How to use this Page

This morning I have a review of Jodi Thomas’ Ransom Canyon, but first, Jodi dropped by the virtual offices with a special greeting for all of you!

Greeting from Jodi:

The idea for RANSOM CANYON came from living in the Texas Panhandle.  I wanted to write about the real west of today.  I wanted my people to be like the men and women I grew up with, honest and true.  Not the cowboy on a book cover who has never been on a horse, but the cowboy who gets up at five to load his own horse and make it to the ranch before dawn.  He doesn’t work by the hour, but by the day.

As I began my first book in the series Staten Kirkland jumped off the page.  He’s strong and good, a rancher everyone looks up to, but he’s broken and only one woman can calm his heart. Shy Quinn asks nothing of him.  She offers understanding amid the storm of his life.

Their friendship develops into a gentle, loving affair that grows to rock both them with its depth.  Staten will have to learn to love again and Quinn will have to open up to someone.  The whole town watches the birth of passion and love as Staten stands beside her letting her be strong and quiet Quinn discovers one man’s love can wash away all the pain in her past.

Readers will feel, not like they came to visit, Crossroads, Texas, on the edge of Ransom Canyon, the town will start to feel like home.  My goal as a writer is to keep you up late reading because you have to know what happens next.

So come along with me on a series set in today’s West.  You’ll love it.

Jodi Thomas

www.jodithomas.com

www.facebook.com/jodithomasauthor

May Contain Spoilers

Review:

One of the aspects of a Jodi Thomas novel that I enjoy is getting to know all of the characters.  There are usually 5 or 6 major characters, and their personal stories are told from alternating points of view.  Because of the small town setting, their lives often intersect, so we get so see how others perceive them, too.  Ransom Canyon takes place in Crossroads, Texas, a tiny town that most people just pass through without a second glance.  Staten Kirkland’s family has lived there for generations, running a large cattle ranch and investing their time and money supporting the small, close-knit community.  The story is mainly Staten’s struggle to learn how to live again after the tragic deaths of his beloved wife and teenage son.

Staten wasn’t my favorite character.  He’s emotionally detached because of his heartbreaking past, and I thought he was just taking advantage of Quinn, a childhood friend who has become his buddy with benefits.  Quinn was his wife’s BFF.  After Staten’s wife succumbed to cancer, and his son died in an accident just a few years later, his world crumbled.  He found himself seeking comfort from Quinn, a reclusive woman he’s known all his life.  Whenever the weather turned dark and stormy, just like the night his son was taken from him, he visits Quinn.  She never turns him away, and more times than not, they end up in bed.  Then Staten steals quietly from her small house and heads back home, firmly putting any feelings or deeper meaning to their hookups out of his mind. 

Quinn has loved Staten since grade school.  She has kept it a secret, because her best friend and Staten had already formed an unbreakable bond.  After Staten loses his family, Quinn is content to give what comfort she can, knowing that Staten will never return her feelings.  When unplanned complications arise, their friendship is put to the test.  This is when I decided that I really didn’t like Staten all that much.  The guy is completely clueless. Quinn lives like a hermit, and she is uncomfortable around other people, so for him to voice his doubts like he did got him exactly what he deserved.  While he eventually manned up, I wasn’t completely won over by his contrite apology.

The other characters are Lucas and Lauren, high school students who both have their stuff together.  Lucas wants to make something of himself, so he works on ranches, moving the cattle from one pasture to another, riding fence lines, and saving every penny he earns.  He has big dreams, and he’s not going to let anything get in the way of them.  He has a crush on Lauren, the sheriff’s daughter, but because she’s younger than him, and because the timing isn’t right, he decides that their friendship is going to be more important, right now, than dating her.  Lauren’s also an intelligent, caring young woman, and she agrees with Lucas.  They both have things to accomplish before they can even consider a romantic relationship.  Sometimes you meet the right person at the wrong time, and that is the theme of their relationship.  Of all the couples in the story, though, I thought they have the soundest foundation for a lasting relationship, and I hope we see more of them in later installments.

Yancey rounds out the cast.  He’s a young ex-con, in town looking for an opportunity to score a little cash and move on.  His plans are interrupted when his backpack and all of his meager possessions are stolen, and if it weren’t for the kindness of the small local retirement community, he’d be up a creek without a paddle.  Yancey is a fun character because he has so few practical life experiences.  He’s spent most of life on the wrong side of the law, in and out of jail because he can’t catch a break.  When the seniors take him under their wing, he finally discovers a sense of belonging that had been missing in his life.  It helps to ground him, and finding steady employment and a group of people who care for him make all the different in the world.  He’s goofy, naïve despite his rough edges, and he was probably my favorite character.

If you are a fan of Jodi Thomas, Ransom Canyon won’t disappoint.  If you haven’t read her yet, give it a try.  I find her books fast, soothing reads.  Despite how messed up a character’s life may appear at first, you can be confident that they will find the right person to love them and give them their HEA.

Grade:  B

Review copy provided by publisher

About the book:

From New York Times bestselling author Jodi Thomas comes the first book in a compelling, emotionally resonant series set in a remote west Texas town—where family can be made by blood or by choice

Rancher Staten Kirkland, the last descendant of Ransom Canyon’s founding father, is rugged and practical to the last. No one knows that when his troubling memories threaten to overwhelm him, he runs to lovely, reclusive Quinn O’Grady…or that she has her own secret that no one living knows.

Young Lucas Reyes has his eye on the prize—college, and the chance to become something more than a ranch hand’s son. But one night, one wrong decision, will set his life on a course even he hadn’t imagined.

Yancy Grey is running hard from his troubled past. He doesn’t plan to stick around Ransom Canyon, just long enough to learn the town’s weaknesses and how to use them for personal gain. Only Yancy, a common criminal since he was old enough to reach a car’s pedals, isn’t prepared for what he encounters.

In this dramatic new series, the lives, loves and ambitions of four families will converge, set against a landscape that can be as unforgiving as it is beautiful, where passion, property and pride are worth fighting—and even dying—for.

Hope Ramsay dropped by the virtual offices to celebrate the release of Last Chance Hero!  Find out what’s in her deadline survival kit.

Top 5 items in deadline survival kit by Hope Ramsay 

Here are the must-haves in my deadline survival kit:

1) A comfy chair, preferably a recliner, because it’s going to be a long night and my neck gets tired if I spend too much time sitting at a desk.

2) A supply of Diet Dr. Pepper because as noted above, it’s going to be a long night.

3) M & Ms.  Chocolate is an inspiration.  And it’s also loaded with caffeine.

4) The Georgia Good Ol’ boy (AKA the dear husband) because he gives really good neck rubs, and sends in food when I need it.  Also, when I get stuck and write myself into a corner he usually comes up with a crazy plot idea that’s so off the wall it might just work.  (Or it could be that my brain is speeding on caffeine.)

5) My iPod cued up with the playlist I create for every book that I write.  Music is essential for me to find the emotional thread in every story.

About LAST CHANCE HERO:

Ross Gardiner has had his fill of difficult relationships. Returning to Last Chance after a rough divorce, the town’s handsome new fire chief just wants safety and stability-a tall order given his dangerous job and the way he has the attention of all the single women in town. All except Sabina Grey, the girl who stole his heart when they were teenagers. Sabina knows a lot about playing it safe. Always the good girl, she’s now responsible for her antiques store and caring for her sister. But having Ross in town brings back the memory of one carefree summer night when she threw caution to the wind-and almost destroyed her family. Now that they are both older and wiser, will the spark still be there, even though they’ve both been burned?

About Hope Ramsay:

Hope Ramsay grew up on the North Shore of Long Island, but every summer Momma would pack her off under the care of Aunt Annie to go visiting with relatives in the midlands of South Carolina. Her extended family includes its share of colorful aunts and uncles, as well as cousins by the dozens, who provide the fodder for the characters you’ll find in Last Chance, South Carolina. She’s a two-time finalist in the Golden Heart and is married to a good ol’ Georgia boy who resembles every single one of her heroes. She lives in Fairfax, Virginia, where you can often find her on the back deck, picking on her thirty-five-year-old Martin guitar. 

Hope’s SM:

@HopeRamsay

http://hoperamsay.com/

https://www.pinterest.com/hoperamsay/

https://www.facebook.com/HopeRamsayAuthor?fref=ts

https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomHopeRamsay

Buy Links:

Amazon – http://amzn.to/1CF3zww

Barnes & Noble – http://bit.ly/1LEeC1u

IndieBound – http://bit.ly/1RMF9IH

GooglePlay –  http://bit.ly/1SYyBca

iTunes – http://apple.co/1Lytcqj

Kobo – http://bit.ly/1KpxTmU

EXCERPT:

She wore a pair of faded blue jeans that clung to her hips and butt like they were part of her. Her green tank top looked like something she might have found at a tag sale. The slippery, clingy fabric was covered in Oriental flowers, and it was almost see-through.

Not to mention that it exposed her shoulders, which had freckles on them. As usual, Sabina had pulled her hair back into a ponytail. And as usual, wisps of hair had escaped around her face. He wanted to cross the room, pull that damn rubber band out of her hair, and bury his hands and his nose in all those amazing curls.

Oh yeah, and his hands itched to touch her breasts through that silky fabric. Which is why he balled them into fists and jammed them into his pockets. Then he pretended that his feet were set into concrete.

A man could get hurt by lust like this.

And that didn’t even count the damage his feelings for Sabina might do to Lucy or Henrietta or even the folks in Last Chance who were all invested in him marrying Lucy.

He didn’t want to feel this way.

About anyone.

Lust like this was just crazy. It made a man do stupid things, and he had been there and done that. He much preferred the cool, calm feeling he had for Lucy and her lists.

Sabina stood there staring at him for a moment, her lips soft and parted. The afternoon sun coming through the dusty window, lit up her hair. Her voice sounded squeaky when she started talking, and she stammered, which was not like her at all.

“Uh . . . I . . . Uh. I got a call from Bubba Lockheart. I gather y’all moved the trunk down from the attic?”

“Oh, yeah, you came for the trunk.” He had the twin sensations of being relieved and disappointed all at the same time.

She nodded.

“It’s in the living room. Let me get the hand truck.” He hurried out onto the back porch and snagged the dolly and wheeled it into the living room.

Sabina was waiting for him.

“So, did you search through it? What else is inside?” She tilted her head, and for an instant, she resembled a little kid on Christmas morning, so excited to be unwrapping a present.

“Uh, no. We were kind of busy today.” He kept his words sharp and short. He shoved the dolly under the trunk and tilted it back. Then he wheeled it all the way out to the porch and down a make-shift ramp that had been set up over the front steps. Sabina followed him and opened the tailgate of her van.

“Can you lift it yourself or do you need help?” she asked.

“I can do it.” He wanted her to leave. Fast. But the trunk was awkward and he almost tilted it sideways when he tried to lift it. Before he could stop her, Sabina bent down and grabbed one of the handles and helped.

Together they got it up into the van. But in the process they ended up side by side and their shoulders touched.

