Book Review – Ryker

Tags

Book Review, Cold Fury Hockey series, Ryker, Sawyer Bennett

Time for our second look at a book named Ryker 🙂  In this one we get an oh-so-sexy goalie, who is also a great dad and fantastic family man … I’m starting to think there is something about that name!

*****

Ryker

Cold Fury Hockey # 4

by Sawyer Bennett

Released September 8, 2015

Loveswept

Blurb:

The rugged men of the Carolina Cold Fury hockey team are winning hearts once again in another scorching novel from New York Times bestselling author Sawyer Bennett.

The stakes have never been higher for Carolina Cold Fury goalie Ryker Evans. With his contract running out, he’s got a year left to prove he’s still at the top of his game. And since his wife left him, Ryker has been balancing life as a pro-hockey star and a single parent to two daughters. Management is waiting for him to screw up. The fans are ready to pounce. Everybody’s taking dirty shots—except for the fiery redhead whose faith in Ryker gives him a fresh start.

As the league’s only female general manager, Gray Brannon has learned not to mix business with pleasure. And yet even this tough, talented career woman can’t help breaking her own rules as she gives Ryker everything she’s got. She hopes their hot streak will last forever, but with Ryker’s conniving ex plotting to reclaim her man, the pressure is on Gray to step up and save a tender new love before it’s too late.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23834721-ryker?ac=1

Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/125350-cold-fury-hockey

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

Other Books in the Cold Fury Series

ALEX: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo

GARRETT: Amazon | Barnes | iTunes | Kobo

ZACK: Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo

*****

Excerpt:

“D-a-a-a-d,” Ruby shrieks from upstairs.

It’s a sound that once used to cause all the hair to stand up on my arms and on more than one occasion caused me to go tearing after the call of my youngest daughter thinking she was being murdered by an intruder. I’ve since come to recognize that particular shrill cry as one of excitement and wonder, and I can’t help but grin over what Ruby is possibly into now. At almost five years old, she refuses to accept the concept of a well-mannered, indoor voice and goes balls to the wall in everything she does.

“Is the house on fire, Rubes?” I call out.

Her little voice shouts back to me in a squawk. “No.”

“Have aliens landed?” I keep my voice just loud enough to carry up the stairs but still decibels below her own.

“No,” she yells, and there . . . right there . . . that’s a little giggle from her.

“Did Timmy fall down the well?”

“No, Dad . . . but you have to come here,” she yells, and, to give her credit, it’s toned down just a bit. When I don’t answer her right away, she calls down in a sweet voice that makes my heart pitter-patter. “Please, Dad.”

Brilliant, little brat. Throwing in some manners to throw me off my game.

“I’ll be right there,” I tell her as I finish the last of Violet’s braid and manage to efficiently bind it with a hair elastic. Leaning over, I place a kiss on her head. “All done, dreamy dwarf.”

Violet leans her head back and gives me an upside-down grin. I love the sprinkle of freckles on her nose and it compels me to kiss her again.

“Do me a favor,” I tell her as I turn toward the living room. “Get the cereal and milk out for me while I go see what your sister needs?”

I don’t bother waiting to see what she does, because Violet has become my metaphorical right hand over the last few months. While she still loves for me to braid her hair and help with her homework, she’s also relished taking on a bit of a caretaker role since the girls moved in with me permanently this past summer.

They’ve been here almost six months and I actually feel like I know what the hell I’m doing now. It wasn’t always like that, and thank God for Kate’s help or I would have gone insane in those first few months of becoming a single parent of two little girls. Kate patiently helped me establish a routine and taught me how to braid hair, distinguish excited shrieks from cries of pain, and most important . . . how to conduct the perfect princess tea party.

I skirt my way through the living room, bending over to pick up one of Ruby’s dolls from the floor, and bound up the stairs taking two at a time. I find Ruby in the bathroom that she and Violet share, bent over the toilet and peering at something.

