Tag Archives: romantic comedy

RELEASE DAY!!! ~ Home Run King by Stella

Title: Home Run King
Author: Stella
Genre: RomCom Standalone
Release Date: February 23, 2018
My life was what country songs are made of: my Granny died, my girlfriend broke up with me, I knocked up her cousin, and I was inducted into the Major League Hall of Fame. Yup…just like every country song I’ve ever heard.
But let me start over…
My name is Gage Nix. That’s all you need to know.
Actually, there’s a lot more to Gage than meets the eye. My name’s Katie Crisp, and I had a front row seat and the inside scoop.
In a moment of grief and desperation, I allowed the Home Run King to…well, hit a home run on my diamond. He not only knocked it out of the park, but he also knocked me up. 
Raising two babies—the one I was carrying, and Gage—wasn’t what I signed up for. But he gave me no choice. I only wish I hadn’t waited until the end of the season to see that he was my MVP.
Oh, and the only hall of fame he’s ever been inducted into is his own.

Best Selling Authors Leddy Harper and Stephie Walls met on a street corner in Savannah, Georgia in 2015, where they quickly formed a bond over book boyfriends and cheap wine. 
After discovering the two best friends shared a brain, their alter ego, Stella was born. After all, when you put two romance authors together…you’re gonna get something Stella!

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COVER REVEAL! ~ Cut Short by Julia Wolf (GIVEAWAY INSIDE!!!)

Title: Cut Short
Author: Julia Wolf
Genre: Romantic Comedy

Release Date: March 22, 2018 

Of all the towns and salons he could have walked into, he had to walk into hers…

 

Rachel Sachs finally has her life together— almost. She owns a salon in the town she’s always loved, dances the Running Man like nobody’s business, has regular wine nights with her girls, and does really good hair.

After a trail of failed Tinder hook-ups, she’s finally ready for something real…

Until she sees Joe Silver— the object of her high school obsession and the breaker of her young heart. That might be a little too real.

Fourteen years ago, Rachel ghosted when Joe made it clear she’d never have him. But now? He’s not letting her get away. And soon they’re right back to where they started, only instead of the all night instant messaging they did in high school, they’re blowing up each other’s phones with texts.

Rachel wants nothing more than to savor the slow, delicious burn of falling for Joe Silver again, but can she trust that what they’re building is the real she’s looking for? Or will history repeat itself and leave her with another broken heart?

 

“Julia lives in Maryland with her patient husband and three crazy beautiful kids. When she’s not writing, momming, or watching Real Housewives, she’s reading a book. Julia’s a lover of all things romance. From sweet, to funny, to steamy, to so dirty you’ll blushing for days, she reads (and writes!) it all.”

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NEW RELEASE!!! ~ Once Bitten by Ashley Suzanne (Excerpt inside!)

Title: Once Bitten
Series: A Three Weisman Novel #1
Author: Ashley Suzanne
Genre: Contemporary/2nd Chance Romance
Release Date: February 22, 2018 
Dear Diary,
This is a joke? It’s too soon to be April Fools, but is it, really? Because there’s no way that when I finally start working through the pain from the breakup with Walker, he has to come back around.  

 

Who thought it was a good idea to send me to a Three Weisman party?  

 

When all that hurt finally seems like a feeling in my past, why does Walker suddenly want to try again? Does he expect me to end things with his brother and give him another shot? Can he really be the man I need him to be, or am I setting myself up for heartache again? 

 

There’s no right answer …

 

This is either going to end as a funny story we can tell our children or I’ll never live down the disappointment and embarrassment I’ll cause my parents.  

 

Only one way to tell.

 

Walker’s lips part, his tongue sliding against mine. Moving his hands from my thighs, around to my ass and pulling me closer—if that’s possible—I keep mine firmly planted on the back of his head, holding him to me and relishing the feeling of control. Our bodies melded together, his heart hammering against my chest, I completely give myself over to him, relinquishing my power and submitting to my wants. 


What feels like an eternity only lasts a few seconds, maybe a minute if I’m being generous. By far, the best kiss of my life. My greedy pants mix with Walker’s lustful groans, which only add fuel to the fire. The only area we never had problems is confirmed when I tighten my legs around his frame. 

