All posts by writinstuff

Contemporary romance writer, political comedy writer, ghostwriter and editor. Lover of coffee & cocktails, world traveler, off-key singer, vegan and adventurer-ish!
Holiday, Novellas, Romance

Second Chance eX-mas by N.D. Jackson

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#LIVE #secondchanceromance #smalltownlove #99cents

Title: Second Chance eX-mas
Author: N.D. Jackson
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover Designer: Cosmin Arnautu
Release Date: December 21st, 2017

💚❄️🔥……….Synopsis……….💚❄️🔥
Ally & Archer.
They were the quintessential ‘it’ couple. Young, beautiful and ambitious. Everyone said they had what it took to make it. That they would last. She had stupidly believed it. All of it.
Hook, line & sinker.
Then he’d walked away and never looked back.
Never knew what he left behind.
Years later he finally returned to the place where they’d grown up. Met. Fell in love. Smiling and looking all handsome with his big strong SEAL body, and turning Ally’s carefully constructed world upside down.
But Archer realized his mistake and though it took some time, he was ready to make it right. For everyone involved.
And Christmas in Blissful was the perfect setting for magic, romance and a rekindled flame.
Can Archer and Ally find a way to let go of the past and reach for a future beyond Christmas Day?

💚❄️🔥……….Buy Links……….💚❄️🔥
US: http://amzn.to/2BxmII3
UK: http://amzn.to/2Bmc0aC
AU: http://amzn.to/2BHWjYt
CA: http://amzn.to/2BEJlKM

 

💚❄️🔥……….About The Author……….💚❄️🔥
N.D. Jackson is the author of sweet and sexy contemporary romances, with an emphasis on the quirky fun and idiosyncrasies of small town living. Her stories have been called fun, steamy, witty and hot. She loves to write about tough heroines who find love when they’re not looking for it and larger-than-life heroes who would never give up on the right girl. She lives in a flat in Germany with her husband who occasionally interrupts her in the writing cave to ask for her delicious vegan Pho or to sweep her off on a weekend adventure. The heroines in her books are a combination of her ‘GIRLS’ and people from her travels who’ve left lasting impressions.

Most importantly, she wants you to know the sassy older women in her books are thanks to the strongest women she knows, her grandmothers.

💚❄️🔥……….Follow ND……….💚❄️🔥
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MustangPrairieBooks
Website: https://ndjacksonwritinstuff.com/
Twitter: @ndjaxn_author
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2ess8N5
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1iESd8T
Pinterest: http://bit.ly/2etUCBB
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/cwSq0X
Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/261671587620194/

book reviews, Romance

Review ~ A Time to be Tender by Sheila Seabrook

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ABOUT:

Heartbreaking to heartwarming…stories of love and redemption, trust and second chances.

It started out as an escape…
Help one sad and lonely widower get his life—and his family—back together again while she hid from her past. But Jane Watts didn’t expect to fall for the cowboy next door. Nor did she anticipate he’d fall for her in return.

It was supposed to be an easy out…
The booze, the brawls, the bull riding. But Mike Toryn didn’t ask to be saved by his secretive neighbor. Nor did he expect that he would want to save her in return.

What should have been uncomplicated and temporary had suddenly become profound and heartbreaking. And neither Mike nor Jane did heartbreak, not ever again.

From the Rocky Mountain contemporary romance series:
Book 1 – Always Remember
Book 2 – Terms of Surrender
Book 3 – A Time to be Tender

This story was surprisingly good, if a little slow and quite heavy at times, but A Time to be Tender didn’t suffer for it. This is the story about two people, Jane and Mike, who needed each other more than they realized. Both have been dragged through hell, and only with the help of each other, will they find their way back to a life in the light.

Mike lost the love of his life, his wife, and he just completely fell apart. Spectacularly fell apart to the point where a social worker came in and took his twin girls from him. Instead of working hard to get it all back, Mike went in the other direction, drinking and fighting, oh and bull riding. Because you know, that’s safe.

Jane, well Jane has been through even more and the stubborn woman refuses to talk about it. With anyone. I won’t give away her secrets because they are a really big part of A Time to be Tender, but it is a doozy. But thanks to her meddling mama, she and Mike start spending time together and they both begin to feel better.

The thing I liked about this story was that it didn’t read like your traditional romance. The build was slow, as it should be between two broken people, but even though it was rarely mentioned, you could see the affection building. The trust and eventually, the love.

