Category Archives: Romance

book reviews, Holiday, Novellas, Romance

Review ~ A Real Cowboy for Christmas by Stephanie Rowe

Leave a comment

Get your copy HERE!!!

ABOUT:

Only a deathbed promise would send Jaimi Hamilton to Rogue Valley for Christmas to track down her brothers, the nine Stockton cowboys who don’t even know she exists.

When Sheriff Dane Wilson discovers the vulnerable, sassy single mom from New England has a secret connection to the cowboys he considers his brothers, the protector side of him kicks in…but whose side is he supposed to be on?

When a wintry first kiss raises the stakes, suddenly there’s more than just family at risk.

 

A Real Cowboy for Christmas is a short, fun read packed with big, rugged cowboys and the women who love them. This is a quick read, following Jaimi and her little girl, Emily on a trip to Rogue Valley to make good on a deathbed promise.

What she finds instead is a hot Sheriff with a lifelong connection to the men with whom she also shared a connection. Dane, he was the STAR of the story. Handsome with a hint of that alpha protectiveness that makes a girl’s knees go weak, he had a killer smile and a way of quickly putting the skittish Jaimi at ease. I just wanted to wrap my arms around him and never let go.

For those of you who take issue with insta-love, you’re not going to like this story even though it was absolutely perfect. They didn’t have a lot of time, so they did what adults do; make a decision and hope for the best.

A big, rambunctious family is how all little girls should spend the holidays and the Stockton clan was as big and boisterous as families came.

A very good and super fast read that pulled me right in and didn’t let me go until the story was over.

Books in the Wyoming Rebels series (all books are standalone and can be read in any order):
A Real Cowboy Never Says No
A Real Cowboy Knows How to Kiss
A Real Cowboy Rides a Motorcycle
A Real Cowboy Never Walks Away
A Real Cowboy Loves Forever
A Real Cowboy for Christmas 
A Real Cowboy Always Trusts His Heart (Coming Soon!)

Romance

Chances, Book 3 in the Coming Home Series Cover Reveal!

Leave a comment

Chances, Book 3 in the Coming Home Series Cover Reveal!

By: Janet A. Mota

Releasing on January 16, 2018
Cover designer and photographer: N.A. Shoemaker, www.instagram.com/n_a_shoemaker
Model: Shannon Smith, www.instagram.com/6feetofshan|
Blurb:

Sometimes the demons that live within us can suffocate us and take over every part of our being.  Belle has demons living inside her that are taking over her brain and making her believe she can’t have certain things in life.  She’s isolated herself from her friends and someone she wants as more than a friend.  She starts to self-destruct and finds herself in a position that may get her in trouble.  Can Belle overcome the demons and allow herself to live the life she wants to live?  Will Belle allow herself to love and be loved?  Can Belle listen to her heart and shut the demons out of her brain?

Holiday, New Releases, Novellas, Romance

COMING SOON: Second Chance eX-mas by N.D. Jackson

Leave a comment

Title: Second Chance eX-mas
Author: N.D. Jackson
Release: December 21, 2017
Pre-order Link: http://amzn.to/2BxmII3

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?

book reviews, New Releases, Romance

New Release & Review ~ Crash Into Us by Shana Vanterpool

Leave a comment
Title: Crash Into Us
Author: Shana Vanterpool
Genre: Contemporary/2nd Chance Romance
Release Date: December 18, 2017
They met when they were kids.
They were friends, lovers, and then husband and wife.
They were supposed to be together forever.
He was her Superman.
She was his happiness.

And then he went pro.
And she doubted something that was supposed to be forever.
Mistakes were made in exchange for dreams, and hearts were shattered.
Their forever crumbled right before their eyes.

He went on to play for the Washington Warriors. He ate, breathed, and slept professional hockey. All he had left after her was the ice. He was in magazines, he won a Stanley Cup, and he had a crowd of people screaming his name. He had everything. Didn’t he?