 

Walker’s the one who separates us—God knows it wasn’t going to be me—but he lingers, his mouth hovering over mine.
“Happy New Year,” he repeats, snaking out his tongue and licking his lips.
“Right back at ya, Weisman.” I recover and attempt to feign some indifference, but the effort’s futile; I’m not fooling anyone, especially Walker. “God,” I whine, throwing my head against the bulletin board and shaking it slowly, irritated with my actions and inability to control myself in the one situation it should be easiest.

 


  Instead of making fun of me, Walker takes the opportunity to graze his lips across my skin, starting at my collar bone and ending at the sensitive flesh just below my ear, where he leaves one quick kiss before whispering, “Don’t worry, Maxi, I won’t tell baby brother I got you all hot and bothered, making damn sure it was me you were kissing at midnight, not him.” The fucker winks and smirks—a deadly combination for any woman’s resolve.

 


“What the hell’s wrong with you, Walker? In case you missed the point earlier, you could have had me. We didn’t have to be making out in the staff lounge, hiding from anyone or anything. You decided that wasn’t what you wanted. Not me. That wasn’t my call. You. Fucked. It. Up.”

 


 

“And if I made a mistake and want a do-over?”

 


“You don’t get it, do you? You’re so used to money fixing everything, or those damn golf rules you and your dad used to joke about. Listen, Walker, this isn’t a game. There are no mulligans. You’re shooting over par, Tiger. Take the loss and deal. It’s too damn late. I’m not a fucking toy you get to rip out of your brother’s hand when he starts playing with it. Act like a man and treat me like a goddamn lady.” 

 


 

I hate him getting to me, and even more than that, I hate giving him a reaction he doesn’t deserve. Why wait until I’m kind of okay to start fucking with my head? Who does that?

 


“So you’re saying I could take you?” 

 


 

I can’t decide if his smug grin’s infuriating or endearing, and I’m frustrated as hell trying to figure it out.
“No. God. What are you even talking about?” I yell, tossing a verbal flashbang into the air, directing any nearby attention to my hiding spot.

 


“I’m thinking if I tried to take you away from Wes, you’d come all too willing. Am I wrong, Max?”

 


 

“Yes, you’re wrong. Dead fucking wrong. Move.”
“Not a chance in hell. Not until you answer me honestly.” 

 


I hate him and his brilliant-blue eyes. I despise way his jaw ticks … his tell … knowing he’s going to get something he wants. I loathe my inability to steer clear of him and his games.
Come out tonight, it’ll be a blast, they said. All these theys … I wanna punch them all.


“What? Now you want me? Because you want me? Or do you just wanna get at Wes?”

 

When his answer’s not immediate, it hurts more than if he would have lied straight to my face. Shoving him hard enough he stumbles backward, I leap off the counter and run straight for the door.
“Just don’t forget I had you first,” he says, his words loaded.


As if I could forget …

 


 

“And he’ll have me last,” I toss back, anger spewing off every syllable. The first lesson they teach the pretty little rich girls who are bound to marry well: don’t just look like a bitch, be bitchy when the situation calls for it, and never let anyone think they have something to hold over your head; be the one with the leverage.

Straightening my shirt and wiping the remnants of our kiss from my lips, I push open the door and run straight into a brick wall of muscle … otherwise known as my boyfriend. 

“There you are, baby. I’ve been lookin’ for you.”

Before I can respond, Wes takes me in his arms and kisses me. Stunned, I don’t return the kiss. He’s too drunk to notice and completely misses the sharp intake of air, followed by the possessive growl from his brother.

 

What a tangled web we weave.

 


This is why girls should save their virginity until they’re married; not because society says so, but because it’s so much easier to not complicate life with an orgasm. Especially when the boy you want to have sex with isn’t the same boy you should be having sex with. See the dilemma? 

Now, how fast can I get out of the spider’s lair before my world implodes?

 

 

Ashley Suzanne boasts many titles … short-order cook, taxi driver, football mom, maid, boo-boo kisser … the list could truly go on and on forever. Other than her moming and wifing titles, Ashley’s favorite designation is author.

