Blog Tour Book Review: His Sweetest Fortune

HER SWEETEST FORTUNE

by Stella Bagwell

Harlequin Special Edition; January 17, 2017
$5.75 U.S.; 224 Pages
ISBN-978-0-373-623266

Sophie Fortune Robinson is on a mission. The word around the office watercooler is that the boss's youngest daughter is intent on landing Mr. Right by Valentine's Day—and that she has her eyes, and heart, set on a certain hunk in Marketing.

But when she enlists her longtime pal and coworker Mason Montgomery to teach her how to get a man to notice her, little does she know she's already captured his attention!

Now Mason's in a real bind! He has just a few short weeks to fight his way out of the "friend zone." On his agenda: convincing sweet Sophie that he is the real man of her dreams! Will Fortune smile on true love's venture?

Review: Her Sweetest Fortune is a sweet romance. I'm not sure that this book was suited for the Special Edition Line. I know it was part of a bigger series, but Sophie, oh Sophie she was so not a grown up.

The plot of this story is more suited to a teen novel or a new adult novel. I love the friends to lovers theme, especially as Mason wasn't a typical hero. There was sensitivity that is usually lacking. But again, its our girl, Sophie who is the huge problem here. How could any grown woman act like she did? Her whole crush on Thom and dating him, was just ludicrous. Why would you want to keep going with someone you have nothing in common with, except that you have some delusion that he's Mr. Right.

This isn't the reasoning of an intelligent woman. Especially when she thinks about Mason, when she's on dates with Thom. (And who wouldn't, Thom is a flipping jerk)

The book is enjoyable if you read it putting  the focus that Sophie is very young or at least not very mature.


Rating: 3 flowers

STELLA BAGWELL is a USA Today bestselling author who has written close to 90 books for Harlequin. She lives on the Texas Gulf coast with her husband, where the winters are mild and the summers sweltering. Along with her writing, she stays busy helping her husband care for their 10 horses, 11 cats, and a flock of gulls that always seem to know when it's feeding time!

Tasty Book Tours Release Blast: Perfect For You

The Kincade brothers will do what it takes to protect their legacy--

but what happens when love gets in the way?

PERFECT FOR YOU

Sunshine Creek Vineyard #2

Candis Terry

Releasing Feb 28, 2017

Avon Books

Meet the Kincade brothers: they’ll do what it takes to protect their legacy--but what happens when love gets in the way?

Declan Kincade has spent so much time chasing success he’s almost forgotten how to just live. Lately though, his all-business routine has been thrown into disarray. Brooke Hastings is the best employee Dec’s ever had: polished, capable, and intelligent. After four years, he’s just realized that she’s also smoking hot. But their working relationship is too valuable to stake on a fling, no matter how mind-bendingly pleasurable it promises to be.

What’s worse than never meeting the right man? Finding him, and then working side-by-side every day while he remains absolutely blind to your existence. That is, until one temptation-packed road-trip changes everything. Teaching her gorgeous, driven boss how to cut loose and have fun is the toughest challenge Brooke’s ever faced. But it’s one that could give both of them exactly what they need, if Dec will take a chance on a perfect—and perfectly unexpected—love.

Best-selling and award winning author Candis Terry entertains readers with contemporary romance the Library Journal Reviews calls uniquely satisfying. Both her Sugar Shack and Sweet, Texas series deliver witty and emotional stories about how love, family, and a small town community defines the characters’ lives. Born and raised near the sunny beaches of Southern California, Candis now makes her home on an Idaho farm. She’s experienced life in such diverse ways as working in a Hollywood recording studio to chasing down wayward steers and loves to escape to the breathtaking Idaho forests to energize her imagination.

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TLC Book Tours Book Review: The Chilbury Ladies Choir

About The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir

Hardcover: 384 pages

Publisher: Crown (February 14, 2017)

“Just because the men have gone to war, why do we have to close the choir? And precisely when we need it most!”

As England enters World War II’s dark early days, spirited music professor Primrose Trent, recently arrived to the village of Chilbury, emboldens the women of the town to defy the Vicar’s stuffy edict to shutter the church’s choir in the absence of men and instead “carry on singing.” Resurrecting themselves as “The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir,” the women of this small village soon use their joint song to lift up themselves, and the community, as the war tears through their lives.

Told through letters and journals, THE CHILBURY LADIES’ CHOIR moves seamlessly from budding romances to village intrigues to heartbreaking matters of life and death. As we come to know the struggles of the charismatic members of this unforgettable outfit– a timid widow worried over her son at the front; the town beauty drawn to a rakish artist; her younger sister nursing an impossible crush and dabbling in politics she doesn’t understand; a young Jewish refugee hiding secrets about her family, and a conniving midwife plotting to outrun her seedy past– we come to see how the strength each finds in the choir’s collective voice reverberates in her individual life. In turns funny, charming and heart-wrenching, this lovingly executed ensemble novel will charm and inspire, illuminating the true spirit of the women on the homefront, in a village of indomitable spirit, at the dawn of a most terrible conflict.