It’s hard to move on from an addiction, and she was addicted. Drunk on love too early on, she never truly moved on from her first love. She faded in and out of life, trying to ignore her need. But bad habits have a way of coming back when you least expect them too.

For years they went separate ways, until her Superman falls from the sky.

He was on a helicopter after a big win when the engine cut out. He knows he’s not making it out alive. Even with the screams of his teammates shouting in the background as they crash toward earth, all he can think of is her. He’ll never get to see her again…

Love is unforgiving dragging her back to heartache. She only wants to help him get better from the accident and move on with her life. She never planned on falling back in love with him. She never planned on falling so hard a second time.

Lovesick and broken, they crash right back into each other.

I finished this book pretty quickly and now…I don’t know where to begin.

So, I’ll start where I always do with books written in first person. My preference. Yes, we all know that they aren’t my favorite books to read which probably says more about me as a reader and a person than about the author. But I received an email asking if I wanted to review Crash Into Us and after reading the synopsis I was ALL IN.

…then I received the ARC. First person.

Still, I pushed on and, crap on a cracker, I really liked it. A lot.

I liked Jasmeen almost as much as I had problems with her, but she was stronger than she thought and that’s a characteristic I always enjoy reading. My first impression of her was that she was very sad woman who needed to go out and figure out what fueled her. Oh, and that her mom was a big ol’ ass. But slowly I came to see her strength in her actions, because most people wouldn’t have done what she did to help Gavin.

Who, in my opinion absolutely did not deserve it. Or so I thought.

And this is where my only real problem with the Crash Into Us came into play. The whole reason for their divorce became so murky and muddled after a while that I honestly just stopped caring. I mean, if she’s going to forgive him then the details don’t really matter, right? At least that was my perspective until this part of the story was actually resolved.

I also didn’t love the flashbacks because I don’t think they added to the story. It gave depth, but who they were at ten years old wasn’t all the relevant in the face of accusations of infidelity.

As I neared the 45% mark I had been contemplating calling it quits, and not because Shana Vanterpool is a bad author, she’s not, but because I felt that Jasmeen gave in too easily. Gavin needed to work harder to earn her love back, but he didn’t have to so…

I gave this story 4.5 cocktails because it was good. Really good. The love between Jasmeen and Gavin was intense, for most of us that would be scary as hell, overwhelming, but it was right for them. Crash Into Us was packed with emotion and angst, so if those aren’t your jam you’re not going to like this story, but damn the emotion was so good. It was like crying over Dawson’s Creek or Party of Five or even the early seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, that kind of angst.

It fed my 90’s grunge girl at heart need for good, solid angst. This wasn’t drama for the sake of drama, this was grown folk’s problems drama and damn, I read it in 2 days when I should have been finishing final edits on my own book.

I’ve never read Shana Vanterpool but this book gave me the FEELZ.

Romance author, coffee drinker, and bad boy aficionado. Every second not spent breathing is an opportunity to write and read. I live in Northern California with my family and actress dog, Halle Bella. (Just Bella when she decides to cut the crap.) Escaping with a good book is something I live for and I write so others can do the same.

HOSTED BY:

book reviews, Holiday, Romance, Sales

REVIEW ~ Oklahoma Starshine by Maggie Shayne

Leave a comment

Get your copy HERE!!!

ABOUT:
 A deeply moving, emotional story of a mother’s anguish, a father’s love, a family’s hope, this novel will renew your faith and restore your belief in miracles.

Veterinarian and single mom Emily Hawkins’ world is turned upside down when her precious little girl is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Only a bone marrow transplant can save 3-year-old Matilda Louise. Emily isn’t a match, but she’s determined to find someone who is, and that means tracking down Tilda’s biological father and his filthy rich family, a family she believes would’ve preferred her little girl had never been born.