 


 

Having written her entire life (mostly hate mail to her sister and cousins), it was no surprise when she penned her first novel, Mirage, in 2013. What started as a way to help her husband heal after losing his best friend, a successful career blossomed.
When Ashley isn’t binge watching whatever the best new show is, you’ll most likely find Ashley hiding in the bathroom from her children, showing homes, begging her husband to watch Hallmark movies with her, gorging on Diet Mt. Dew or buying more Sharpie pens than she’ll ever use.

 


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HAPPY RELEASE DAY & Review!! 💙💚 Fool Me Twice by Lillian Anderson

Title: Fool Me Twice
Author: Lilliana Anderson
Genre: Romantic Comedy/Contemporary
Release Date: February 21, 2018
‘Some husbands bought their wives flowers, others bought jewellery. Mine? He returned the things he stole.’

I should have known better. Hot guys didn’t hit on big girls without an agenda. They didn’t approach them in bars and talk their way into your bed. They also didn’t make you feel beautiful and proud of your curves. But, I was going through a dry spell—actually, I’d kind of been going through a dry spell all my life—and dry spells sucked. Of course I slept with him.

I was such a fool. 

I believed his lines. Fell for his easy smile; the man swept me off my feet, rocked my world, then robbed me blind. 

I really needed a three date rule.

Angry and embarrassed, I engaged the help of my best friend to track the thief down and make him return what he took. But when I found him, he wasn’t alone….

What does a girl do when she finds not one thief, but an entire family? 

She marries into it, of course.
I have mixed feelings about Fool Me TwiceOn the one hand it was a fun and funny romance featuring a curvy girl and a sexy guy with an accent, two things guaranteed to get me all hot & bothered…and interested. But on the other hand, this story wasn’t everything I hoped it would be, which is why I only gave it 3.75 stars.
The story itself was good with a really intriguing premise and the chemistry between Holland and Nate (not Ben) was really hot. But the story loses something with only being told from her point of view. That fact alone made it hard to connect with Nate, to give a damn about why he and his family did what they did, which is key, in my opinion, to forgiving him for the way he treated her. Twice.
Fool Me Twice was a good read, but I never fully connected.
Bestselling Author of the Beautiful Series, Drawn and 47 Things, Lilliana has always loved to read and write, considering it the best form of escapism that the world has to offer.
Australian born and bred, she writes New Adult Romance revolving around her authentically Aussie characters with all the quirks you’d expect from those born Down Under.
Lilliana feels that the world should see Australia for more than just it’s outback and tries to show characters in a city and suburban setting.
When she isn’t writing, she wears the hat of ‘wife and mother’ to her husband and four children.
Before Lilliana turned to writing, she worked in a variety of industries and studied humanities and communications before transferring to commerce/law at university.
Originally from Sydney’s Western suburbs, she currently lives a fairly quiet life in suburban Melbourne.

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COVER REVEAL! ~ His Promise by L. Wilder

Title: His Promise
Series: Happy Endings Collection
Author: L. Wilder
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: February 20, 2018
Cover Models: Michael Joseph & Kellie Marie
Cover Designer: Robin Harper @ Wicked by Design
Photographer: Ashley Klemm

 

After the devastating loss of my wife and daughter, I did everything in my power to guard my heart, making everyone, including myself, believe I no longer had one. I focused on my work and kept everyone at a distance. It was the only way I could face the day. 

 

I had no time for distractions, but the day Langley, my legal assistant, asked for help with her custody battle there was no way I could refuse. When I was at my worst, she was there to pick up the pieces, making sure I didn’t lose the only thing I had left—my career.
Now, it was my turn to ensure she didn’t lose the one thing she cared about most—her children.
I promised to help, but I had no way of knowing that one promise would turn my entire world upside down. With the help of her two kids, she chiseled away at the walls I’d worked so hard to build, and I found myself wanting the one thing I thought was out of my reach—another chance at love.