He’d never been burned by a fire. He was practically religious about keeping his gear in topnotch form. But that touch scalded him. It would have been normal to jump back from all that heat. After all, he’d been trained to know the danger of uncontrolled fires.

But his training went right out the window, along with his common sense. Instead of running like hell, he turned toward her. She looked up at him, the fire dancing in her eyes. Oh, man, this was so wrong.

And so right.

“Ross,” she whispered, her voice so damn sultry.

His mind told him to stop. But his heart had a completely different idea. His heart had been waiting decades to kiss Sabina Grey. And there she was, right in reach, and her mouth looked so ready to be kissed that he couldn’t help himself.

He leaned down and pressed his mouth to her lips, and even though this wasn’t exactly the hands-on, bodies-pressed-together, hot and heavy kiss he’d once fantasized about, the heat of the moment still swept through him.

He wanted to pull her close. He wanted to explore her mouth a little deeper. He wanted to do a lot more than dance with her.

But Sabina pushed back.

“We can’t do this.” Her look was stunningly sober.

“Right,” he said on a deep exhalation. “Right.” He repeated the word because his mind had sort of checked out for a moment. “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t accept his apology. She just gave him one of those female looks that were so hard to decipher. This one was pretty bad ass.

And then she backed away, ran to the driver’s side of the van, and took off, sending the gravel on the driveway flying.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

This morning I have a guest post and a giveaway for Emma Cane’s Ever After at Sweetheart Ranch. Enjoy!

Must Haves for a Romantic SWEETHEART RANCH Picnic

By Emma Cane, author of EVER AFTER AT SWEETHEART RANCH

By now you’ve seen the lovely cover of EVER AFTER AT SWEETHEART RANCH: those beautiful mountains of the Colorado Rockies, a ranch in the distance, and Lyndsay and Will sharing a picnic lunch. Lyndsay is a math teacher with a secret: she’s written a romance novel and accidentally based the hero on Will, a hard-working cowboy with a tragedy in his past. They deserve the lovely and serene moment depicted on the cover—dare I say it’s romantic? Well…looks can be deceiving. Let me tell you about the must-haves for a picnic on Will’s ranch.

1) Hip boots. You read that right. The first time Will brings Lyndsay to the ranch, he puts her to work on the irrigation system. Hip boots are necessary in the muddy business of moving temporary dams in the irrigation ditches to flood different hay fields. Romantic, huh? Good thing he tells her she looks adorable with mud on her cheek. And of course, he has a picnic basket all ready.

2) A pocket knife. You could think I meant to cut sandwiches or fruit, but nope, a knife is necessary to cut the stem of a morel mushroom, tasty, rare and expensive. Will has found a cache of them on his ranch, and believe me, you seldom tell people where you found your morels or they’ll all be gone. But Will trusts Lyndsay and brings her on a horseback ride to pick morels. She feels suitably flattered.

3) Cookies that say “Sweets from Mrs. Sweet.”: Will’s Grandma Sweet is running for president of the Valentine Valley historical society, and she’s courting voters with cookies. Her opponent happens to be Mrs. Thalberg, who’s dating Lyndsay’s father, so Lyndsay and Will are on opposite sides. Good thing there are delicious cookies to share!

4) A blanket: because yes, Lyndsay brings a picnic basket to Will’s softball game, and afterward they drink wine and nibble on cut fruit and shrimp, while lying on the blanket. And if you want to know what happens next, I hope you’ll read EVER AFTER AT SWEETHEART RANCH for more than just the good picnic scenes!

So what do you think is necessary for a romantic picnic?

Ever After at Sweetheart Ranch
Valentine Valley # 6

By: Emma Cane

Releasing April 28^th, 2015

Avon

Blurb

The only thing hotter than a cowboy…

Math teacher Lyndsay De Luca never surprised anyone-least of all herself-until this summer. First, she secretly published her debut romance novel. Then she started dating Will Sweet, the cowboy of her dreams. And now Lyndsay’s scrambling to hide the juiciest tidbit of all: that the hazel-eyed hero of her steamy fiction is the same guy whose kisses have become her mind-blowing reality.

Is a cowboy in love.

Ever since Will’s high school sweetheart died in a tragic accident, he hasn’t been able to commit to a long-term relationship. Lyndsay is the first woman in years who’s been able to catch-and keep-his attention. She’s fascinated by his work at Sweetheart Ranch, and a glance from her gorgeous brown eyes sends Will’s thoughts wandering. Will she be the one to finally break down the walls around his guarded heart?

Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/03/ever-after-at-sweetheart-ranch.html

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22864471-ever-after-at-sweetheart-ranch?ac=1
Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/89051-valentine-valley

Buy Links: Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo

Author Info

Emma Cane grew up reading and soon discovered that she liked to write passionate stories of teenagers in space. Her love of “passionate stories” has never gone away, although today she concentrates on the heartwarming characters of Valentine, her fictional small town in the Colorado Rockies.

Now that her three children are grown, Emma loves spending time crocheting and singing (although not necessarily at the same time), and hiking and snowshoeing alongside her husband Jim and two rambunctious dogs Apollo and Uma.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Rafflecopter Giveaway (Print Copies of the Valentine Valley Series including A TOWN CALLED VALENTINE, TRUE LOVE AT SILVERCREEK RANCH, A WEDDING IN VALENTINE, THE COWBOY OF VALENTINE VALLEY, A PROMISE AT BLUEBELL HILL, and SLEIGH BELLS IN VALENTINE VALLEY )

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don’t forget to enter for your chance to win One True Heart here

May Contain Spoilers

Review:

This is the first Harmony novel that I’ve read, and while I was a little worried about jumping on board so late in the series, I had absolutely no difficulty getting up to speed with the small Texas town.  For a small place, a lot goes on in Harmony!  There’s a mugging, sleuthing, a kidnapping, a rumored murder, and even a threat to national security!  One True Heart was pure popcorn, and I enjoyed my visit.  It was easy to get caught up in all of the activity, and the characters were a varied and likeable bunch.

The story starts from Millanie McAllen’s POV.  She’s a wounded warrior returning to the States.  Having been wounded in the line of duty, she’s now laid up with a cast on her leg and the fear that she’ll never walk without a limp.  She knows her service days are over, and now she’s listlessly approaching her future.  Once she had her career path carefully mapped out, but one heroic act drastically changed the course of her life.  Returning to Harmony, Texas, the rural town she lived in until she was nine, and the place where many of her relatives still reside, she’s just looking for a place to heal and the quiet to figure out what to do next.

She meets Drew Cunningham, and the two are inexplicably drawn to each other.  Drew is a victim of violence, too, and it’s rebooted his life as well.  After surviving a horrific episode five years ago in Chicago, he’s withdrawn into himself.  He is no longer comfortable in crowds, and the idea of putting himself out there fills him with anxiety.  Teaching part time a local college, he spends most of his time writing and wallowing in his own company.  He hasn’t been on a date in five years, but something about Millanie makes him want to come out of his shell.

Drew and Millanie are the main couple.  Their relationship is constantly challenged by Drew’s PTSD and Millanie’s suspicions of  him.  She has one more task to perform for the government before her service days are over.  She’s been asked to search Harmony for a suspected terrorist, and Drew fits every point on the profile list.  Add in his reluctance to discuss himself or his past and you have one very torn Millanie.  Her gut tells her that Drew is exactly what he appears to be; a kind, gentle professor, but his silence when she asks him even the most innocent of questions point to a man with something to hide. 

I had my doubts about the longevity of Millanie and Drew’s HEA, mainly because of their inability to communicate during most of the story.  My biggest disappointment was that he never did confide in her about his past and the reason he’s living in Harmony.  Millanie discovers the circumstances behind his silence by utilizing her Google-fu, and I just wish that they had discussed it with each other instead.

There are three other characters who round out the cast.  Johnny Wheeler is a salt of the earth farmer, that is until he’s accused of murdering his wife.  Then he’s thrown in jail, and it doesn’t seem that he’ll ever get out.  Circumstantial evidence implicating him in another crime makes him look guilty as sin, and he despairs at ever being released. 

While he’s in the slammer, there is one bright spot during his incarceration.  Fortune-teller Kare Cunningham knows he’s innocent (she saw it in his palm after all!), and she’s made it a one woman campaign to prove his innocence.  Kare comes across as a total ditz, but she’s really a genius.  I liked her the best, because she’s funny, compassionate, and quirky.  She doesn’t see Johnny as a romantic interest, much to his dismay, so he has a lot of work to do to convince her that they should be together.  Their courtship is very cute.

Beau Yates is a up and coming country star, back in Harmony after his father has a heart attack.  Beau’s father rejected him and was enraged with his music.  Beau is hoping for a reconciliation, but not really expecting one.  While he’s in town, he runs into Trouble, the girl who made his youth bearable.  They would race down the back roads of  Harmony in her convertible, wild and free from their worries.  The adult Trouble, or Lark, has matured into a somber banker.  While their past meant a lot to Beau, he’s starting to doubt that it meant anything to Lark, and now all he wants is to leave town and get back into his life, and far away from his disappointment.

Beau and Lark’s relationship didn’t work as well for me because we never get Lark’s POV.  If we had been able to peek inside her head, I might have understood some of her behavior better.  She’s like a yo-yo with her feelings for Beau, and I didn’t know why she wasn’t just melting all over this handsome, successful guy.  Then, after he practically manhandles her, he did earn himself some wariness from her, but I would have really liked to get her side of things.

One True Heart packs a lot in to one book.  There’s something for everyone here.  You have a mystery, some suspense, three couples to fall in love with, and a whole bunch of meddling townspeople.  I found the ending jarringly abrupt, but otherwise, I enjoyed my visit to Harmony, Texas.

If you are reading the series, which is your favorite book so far?

Release Date: April 7  You can pre-order a copy at www.jodithomas.com

Review copy provided by publisher

From Amazon:

New York Times bestselling author Jodi Thomas takes us back to Harmony, Texas—a small town where love blooms and secrets of the past threaten to alter the future…

Millanie McAllen is always logical. But after returning to her childhood home, she learns that some things are beyond explanation—like her undeniable passion for Drew Cunningham…

After finding success as a singer on the road, Beau Yates returns to Harmony to make peace with his dying father—only to find the woman he’s been dreaming of for years. But the secrets they discover might be too much for him to bear…

When Johnny Wheeler is charged with his wife’s murder, he turns to the only person who believes he’s innocent. Fortune teller Kare Cunningham’s life has always danced around reality—but Johnny is able to ground her like no other…

As their paths cross in new, captivating directions, the townspeople of Harmony need to learn to love and let go in order to live together in their little slice of heaven.

About the Author:

Jodi Thomas is the NY Times and USA Today bestselling author of 41 novels and 13 short story collections. A five-time RITA winner, Jodi currently serves as the Writer in Residence at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas.

Author Links:

www.jodithomas.com

www.facebook.com/JodiThomasAuthor

www.twitter.com/jodithomas

This morning I have a note from Jodi Thomas, as well as a giveaway for her latest release, One True Heart.  This is Book 8 in the Harmony series, and I’ll have a review later this morning.