Jane was a real treat because her insecurities were very real and once you find out why, completely understandable. It wasn’t some perceived problem that makes the reader roll her eyes and skim ahead. If I had any complaint it would be that I had to wait until the end of the story to find out what happened to Jane. I just felt like if that reveal had come sooner, it would have been more satisfying.

book reviews, Romance

Review ~ The Island by Alyne Hart

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ABOUT:

THREE PEOPLE. ONE RELATIONSHIP.
For 31 year old Amie Graham, life on the island was supposed to be simpler – simpler than the life and problems she left behind. Less complicated and less dramatic than life back home. That was the plan anyway.
But fate, it seems, has a sense of humor and it throws a complication or two right in her path.
Complication one, Michael.
If you could cross a model with a football player, you’d get Michael, at least how Amie sees him. Long dark blonde hair, packed with rounded muscles and well over six feet tall, he’s gorgeous, he’s funny, sweet and vulnerable. He’s her own Greek god among men, and she finds herself falling in love with him.
Complication two, Gabe. 
Gabe is beautiful, serene and intelligent, and Amie finds herself drawn to him. With his curly brown hair, soulful green eyes and olive skin decorated with tattoos and piercings – she finds herself falling in love with him also.
The other problem? They’re best friends – and they’re in love with her too. Can three people really love each other, or is the air of the island just messing with their hearts and minds?

I’m going to preface this review by telling you that yes, I met the author at an online event where authors and readers get together to talk romance, and I won this book during a giveaway. That being said, I don’t review all books that I win because some—like The Island—aren’t in a genre I normally read and I don’t always feel that I can appropriately review it. But this was such an unexpected treat that I had to share my thoughts.

That being said, The Island was a really good read. Unexpectedly so. I’ll admit that I’ve only read a few MFM novels and mostly because of all the hot sweaty monkey sex. But this is a different read altogether. The focus was on the relationship, the characters and how they grew on that island.

And hello, when and how can I get to this fantastic place?!?!

So, Amie. She was looking for something simple after a whole lot of not so simple in her life. She wasn’t really looking for anything but a change. Simplicity. Peace. What she found instead were Michael and Gabe, two people she didn’t know she needed. But she did.

She so did.

Personally, I am fascinated by the intricacies of polyamorous relationships (have been since Big Love) and the way the author really digs into Amie’s mindset and coming to terms with having feelings for more than one man, and considering how she ended up on the island, I’d say it was really a journey for her and I got to witness it.

The Island wasn’t a story I expected to like but it pulled me right in and I had to know how it all turned out. And of course, I had to get to the steam because…I’m a dirty pervert and I like the steam! With or without the steam, this is a beautiful love story, albeit nontraditional, and it’s all the more intriguing because of it.

More about Alyne Hart here.

New Releases, Romance

LIVE ~ Waiting on the Sun by Robin Hill

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Title: Waiting for the Sun
Series: Waiting for the Sun #1
Author: Robin Hill
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 16, 2018 
A QUIRKY RAY OF SUNSHINE BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO A LONELY WIDOWER IN THIS DEBUT NOVEL BY ROBIN HILL.

 

 

Be the butterfly, Frankie… 
Francesca Valentine would rather swear off chocolate than go on vacation solo, but she made a promise to her late father to come out of her shell and live a little. When her best friend bails on their annual girls’ trip, she vows to do just that, but her plan is foiled when the hotel loses her reservation. Alone and stranded in Austin, Texas during one of the world’s largest music festivals, she’s rescued by a mysterious stranger, and an unexpected friendship blossoms.
Ten years after losing his family in a tragic accident, Darian Fox is finally back on his feet. The onetime rock star turned successful indie label-owner is content with the isolated life he’s created for himself and wants to keep it that way. But when he’s forced to travel to Texas on behalf of his company, he finds it’s hard to be alone in a city overrun with people. He meets the beautiful, magnetic Francesca and discovers alone is the last thing he wants to be.
The unlikely pair form a bond that elevates them from merely existing to living a life less ordinary. But the lines of friendship quickly blur, and when Francesca’s true feelings surface, Darian will have to decide between breaking her heart and breaking the promise he made to the family he lost. With his own heart ruled by guilt, does Francesca even stand a chance?
…Spread your wings and fly. 
WAITING FOR THE SUN is part one in a two part duet. Part two, RIDERS ON THE STORM, to follow. Due to mature content, both installments are recommended for readers 18 and up.