“There’s so much happening in Chilbury: intrigue, romance and an unforgettable cast of characters who aren’t always as they appear. The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir is a charming slice of English wartime life that warms the soul like a hot toddy.”
— Martha Hall Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls
“Lyrical, poetic, emotional, funny, endearing, surprising – it is a masterpiece.”
— Veronica Henry, author of An Eligible Bachelor

“The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir sinks you deep inside the rich, intricate atmosphere of an English village in the middle of war, when quiet lives are upended and secrets unravel. With her unforgettable characters and vivid narrative, Jennifer Ryan creates the kind of wartime novel that plays out over the intimate territory of the human heart—full of soul, full of hope. You’ll be thinking about this book long after the last page turns.”
— Beatriz Williams, New York Times bestselling author of A Hundred Summers and The Secret Life of Violet Grant

“World War II in an English village seen through the eyes of the most delicious cast of characters you’ll ever meet—The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir is a masterpiece of secrets, misdirection, village gossip, and gleeful disregard for anything but the main chance, as the Home Front learns to carry on. Seldom do you find a writer with such a deft touch—Jennifer Ryan sweeps the reader along to the very last page in a remarkable debut. “
— Charles Todd, New York Times bestselling author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge series

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Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Review: Sometimes there are books that you can describe in only one word. This book is one of those books and that word is amazing.

I've read loads of books about WWII and the tone of each book is different. I loved that there was hope to be found here. So many books on this war are dark and depressing, as was the time, but there is always hope.

The story was told through letters and journals and that is truly what made this book such an enjoyable read.

You had so many snapshots of people's lives in a small English village.

I loved this book so much and I kept thinking how much I want PBS Masterpiece to make a mini series of this book. (I want Keeley Hawes in some role pretty please)

A total winner and one that will stay on my shelf

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Review: The Serpent In The Garden

Author: Janet Gleeso
Title: The Serpent In The Garden
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publish Date: Feb 25, 2005
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: She opened the shagreen box. Couched in gray silk was an emerald necklace, one he had not seen for twenty years. The stones were just as he recalled them: a dozen or more, baguette cut and set in gold links, with a single ruby at the center. Flashes of verdigris, orpiment, and Prussian blue sparkled in the candlelight. The form of this necklace was as disturbing as ever. It had nearly cost him his life. It is the summer of 1765. The renowned and exquisitely dressed portrait painter Joshua Pope accepts a commission to paint the wedding portrait of Herbert Bentnick and his fiancée, Sabine Mercer, to whom Bentnick has become engaged less than a year after the death of his first wife. Joshua has barely begun the portrait when a man's body is found in the conservatory. A few days later, Sabine's emerald necklace disappears, and Bentnick accuses Joshua of theft. The painter is suddenly fighting not only for his reputation but for his life. With a sure understanding of period detail and character, Janet Gleeson creates a richly nuanced tale of greed and revenge that plays out in the refined landscapes and dark streets of eighteenth-century London.

Review:  This book took me forever to read and I don't know why. I really enjoyed it. I love a good historical mystery and this was fabulous.

Joshua Pope is an artist working on the wedding portrait for Herbert and Sabine. He's a totally unique character. He is a widower, whose wife and child died a year before from drowning. He's scared of water.

The mystery starts when a man ends up in the pinery. This book has a lot of information on the growing of pineapples, which is something Sabine knows a great deal about, and she is bringing that knowledge with her to England.

Shortly after the death of the man Sabine's beloved serpent necklace goes missing, and Herbert knows that it was left in Joshua's care.

This beginning part of the novel takes a a little bit of time to get going, but you get a good introduction to the characters, Sabine in particular. She's not particularly likable and she's one of the people that you suspect early on of being a killer, though there is no reason why she'd have her own necklace stolen.

While Joshua works to find out who stole the necklace, mystery after mystery appear and they all seem to point to one person.  Of course, that's not the killer, or perhaps it is, in a round about way when you make it to the very end of the book.

I love how thorough Joshua was in trying to find answers, especially after the death of Herbert's daughter Caroline.

There's a large cast of characters in this book and so many incidents that need investigating. Probably the most interesting is the existence of a woman who was the daughter of Sabine's late husband. Her existence keeps the story going, though ultimately she's not as important to the outcome as you might originally think.