From Jodi Thomas:

Welcome to ONE TRUE HEART. Like waiting for fine chocolate, this book is one you will not want to miss.  For me the story is always about the people and I loved writing this story.  This one started at a real place I know well, the Amarillo airport where one night a man and a woman meet by accident.  She’s exhausted and on crutches.  He offers her a ride to Harmony.  She’s a trained soldier and sees this professor type in glasses as no threat.  Only, while she sleeps, he steals a kiss.

When he drops her off at Winter’s Inn, the bed and breakfast, the inn keeper thinks he’s staying the night.  For the first time in years, Drew is tempted to get involved.

When you step into ONE TRUE HEART you’ll step into Harmony where the lives of the people in the town blend together.  You’ll meet Millanie McAllen and Drew Cunningham.  Both hiding out from life for different reasons.  In their love story the gentle, loving man wins out.  As they face the truth about real love they also must both face their fears.

Drew, who is always organized and calm has, what he believes, is the craziest sister on the planet.  She dances in the moonlight and tells fortunes.  In her first session with Johnny Wheeler, he’s arrested for killing his ex-wife.  Kare knows Johnny didn’t do it.  She didn’t see murder in his lifeline.  Johnny thinks she’s nuts, but she’s determined to help him even if she has to draft her big brother to help.

Another story threads its way through the book.  Beau Yates comes back to town for a few days.  He’s a successful singer in Nashville, but deep down knows that all his love songs are about one girl.  He doesn’t even know her name, he simply calls her Trouble.  She used to pick him up after work.  She’d every dream he’s ever had about love.

I love it when new readers find me for the first time.  It’s like I’m brand new, and they just discovered a Jodi Thomas book.  Then after they read one, they check my website or Amazon and discover they have many more to read.  I get a real shot of sunshine when they write or call.  It is kind of like the feeling you get when an old friend from the past calls.  For a moment, you’re sixteen again and giggling.

So, whether you’re a first time reader of a Jodi Thomas book or you’ve been with me through them all, I want you to know that you are the reason I write.

With love,

Jodi Thomas

www.jodithomas.com

www.facebook.com/JodiThomasAuthor

www.twitter.com/jodithomas

US addresses only, please

a Rafflecopter giveaway

May Contain Spoilers

Review:

After the smashing success of What a Bachelor Needs, I decided to give One Night with Her Bachelor a spin.  Unfortunately, it didn’t work as well for me, because I didn’t find the hero very appealing.  Yes, Gabriel is going through a rough patch, but, still, Dude, you have to bathe regularly.  He lives in his grandfather’s cabin in the middle of woods, a good hike from civilization, and the thought of living without electricity does absolutely nothing for me.  My idea of camping is checking into a Fairfield Inn, and that’s roughing it.  So a guy without a job, the internet, furniture, or a way to charge a Kindle – yeah, that’s not happening.

We meet Molly Dekker, a single mother working hard to provide a happy home for her exuberant son Josh.  On the weekend Josh is off on a camping trip, Molly decides she’s going to do something for herself.  She’s going to hike into the woods, find Gabriel’s cabin, and proposition the man she’s had the hots for since she was a girl.  Gabriel was her brother’s best friend, and when he was injured in the line of duty, he lost everything after the tragic accident. 

Gabriel is a former Air Force pararescueman, and when he’s sent to rescue the crew of a downed helicopter, he arrives too late to save Molly’s brother.  Worse, he’s terribly wounded, and his injures rob him of his job.  Unable to  remain in the service, he’s now at lose ends.  Suffering from PTSD, he retreats from his family and settles into the cabin in the woods, living like a hermit.  He only goes to town when he needs supplies, and when Molly shows up on his doorstep, he isn’t amused.  He’s not even sure what to think after she makes him an offer she thought he’d be delighted to accept.  All Gabriel wants is to be left alone.

While she’s trying to talk Gabriel into bed, she discovers her son has gone missing from his campsite.  Fearing the worst, she and Gabriel rush off in search of him.  When they find him, he’s been seriously injured, and Gabriel quickly takes matters into his own hands.  He rescues Josh, saving his life, but the boy is left paralyzed.

With Josh’s medical bills, Molly is now struggling to make ends meet.  She blames herself for Josh’s condition, and regrets ever going to Gabriel’s cabin.  She’s afraid to leave her son alone now, stifling his efforts at independence.  When her friend discovers how poorly she’s doing financially, she organizes a charity auction to help her raise money, despite Molly’s protests. 

As you have probably already guessed, Molly ends up with Gabriel as her bachelor.  While there were sparks between them and some of the dialog was very fun, I don’t have a whole lot of confidence in their HEA.  They struggled to communicate, and their conflict resolution skills left a lot to be desired.  They are both still so emotionally raw from the enormous potholes in their lives that it was hard for me to believe they were up to the complications that go hand in hand with a relationship.  Gabriel can’t even confide to Molly about his accident, because he still hasn’t come to terms with it himself.  When he finally does, Molly was justifiably irked at his lack of trust in her.

So, bottom line –  while I liked getting the scoop on the backstory for the series, aspects of One Night with Her Bachelor just did not work for me.  The hero wasn’t my cuppa, and the couple’s inability to communicate didn’t give me a sense that they’ll enjoy their HEA.

Grade:  C

Review copy provided by publisher

From Amazon:

Bid on a date with this wounded warrior for an unforgettable night of adventure. Aim high—and bid higher!—because no one comes close to local hero Gabriel Morales.

Molly Dekker hates being the town charity case, but when her son Josh is seriously injured she has no choice. She lets her best friend organize a bachelor auction to help pay her massive bills and make Josh’s life more comfortable. She can’t bid on any of the men, but a surprise bidder gives her a gift she never expected: a date with the man who saved her son’s life—the only one she’s in danger of losing her heart to.

Former Air Force pararescueman Gabriel Morales made a career of flying to the rescue, until a tragic helicopter crash stole more than his livelihood. Being auctioned off like a slab of beef isn’t in his recovery plan. But one look, one touch and one night unlocking Molly’s pent-up passion make him realize how badly he needs to be rescued…and how badly he wants to rescue Molly right back.

Will Molly and Gabriel’s never-quit attitude have them rushing head-first into love? Or will Gabriel’s secret pain stall their relationship before it can get off the ground?

I have a Q & A with Grace Burrowes, Samantha Chase, Andrea Laurence, and Sharon Sala, as well as a giveaway for you enter.  Enjoy!

What can you tell us about the small town setting of your new romance?

Samantha Chase (author of RETURN TO YOU): The south shore of Long Island had always been my heroine Selena’s home. Born and raised minutes from the beach, she always dreamed that it would be where she’d find love, raise a family and live happily ever after. The small coastal town really hadn’t been part of James Montgomery’s plan for his own life, after meeting Selena, it’s suddenly a very appealing part of his future.

Grace Burrowes (author of KISS ME HELLO): Damson Valley lies in rural Maryland, about an hour away from both Washington, DC, and Baltimore. The Appalachian Mountains give the town a protected, bucolic feel, despite the proximity of big city lights. My hero attorney MacKenzie Knightley loved growing up with his brothers on a farm right outside Damson Valley, and was all too happy to go into practice with both James and Trent. The Knightley farm is now owned by foster mom Sidonie Lindstrom, who has moved away from Baltimore to give her foster son a better start in life. Sid has no patience for small town life, though before too long, the scenery does catch her interest…

Andrea Laurence (author of FEEDING THE FIRE): If you’re willing to turn your car off the highway and venture from the beaten path, you might be lucky enough to run across a town like Rosewood, Alabama. Steeped in southern charm and the traditional values of God, Family and Football (although not always in that order), Rosewood is like a time capsule preserving everything modern cities have lost. Here, you’ll find homemade pies, perfectly brewed sweet tea, and beauty parlors filled with lively gossip. It’s the kind of town where everybody knows everybody – and everybody knows your business whether you like it or not! Thanks for stopping by. Sit a spell and tell us what you know.

Sharon Sala (author of I’LL STAND BY YOU): Blessings, Georgia is a typical small Southern town. The city grew up around the Court House built in the town square. They have an elementary school and one high school, the local eating/meeting place called Granny’s Country Kitchen, a newspaper and a small fire department, a police station with a police chief and a couple of deputies. In the summer it abounds in glorious color – blooming azaleas, huge oak trees along city streets – manicured lawns and flower beds bursting with color. One side of town appears cookie cutter perfect – nice houses with pretty landscaped yards and lives and then the others who live on the other side of the railroad track.  Same kind of people – just less money to flaunt. There are kind people and stingy people and people with dreams that never come true. And some who still believe in the good in everyone and happy ever afters on both sides of the track.

What’s the best part of dating in a small town? The worst?

Grace Burrowes: As Mac finds out the first time he shares a meal with Sid, he has no privacy. None. Everybody from his old choir director, to his neighbors, to former (and happily married) girlfriends are on hand to report that Mac Knightley was kissed in public by a curvy little gal who now owns the Knightley farm. Yikes!

The good news is that everybody—everybody—is rooting for Mac and Sid to find true love, from Mac’s brothers, to the neighbors, to his little nieces AND their imaginary unicorns.

How did your characters get to your small town?

Samantha Chase: Selena was born and raised in town. It was her world and she hadn’t ever thought of leaving it except for college. James moved there at sixteen to live with relatives after he essentially ran away from his own family in North Carolina. What is ironic is that it’s Selena who ends up moving away – willingly – and James is the one to stay. 

Small towns tend to be quiet – what do your characters do for entertainment?

Andrea Laurence: Pepper isn’t much for entertainment. She spends most of her time working at Curls or working on her run-down house. Every penny goes into her house. Grant works twelve-hour alternating shifts at the firehouse, so his schedule is pretty crazy too. There’s plenty of community events like the Valentine Bachelor Auction, but I think the two of them would much rather entertain themselves at home with a Redbox movie, some wine and some alone time in each other’s arms.

Where is the best “date spot” in your small town?

Sharon Sala: Almost always it begins at Granny’s Country Kitchen and the Friday night all-you-can-eat shrimp special, or a leisurely drive to nearby Savannah, for some big city wining and dining.

About the Authors and Books

Sharon Sala

Sharon Sala is a long-time member of RWA, as well as a member of OKRWA. She has 100 plus books in print under her name and her pen name, Dinah McCall. She is published in five different genres – Romance, Young Adult, Western, Fiction, and Women’s Fiction. First published in 1991, she’s an eight-time RITA finalist, winner of the Janet Dailey Award, four-time Career Achievement winner from RT Magazine, five time winner of the National Reader’s Choice Award, and five time winner of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence, winner of the Heart of Excellence Award, as well as winner of the Booksellers Best Award. In 2011 she was named RWA’s recipient of the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. Her books are New York Times , USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly best-sellers. Writing changed her life, her world, and her fate.