 

 

​​​​​​Robin Hill spends 75% of her day writing, 30% reading, and a good 25% hanging out with her husband whilst simultaneously stalking random people online. She’s terrible at math. She loves wine. Coincidence? Maybe.

 

She also loves to cook, eat cheeseburgers, listen to The Doors, and watch Jeopardy. She hates flying and blue cheese, and she’s not too keen on treadmills. She believes in aliens but not ghosts. And she dream casts Josh Duhamel in every book she reads.
Robin hides out at her Texas Hill Country compound with her husband and their little poodle princess, Alice Malice.

 

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book reviews, New Releases, Romance

Release & Review ~ The Billionaire’s Unexpected Baby by Kira Archer

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ABOUT:

One minute, pregnant Leah Andrews is throwing up over the side of a yacht and the next, she’s married to party boy Brooks. It’s an arrangement born of sheer desperation to save her job, but now the tabloids are all over them, their friends are running a pool betting on whether they’ll actually stay married until Baby Day, and worst of all, she and her new husband might just be falling for one another. But they belong in opposite worlds. It’ll never work.

Billionaire app developer Brooks Larson lives his life on the light side. Until he tries to play hero and claims to be Leah’s husband. Now he’s up to his ears in Lamaze classes, baby powder…and unexpected marital bliss. But he’d make a rotten husband and horrible father. Leah and the baby deserve so much better. Add in major baby daddy drama and the whole situation is the worst idea EVER. But sometimes those bad ideas might just be the best ones.

Each book in the Winning the Billionaire series is STANDALONE:
* 69 Million Things I Hate About You
* The Billionaire’s Unexpected Baby

After reading 69 Million Things I Hate About You, I was excited to read this story about Leah and Brooks. Leah is the girl you know as the ‘good girl’. She toes the line, reeks of responsibility and rarely does anything shocking. So imagine her surprise when she ends up pregnant after a totally out of character one night stand. Unable to contact her partner for a night, Leah accepts her friend Kiersten’s invitation to celebrate the christening of her first baby…on Brooks’ yacht.

And Brooks is…well yummy is the first word that comes to mind. Insecure, is the second. But being handsome and rich, he oozes confidence and only those who know him can see below the surface. But when he meets Leah he’s smitten, even though she’s pregnant, which right away gives him a few extra points in my book.

After an incredible kiss under the stars though, Leah hears no more from Brooks and though she’s sad, it doesn’t matter. Until the Catholic school where she teaches has a problem with a single mother-to-be. So that sets up our marriage of convenience plot nicely. And this is where The Billionaire’s Unexpected Baby really gets going. Mostly.

Unlike the first book in this series, I didn’t connect to this one and I didn’t find it as fun. Kira Archer, of course, knows romance so it is still a good read but it was missing that something that made 69 Million Things such a pleasure to read. For instance, I never really understood why Brooks felt so unworthy. I mean it was a pretty big part of the plot but it never really explained it. I think that would have made the great guy Brooks turned out to be even more satisfying, but it didn’t take away from the plot.

There’s a twist, there’s heat and there is romance. This book has everything and it’s done beautifully so I can’t really complain, but the first book simply blew me away, hence the 3.75 star review.

New Releases, Romance

LIVE ~ Full Contact by HJ Bellus & Cathy Coopmans

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#NEWRELEASE + #GIVEAWAY
#FullContact by USA TODAY Bestselling Authors HJ Bellus & Kathy Coopmans is #LIVE!

A #Standalone Crossover #SportsRomance
#TBR on #Goodreads: http://bit.ly/FullContactTBR

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2mvGHQm

iTunes: http://apple.co/2nRABOc

Nook: http://bit.ly/2Bzs3Sj
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2AawJJZ
Paperback: http://amzn.to/2D4bwpS

Enter the GIVEAWAY: http://bit.ly/2CRJ0UW

A mafia princess. The nation’s favorite football player. Can they make it work?

An unlikely matching of the stars.
The opposites had it all for one year.

Justice Bexley, the daughter of Cain and Calla leaders of The Diamond Syndicate, sacrificed true love to protect Liam. Her selfish action destroyed them both.