But when she arrives in Big Falls, Oklahoma, nothing is the way she expected. Joey McIntyre, the billionaire’s son who’d been her sweet teenage summer fling, is as handsome and smooth as ever, but he seems to fall hard for Tilda-Lou at first sight, and he’s furious that Emily has kept his child from him. Which makes no sense at all. Soon Emily begins to suspect that the version history she’s believed all these years, might not be the real one. And if that’s true, she’s done a terrible, unforgivable thing.

But none of that matters as dire symptoms set in. The doctor advises Emily and Joe to give their girl the best Christmas ever. Fortunately, Christmas is what the Brand-McIntyre clan does best.

Emily and Joey put their feelings aside, coming together in a desperate search for a way to save their little girl against all odds.

But the truth is that little Matilda Louise is the one who’s saving them.

If you enjoyed Maggie Shayne’s Award Winning Texas Brands Series and Oklahoma Brands, you are going to LOVE the McIntyre Men.

I’ll tell you up front that I am a fan of Maggie Shayne and specifically her Oklahoma-centric series’. I love the feisty Brand women which means I’ll pretty much give every new series at least one book. When I came across Oklahoma Starshine, which combined the Brand women with the hot McIntyre men, I was all in. Throw in a secret baby and the possibility of a second chance romance and I’m a sucker for it!

I won’t rehash the synopsis but let me just tell you that I was totally prepared to have a real good hate-on for Joe…and Bobby Jo. And for a long time, I did. Even longer than Emily probably.

One of the things that often defines Maggie Shayne novels is the big family dynamic and I love it. Almost always. Sometimes though, like in the case of Emily, I think it can come across as bullying. Skepticism is perfectly understandable but seriously, NO ONE considered that just maybe Joe had done something to screw things up between him.

I loved watching Matilda and Joe fall in love as father and daughter, it just enhanced the whole holiday feel of things. To me Emily and Joe were secondary in this story, which was okay.

I loved that all the Brands show up and use all of their quite considerable otherworldly beliefs to help guide Tilda to good health.

Oklahoma Starshine was a lot of fun, magic, holiday spirit with just the right amount of romance to make this a quick, enjoyable read.

***At the time of this review Oklahoma Starshine is just #99cents!***

Holiday, New Releases, Novellas, Romance

LIVE ~ Countdown to Midnight by Katy Regenry

Leave a comment

From New York Times bestselling author, Katy Regnery, comes a standalone New Years-themed romance novella with TWO happily-ever-afters!

After a busy Christmas surrounded by the wedded bliss of their three married sisters, still-single Elizabeth and Jane Story deserve a little fun for New Years!

Heading to the ultra-exclusive Point on Saranac Lake, they expect a week of ski, snow and socializing . . . what they get is a computer glitch that double-books their luxury slopeside condo to handsome Bostonians, Merit and Amity Atwell.

With few other options, the two sets of sibs decide to share the deluxe digs.

Surgical resident, Amity, is more than happy to renew his acquaintance with med school flame, Jane, whom he’s always considered “the one that got away.” But that leaves bar-owner, Merit, and litigator, Elizabeth, way too much time to get on each other’s nerves…

Spend New Years with the Story sisters and Atwell brothers as they spend Christmas week counting down to midnight!

Holiday, Romance, Sales

Feels Like Love ~ Just 99 CENTS!!!

Leave a comment

I just wanted to belong…
Sadie had never belonged anywhere other than on stage. A soulful singer and musician, she left home at a young age and never looked back. No one missed her anyhow. Traveling the country with one no good boyfriend or another for work, Sadie settled in New Orleans until another d-bag boyfriend decided she wasn’t enough…and the slutty new bartender was.
She left for Mustang Prairie and the open arms of her half-sister Amelia…or so she thought

I just wanted to protect her…
Dylan Parker was retired at the ripe old age of 34. After catching a serial killer who’d tortured Chicago for a decade, he was ready to turn in his homicide detective’s shield.
Needing distance from his high society parents and their social climbing friends he packed up his truck and bought a bar in Mustang Prairie. Getting reacquainted with small town life would be an adjustment…until he met a copper haired amazon with a voice like warm honey.
Sadie was everything he wanted; a friend, a devil’s advocate, a sister, and a confidante. Theirs was a deeply satisfying friendship so Sadie and Dylan fought their mutual attraction.