I’LL STAND BY YOU releases June 2, 2015. You can preorder the title here: http://amzn.to/1wzioDG

Grace Burrowes

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Grace Burrowes’ bestsellers include The Heir, The Soldier, Lady Maggie’s Secret Scandal, Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish and Lady Eve’s Indiscretion. The Heir was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2010, The Soldier was a PW Best Spring Romance of 2011, Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish won Best Historical Romance of the Year in 2011 from RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards, Lady Louisa’s Christmas Knight was a Library Journal Best Book of 2012, and The Bridegroom Wore Plaid was a PW Best Book of 2012. Her Regency romances have received extensive praise, including starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Grace is branching out into short stories and Scotland-set Victorian romance with Sourcebooks. She is a practicing family law attorney and lives in rural Maryland.

KISS ME HELLO releases March 3, 2015. You can order the title here: http://amzn.to/1GzO387

Andrea Laurence

Andrea Laurence has been a lover of reading and writing stories since she learned to read at a young age. She always dreamed of seeing her work in print and is thrilled to finally be able to share her special blend of sensuality and dry, sarcastic humor with the world. A dedicated West Coast girl transplanted into the Deep South, she’s working on her own “happily ever after” with her boyfriend and their collection of animals including a Siberian Husky that sheds like nobody’s business.

FEEDING THE FIRE releases March 16, 2015. You can preorder the title here: http://amzn.to/1ADp431

Samantha Chase

New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan’s Return, in November 2011. Although she waited until she was in her 40’s to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Her motivation to take that step was her students: teaching creative writing to elementary age students all the way up through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams gave Samantha the confidence to take that step as well.
When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading contemporary romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina.

RETURN TO YOU releases March 3, 2015. You can order the title here: http://amzn.to/1EV1EpC

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Small Town, Large Hearts Blog Tour and Giveaway appeared first on Manga Maniac Cafe.

May Contain Spoilers

Review:

I wanted to read Last Chance Family for a few reasons.  First, Charlene is a veterinarian.  I love vet books.  Probably because I wanted to vet, but silly me – I listened when adults said girls weren’t good at math and science (yes, I went to school a long time ago and had zero self-esteem).  Second, Mike is suddenly forced to play the role of parent to his young niece.  I enjoy the single parent/guardian trope, especially when said parent/guardian is overwhelmed with their new responsibilities.  Mike is a gambler, he had an abusive and unhappy childhood, and he is blindsided by his duties taking care of Rainbow.  So blindsided that he immediately determines that he needs to make the brother he hasn’t seen since he was five Rainbow’s new caretaker.

Mike starts out as man whose every decision disappoints.  He convinces himself that Vegas is no place for a child, and that a gambler can’t possibly be a good father figure.  His brother, Timmy, however, would be perfect.  He’s a pastor, so he has to be good with kids.  Right?  The only comfort Rainbow has left after witnessing her mother’s murder is Tigger, her cat.  Mike knows how much that ball of fur means to his niece, but he’s ready to give him away because Tim is allergic to animals.  Isn’t a loving home better for Rainbow than that hissing menace?  Never mind that the girl has witnessed the brutal murder of her mother and hasn’t had the best home life.  Nah.  It’s just more expedient to take the cat to the shelter because Mike has a high stakes poker tournament coming up.

I’m not going to give too much background information on Charlene, due to spoilers.  Her biggest hang up is her inability to trust.  She’s been burned in the past, and her overbearing parents have interfered in her life, causing her to make a decision that haunts her to this day.  She can’t forgive herself, and she can’t forgive her parents either.  She can’t do anything to make them happy; even her successful career failed to make them proud of her.  Her mean and small-minded parents hold too much power over the little town of Last Chance, causing Mike and Rainbow a lot of grief.

Charlene knows that Mike is the wrong guy for her and that he’s a commitment-phobe.  His efforts to foist Rainbow off on his brother shout loud and clear that he’s not planning on sticking around.  Even though she is undeniably attracted to him, she forces herself to keep Mike at arm’s length.  Rainbow, on the other hand, desperately needs someone to love her, and Charlene is more than willing to give the girl some of the affection she’s starving for.

Last Chance Family is a feel good romance about second chances and learning how to forgive yourself.  Both Mike and Charlene have made plenty of mistakes, so the question for the reader is will they learn anything from them?  I was terribly worried that Mike wouldn’t, but I know that Charlene, after being bullied by her parents into doing something she knew was wrong, would eventually find the strength to stand up to them.  I enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading more y Hope Ramsay.

Grade:  B

Review copy provided by publisher

From Amazon:

Mike Taggart has always been willing to take a gamble. But these stakes are just way too high – there’s no way he’s prepared to become a legal guardian to his five-year-old niece. His only option is to head from Las Vegas to Last Chance to sort things out as quickly as possible. Problem is, he arrives to find an inconsolable little girl, her sick cat, and a gorgeous veterinarian he can’t get out of his mind.

Charlene Polk has two talents: healing sick critters and falling in love with the wrong men. Mike has trouble written all over him, but she can’t leave him in the lurch. And the more time she spends with the sexy high roller, the more she sees that this ready-made family is the best stroke of luck they’ve ever had . . .

The post Review: Last Chance Family by Hope Ramsay appeared first on Manga Maniac Cafe.

May Contain Spoilers

Review:

When Victoria James asked if I wanted to review her latest release, I had to think about it for all of about 2 seconds.  I have read and enjoyed the other Red River books, so I was eager to jump into The Doctor’s Fake Fiancée.  I’ll admit that I’m always nervous to accept requests from authors, because what if I don’t like their book?  I’m happy to report that once I started this one, I wasn’t concerned about that any longer.  While not every aspect of the story worked for me, most of it pushed all the right buttons.

Grace is a single mother struggling to raise her son without help from anyone.  Her mother, her only source of support, passed away, leaving her with no one to rely on.  Her ex walked out on her while she was pregnant, and even her father is a distant memory.  He walked out on her, too, when she was a young girl, leaving her mother to raise her by herself.  Grace has never had much, but she works hard and provides a loving home for her son. 

The story begins with a terrible car accident; both Grace and Christopher are trapped in her car, with the fiery wreck of a truck threatening to blow at any moment.  Thankfully, Dr.  Evan Manning comes to their rescue, saving both mother and son.  Evan and Christopher are injured during the ordeal, and Evan’s surgical career is over. 

A year later, Grace has managed to locate Evan.  She wants to thank him for saving her and Christopher.  Evan is filling in at the clinic in his hometown of Red River, and he’s hating every minute of it.  He longs for the fast-paced environment of the ER.  The slow pace of the clinic, and the nosy patients, are driving him batty.  He’s not much of a people person, and one of the things he missed least about his hometown is how everyone feels the need to know everyone else’s business.  He’s even so grumpy that the clinic’s long-term receptionist quits and walks out on him.

When Grace and Christopher appear, he’s less than pleased.  He doesn’t want to remember the accident that robbed him of his career.  But then he realizes that maybe their timing is perfect.  He needs a replacement receptionist, and Grace has worked in clinics previously.  He offers Grace a job, as well as a temporary gig – all she has to do is pretend to be his fiancée.  He’s applied for a job as the CEO of a chain of plastic surgery clinics.  It’s not the high pressure excitement of the O.R., but it should be challenging and keep him from losing his mind  to boredom.  To cement the position, he needs a wife.  Or a fiancée.   The company is very family oriented, and he wants all the leverage he can get, so Grace’s sudden appearance is timely.

This was probably the weakest plot point for me.  Grace is unemployed and has rent to pay and a young child to take care of, so I can see her being desperate enough to go along with Evan’s proposal.  He offers her a place to stay, offers to pay the rent on her Toronto apartment, and will even spring for a new wardrobe, because his fiancée is expected to look sophisticated and fashionable.  He’s a complete stranger, and yes, while he did save their lives a year ago, she doesn’t know him, and she can’t be sure that he’s trustworthy.  While I do love the fairy tale simplicity of this set up, I am just too suspicious accept him at face value this early in the game.

What I enjoyed most about The Doctor’s Fake Fiancée was Evan’s growth from a self-absorbed man who put his career before everything else in his life, into a man who learned the importance of family, friends, and roots.  Evan thought that all of the answers to his dissatisfaction with his life would be found in Toronto, as the CEO of Medcorp.  Nothing else mattered to him but snagging that job.  Not his brothers or their wives or their children, or the many people who tried to get him to open up to them and accept how important he was to the community.  For such a smart guy, it takes him an awfully long time to realize what really mattered, and that a big fat paycheck and a lifetime of shuffling around papers wasn’t it.  Evan’s life before he met Grace was so empty and devoid of emotion, it’s no wonder he had a hard time connecting with his own feelings.  They had gone dormant, and it took the shock of a loving woman and a rambunctious boy to jolt them back to wakefulness.

The Doctor’s Fake Fiancée is a sweet, feel good read.  I enjoyed the Red River series,  and the author has become a favorite on my reading list.  I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

Grade: B

Review copy provided by author

From Amazon:

Their marriage bargain is just what the doctor ordered…

Former surgeon and self-professed life-long bachelor Evan Manning has one thing on his mind—to reclaim the career that a car accident stole from him. But when he’s forced to return to his hometown of Red River, Evan comes face-to-face with the gorgeous woman who’s haunted his dreams for the last year—the woman he rescued from the burning car that injured his hand. Now Evan needs her help. In a month, he’ll have the job opportunity of a lifetime…he just needs a wife to get it.

Artist Grace Matheson is down on her luck again…until she walks into Evan Manning’s office. When her sexy former hero hears that she needs work, he offers her a job and a home—if she’ll pretend she’s his fiancée. Grace knows she shouldn’t fall for him. Once the month is up, Evan will be back to his old life. But the more time they spend together, the more real their feelings become—and the more likely heartbreak is.

The post Review: The Doctor’s Fake Fiancée by Victoria James appeared first on Manga Maniac Cafe.

May Contain Spoilers

Review:

While I’ve read a few other Jill Shalvis titles, He’s So Fine is the first in the Lucky Harbor series that I’ve picked up.  I’m wondering why I waited so long.  Like Olivia, I was charmed by Lucky Harbor and the people living there.  Cole is a great hero, and his buddies Sam and Tanner kept him humble.  Mr. Fix It, Cole seems able to repair everything but the tattered remains of his heart.  Or was it his pride that needed a patch job?  Whatever it was, he didn’t have enough pockets on his cargo pants to mend the damage.  He needed a little help from Olivia to get the job done.

Heroine Olivia is in need of some mending, too.  A former child star, she went on a binge of bad behavior after her TV show was canceled.  When everyone in her life moved on, she lashed out, tarnishing her image and causing the creation of countless Youtube videos and online posts chronicling her bad behavior.  With her money-grubbing mother and jealous sister, I’m not surprised that she had no guidance and no rock to anchor herself to.  I really sympathized with Olivia.  She carried the careers and jobs of many people for years, and then, when her “cute” days were over, she was tossed to the curb like yesterday’s trash.  Her TV family moved on, leaving her adrift.  Her real family was never emotionally there for her.  How awful.  To realize with sickening clarity that the only worth you have to others is your ability to finance their paychecks.  Until you can’t.  And then you are washed up and not worth the time of day.  Ugh.