Liam Blake moved on with his prestigious career. However, his outlook on life was never the same. If his parents could fight for true love with a Pinky Promise he can keep moving forward. At least he tried convincing himself of that.

Some say true love has a way of finding its way back. Justice and Liam know better to believe. That’s up until the day they find themselves in a heated meeting.

She owns a new football team.
He’s coming back from an injury and thirsty to prove the nation wrong.
Years of pent up anger and hatred may fuel an epic second chance love story or ruin both of them for good.

Find out in FULL CONTACT by HJ Bellus & Kathy Coopmans.

#ONECLICK YOUR COPY!
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2CQJKtf

iTunes: http://apple.co/2nRABOc

Nook: http://bit.ly/2Bzs3Sj
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2AawJJZ
Paperback: http://amzn.to/2D4bwpS

FULL CONTACT is a #crossovernovel between Pinky Promise by HJ Bellus and The Wrath of Cain by Kathy Coopmans.

Read Pinky Promise: http://amzn.to/2lQYeSN
Read The Wrath of Cain: http://amzn.to/2E2a97G

Connect with the authors:
#HJBellus
AUTHOR NEWSLETTER http://bit.ly/HJBnewsletter
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2nXkA7P
Website: http://authorhjb.com/
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/J1nEbI
Facebook: http://bit.ly/1QsjK8X
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2oLKZTr
Reader Group: http://bit.ly/1HYQgsk

#KathyCoopmans
AUTHOR NEWSLETTER http://bit.ly/KathyCoopmansNL
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2EQu7DV
Website: https://authorkathycoopmans.com/
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2E3d6VR
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2AivLud
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2CwOeIT
Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2CNPTY9

Cover reveal, Romance

Cover Reveal & Preorder ~ Forbidden Attraction by Siera London

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Title: Forbidden Attraction
Series: Forbidden Series
Author: Siera London
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: February 13, 2018
Recently divorced, Sarah Jones no longer looks forward to the cupid and candy holiday. With her shattered heart and designer swimsuit in tow, she plans a little vacation to Adventure Cove Resort and Spa. It’s just the respite she needs from inquiring minds. 

Quiet and brooding, Deputy Lance Stevens wants to be left alone with the pain of his past mistakes, but his family has other ideas. This contrived vacation is another family intervention he plans to squash, that is until Sarah zips into his life. 

What’s meant to be Sarah’s escape turns into a steamy attraction to a man who’s too young, and too determined to get what he wants-her. Lance is forbidden in more ways than one and Sarah is harboring a secret that could destroy more than their budding romance. What happens when Ms. Jones realizes there’s more than a Valentine’s Day fling going on?

 

Siera London is a bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. She crafts stories of diverse characters navigating the challenges and triumphs to find lasting love. Intelligence, wit, emotion, drama, and sensual romance are between the covers of every Siera London novel. Siera lives in California with her husband, and a color patch tabby named Frie.

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Romance, Sales

A Little Bit In Love by N.D. Jackson ~ Just 99 cents!

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After losing her birth parents and her adopted parents Alexis Mabry is used to being alone. So after a year of bad dates with everyone from sugar babies to cross dressers, she decides to stop dating altogether and focus on what matters most: her business and her friends in Mustang Prairie.

When she meets a handsome stranger on vacation she starts to wonder if maybe its time to get back in the game.

Baxter Thompsen spent the last decade building his empire to the exclusion of everything but sex. Now tired of the socialites and starlets, he wants someone real. When he finds her, Alex only wants a vacation fling and it’s up to Baxter to show her that lust is great, but love is everything.

Is it lust, is it like or are Baxter and Alex just a little bit in love?

book reviews, Romance

Review ~ Any Way You Want It by Monique McDonell

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Get your copy HERE!!!

ABOUT:

Sometimes the big-hearted guy who comes bearing over the top gifts is the perfect fake fiancé.
Chloe has spent her whole adult life running, with no one to lean on, so she’s more than a little wary of Moose. After all, why would he be interested in her? When her shady ex-boyfriend shows up in her ice-cream parlour Chloe panics and tells him that she and Moose are engaged. So now she has a crazy ex stalking her and a hot not-fiancé moving in and she’s not quite sure how to deal with either of them.
Moose has been looking for an opportunity to show Chloe that opposites attract for a reason. Living in her house and spending every day with her couldn’t be more perfect as far as he’s concerned.

Will Chloe let her guard down and let Moose in or will she do what she always does and run?