 

Leslie Wilder grew up in a small town in West Tennessee. A country girl at heart, she’s always thought that life is too short, but she had no idea how short it really was until her brother passed away in 2014. She’s always been an avid reader, loving the escape only a great book can give, and wondered if she had what it took to write one of the wild romances she’d come to adore. With the support of her family and friends, she published Inferno: A Devil Chaser’s MC, one year after her brother’s death. With him in mind, she fulfilled her lifetime dream of writing. Since then, she’s completed the Devil Chaser’s Series and continued on with the Satan’s Fury MC Series. She has so many stories in her head, and can’t wait to share each and every one.
Leslie has been blown away by the support of her readers, appreciating every message, review, and encouraging word she’s received over the past year. She looks forward to continuing this journey with them for years to come.

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PROMO TOUR! ~ One Night to Fall by Kelsey Kingsley

Title: One Night to Fall
Series: Kinney Brothers #1
Author: Kelsey Kingsley
Genre: Contemporary Adult Romance
Release Date: December 12, 2017 


 




 

Do we choose love? Or is it something decided by fate?

 

To Kinsey McKenna, Patrick Kinney was a persistent glob of sticky peanut butter. He had been stuck to the roof of her mouth, since they were both three years old, when fate seemed to send his family next door to hers. All the way from the coast of Ireland to River Canyon, Connecticut.
Over twenty-nine years, fate has been both kind and cruel and many choices have been made. Can things go back to when they were more innocent and magical? Patrick has a plan and just one night to try and take back the reins of his destiny and put the wrong things right with a trip down memory lane.
Fall in love again with this novella of firsts and second chances, in a little town where everything meant everything.

 




“You don’t want to miss meeting those amazing people in this beautifully written romance.” – Bianca & BJ’s Book Blog


“I’m going to say this is a must read. Come join me. Fall in love with an Irish b*****d too.” – V. Theia, author of the Renegade Souls series


“You know, when you’re reading a book, and it takes you to a place where the world around you ceases to exist… That is One Night To Fall by Kelsey Kingsley.” – Love2ReadRomance






 

“This Town” by Niall Horan

 

“Too Much to Ask” by Niall Horan
“Holy Days” by Sean McConnell
“Greatest Love Story” by LANCO
“Legends” by Kelsea Ballerini
“Lost” by Secondhand Serenade
“Sweet Thing” by Hozier (Van Morrison cover)
“Have I Told You Lately” by Van Morrison
“These Are the Days” by Van Morrison
“Sweet Thing” by Van Morrison

 




Kinsey McKenna.

My sweet thing across the Long Island Sound.

I’d laugh about it sometimes, lying on the couch in my basement. I had to cross the pond to give her my heart, and she had to cross the Sound to take it away.

It wasn’t very funny, but I’d laugh anyway, because what else could I do? I couldn’t just call her up, beg for her to take me back-I was married. Not happily, but married nonetheless, and I wasn’t a cheater. An arsehole, maybe, for allowing my soul to remain tethered to another woman, but I wasn’t in the habit of being unfaithful.

“Patrick?”

Kate’s voice stole me from my thoughts, and with a gasp, I scrambled to lay her memory back in my heart, tucking it in where it had remained hidden for all those years.

“What was that?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

“I had asked if you’ve seen Kinsey around here, while you were waiting.”

“What? Kinsey?”

Kate nodded. “Yeah, my sister Kinsey. You remember her?” She said it with the old teasing tone I had gotten to know so well during the years of my youth. The voice she used when she’d catch us kissing on the old swing set in the back yard, when she’d catch us closing her bedroom door, when she … “Patrick?”

There I went again. “Sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “So, Kinsey is here?”

I caught the upward twitch of Kate’s cheek, just above the corner of her mouth. “Yes, she is, but I’m telling you right now, she does not want to see you.”


“Were those her explicit instructions?” I asked, glancing around me in the waiting room, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

“Something like that,” she said with a smirk, but then she stepped toward me, dropping her voice to a whisper. “But between you and me, I only promised to keep you away from her until after the surgery.”

“Ah, Kate. I could kiss ya.”

She rolled her eyes. “You better not be kissing anybody but your wife, Patrick Kinney. You’re still married.”