When Cole takes an unexpected dip in the frigid water of the marina while working on his boat, Olivia quickly jumps to his rescue.  She bravely leaps onto his head, almost drowning him, all the while thinking that she is saving him.  The start of He’s So Fine had me hooked.  How could I not be, after an introduction like that one?  Shivering with the cold, Cole quickly shepherds his would be savior onto the boat, demanding that she divest herself of her wet clothing before hypothermia sets in.  I loved this whole scene, and it set the tone for their relationship.  There’s humor, and hotness, and two genuinely nice people who you want to get together.  They are both broken, so it’s no surprise that it takes a freezing dip in the ocean to jump start their love lives.

I like small town romances because of the quirky characters that inhabit them.  In He’s So Fine, Cole’s friends and family liven up his life.  Not always in a good way, but Cole is unflappable and always willing to lend a helping hand.  He practically carries a tool box around with him in his cargo pants.  He has to fix things, which makes it all the more troubling when he refuses to fix himself.   After losing his best friend in a terrible accident, he also loses the woman he loved, when she walked away from him at Gil’s funeral.  Cole has never gotten over Susan’s betrayal, and he’s just not willing to put himself out there to be hurt again.  But then Olivia jumps on his head, and the man has absolutely no chance of escaping unscathed. 

He’s So Fine kept me entertained from the first dip in the cold waters to Cole’s eating humble pie act at the end of the book.  I have have two other Lucky Harbor books stashed away on my Kindle (I don’t even remember purchasing them!), so I’m looking forward to more visits to the town, and meeting more of its inhabitants. 

Grade:  B

Review copy provided by publisher

For Olivia Bentley, Lucky Harbor is more than the town where she runs her new vintage shop. It’s the place where folks are friendly to strangers-and nobody knows her real name. Olivia does a good job of keeping her past buried, not getting too cozy with anyone . . . until she sees a man drowning. Suddenly she’s rushing into the surf, getting up close and personal with the hottest guy she’s ever laid hands on.

Charter boat captain Cole Donovan has no problem with a gorgeous woman throwing her arms around his neck in an effort to “save” him. In fact, he’d like to spend a lot more time skin-to-skin with Olivia. He’s just not expecting that real trouble is about to come her way. Will it bring her deeper into Cole’s heart, or will it be the end of Olivia’s days in little Lucky Harbor?

HE’S SO FINE is available in mass market paperback, ebook and audio book formats wherever books are sold

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1B0Lc5P

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1p1HaDH

IndieBound: http://bit.ly/1qL9GMO

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1n3cobU

Google Play: http://bit.ly/1vUlsVJ

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1lkIft2

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1qbcfrn

The post Review: He’s So Fine by Jill Shalvis appeared first on Manga Maniac Cafe.

May Contain Spoilers

Review:

Magnolia is a hard book to rate.  For the most part, I really enjoyed this Shakespeare inspired YA romance.  It’s Romeo and Juliet in reverse.  Jemma and Ryder have been at odds ever since the 8th grade, when a misunderstanding drives them apart.  Too bad their families keep pushing them together!  Nothing would make their parents more happy than if they became a couple, and their mothers have been doing everything in their power to make that happen.  From the time they were babies, they have shared cribs, vacations, and countless meals, but Jemma’s had enough.  While once Ryder lit up her world, his cruel words have driven them apart, and Jemma can’t wait to get away from tiny Magnolia Branch so she doesn’t have to deal with him anymore.

Second chance at love is my favorite trope, so I was looking forward to reading this.  After overhearing Ryder talking to his friends about her, Jemma’s young heart is crushed.  While she has developed a huge crush on him, she thinks that he’s only being nice to her to please his over-controlling mom.  She’s done everything in her power to avoid him for the last four years, but she seethes with anger every time she sees him.  Worse, they usually end up arguing about the stupidest things, which makes her even more upset.

In her senior year, Jemma has big dreams for the future.  She has a secret plan; she wants to attend film school in NYC, far away from her family and friends.  And far away from Ryder.  When her sister, Nan,  is diagnosed with a life threatening illness, her dreams are derailed.  Her parents have to fly to Houston with her sister for her treatment, leaving Jemma alone and confused.  Frightened for the well-being of her one daughter, her mother refuses to even discuss letting Jemma apply to a school as far away as NYC.  Worried and resigned that Nan’s future is more important than hers, Jemma waits at home, alone, for word of her sister’s progress.

While everyone is out of town, the worst hurricane since Katrina barrels down on Mississippi.  This was my favorite part of the book, because the author captured the intensity of the storm so vividly.  Howling winds, pelleting rains, surging floods – you name it, and Jemma and Ryder had to face these terrible threats alone.  The whole storm sequence was engrossing and I couldn’t put the book down.  Jemma and Ryder are forced to put their differences aside and work together to make it through the storm.  They arrive at a truce, and maybe something more, until life returns back to normal in the aftermath of the hurricane.  Then they are at odds again, but for entirely different reasons.

This is where the story fell ever so slightly off the rails for me, but I don’t want to go into detail because it’s a pretty major spoiler.  Suffice it to say, this latest roadblock to true love seemed very contrived and I just didn’t buy into the tragedy.  And, to be honest, it’s kind of hard to beat the tension and fear of eminent death brought on by the hurricane, so anything that happened after it blew itself out of town was kind of anticlimactic.

Grade:  B

Review copy provided by publisher

From Amazon:

Jemma and Ryder are far from friends—until a storm stirs up their passion in this contemporary southern romance from New York Times bestselling author Kristi Cook.

In Magnolia Branch, Mississippi, The Cafferty and Marsden families are practically royalty. Neighbors since the Civil War, the families have shared vacations, holidays, backyard barbecues, and the overwhelming desire to unite their two clans by marriage. So when the families finally have a baby boy and girl at the same time, the perfect opportunity seems to have arrived.

Except Jemma Cafferty and Ryder Marsden have no intention of giving in to their parents’ wishes. They’re only seventeen—oh, and also? They hate each other. Jemma can’t stand Ryder’s nauseating golden-boy persona, and Ryder would prefer it if stubborn-headed Jemma didn’t exist. And their communication is not exactly effective: even a casual hello turns into a yelling match.
But when a violent Mississippi storm ravages through Magnolia Branch, it unearths feelings Jemma and Ryder didn’t know they had. And the line between love and hate just might be thin enough to cross…

The post Review: Magnolia by Kristi Cook appeared first on Manga Maniac Cafe.

Book Title: Love For Beginners

Author: Sally Clements

Book Synopsis:

She needs a lesson in love, and he’s the perfect teacher.

Mechanic Melody Swan is looking for a man who can share her hopes and dreams, but she swore she would never lose herself to passion. When sexy Heath Starr agrees to temporarily sub in the Under the Hood garage for his sister, Mel sees the perfect opportunity to enjoy being with a man without becoming attached.

Heath came to Meadowsweet to photograph nature, not find a hookup, especially since his last relationship ended in disaster. He vowed he’d never break another woman’s heart, and in turn, protect his own. Still, when Mel offers to serve as his outdoor guide, he can’t refuse.

Mel may say she’s only looking for right now, but her body is speaking a whole different language. And Heath’s viewfinder is drawn to her time and again. When the two find themselves isolated in a rustic cabin, they could both break their promises if they aren’t careful…

Goodreads Amazon Barnes & Noble Entangled

Author Bio: Sally Clements writes fun, sexy and real contemporary romance, partnering hot heroes with heroines who know what they want, and go for it!

She is a full-time author, who lives in the Irish countryside, and when she isn’t writing can usually be found in traffic, driving ‘Mum’s taxi’.

Always a voracious reader, she considers writing for a living the perfect job—the only downside is saying goodbye to her characters at book’s end!

Blog Twitter Facebook Goodreads

Entangled Bliss:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/BlissImprint

Twitter: @RomanceIsBliss  Steals and Deals

Book Title: Hometown Love Boxed Set

Author: Rachel Harris, Ophelia London and Kelley Vitollo

Book Synopsis:

**For a limited time only!**

Three novels that prove love can always be found right at home

There’s nothing quite like the comfort and serenity of returning home again, especially when combined with the sizzle and excitement of finding true love. This limited-edition contemporary romance boxed set from Entangled’s Bliss line features three fun and flirty small-town stories sure to make you laugh, sigh, and smile long after you’ve turned the last page.

Taste the Heat by Rachel Harris: Colby Robicheaux knows her brother’s best friend—delectable fire captain Jason Landry—is off-limits, and anyway, she’s only back home for a short time. Jason’s looking for someone to help him raise his preteen daughter, not a fling, but Colby’s all grown up and tempting as ever.

Playing at Love by Ophelia London: When Tess Johansson’s music program gets pitted against Jack Marshall’s football program in a battle for funding, she knows only one of them can win. Jack might be the summer love she never forgot, but her job means everything to her. Competing against the enemy was never quite this much fun.

Lucky Break by Kelley Vitollo: Sydney Williams might have come home to her small town of Shamrock Falls, but it’ll take more than that to rekindle a broken friendship with her childhood best friend, Kade Mitchell. When friendship turns to sparks turns to more, will Kade be able to convince his best friend to gamble on forever?

Author Bio: Rachel Harris writes humorous love stories about sassy girls-next-door and the hot guys that make them swoon. Emotion, vibrant settings, and strong families are a staple in each of her books…and kissing. Lots of kissing.

A Cajun cowgirl now living in Houston, she firmly believes life’s problems can be solved with a hot, sugar-coated beignet or a thick slice of king cake, and that screaming at strangers for cheap, plastic beads is acceptable behavior in certain situations. She homeschools her two beautiful girls and watches way too much Food Network with her amazing husband.

An admitted Diet Mountain Dew addict, she gets through each day by laughing at herself, hugging her kids, and losing herself in story. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult romances, and LOVES talking with readers!

WebsiteBlog Twitter Facebook Goodreads

Ophelia London Bio: 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 art-house movies and impossibly trashy TV, while living vicariously through the characters in the books she writes. Ophelia is the author of ABBY ROAD; the Perfect Kisses series including: PLAYING AT LOVE, SPEAKING OF LOVE, and FALLING FOR HER SOLDIER, and the new adult DEFINITELY, MAYBE IN LOVE. Website Twitter Facebook Goodreads

Kelley Vitollo: Kelley has been writing for as long as she can remember. She won her first writing contest in third grade for an essay she wrote on, “Tomorrow’s Leaders on the Move”. Like dreams sometimes do, they fell to the background for a while. She married her best friend, worked full time, and started her family. In 2004 Kelley, her husband and their new baby girl made a move from Oregon to Southern California and that’s when everything changed. As a stay-at-home mom for the first time, her passion for writing flared to life again.

Things haven’t been the same since.

With two incredible daughters, an awesome husband and her days spent writing what she loves, Kelley considers herself the luckiest girl in the world. She still resides in sunny Southern California, where she loves spending time with her family and sneaking away to the bookstore with her laptop.

Website Twitter Facebook Goodreads

Giveaway Info: $25 Amazon gift card and a custom made Swarovski Crystal necklace made with emerald crystal beads (to match Mel’s eyes) incorporating a sterling silver wrench charm from Sally Clements

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Spotlight and Giveaway: Love for Beginners & Hometown Love Boxed Set appeared first on Manga Maniac Cafe.