If you like hot coffee, snow days, a little bit of Elvis and fun, romantic comedies Any Way You Want It is for you.

Although part of the Upper Crust Series You can read Any Way You Want it as a stand-alone novel.
Upper Crust Series

Book 1 – Any Way You Slice It
Book 2 – Any Way You Dream It
Book 3 – Any Way You Fight It
Book 4 – Any Way You Plan It
Book 5 – Any Way You Want It
Book 6 – Any Way You Build It
Book 7 – Any Way You Spin It

I was really excited to read this because I mean, who could resist a big mountain of a man called Moose? I was in right from the get go, but Chloe made Any Way You Want It a really difficult read.

Chloe has lead a very sheltered life inside a religious cult in Texas, but when the time came to marry some old fart, she left it all behind. Unfortunately she fell prey to the same predators that too sheltered children often do and his name was Viper. I applauded her for getting away, for having the strength to leave behind not one, but two toxic situations.

…then I got to know her.

I wanted to like Chloe, I really did but she just made it so damn difficult. Self-doubt is expected and hell, it even enhances the story. BUT there comes a point where you just can’t put up with it any longer and I’m sad to say that point came very early on. If not for Moose, Marissa and the whole community, I might have stopped before I got to the end. But Moose was the Pacey of book boyfriends, kind and sweet, patient and understanding, and hot as hell with a penchant for going shirtless! Yeah, he was all kinds of perfect with a mile-wide protective streak that just about had me swooning as I read.

I know it sounds like I didn’t like this book, but the truth is that Any Way You Want It was an enjoyable read filled with small town goodness. Monique McDonell has written a fun romance that’s easy to read and endearing in its sweetness. I will point out that at times the language became British English which was unexpected but took nothing away from the story.

book reviews, New Releases, Romance

Review ~ Fake Wife by Stacey Lynn

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Get your copy HERE!!!

ABOUT:

This marriage is strictly business . . . until the temptation gets way too real.

Corbin: I loved my grandma, but I don’t need her money. All I care about is keeping the house—the only place that’s ever felt like home. That, and screwing over my dad, who wants to turn the property into a mall. There’s only one catch: To receive my inheritance, I have to get married within six months. Me, the guy who’s never dated a girl for more than six minutes. Now I need to find a woman I can trust. So when I’m rear-ended by a Prius, I figure it’s a sign that I’m supposed to meet gorgeous, down-to-earth Teagan Monroe.

Teagan: First I lose my job. Then I come home and find out—in the most graphic way possible . . . yeah, that way—that my boyfriend is a cheating jerk. And then I speed off and nearly kill Portland’s sexiest bachelor. Corbin Lane should be pissed. Instead, he offers me more money than I’ve ever seen in my life to marry him and live together in a mansion for two years. No sex. No feelings. Just cash—enough to make all my dreams come true. Then we go and break all our rules . . . and I realize I’m falling in love with my fake fiancé.

I have to say that marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes. I don’t care that it’s predictable because what I love most is how the hero and heroine try to fight a losing battles because it is a blast to watch!

Corbin and Teagan have both had their run of bad crap lately. The only family member who mattered to him died and put a huge caveat on his inheritance, which at first had me thinking, “oh, poor little rich boy.” But the more I learned about Corbin—and the sperm donor he called ‘dad’—the more I understood his reason for going through with the charade. And Teagan, well she just had one of those bad days that usually ended with all of your closest girlfriends and copious amounts of junk food and booze. Since she has no girlfriends, she gets to add more crap to her life…in the form of an auto accident.

Don’t get me wrong, Stacey Lynn didn’t reinvent the genre by any means, but Fake Wife was a fun read that kept me smiling (nearly) the whole way. I really enjoyed the insta-love where I normally loathe it, because neither Corbin nor Teagan acted on it. In fact, they fought it so hard that at times I wanted to clunk their heads together.

Fake Wife was honestly just a damn good time. There was the greedy villainous relative who wanted to take the inheritance and make even more money on it—but I’ll say it again Stacey Lynn changed it up by giving us even more reasons to hate the villain. There was the expected miscommunication, but it was resolved quick enough that it didn’t ruin the ending.

In general, I’ve been hit or miss with this author since her Fireside series ended, but Fake Wife has given me a very convenient case of reader’s amnesia because I truly enjoyed it.