“Watch how fast I get divorced,” I said, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow.

“Patrick,” she hissed. I had heard that before, so many times.

I relaxed my face, smiling softly. “I’m only kiddin’, Kate. But listen, it’s getting late, and I really should get home. Keep me posted on your dad, will ya? And tell Kinsey I said hi.” She nodded, stepping forward to give me another tight hug, and I turned to leave.

And the thing was, I had lied to Kate McKenna. Kinsey was back, and if I saw her, if I felt there was any chance of us getting back together, any chance at all, I would file for a divorce. I would unpack all of those memories I kept tucked away in my heart, I would hang them on a wall and display them on a shelf, and I would make her remember.

Because ten years had gone by. Ten whole years, and nothing was getting better. Nothing was hurting less, and nothing was getting that woman out of my head.


 


 

Kelsey Kingsley lives in New York with her family and a cat named Ethel.
She believes there is nothing better than a good doughnut and a cup of tea, and that there is a song for everything.

 





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RELEASE DAY + GIVEAWAY ~ The Last Resort Motel: Room 10 by Crystal Perkins

Title: The Last Resort Motel: Room Ten
Author: Crystal Perkins
Genre: Romantic Comedy w/ PNR Elements
Release Date: February 8, 2018 

 

Devin and Devon are looking for adventure and yeah, some ghosts. Why else would they head out to the middle of nowhere and The Last Resort Motel? Those ghost hunters on TV make it look wicked cool and if they don’t see a ghost, well at least they can keep busy in other ways.

 

When the ghosts turn out to be more than they bargained for and the motel owner and her boyfriend don’t believe them, they’ll have to get rid of the spirits on their own. If they can make it out of this without being violated or consumed, maybe it’s time to grow up and realize what they have together is stronger than they could have ever imagined.

 


I grab the soda, water, and beer and walk to the door. When I open it, it slams right back shut. I try to pull on it but it’s sealed tight. Shit.

 

 

“Dev?”

 

 

I force my voice to sound calm as I answer her. Inside, I’m feeling like a small tree shaking in the wind, afraid it’s going to fall over. “I don’t think we’re leaving right now.”

 


12 rooms. 12 authors. 12 unique stories.

January – Gwyn McNamee – Room 1 – Available NOW
February – Crystal Perkins – Room 10 – Available NOW
March – S Van Horne – Room 519​​
April – Dee Kelly – Room 13
May – B.T. Clearwater – Room 58 
June – M.C. Webb – Room 212
July – Megan Matthews – Room 29
August – Elizabeth Otto – Room 100 
September – Ann Mayburn – Room 419 
October – Geri Glenn – Room 666
November – Winter Travers – Room 19
December – Betty Shreffler – Room 15
Crystal Perkins has always been a big reader, but she never thought she would write her own book, until she sat down and did it one day. She lives in Las Vegas, where you can find her running author events when she isn’t reading, buying too many Sherlock t-shirts and anything Wonder Woman, or finding a place to put all of her Pop! figurines. In 2016, she won the Creative Initiatives Award from Romantic Times for encouraging literacy, and also the Community Advocate Award from the Clark County School Librarians Association. A mac and cheese connoisseur, she travels the country looking for the perfect version, while attending book conventions and signings as a cover for her research. The Griffin Brothers, Corrigan & Co., and the Society Girls series are all international best sellers, and she’s thankful to the readers who made that happen.

 

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💥💞💥💞💥💞GIVEAWAY:  Comment below for a chance to win an e-copy of The Last Resort Motel: Room 10 by Crystal Perkins!!! 💥💞💥💞💥💞

Review ~ Tapped by Cora Cade

Get your copy HERE!!!

ABOUT:

One night is all she wanted.

Georgia Burke is on a mission to find a sexy one night stand. After she catches her cheating ex with her friend, in Georgia’s apartment no less, she visits her brother in his sleepy lakeside town to regroup. Her first night at Fox Lake and she finds the Drunken Duck pub and puts her plan into motion. Almost.