This morning I have some excerpts and an awesome giveaway for Lucky Harbor, a new bind-up of not one, not two, but THREE Jill Shalvis novels.  This is a great bargain if you are just discovering her books! 

LUCKY HARBOR (May 20, 2014; Grand Central Publishing Trade Paperback; $15.00)

Spend the Summer in Lucky Harbor!

Lucky in Love
Mallory Quinn has had enough of playing it safe. As the local good girl, she’s expected to date Mr. Right. But for once, she’d like to take a risk on Mr. Wrong. And who could be more wrong than Ty Garrison? The mysterious new guy in town has made it clear that he’s only passing through, which suits Mallory just fine. Besides, his lean, hard body and sexy smile will give her plenty to remember once he’s gone . . .

At Last

Amy Michaels loves her new life in Lucky Harbor. A waitress in the local diner, she’s looking forward to her first weekend hike through the mountains. But when a wrong turn takes her off the trail, she finds herself up close and personal with forest ranger Matt Bowers. After a hot night under a starry sky, Amy can’t deny their attraction but she won’t make the mistake of getting involved with the local heartthrob.  

Forever and a Day

Grace never thought she’d be starting her life over from scratch. Losing everything has landed her in Lucky Harbor, working as a dog walker for overwhelmed ER doctor Josh Scott. But the day his nanny fails to show up, Grace goes from caring for Josh’s lovable mutt to caring for his rambunctious son. Soon Grace is playing house with the sexy single dad . . . 

Excerpt from LUCKY IN LOVE

“Mallory.” There was a warning in that low, sexy tone of his, a very serious warning.

She’d wanted a kiss, but hearing him say her name like that was almost as good. And now she wanted more. She wanted things she didn’t even have names for. So she wriggled some more, hoping like hell she was getting her message across because she wasn’t all that practiced in the bad girl department. Amy had been right; she needed lessons. She made a mental note to address this as well at the next chocoholics meeting. For now, she’d wing it.

“Yeah?”

“Are you coming on to me?”

“Well, technically, you’re on top of me,” she pointed out. “So I think that means that you’re coming on to me.”

With a groan, he pressed his forehead to hers and swore beneath his breath, and not the good kind of swear either. And though she should have seen this coming, she hadn’t.

He didn’t want her.

It was perfect, really. Perfect for the way the rest of the night had gone. Horrified, humiliated, she pushed at him. “Sorry. I got caught up in the moment. I’m not very good at this, obviously.” He didn’t budge so she shoved him again. “Excuse me.”

He merely tightened his grip. “Not good at what, exactly?” he asked.

“Really? You need me to say it?”

When he just waited, she sighed. “Attracting men. I’m not good at attracting men. Now if you could please get off.”

He lifted his head and cupped the back of hers in one big hand, his eyes glinting with heat. “You first,” he said rough and gravelly, leaving no mistake to his meaning.

She gasped, and he took advantage of that to kiss her, his lips moving against hers until she gasped again, in sheer pleasure this time.

Things went a little crazy then. Ty’s mouth was firm and hungry, his tongue sliding against hers, and God, she’d almost forgotten what it was like to be kissed like this, like there was nothing on

earth more important than her. That long-forgotten thrill of feeling soft and feminine rushed over her.

Then Ty lifted his head, and she realized she was touching his face, the stubble on his jaw scraping against the pads of her fingers.

“To be clear,” he said, “I’m very attracted to you.” And she believed him because the proof of that statement was hard against her hip.

“I think it’s your eyes,” he said.

She was a little startled by the unexpected romance of that. And then she was drowning in his eyes, which were smoldering. But then they were kissing again, and she couldn’t think because he happened to be the world’s most amazing kisser. Ever. She lost herself in it for long moments, loving the fact that he didn’t seem to be in a hurry at all, or using the kiss as a means to an end. Kissing her was an act all unto itself, and she was panting for air when he finally broke from it. He shifted to pull away and she reflexively clutched at him. “Wait—We’re stopping?”

Dropping his head, he rubbed his jaw to hers. “Yeah.”

“But . . . why?”

He let out a low, innately male groan. “Because you’re not the fuck-a-stranger-in-a-storage-room-with-her-boss-waiting type of woman.”

Well, when he put it like that . . . Damn. Her inner bad girl retreated a little. More than a little.

You don’t think you deserve to be happy.

Amy’s words floated in her head. No, she’d never been the type to let a stranger into her heart, much less her body.

But this wasn’t about her heart.

And Ty was no longer a complete stranger. He was the man who’d good-naturedly stepped in tonight when she’d needed him. Multiple times. He was the man who’d just given her the most amazing kiss of her life.

She wanted him to also be the man to vanquish her restlessness and loneliness. “I am for tonight,” she said, and wrapped herself around him.

Excerpt from AT LAST

“You were married?” She was surprised, though she shouldn’t have been. Matthew Bowers was a catch.

“For about twenty minutes,” he said. “Just after I got out of the military.”

“When you were a cop,” she said.

“Yeah.”

“Is that why she thought you weren’t family material?” she asked. “Because of your job?”

“Partly. And partly because I failed her. But mostly because she was pissed off at me.”

Amy wanted to ask how he’d failed, but that felt too intimate, especially given that she was lying in his arms with his ice pack on her ass. But his ex’s words didn’t make sense. He wasn’t the sort of guy to fail a stranger, much less someone he cared about. What he’d done for her today proved that. His job might have brought him here to check on her, but it hadn’t been his job or responsibility to stay the night with her and keep her safe.

And yet he’d stuck.

She’d had people in her life who had been responsible for her and hadn’t stuck. “Matt?”

His wordless response vibrated through his chest to hers, and he turned his head so that his face was in her hair, inhaling as he rubbed her back.

“I think you’re pretty good with people,” she said softly.

She could feel him smile against her. “Thanks,” he murmured. “Now tell me about you.”

“Nothing as interesting as you.”

“Try me,” he said.

That was the last thing she intended to do. “Well, I don’t have an ex-husband . . .”

“How about a mom? Dad? Siblings?”

“A mom. We’re not close.” An understatement, of course. Her mom had gotten pregnant as a teen and hadn’t been mom material. “I was raised by my grandma, but she’s gone now. She died when I was twelve.”

“Any other family?”

No one she wanted to talk about. “No.”

He tightened his arms around her, a small, protective, even slightly possessive gesture. It should have made her claustrophobic.

It didn’t.

They fell quiet after that, and Amy wouldn’t have imagined it possible since she was snuggled up against a very solid, very sexy man, but she actually fell asleep.

She woke up what must have been hours later, as dawn crept in, poking at the backs of her eyelids. For a moment, she stayed utterly still, struck by several things. One, she was no longer cold. In fact, she was quite warm, and the reason for that was because she’d wrapped herself like a pretzel around her heat source.

Matt.

She cracked open an eye and found him watching her from his own heavy-lidded gaze. He was looking pretty amused at the both of them. “Hey,” he said, and to go along with that bedroom gaze he also had a raspy early morning voice. Both were extremely distracting.

He wasn’t looking like a forest ranger right now. He was looking sleepy, rumpled, and sexy as hell.

“Are you taking this anywhere?” he asked.

Not exactly a morning person, it took her brain a moment to process what he meant. And then she realized that by “this,” he was referring to the fact that her hand had drifted disturbingly low on his abs. If she moved her fingers even a fraction of an inch south . . . “Sorry!” Face hot, she pulled back and closed her eyes. “This is all Mallory’s fault.”

“Actually,” he said, looking down at his obvious erection. “It’s not.”

“No, I mean—” She broke off at his low, teasing laugh and felt her face flame again. “She sent you out here because she thinks something’s going on with us.”

“Is there something going on with us?”

She didn’t want to touch that with a ten-foot pole. Or an eight inch one. “It has nothing to do with us. It’s payback for how I set her up with Ty at the auction a few weeks back.”

“What if it’s not?”

She met his warm gaze. “Not what?”

“Payback,” he said.

Their legs were entwined. At some point in the night, the sleeping bag had fallen away so that there was no barrier between them. He was warm and hard.

Everywhere.

She felt herself soften as the heat of arousal built within her. Worse, her fingers itched with the need to touch him.

“Amy.” Matt’s voice was pure sin, not a warning so much as a statement, and her hands reacted without permission, migrating to his chest.

“Mm,” rumbled from his chest as he slid a hand into her hair, tilting her head up to his. He searched her gaze. “You’re all the way awake, right?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Just making sure,” he said, then rolled her beneath him.

Excerpt from FOREVER AND A DAY

“There’s one last thing,” he said.

She wondered if he looked as good without his clothes. “What?”

“That ship sailed?” he asked, repeating her earlier words to Anna.

Again she tilted her head up. “I just meant we’ve been there, done that. We already kissed, remember?”

His gaze heated. Yeah, he remembered.

“And it was . . . fine.”

He’d probably shaved that morning but he had a shadow coming in. And his eyes. Fathomless dark pools, as always, giving nothing away of himself or his secrets. “The kiss was . . . fine,” he repeated, eyes narrowed.

“Well, yeah.” Fine plus amazing times infinity.

He just looked at her.

“Okay,” she admitted, sagging back against the door. “So it was a little better than fine. But I’m not looking for this. For a guy like you.”

“Like me,” he said slowly, as if the words didn’t quite compute any more easily than “fine” had.

And probably they didn’t. Look at him. He could have chemistry with a brick wall. “It’s just that I’m not going to be in Lucky Harbor much longer, so while I’m here, I’m aiming for . . . fun.”

“Fun.”

“Yeah. It’s a new thing I’m trying.”

“And you think I’m not,” he said with a hint of disbelief, “fun.”

“It’s nothing personal.”

“Hmm.” He took a step toward her, and since there was already no place to go, she found herself once again sandwiched between the door and his deliciously hard body. His hands went to her hips, where they squeezed lightly and then slid up her sides, past her ribs, to her arms and her shoulders. By the time he got to her throat and cupped her face, her bones had gone AWOL.

“What are you doing?” she managed.

“Showing you how much fun I can be.”

Oh boy. Just his husky whisper sent a shiver down her spine, the sort of shiver a woman wasn’t supposed to get for a man she didn’t want to be attracted to. And then her body strained a little closer to him.

Bad body!

Josh’s eyes met hers and held. He was purposely building the anticipation, along with the heat working her from the inside out.

“Still think I’m not fun?” he asked softly.

“You’re not.” She swallowed hard. “You’re . . .”

He quirked a brow.

Hot and sexy, and damn. Fun. Which meant that she was in big trouble here, going-down-for-the-count kind of trouble. Time to wave the white flag, she decided. And she would. In just a minute . . .

“Say it, Grace.”

“Okay, so maybe you’re a little fun,” she admitted. “But—”

He nibbled her lower lip, soothing it with his tongue, then stroked and teased her with his mouth until she let out a helpless murmur of arousal and fisted her hands in his shirt.

His eyes were heavy-lidded and sexy when he pulled back. “Bullshit, a little fun.” His mouth curved as he looked down.