She shares the same dark hair and gray eyes as Violet, except her locks spring out everywhere in a mass of tiny curls. I have no idea where that came from, but assume it’s a rogue strand of ancestral DNA from either me or my soon-to-be ex-wife, Hensley. Both of us, as well as Violet, have fairly straight hair, so Ruby is definitely dipping into the family gene pool with her wild curls, but damn . . . they totally fit with her personality.

“What’s up?” I ask as I walk over to the toilet.

She straightens up, shoots me a grin, and points. “Look . . . a spider.”

I cautiously take a step forward and lean over, grimacing as I look into the bowl.

And holy shit . . . a spider the size of a T rex is floating on the surface, all eight legs spread out, bent and poised to look as if it’s ready to leap out and attach itself to my face. I suppress a full spinal shudder and reach a tentative hand toward the handle to flush it.

Two things happen almost simultaneously that take at least three years off my life.

The spider somehow manages to skitter across the water, the beast so large it actually creates waves, and Ruby shrieks at me, “No! Don’t kill it, Dad!”

It is with a major blow to my pride—as a man, as a dad, as a six-foot, six-inch professional hockey player nicknamed the Brick because I’m as big and tough as a brick wall—that I jump backward at least two feet from the monster-infested toilet and banshee-crying sprite, causing my hip to slam into the corner of the sink.

“Shit,” I curse loudly, and Ruby’s eyes go round, followed by her lips.

“Oh, Dad . . . that’s a bad word.”

No shit.

I smile at her as I rub my hip. That’s definitely going to leave a bruise. “Sorry, Rubes. I’ll put a dollar in the swear jar.”

She merely nods her acceptance of my apology and turns worried eyes back to the toilet.

“You have to save it,” she implores.

Yeah . . . that’s not going to happen. Not now. Not ever.

“Sure, baby,” I tell her as I take her by the shoulder and turn her toward the bathroom door. I swear the spider glares at me with a million red, evil eyes. “Go on down and get breakfast. Violet’s fixing your cereal. I’ll get the spider out.”

“Okay,” Ruby says as she pulls away from me, but continues to give me instructions. “But let it out the front door and I’ll bring it some food later.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I assure her as she disappears down the stairs. When I hear her feet hit the bottom landing, I turn toward the toilet, intent on a quick flush to put me out of my misery.

Except when I look in the bowl, the fucking thing is gone.

I’ll just go ahead and admit it. Spiders scare the living hell out of me. I have no clue why, and while I would battle the biggest, baddest monster to the death for my daughters, I’d much rather flush a little spider down the toilet.

I immediately scramble backward out of the bathroom, grabbing the doorknob and shutting it quickly behind me. My heart is racing a million miles an hour, the thought of that furry hell beast now loose in my house.

Just one more thing on the list of things I still need to do today.

Get the girls dressed and ready for school.

Take the girls to school.

Clean up the spilled laundry detergent.

Finish the laundry.

Arm myself with a can of hairspray and a lighter to torch the rogue spider in the bathroom.

Pick up my dry cleaning.

Work out.

Team practice.

Pick up the girls from Kate and Zack’s house.

Dinner.

Baths.

Story time and cuddling.

Go to bed because I’ll be exhausted.

Easy as fucking pie, and I’ll get up and do it all over again the next day with a smile on my face. I’m finding life as a single parent isn’t as daunting as I thought it would be and I’ve finally found my groove.

*****

Review:

I didn’t think I could love a Cold Fury couple as much as Zack and Kate … then I met Ryker and Gray.  This is an absolutely fantastic story!  It doesn’t have as much drama in it as the previous three but that makes me like it even more.  It is simple, straightforward and yet still an emotional powerhouse.  Because of their positions in the Cold Fury organization the two can’t be involved – Gray is making history as the first female General Manager, and not everyone is supportive, while Ryker is killing it as goalie and the team could very well make another run for the Cup.  The last thing that they need is any suggestion of impropriety … but you can’t choose who you fall for 🙂

Ryker is so fantastic as a dad, is a leader to his team, and an absolutely divine mate.  He’s caring, loving, supportive, understanding, smart and intuitive.  Wrap it all up in a gorgeous 6 foot 6 package and Gray is going to find him very hard to resist.  Gray is brilliant, hardworking, a little nerdy, and a whole lot gorgeous.  She’s undertaking a lot by becoming GM of the team and the more Ryker gets to know her the stronger the pull.