I love how things began to keep turning up as Joshua keeps looking for answers. It made the story a real page turner. I definitely will read more of Janet Gleeson's books.

Rating: 4 flowers

Tasty Book Tours Release Blast: Delicious Satisfaction

She’ll always leave him hungry for more…

DELICIOUS SATISFACTION

Delicious Desires #3

Sabrina Sol

Releasing Feb 27, 2017

Entangled Brazen

As LA’s hottest up-and-coming chef, Alexa Montoya is known for her ruby red lipstick, award-winning arroz con pollo and a penchant for falling for the wrong kind of men. And when a confrontation with a loser ex-boyfriend lands her in some legal trouble, she’s forced to call her long-time friend, Dante Perez, to bail her out. Only this time, Dante seems different, somehow. More gorgeous, more sexy, more…mouthwateringly irresistible. Suddenly she’s tempted to give the lawyer much more than a simple thank you…

Dante is tired of seeing Alexa with guys who only know how to steal her money and break her heart. He’s watched--and waited for--her long enough. Helping with her legal situation will finally give him a chance to win her over for good. His plan? He’ll seduce her into finally believing that there’s something deliciously right between them…

Despite their chemistry, Alexa can’t trust that Dante won’t leave. But Dante knows how to win a case. And he’ll do whatever it takes to convince Alexa that she’ll always leave him hungry for more…

Sabrina Sol is the chica who loves love. She writes steamy romance stories featuring smart and sexy Latinas in search of their Happily Ever Afters. She lives in Southern California with her husband, three kids, two Beagles and one Bulldog, and is part of a larger, extended Mexican family whose members are NOT the source of inspiration for her characters. Or so she tells them.

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TLC Book Tours Book Spotlight: Wild Horse Spring

About Wild Horse Springs

Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages

Publisher: HQN Books (January 24, 2017)

In the heart of Ransom Canyon, sometimes the right match for a lonely soul is the one you least expect.

Dan Brigman may not lead the most exciting life, but he’s proud of what he’s achieved: he’s a respected lawman, and he’s raised a bright, talented daughter on his own. But finding a lone, sparkly blue boot in the middle of a deserted highway gets him thinking maybe the cowgirl who lost it is exactly the shake-up he needs.

After losing her baby girl, Brandi Malone felt like her soul died along with her daughter. Now singing in small-town bars to make ends meet, she’s fine being a drifter—until a handsome sheriff makes her believe that parking her boots under his bed is a better option.

College grad Lauren Brigman has just struck out on her own in downtown Dallas when a troubling phone call leads her back home to Crossroads. Her hometown represents her family, friends and deepest hopes, but also her first love, Lucas Reyes. Will Lauren’s homecoming be another heartbreak, or a second chance for her and Lucas?

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

About Jodi Thomas

New York Times bestselling author Jodi Thomas is a fifth-generation Texan who sets many of her stories in her home state, where her grandmother was born in a covered wagon. She is a certified marriage and family counselor, a Texas Tech graduate and writer-in-residence at West Texas A&M University. She lives with her husband in Amarillo, Texas.

 Connect with Jodi

Website | Facebook | Twitter

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Tasty Book Tours Release Blast: Sprinkled With Love

What does one do with a matchmaking cat named Romeo?

SPRINKLED WITH LOVE

Bachelor Bake-Off #3

Jennifer Faye

Released Feb 21, 2017

Tule Publishing

What does one do with a matchmaking cat named Romeo?

Spirited and beautiful, Jillian Parker is one of Marietta’s newest business owners. Still, her mother worries about Jillian’s bare ring finger. So in order to give her mother something else to fuss over, Jillian adopts a cat named Romeo. He turns out to be anything but a docile lap cat.

One snowy night, Romeo makes a break for it. With Jillian right on his heels, they have a near miss with a passing pickup driven by Avery Wainwright, one of Jillian’s closest friends. A rodeo accident has the sexy cowboy returning home to recuperate, and he’s not happy about it.

So when Avery finds himself lassoed into the Bachelor Bake-Off, he turns to the one person who has always helped him out—Jillian. But will teaching him to take chances outside of the show ring have them both discovering that their feelings for each other run much deeper than they ever imagined?

Award-winning author, Jennifer Faye pens fun, heartwarming contemporary romances with rugged cowboys, sexy billionaires and enchanting royalty. Internationally published with books translated into nine languages. She is a two-time winner of the RT Book Reviews Reviewers' Choice Award, the CataRomance Reviewers' Choice Award, named a TOP PICK author, and been nominated for numerous other awards.

Now living her dream, she resides with her very patient husband, amazing daughter (the other remarkable daughter is off chasing her own dreams) and two spoiled cats. When she's not plotting out her next romance, you can find her curled up with a mug of tea and a book.

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