Following his gaze, she realized she was still gripping his shirt. She forced herself to smooth her fingers over the wrinkles she’d left. “Fine. You’re a barrel of fun. Happy now?”

“Getting there.” His eyes were dark with lust and focused on hers, his hands on her back, fingers stroking her through the thin material of her dress. When he lowered his head, he did it slowly, giving her plenty of time to turn away.

She didn’t.

Their eyes held until his lips touched hers, and then her lashes swept down involuntarily. She couldn’t help it; his lips were warm, firm, and oh how just right . . .

With a deep, masculine groan, he threaded his hands through her hair and tilted her head to better suit him, parting her lips with his, kissing her lightly at first, then not so lightly. And then everything felt insistent and urgent, and all her bones melted.

By the time he broke the kiss, Grace was unsteady on her feet, and her breathing was more in line with a marathon run. “I’m not sure what that proved exactly,” she managed. Except he was the best kisser on the planet . . .

Buy Links:

Amazon

B&N

About the author:

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

Social Media Links:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Spotlight and Giveaway: Lucky Harbor by Jill Shalvis appeared first on Manga Maniac Cafe.

Please welcome J Arlene Culiner to the virtual offices today! She’s here to chat about her book All About Charming Alice.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Please tell us a little about yourself.

[J. Arlene Culiner] I was born in New York, raised in Toronto, but for most of my life, I’ve been living in England, Germany, Holland, Turkey, France, Greece, Hungary and the Sahara. At the moment I’m in a very dull French village, in a 300-year-old former inn that I open to the public on Heritage Day. My wildlife garden is a reserve for butterflies and birds and, like my heroine in All About Charming Alice, I also protect spiders, snakes, any living creature. As far as character goes, I’m suppose I’m rather unconventional. I do love well-written books of any genre, rousing discussions, and having a roaring great laugh, but I’ve never owned or wanted a television and, aside from the very occasional documentary, never go to see films. And I’d far rather walk from village to village than drive there.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Can you tell us a little about All About Charming Alice?

[J. Arlene Culiner] All About Charming Alice, is the story of two warm, rather wary but intelligent people falling in love. Both lead interesting lives, both are passionate, idealistic, and both are somewhat older than the usual romance heroes and heroines. My heroine, Alice, because of a past she’d rather forget, has to learn how to trust again, whereas my hero Jace has to become flexible. And although the budding – and sometimes hopeless-sounding – romance is the main story, quite a few quirky, often amusing, secondary characters also make their appearance. And there’s even some fascinating but little-known history of the American far west.

Here’s the blurb:  

Alice Treemont has given up hope of meeting the right man and falling in love. Living in depopulated Blake’s Folly, a quirky community of rusting cars, old trailers, clapboard shacks and thirsty weeds, she spends her time cooking vegetarian meals, rescuing unwanted dogs and protecting the most unloved creatures on earth: snakes. What man would share those interests? Certainly not Jace Constant whose life in Chicago includes elegant women, fine dining and contemporary art.
Jace has come to Nevada to research the new book he’s writing, but he won’t be staying; as far as he’s concerned, Blake’s Folly is hell on earth. He’s disgusted by desert dust on his fine Italian shoes, dog hair on his cashmere sweaters and by desert bleakness. As for snakes, he doesn’t only despise them: they terrify him.
So how is it possible that each time Alice and Jace meet, the air sizzles? That she’s as fascinated by him as he is by her? That they know their feelings go deeper than raw desire? Still, it looks like this relationship is doomed before it starts: Jace won’t be around for long, and Alice wants to avoid the heartbreak of a short fling.

In need of some juicy romantic gossip, the other 52 residents of Blake’s Folly have decided Alice has been alone for long enough. The attraction between her and Jace is obvious to everyone, so why worry about essential differences? If you trust in love, solutions do appear. But don’t those solutions call for too many compromises, too much self-sacrifice? 

[Manga Maniac Cafe] How did you come up with the concept and the characters for the story?

[J. Arlene Culiner] Many years ago, I spent a few days in a crumbling Nevada community of shacks, old trailers, and one dilapidated old hotel/bar/restaurant. I loved the place, and the atmosphere has stayed with me throughout my rather itinerant life. I have, of course, gone back to Nevada and looked for that community but, strangely enough, I’ve never found it. Therefore, I decided to recreate it in my book, All About Charming Alice, to name it Blake’s Folly, and to populate it with all the original and strange folk you’d find in out-of-the-way places. Of course, my heroine Alice is also a rather strange character – you’d have to be if you lived in Blake’s Folly -  but she’s endearing as well.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three words best describe Alice?

[J. Arlene Culiner] Alice is definitely determined. And a giving sort of person, one who wants to please – despite her prickly exterior and her need to protect herself. And she respects all living creatures.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If Jace had a theme song, what would it be?

[J. Arlene Culiner] I’m certainly not good at naming theme songs, however, one morning, my hero Jace tells Alice he’s going walking in the desert with her. Desperate to keep some distance between them, Alice refuses, although she knows Jace is a pretty determined guy and he’ll win in the end. And as she furiously storms back into her house, she hears Jace whistling: You’ll Never Walk Alone.  

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Name one thing Alice is never without.

[J. Arlene Culiner] A camera

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three things will you never find in Jace’s bedroom?

[J Arlene] You’ll never, ever, find men’s perfume or aftershave or cologne of any kind; you’ll never find hair gel; and you’ll certainly never find Viagra.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What is Alice’s greatest regret?

[J. Arlene Culiner] She regrets that she allowed herself – many years before – to be dominated by her unfaithful, ambitious and manipulative first husband. He bullied her into an acting career she’d never wanted, into a Hollywood lifestyle she hated, and forced her to spend her energy hiding his infidelities from the press. After much scandal and losing a baby, she eventually ran away, started doing what she really wanted – working as a herpetologist in the desert. But she is sorry she compromised for so long.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What are your greatest creative influences?

[J. Arlene Culiner] Hearing new ideas, finding new ways of looking at things. Social criticism particularly stimulates me, but so do landscapes – especially lonely, out-of-the-way places like deserts or flat plains, or groves, or sleepy old towns with their original architecture. All these things inspire me to create, work, think.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three things do you need in order to write?

[J. Arlene Culiner] 1. Solitude. I can’t be sitting next to someone I know. I need the peace of my own work space. But I can – and do – also write in train stations, on trains or in cafés. Yes, sure there are other people all around me in such places, but I don’t know them so the solitude is definitely there.

2. A need to communicate with the world: I want to share a good story, amuse people, make them weepy or get them chuckling.

3. My inner voice: it wakes me up in the early morning; it has dialogue racing through my head; it sends me bright images, sly characters and snappy tales. It’s a strange kind of electricity, that inner voice.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What was your biggest distraction while working on All About Charming Alice?

[J. Arlene Culiner] I suppose my dogs are always a terrible distraction. Dogs are forever lying around at your feet, watching your every move. You know that all they want is to be touched, talked to, taken out for a walk. You are their whole life, and you certainly have to get up from time to time, give in to their wishes – even if you’d much rather stay put and keep writing. And then there are the cats… They come strutting by, and if you ignore them, they’ll roll over the computer keyboard, bump and rub against you until you pay attention to them and give them some love.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What is the last book that you read that knocked your socks off?

[J. Arlene Culiner]]  Limonov by the French writer Emmanuel Carrère. This brilliantly written book is not only the portrait of a Russian dissident, one of society’s rebels, it also presents 20th-21st century Russia, is an analysis of Russian literature and Russian authors. Limonov is even more than a book: it’s a whole journey.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If you had to pick one book that turned you on to reading, which would it be?

[J. Arlene Culiner] I  can’t think of one book only. There were several that, as a child, opened the window to life, gave it another dimension. One, Magic by the Lake, had a turtle that granted wishes, and ever after I always hoped I’d find the right lake so that adventure would come to me too. Then there was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis in which, by simply walking into a closet, four children find themselves in an alternate world. Believe me, after devouring that, I tried out every wardrobe, closet and closed door in every single house I passed through. But perhaps it was those Trixie Belden books that taught me that there were adventures and mysteries to be found in even the most boring, domestic settings.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What do you like to do when you aren’t writing?

[J. Arlene Culiner] I’m an amateur musician. I play the oboe, English horn, oboe d’amore, flute, piccolo and bombarde, and I play every chance I get – with four different bands, two orchestras, two chamber music groups and a double reed group. I go on workshops, travel all over France to play with different musicians and give concerts. If that isn’t an obsession, I don’t know what is.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] How can readers connect with you?

[J. Arlene Culiner] They can come visit my site and write to me there: www.j-arleneculiner.com

They can come see my blog, read the – sometimes provocative – articles I write, and tell me what they think: j-arleneculiner.over-blog.com

And they can also write to me at [email protected]

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Thank you!

Purchase link

About the book:

Title:  A Risk Worth Taking Author: Victoria James

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

This book had me invested in Holly’s life by the end of the first chapter.  It was heart-breaking.  It’s her big day at work, and she has worked the last ten years for this moment.  Her wardrobe was carefully picked out, and she is glowing with happiness. She is finally going to be made a partner at the prestigious design firm where she’s employed when she gets the call that makes her realize how pointless her achievement really is.  Her sister and brother-in-law have been killed in an accident, and now she’s left reeling, the guardian of her infant niece.  How can she raise a child alone?  How will she recover from yet another loss?  Everyone she has loved has died – her parents,  the grandparents who raised her and her sister, and now her sister’s gone, too.  It’s just too much, and Holly is devastated.

Returning to her rural hometown to renovate and then flip her grandparents’ house, she is confronted with painful memories of her past.  She has loved Quinn for a lifetime, but he rejected her when she was eighteen.  Now she has to put on a brave front and face him, and all of her childhood memories.  All she wants to do is get the house finished and get out of town, and back to her life in the city where she’s so busy she doesn’t have time to dwell on the emptiness of her life.

I enjoyed A Risk Worth Taking very much.  I loved the interactions between Holly and Quinn, and even enjoyed Emma, Holly’s little niece.  I usually am not a big fan of babies in romances, but Emma wasn’t just window-dressing here.  She was central to the storyline, and she helped both Holly and Quinn’s hearts to heal.  Despite her best efforts to not get caught up in her feelings for Quinn, which still burned bright, Holly’s resolve crumbled as he became an important addition to her new family.  And Quinn, though he didn’t feel worthy of Emma’s love or trust, was able to put his painful past behind him with the baby and Holly’s help. 

A Risk Worth Taking is a feel good read.  You’ll get caught up in Quinn and Holly’s romance, and cheer along as they both learn to trust again.   As Holly puts aside her sadness, she begins to remember all of the happiness she has turned her back on. As she remembers what is really important in life, she is willing to face the risks, and the rewards, of loving Quinn. 

