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Showing posts from February, 2018

The First Kiss of Spring by Emily March

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One of my favorite book locales to visit is Eternity Springs, the place where hearts go to heal. There's something uniquely special and ethereal about this town and one very special resident, Celeste Blessing. The town has a way of attracting broken, damaged souls whose goodness just needs a little love and nurturing in order to shine, and Celeste has a special wisdom and gentle, guiding hand to nudge them in the right direction. Emily March's books are some of the few that find a permanent place on my bookshelf. If you'e never been to Eternity Springs, book your next staycation there right away!  You won't want to miss this five-star read. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reading an Emily March novel is like finally coming home after a long absence, returning to people and places that have carved out a place in my heart and will always be a part of me. This time we get Caitlin Timberlake's story, a character we've seen grow from a teenager to a self-assured, competent woman who wi

Where's My Slingshot When I Need It?

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Alternate title: The Itty Bitty Reader Takes On the Marketplace Monopoly Giant If you do any advance copy reading of books or are in any book groups or authors’ groups on Facebook, you’ve probably seen authors and readers alike discussing their reviews disappearing from Amazon recently. Not long ago, all my reviews were deleted by Amazon, and I'll share some suggestions on what to do, should you find yourself in this situation, and some tips on how to hopefully avoid it happening to you in the future. Sadly, Amazon’s review system, especially for books, isn’t perfect and there are certainly abuses to it, but reviews really are critical to both authors and readers.  For authors, the more reviews their book has, the more notice it gets, which translates to more sales.  For readers, reviews hopefully give us accurate information so we can decide if a book is worth our time and money or if we should just move along to the next one. I’ve been reading advance copies and reviewi

Must Love Horses by Vicki Tharp

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Vicki Tharp may just be the best kept secret in western romantic suspense. Her books make me want to shout from the rooftops to the world, "Read this book!"  Her work is deep and complex, with so many layers the reader has no choice but to be sucked in and held spellbound. If you're a fan of romantic suspense at all, her books are definite must reads. The way the series is put together reminds me of B. J. Daniels, with a standalone romance and happily ever after in each book but a thread of mystery running throughout the series. I really despise cliffhangers, but I don' think these fit that category. Ms. Tharp offers enough conclusions to satisfy the reader while leaving her with a curiosity about the next book. It felt like I waited forever for Must Love Horses , and I was already half in love with Boomer, the hero, from meeting him in Cowgirl, Unexpectedly .  Here is my five-star review on Must Love Horses. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ After falling in love with the characters f

Firestorm by Amy Knupp

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This is my first book by Amy Knupp and I can't say enough good things about her writing! Heart felt with tons of emotion, it' clear this story is carefully, lovingly crafted. It's also edited and proofed by professionals who are attentive and meticulous. The storyline is complex yet flows easily, covering all the plot points and tying things together beautifully. The characters are well thought out, deep, multilayered and endearingly human. I give Firestorm five smoldering, heart warming stars in my review, below. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The early copy I read of this book is my first by this author and I’m so glad I found her! Not only is the storyline gripping and the characters wonderfully complex, the story is skillfully constructed and extremely well edited. Joe and Faith both have long family histories with fire fighting. Her father is the fire chief, and Joe's father was chief before Faith's father. Joe is a captain with his eye on becoming chief one day, and Faith is

Dirty Trick by Mickey Miller

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The third book in Mickey Miller's Ballers series is finally here! Dirty Trick gets five exciting, entertaining stars and you can get your copy here  (intro price of only 99 cents!). ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ We first met Eva Napleton in her brother Jake's book, Playing Dirty, and I was glad to see this feisty, sassy spitfire get her own book. Eva works as a psychologist for the DEA and everyone thinks of her as the “good girl.” There’s a bit of a bad girl dying to come out and play, and one night Eva let’s her alter-ego out, introduces herself as Alexa, and has the time of her life with a sexy, tattooed bad boy named Corbin. Weeks after sneaking out of his hotel room, who does Eva come face to face with? Corbin. And not just anywhere. At her job! If that’s not a big enough disaster, Eva learns Corbin is an ex drug dealing con who's now working with the DEA to take down the biggest drug lord in the area in exchange for a reduced prison term. To add insult to injury, Eva has to work under

Hat Trick by Maria Luis

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It's finally here , and I'm so excited! Not only is Hat Trick a fantastic read, it's written by a truly amazing lady. It feels like I won the lottery, having stumbled across the very first book Maria Luis published, and she has a fan for life in me. Not only is she extraordinarily gifted as a writer, it's a treat and delight to watch her grow in her craft, because each book is better than the last. Her writing is light hearted and laugh-out-loud funny but still has plenty of emotion to give your heart a workout. Her characters are larger than life and multilayered, as well as beautifully flawed and in need of redemption, which just serves to endear them more to the reader. Hat Trick is no exception, and it gets five poignant, hilarious, fresh, glorious stars from me! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My Review: Marshall Hunt has been pursuing Gwen James for years, from all the way back in college and into his NHL career with the Blades, seeing past her cold, hard exterior to the real G

Heather Slade Won Me Over

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Heather definitely won me over with this new five star read, Win Me Over , available now ! I’ve been dying to get my hands on this advance copy of Bullet’s story because he was a sweetheart, but such a screw-up, when we met him previously. But the bigger the screw-up, the bigger the need for redemption, and his is spectacular!  Bullet is one hot mess, with two children from different women and raising his toddler son on his own. With his wild past and rodeo cowboy ways, he realizes at twenty five it’s time to grow up and discover the man he’s meant to be. He epitomizes the lost cowboy of Tristan's family's clothing line, but she views Bullet through the myopic lens of her scoundrel ex-boyfriend and rodeo cowboy, Harris, and has trouble seeing through that to the substance of Bullet. Slade did a wonderful job of treating the reader with snippets of patriarch Bill Patterson as a teenager with his mentor Clancy. I especially enjoyed being reminded of simpler days and Bill

Beautiful Potential by J. Saman

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Beautiful Potential will be here on February 6, 2018, but you can preorder it now, here !  (Only $0.99 at time of posting.) If you haven't read any of J. Saman's work you're really missing out.  All of her books stand alone and each is an emotional, rewarding experience. Her latest book may just be her best yet. I loved Finn and Gia's story! Here is my review. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Five Emotional Stars! It seems that every time Gia encounters Finn he’s either seeing her at her worst or rescuing her from some disaster. Which may not be so bad if they could just part ways and go on with their lives, but not only do they work at the same hospital, there is this insane attraction between them as strong as the gravitational pull of the moon. Now in your everyday, ordinary romance novel, the main characters act on the attraction, fall in love, experience some sort of crisis which resolves, and they live happily ever after. This is no ordinary romance. This is a J. Saman novel, and the
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It's finally here ! The new St. Skin novel. This time we get Saint's, or Sawyer's, story - the guy who's half owner of the tattoo shop that is named for him. This is one you definitely want to pick up, and you can learn a little more in my review. Five gritty, emotional stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sometimes love and hate are so entwined it’s impossible to know where one ends and the other begins. Selfishness wars with devotion and the need to destroy battles the desire to heal. Sometimes time and distance provide clarity and certainty, but almost always, life has other ideas. When Sawyer left Hundred Falls Valley, St. Skin, the business he had built, and Kate, the only girl he ever loved, he left a trail of wreckage. Lifelong friendships – his family really – abruptly severed, the tattoo shop created from his heart and soul abandoned, and Kate's heart littered in jagged shards. All with no explanation. There one minute and gone the next, never returning as days turned into