Can Sadie & Dylan admit that their friendship feels more like love?

What people are saying about Feels Like Love:

Return to Mustang Prairie and get swept away by a sweet and spicy romance!

Meet Sadie Girl, the wanderer with a heart of gold and the voice of an angel. And Dylan, the blue-eyed stud who traded in his cop badge to be a small town bartender.

Both come from cold, unsupportive families. Both have reasons to flee from romance. But eventually these two best friends won’t be able to deny their sizzling chemistry, and the growing tension between them.

My favorite book in this series! You will LOVE these characters and enjoy revisiting the rest of the Mustang Prairie gang.

Feels Like Love (Mustang Prairie Book 3)
US: http://amzn.to/1KIICF5
UK: http://amzn.to/2etV2YN
AU: http://amzn.to/2dJmi7h
CA: http://amzn.to/2ei4CTs

 

New Releases, Romance

LIVE ~ Her First Kiss by MJ Fields

Leave a comment
Title: Her First Kiss
Series: First Series #1
Author: MJ Fields
Genre: Romance
Release Date: December 12, 2017
One woman with her entire life in front of her.

 


Having experienced a lifetime’s amount of loss and love under the spotlight of her stepfather and stepbrother’s rock and roll stardom, London Fields decides now is her time to shine. Leaving for college with a clear focus and big dreams around her musical theater major, she is ready to take on the world … under an assumed name. Protecting her identity will allow her the freedom to experience life and maybe love for the very first time.

One man with a second chance to live for himself.

A horrible accident devastated life as Logan Links and his family knew it. He spent a semester off from college to help them begin to heal and returns to school just in time to play one more season of college football.

Only one thing can make things … hard.

Logan and London have had a tumultuous relationship since he was twelve and she was eight. One that has always been buffered by their families’ close connection. Now, they are on their own.

What happens when these two repeatedly run into each other without the watchful eyes of others? Will London’s daydreams of Logan Links being the first man she kisses become a heavenly reality, or will his devil dimples lead her straight to hell?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

He rubs his cheek. “It’s a condition?”

“Yep.”

“Okay.” He extends his hand for me to shake. When I shake his, though, he pulls me in hard and I crash into him. He then puts his hand on my ass and pulls me in harder against him. I feel all of him against me.

“Oh, my God.”

“You feel this?” he asks, fisting my hair and pulling it back so I’m looking up at him.

“Yeah,” I whimper.

“You’re not the only one who can hide shit.” He leans down and licks behind my ear. “They didn’t see it.”

“How?” I whimper as he rotates his hips, grinding against me.

“It finds a leg.” He grips my ass hard then lifts me. I wrap my legs around him as he pushes me against the wall.

The poster behind me falls. I catch the corner and look up. There’s a big hole behind it.

“Logan, what’s this?”

“Had a few bad weeks,” he says before grinding into me and licking up my neck.

I grab the back of his head and pull it closer. 

Hearing the framed poster fall to the ground, I turn, but he captures the side of my head and slides his open mouth up my jaw.

I whimper and press my breasts against him. He pulls me away from the wall as he sucks on my neck then sits on the end of his bed, bringing me down on top of him.

Heat turns to fire. I can’t help grinding against him.

“Fuck, London,” he hisses and pulls me tighter, flipping me onto my back and hovering over me. “You wanna take this slow, you let me lead. You keep grinding on me, you leave me no choice but to give you what we both want.”

“Kiss me, dammit.”

He presses his body against mine, his elbows on the mattress, and grabs my face. I am panting, squirming beneath him.

He pulls me up and, within seconds, I am shirtless. With no time to panic, he lays me back down, and only then do I realize he has unhooked my bra, as well. 