Grade:  B+

Review copy provided by publisher

Title: Slow Dance with the Sheriff (Harlequin Romance) Author:  Nikki Logan Publisher:  Harlequin

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

Okay, so I somehow got sucked into the Larkville Legacy series, and after reading the first two books, I am quite eager for the third.  I don’t remember reading anything by Nikki Logan before, though I do have a few of her Harlequin Romances that I picked up during the final days of Borders’ going out of business sales.  Glad I grabbed them now, because Slow Dance With the Sheriff pushed all of the right buttons with me.  It had some humor, some sizzle, and a whole lot of powerful emotional responses from me.  Why?  There is a dog.  He is damaged.  There are two people.  They are damaged.  Because they both find it in themselves to love the dog, they all get a happy ever after.  How freakin’ cool is that?  There aren’t even any horses in this one, and since it takes place in a small Texas town, I expected at least one or two.  Nope, just a bunch of stupid cattle.

Ellie Patterson is seeking a home.  She needs someplace where she fits in, and in 30 years, she has yet to find one.  It seems that her entire life is one of disappointment.  She quit  ballet after discovering that her wealthy father was making huge donations to the company.  She couldn’t live with the humiliation of knowing that he bought her place with the dance troupe, instead of earning it herself.  She is still single and emotionally detached from any man, much to her mother’s dismay.  If she won’t keep dancing, she should at least marry in the spotlight.  Then, when she discovers her mother’s secret, she’s  shocked, but also hopeful.  Her mother was already pregnant with Ellie and her twin brother when her mother married, and she is doesn’t share one drop of blood with her father.  Even though she has never fit in with her New York family, maybe she will finally find a place to belong in Texas with the Calhouns.  Without a second thought, she rents a car and drives to Texas to meet the family she didn’t even know she had.

Problem?  First, Jess Calhoun is on her honeymoon, and she be gone for a few weeks.  Second, she is ambushed by an errant herd of cattle.  Third?  The oh-so-sexy sheriff who saves her is just as damaged as she is.  He is distanced from everyone and everything but his dog.  He likes things that way, too.  After making a life altering mistake when he was in charge of the canine unit in a big city, he has sworn off emotional entanglements.  He is happy being the sheriff of a small town, patrolling his county and keeping the law and the peace in his little corner of the world.  Life is quiet.  Life is calm.  Life couldn’t get any better.  Until he has to save Ellie from that errant mass of bovine stupidity.

What I liked best about this story is how both characters, despite their overwhelming fear of emotional, and in Ellie’s case, physical, contact,  both pushed each other to take risks.  These were baby steps, but each successful nudge pushed them closer together, until they had developed a strong bond, with trust firmly at the foundation.  Jed’s strength allowed Ellie to feel comfortable and content for the first time in her life.  Ellie’s wariness and vulnerability, coupled with her unbridled joy at finally discovering the courage to get out there and live, gave Jed a  much needed push to start living himself.  Even when he takes the overused plot devices to heart and tells Ellie that theirs is just a  temporary attachment, you know, to the depths of your soul, that Jed is only fooling himself.  Once he and Ellie begin to trust each other, you know that it will only be a matter of time, despite the rages and the denials, before they stop fighting and recognize how perfect they are for each other.  Add the unshakable approval of one traumatized police dog, and Jed and Ellie really had no chance to escape from that devious thing known as true love.  Their chance of escape?  Zero percent.

I immediately connected with the protagonists, and I constantly urged them to overcome their fears, to stop fighting against the inevitable tide that would eventually buffet them together.  Plot devices that normally drive me nuts worked here, without question.  And interwoven through everything was Deputy Dawg, that poor battered soul who needed nothing other than a warm pat and a kind word.  I think that this sliver of the story touched more more deeply than it would have otherwise, because I know how comforting and soothing a dog’s presence can be.  Now that it’s not there, I know how devastating it is when it’s not there.  At the end of this story, when all Ellie and Jed wanted was love and forgiveness, all they had to do was look to Deputy for an example of how that is done.  Nothing can bridge that chasm of unconditional love and forgiveness like a dog. 

I was occasionally jarred out of the story by some unfamiliar, and to my ears, awkward turns of phrase.  Both Ellie and Jed are supposed to be American, but they didn’t always  sound like it.  This is my one nitpick.  Nikki Logan is Australian, and every now and again, her characters sounded like they were too.  I wasn’t expecting this deep in the heart of Texas, so I do feel obligated to mention it. 

So, volume two in the Larkville Legacy has kept me engaged in the continuity of the series.  Curse you , Harlequin!  Check back for my review of the next book in the series, Taming the Brooding Cattleman.

Grade:  B+

Review was purchased from Amazon

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

I have mixed feelings about Blaze of Fire, and most of them are because I have a love-hate relationship with Theo.  Of all the Grayson brothers, he somehow ended up my least favorite.  I don’t know why, exactly.  Maybe I don’t find bespectacled authors of historical yarns intriguing.  Maybe I’m jealous that he was able to live in a bed and breakfast indefinitely,  never having to worry about making his bed or cleaning the bathroom.  Or maybe it’s because I found him a bit too inconsistent.  For most of the book, he is sweet and mild-mannered, with infinite amounts of patience to support Avery during her moments of insecurity.  But like Clark Kent, once those glasses come off, he changes, but not always for the better.  He could be a smug jerk, and I didn’t feel quite so fond of him then.

I did enjoy the tempo and tone of this story.  Avery is emotionally bruised after finding one of her therapy patients dead from an overdose.  Upset with herself for not realizing that she was being lied to and not able to forgive herself for not being able to keep Mia from harming herself, Avery is hiding out in Star Harbor.  Helping run her aunt’s business while the older woman recovers from her battle with breast cancer, Avery is moving from one day to the next, trying to stay on the fringes of Star Harbor society.  It drives her nuts that everyone in the small community knows everyone else’s business, and she doesn’t like feeling like she’s under a microscope.  She just needs to be left alone so she can come to terms with her feelings of inadequacy, and figure out what to do with the rest of her life.

Theo is struggling, too, but his internal strife is based on his inability to write.  He’s under pressure to complete the next volume in his privateer adventure series, but he’s stuck.   He can’t write a word.  He has no inspiration, and he feels empty.  Leaving his meaningless life in San Francisco behind, he heads back to his childhood home to rediscover his writing roots.  Instead, he discovers Avery, and one glimpse of her vibrantly hued hair has him captivated.  He has discovered his muse, and he’s not going to let her out of his sight.

I liked Theo when he was gently wooing Avery, giving her the emotional support she needed so desperately, but backing away when she needed space.   He taught her how to have fun and take risks, while teaching himself how to open his heart at the same time.  His courtship methods were occasionally questionable, and I didn’t know whether to be amused or appalled as he basically stalked her to her favorite hangout in Boston.  That was a little creepy.  He also showed an epic lapse in judgment that almost destroys his relationship with Avery, and for such a smart guy, I was disappointed with his behavior.  Of course it’s all set up so the good folk of Star Harbor could meddle in his business, but for him to completely disregard everything he knew about Avery and to push back like he did didn’t make sense to me.

The drug runner plot thread had a bigger role in Blaze of Winter than in the previous book in the series, and I am assuming it will be played up even more in Val and Cole’s books.  They are my favorite characters, but they didn’t get much page time here, only serving as backup for Theo.  I was a little disappointed that they didn’t get to play a bigger part in the story, but that just gives me something to look forward to in the future when they get their own 200 pages.  Bring those on! 

Blaze of Winter is a quick read with a (mostly) sweet hero who occasionally displays a lack of common sense.  Avery is an emotionally wounded heroine who needs a lot of handholding to get through the train wreck in her past that has her questioning every decision she makes.  It was gratifying to see her finally set her fear aside and embrace the love Theo, and her own family, were desperate to give her. 

Grade:  B/B-

Review copy provided by publisher

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

Animal Magnetism is a book that I picked up on impulse at a Borders’ closeout sale.  One look at the woe-be-gone puppy cuddled to the cover model’s chest, and I had to have it.  I didn’t even read the synopsis on the back of the book.  I have been challenging myself to read books outside of my normal comfort zone, so I scooped this up, thinking that the puppy couldn’t steer me wrong.  He didn’t!

Due to preconceived, and highly erroneous,  impressions I had about the line, I have avoided any Berkley Sensation titles.  I am not sure why or when I started to view them in such a negative light, because I have never actually read one, but for the record, my idea of what they are like was so far off base it’s not even funny.  This is a fun, humorous contemporary romance with engaging characters and an added cast of critters to complicate the protagonists’ lives.

Lilah makes a bad first impression with Brady Miller when she crashes into his truck.  Oops!  It was  really the duck’s fault, but trying to explain that would make her sound absolutely nuts.  Lilah is lucky that Brady turns out to be a nice guy, because she has a carload of animals to ferry back to her kennel.  Instead of leaving her hanging out to dry, he offers to chauffeur her, and her charges, home.  Before you can say “Quack!” they share a mutual attraction, but as Brady makes it quite clear, he’s only in town for a short time to visit his foster brothers, and then he’s hitting the highway again.

And this brings me to the reason I gave the book a slightly lower grade than I would have otherwise.  Lilah pursues a fling with Brady, knowing that there is no future for them. She accepts that he isn’t going to be a permanent addition to her life, and she wants to get him and her blazing attraction to him out of her system.  This is my second least favorite romance trope, with the dreaded destined mate trope edging out in front.  I’ve only been reading romances again for a short while, and several of the book have featured this plotline.  Sigh. (Rant off)

Lilah isn’t the kind of girl to be content with a wild fling, regardless of how satisfying the sex is.  She takes her relationships very seriously.  She isn’t the love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of girl.  She values how other people feel, and that’s what I loved about her.  She grows attached to everything, even the stray animals she shelters for a short time.  It eats away at her every time she has to give them up, even knowing that she has found a wonderful, forever home for her furry charges.  I was a little resentful of Brady for what I saw as almost taking advantage of her.  He knows what she’s like, and he still agrees to a no-strings attached relationship.  Sometimes somebody has to b

Stranded by J.T. Dutton. HarperTeen. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Publication date June 2010.

With great reluctance, fifteen year old Kelly Louise and her mother are leaving Des Moines for her mother's hometown of Heaven, Ohio.

Kelly Louise -- named for Tina Louise, of Gilligan's Island fame -- tells of being dragged back to the small town her teen mother escaped from years ago, to live with her cleaning-obsessed Nana and religion-obsessed cousin Natalie. Natalie, fifteen, seems to love unicorns and Jesus equally. Her mother promises it's just temporary, but it's the middle of the school year! It's going to be that much harder for Kelly Louise to get a boyfriend.

Kelly Louise tells this story; and her voice makes this fresh and different; she's funny and amusing, self-centered and a drama queen, and, like Lola from Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and Alice from Alice, I Think, you're going to alternate between cringing, laughing, and loving her.

But there is a seriousness to this novel; a gravity. Because Heaven is best known for the recent news story about Baby Grace, an infant abandoned in a cornfield.

Dutton's story of the unthinkable -- a baby left to die -- is told against a setting of lost family farms, alcoholism, and second generations of teen pregnancies. Kelly Louise's voice brings humor, and she thinks of herself, first, most of the time. But she also thinks about Baby Grace, and family secrets, and what it means to do the right thing.


Teaser: A mini post about a book I've read that won't be published for several months. The full review will be posted closer to the publication date.


Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy