involved in the craziness.

I don't know if I can give this book the review I want to give it. Douglas Adams is quirky and if you aren't used to his style of writing a bit confusing. For a shorter read, I always find myself slogging my way through this series. I don't remember taking that long with the Hitchhiker books, but I read those in college and that was a long time ago.

What made this book interesting was the involvement of the Gods, Odin and Thor. They are central to the part of the story that involves the explosion at Heathrow. That's Thor's fault.

Thanks to the Marvel movies, I kept thinking of Chris Helmsworth and  Anthony Hopkins. I'm trying to imagine Thor counting all the stones in Wales.

Then there's the other stuff...like Dirk's very dirty fridge. The client that lost his head on a record player that is stuck on a song called "Hot Potato" and a whole lot of other freaky things.

At the end of the book, I'm not sure Dirk solved anything so much as he got dragged into things. 

I enjoyed this book and I may continue on with this series at some point.

Rating: 4 flowers

TLC Book Tours Book Review: Lord of the Privateers

About Lord of the Privateers

• Series: Adventurers Quartet
• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: MIRA (December 27, 2016)

The eldest of the Frobisher brothers and widely known as the lord of the privateers, Royd Frobisher expects to execute the final leg of the rescue mission his brothers have been pursuing. What he does not expect is to be pressured into taking his emotional nemesis, childhood sweetheart, ex-handfasted bride, and current business partner, Isobel Carmichael, with him. But is it Isobel doing the pressuring, or his own restless unfulfilled psyche?

Resolute, determined, and an all but unstoppable force of nature, Isobel has a mission of her own—find her cousin Katherine and bring her safely home. And if, along the way, she can rid herself of the lingering dreams of a life with Royd that still haunt her, well and good.

Neither expects the shock that awaits them as they set sail aboard Royd’s ship, much less the new horizons that open before them as they call into London, then, armed with the necessary orders and all arrangements in place, embark on a full-scale rescue-assault on the mining compound buried in the jungle.

Yet even with the support of his brothers and their ladies and, once rescued, all the ex-captives, Royd and Isobel discover that freeing the captives is only half the battle. In order to identify and convict the backers behind the illicit enterprise—and protect the government from catastrophic destabilization—they must return to the ballrooms of the haut ton, and with the help of a small army of supporters, hunt the villains on their home ground.

But having found each other again, having glimpsed the heaven that could be theirs again, how much are they willing to risk in the name of duty?

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Review: I have been following this series from the the beginning. This is the final book in the Adventurers Quartet. I've enjoyed this series, but all of the books could stand some trimming. This book, like the other three clocks in at over 500 pages. 

I have no problem with chunky books except when they plod along. This has been an ongoing problem in this series. I think if each book were closer to 350 pages, the reads would be more satisfying. I also think if romance played more of a role in the stories, the books would be more enjoyable.

In this book we see Isobel and Royd who were handfasted 8 years prior, but one of Royd's missions caused the relationship to falter. When they meet again, Royd discovers he's a father and instantly wants to resume their relationship. (Not just for the child, he still loves Isobel)

The story is stagnant from this point until they actually start their journey to Africa too the settlement. 

The plus to this book, is that there is much going on with all the characters from the previous books. Its nice that this book brings everyone together.

The best part of this story is when they are in Africa freeing the captives. There's a lot going on and it holds your interest, which is more than can be said for most of the rest of the book.

Stephanie Laurens is very good at writing adventure stories. That's the best part of this series. The romance has been pretty much on the back burner on all the stories in the series. The first book focuses on the married Frobishers, which was very different, but it allowed the story to focus on the adventure, so that was the strongest book in the series.

Isobel and Royd sort of fell back into their relationship comfortably without any conflict, which would have spiced things up. If Duncan would have been more prominent in the story maybe things could have had some spice or some arguements, or anything.

I wanted a spectacular finale for this series, but it sort of fizzled, especially as the ending was so drawn out. I mean really drawn out. The last bit of drama before things wrapped up just went totally against how smart Isobel was throughout the novel.

I really wanted something more out of a series I've been reading for a year.

Rating: 3 flowers

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Book Review: Sweet Southern Hearts

Author: Susan Schild
Publisher: Kensington
Publish Date: Jan 10, 2017
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Book Blurb: Susan Schild welcomes you back to the offbeat Southern town of Willow Hill, North Carolina, for a humorous, heartwarming story of new beginnings, do-overs, and self-discovery…

When it comes to marriage, third time’s the charm for Linny Taylor. She’s thrilled to be on her honeymoon with Jack Avery, Willow Hill’s handsome veterinarian. But just like the hair-raising white water rafting trip Jack persuades her to take, newlywed life has plenty of dips and bumps.

Jack’s twelve-year-old son is resisting all Linny’s efforts to be the perfect stepmother, while her own mother, Dottie, begs her to tag along on the first week of a free-wheeling RV adventure. Who knew women “of a certain age” could drum up so much trouble? No sooner is Linny sighing with relief at being back home than she’s helping her frazzled sister with a new baby…and dealing with an unexpected legacy from her late ex. Life is fuller—and richer—than she ever imagined, but if there’s one thing Linny’s learned by now, it’s that there’s always room for another sweet surprise…

“This charming and well observed novel about finding the courage to love after loss will make you smile as well as cry more than a few happy tears. Be prepared for a story of true tenderness, humor, and sometimes nail biting tension. Sweet Southern Hearts delivers all this and more.” --Holly Chamberlin, author of Summer with my Sisters

Review: Sweet Southern Hearts follows Linny Taylor and her new husband, Jack as they are on their honeymoon and the first few months of marriage. This is the third Willow Hill book.  While it is a stand alone novel, you'll enjoy it more if you've read Linny's Sweet Dream List and Sweet Carolina Morning.

There are a lot of misadventures for Linny as the story progresses. All the character's you've come to know in the past two books are here and they are still causing trouble Jack's ex-wife Vera is still leaning to heavily on Jack as her current marriage crumbles. Neal is still a brat that you both love and want to shake some sense into. Linny's mother is still a bit nutty.

Vera interrupts their honeymoon and Linny and Neal take in Neal full time, while Vera and Chaz try to work things out. The fun comes when Linny joins on and RV tour of the country, with stops in Dollywood and Nashville, while Jack and Neal are in Tuscon.

There's some drama on the trip as the ladies try to find a man for Rose and the RV is broken into.

Totally nuts, but fun.

When Linny arrives home, there's even more going on. Neal becomes more bratty and a baby is left on her doorstep.

Can we get any more dramatic?

I love the humor in this series and the fact that Linny just tries too hard to be a good wife and step mother. Carol Brady is obviously her idol.  There are times when you want to give her a good shaking to remind her to stand up for herself. There are also times when you want to knock some sense into Jack, because he has a hard time telling his ex to get on with her life. Most women would have probably walked out on him.

This book was really a sweet addition to the series. I hope it continues, especially with the ending of this one.

Rating: 5 flowers

Tasty Book Tours Sale Blitz: Good Girl

"a delicious bite of Southern seduction with chemistry that sizzles." 

- Rebecca Yarros

GOOD GIRL

a Love Unexpectedly novel

Lauren Layne

Released May 17th, 2016

Loveswept

New York Times BESTSELLER • Lauren Layne brings all the unpredictable heat of Blurred Lines to an all-new cast of characters! Country music’s favorite good girl is hiding away from the world—only to find herself bunking with a guy who makes her want to be a little bad.
 
Jenny Dawson moved to Nashville to write music, not get famous. But when her latest record goes double platinum, Jenny’s suddenly one of the town’s biggest stars—and the center of a tabloid scandal connecting her with a pop star she’s barely even met. With paparazzi tracking her every move, Jenny flees to a remote mansion in Louisiana to write her next album. The only hiccup is the unexpected presence of a brooding young caretaker named Noah, whose foul mouth and snap judgments lead to constant bickering—and serious heat.
 
Noah really should tell Jenny that he’s Preston Noah Maxwell Walcott, the owner of the estate where the feisty country singer has made her spoiled self at home. But the charade gives Noah a much-needed break from his own troubles, and before long, their verbal sparring is indistinguishable from foreplay. But as sizzling nights give way to quiet pillow talk, Noah begins to realize that Jenny’s almost as complicated as he is. To fit into each other’s lives, they’ll need the courage to face their problems together—before the outside world catches up to them.

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Lauren Layne is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen romantic comedies. She lives in New York City with her husband (who was her high school sweetheart--cute, right?!) and plus-sized Pomeranian.

In 2011, she ditched her corporate career in Seattle to pursue a full-time writing career in Manhattan, and never looked back.

In her ideal world, every stiletto-wearing, Kate Spade wielding woman would carry a Kindle stocked with Lauren Layne books.

For a list of all her works, please be sure to check out her official website!

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