His lips fall just above my breasts, where he kisses up. His lips feel so soft against my skin, but the pressure he applies is that of need, want, and almost uncontrollable hunger. When he reaches my chin, I swipe my tongue across my lips to wet them, and he catches it in his mouth, sucking on it slowly. 

A hum vibrates from his chest. No, mine. No, both. Then he rubs his tongue up and down mine. I open my mouth farther, wanting, needing, imploring him to taste me deeper, and he does.

He licks inside my mouth while holding my head, angling it so he can get deeper. I swear he’s fucking it, and I know this spinning in my belly, the heat, the electricity, the pulsing everywhere is exactly what I imagined it would be, only better.
https://open.spotify.com/embed?uri=spotify:user:12129332150:playlist:7Attjbwfqfyq5NGUnW7Uxy
USA Today bestselling author MJ Fields write books that scorch pages and melt hearts.  
Her style is raw, gritty and authentic.
Love an alpha and a strong heroine? She does too.

HOSTED BY:

New Releases, Romance

COVER REVEAL – Crash Into Us by Shana Vanterpool

Leave a comment
Title: Crash Into Us
Author: Shana Vanterpool
Genre: Contemporary/2nd Chance Romance
Release Date: December 18, 2017

 

Cover Designer: Letitia Hasser w/ RBA Designs

 

They met when they were kids.

 

They were friends, lovers, and then husband and wife.

 

They were supposed to be together forever.
He was her Superman.
She was his happiness.

And then he went pro.
And she doubted something that was supposed to be forever.
Mistakes were made in exchange for dreams, and hearts were shattered.
Their forever crumbled right before their eyes.

He went on to play for the Washington Warriors. He ate, breathed, and slept professional hockey. All he had left after her was the ice. He was in magazines, he won a Stanley Cup, and he had a crowd of people screaming his name. He had everything. Didn’t he?

It’s hard to move on from an addiction, and she was addicted. Drunk on love too early on, she never truly moved on from her first love. She faded in and out of life, trying to ignore her need. But bad habits have a way of coming back when you least expect them too.

For years they went separate ways, until her Superman falls from the sky.

He was on a helicopter after a big win when the engine cut out. He knows he’s not making it out alive. Even with the screams of his teammates shouting in the background as they crash toward earth, all he can think of is her. He’ll never get to see her again…

Love is unforgiving dragging her back to heartache. She only wants to help him get better from the accident and move on with her life. She never planned on falling back in love with him. She never planned on falling so hard a second time.

Lovesick and broken, they crash right back into each other.
Romance author, coffee drinker, and bad boy aficionado. Every second not spent breathing is an opportunity to write and read. I live in Northern California with my family and actress dog, Halle Bella. (Just Bella when she decides to cut the crap.) Escaping with a good book is something I live for and I write so others can do the same.

HOSTED BY:

Holiday, Novellas, Romance, Sales

JUST 99 CENTS ~ Getting In The Spirit by Erin Nicholas

Leave a comment

It’s Christmas time in Sapphire Falls!

At least one good thing has come from Levi Spencer’s car accident– it seems to have knocked some sense into him. He’s ready to leave his wild Vegas playboy ways behind and become a new man. And he knows just the place to do it… his brother Joe’s new hometown. He’s never spent time in a place described as quaint or idyllic, and now he intends to revel in every charming, sweet thing he can find. Like the homegrown country girl his brother sets him up with for the Christmas formal.

Kate Leggot wants just one great Christmas. After a childhood without Christmas at all and three failed attempts to find the seasonal magic on her own, she agrees to spend the holiday with her friend Phoebe in Sapphire Falls. The Christmas-crazy town is a far cry from San Francisco and Kate quickly finds herself drawn into everything from the snow to the hot cocoa. And, of course, the sweet country boy Phoebe has set her up with for the formal. Looks like she’s going to get everything she wanted– and more– under the tree this year.

A not-so-little mix-up, a hot kiss under the mistletoe and a candy cane or two later and December in Sapphire Falls has never been so hot.

Get your copy TODAY!!!