Will Calder is looking for the real deal. He’s done with the short-term flings and wants to find a woman ready for everything he has to offer. Will’s determined to show Georgia more than just a single night of debauchery and he’ll do everything in his power to keep her close.

Georgia’s going to find Will’s idea of the perfect woman isn’t what she expected. She’ll have to face her own insecurities to land the sexy contractor or settle for the vacation fling she anticipated.

Warning: Contains a curvy woman with a geeky streak and the contractor out to win her heart. Expect a sexy romp with a man who knows how to work with his hands.

Tapped was a short and sweet steamy romance and though I usually skip these reads, this one held my attention from start to finish. Yes, it was insta-love and yes it was insta-sex, but I love both of those things and I really loved it here. Georgia isn’t looking to get loved up again, especially after ex and her ex friend betrayed her.

But as these things tend to go, the one guy to make her body tingle all over is interested in more than just one night. Will. Oh, hot, sweet, magnificent Will. I want one of my own and I’ll keep him for more than a night! He’s got a big family and they drop by whenever they want, which produces some true comedic moments that made me laugh out loud.

Tapped is a novella, about 70 pages, but it still a fun time.

Review ~ Fake Wife by Stacey Lynn

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.

Review ~ Apoca(hot)lips – Paula Houseman

Get your copy HERE!!!

ABOUT:

Up yours! It’s a ballsy attitude for a child, and one that served Ruth (Roth) Gold well back then. It’s one she desperately needs to revive now. 
After her divorce, Ruth finds the love of her life: Herself. And she’s in a happy place … until a geeky, sexy, god-like man fronts up and fulfils her forgotten little-girl fantasies. He tells her she’s ‘The One’.
Talk about screwing everything up!
A romance with him seems so wrong, yet—mmm, mmm— feels so deliciously right. 
With those around her inflaming her doubts, though, Ruth remains trapped in a do-I-don’t-I mindset. But she rallies! She kind of breaks up with her carping mother, and succumbs to Mr Hotlips’ charms.
This Romeo ’n’ Juliet-esque couple engages in epic battles with the knockers, and triumphantly rattles their cages (from where, it appears, they’ve all escaped).
Still, Ruth’s man can’t vanquish the conflicts in her mind. Or the ones in his own. And when an earth-shattering revelation causes him to give her grief, the question on her hot lips is no longer ‘Can our love survive?’ It’s … ‘Do I want it to?’

When I first dug into Apoca(hot)lips by Paula Houseman my eyes bugged out and laughter bubbled up out of me. The main character, a divorcee called Ruth has a somewhat tenuous relationship with her ‘cousin’ Ralph and yes I mean a romantic relationship. Once you get past that, which is easy to do once you realize Ralph is on a journey of his own to find out what he can about his birth mother because. So you see, they’re only sort of cousins. But it isn’t just Ralph making Ruth’s life more difficult than she’d like it. Her mother is a piece of work, her neighbors are making life difficult and in general, Ruth has the entire world conspiring to turn her life upside down. Sounds like a lot of drama, right? Well it is but in the best possible way.

It took awhile for me to warm up to Apoca(hot)lips and it had nothing to do with whether or not Ralph had a legit spot on the family tree. Paula Houseman has a unique writing style that took time to get used to, but the story telling and character development were solid. I truly appreciated Ruth’s tough as nails, “I ain’t no damsel’ way of looking at the world. The way she takes on the people screwing with her own acceptance of her distorted fairytale was priceless and so true to her character you couldn’t help but cheer her on.

Ruth was unapologetic in her new approach to life and I found it admirable as well as highly entertaining.

Houseman added a few plot twists that tested Ruth’s strength and commitment to being a more positive force in her own life. I love the way the author explored the idea that sometimes it’s us who are our own worst enemies. The constant nagging in her own mind was her, though the voice might have belonged to another. This was for me, the most endearing part of the story because as women age and their romantic relationships shift, that kind of negativity can really have an impact on future or current happiness.

If one were to judge this book by its cover you’d come away missing out on a lot because this is an engaging story that was a surprisingly good find.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book by Reader’s Favorite in exchange for an honest review.

Book 1, Odyssey in a Teacup is available for #free at the time of this posting.