I love that there isn’t a lot of drama between these two.  There’s a lot on the outside that could cause them issues (job, exes, family, teammates) but between the two it is just a matter of falling in love – neither have huge hangups and that’s a bit refreshing, so it’s just circumstance that is keeping them apart and nothing else.  They have to figure out what is important, what they are willing to fight to have, and then what they will do to keep those things.

If this is your first in the series, then I think you can jump right in.  The couples from the earlier stories make an appearance, since they are all still on the same team, but their stories really don’t make that much of an impact on Ryker.  And where it is important Bennett does a great job of filling you in.

For a hubbub-free, heartwarming and sweet romance, you are going to get a winner with Ryker.  It is full of great characters, smooth writing, and realistic troubles and I highly recommend it!

Oh, and I also have reviews out there for Alex, Garrett and Zack if you are interested.

*****

Author Info:

USA Today and New York Times Best-Selling Author, Sawyer Bennett is a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. Her husband works for a Fortune 100 company which lets him fly all over the world while she stays at home with their daughter and three big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn’t have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.

Sawyer is the author of several contemporary romances including the popular Off Series, the Legal Affairs Series and the Last Call Series. She will be releasing her third book in the Cold Fury Hockey Series with Random House Loveswept, June 2015.

Facebook | Twitter | Website | GoodReads

*****

Giveaway:

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1f70eab633/

Also enter to win Loveswept’s Giveaway:

Ebook bundle of MAKE YOU BURN by Megan Crane, THE DEVIL’S THIEF by Samantha Kane, ALEX by Sawyer Bennett, BREAKING NOAH by Ashley Suzanne and Missy Johnson, BAD ROMANCE by Jen McLaughlin, BOUND BY BLISS by Lavinia Kent, BRING ON THE HEAT by Katie Rose, THE REAL THING by Cassie Mae, BREAKING A LEGEND by Sarah Robinson, DELAYED PENALTY by Sophia Henry, and SHREDDED by Tracy Wolff

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/235babe7251/

*****

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Spotlight – More Than One Night

Tags

Heroes of the Night series, More Than One Night, Nicole Leiren

Yesterday we had one of my favorites a(Christmas romances) and today we get another with a man in uniform … it is shaping up to be a GREAT week!

*****

More Than One Night 

Heroes of the Night book #1

by Nicole Leiren

Blurb:

The Few. The Strong. The Brave.

Melodie Alexander, a children’s librarian, prefers to live life between the pages of a book. But when the death of her best friend prompts her to step out of her comfort zone, she finds herself directly in the path of self-proclaimed bad boy, Daniel Bresland.

Daniel knew how to be a solider. Life after war? Not as easy. He served his country in Afghanistan, both in the military and as a private contractor, but fighting the war came at high personal cost. Now he’s determined to keep his relationships “casual” in order to protect his heart and prevent anyone from getting too close.

A chance encounter between Melodie and Daniel on a flight to Dallas proves that opposites really do attract. But when scars from the past threaten their new relationship almost before it starts, Daniel must decide if he can risk opening his heart again to convince Melodie he wants more than one night.

If you love men in uniform and believe the night belongs to lovers, then The Heroes of the Night series is perfect for you! Stories of military heroes, sexy and flawed, and the women they love.

Buy Links:   Nook    iBooks      Kobo     Smashwords     Amazon     Gemma Halliday Publishing

Subscribe to the GHP newsletter to receive an email alert when new books are available!

*****

Excerpt:

First Date

Daniel walked through the doorway promptly at eight. Never early. Never late. Beer, sweat, and women’s perfume permeated his senses. My kind of party. He scanned the bar area looking for Melodie. Men in cowboy hats talking up women in high heels occupied most of the seats. Though there were some empty chairs, his date didn’t seem to be the “I’ll wait for you at the bar” type. Making his way through the hot bodies and large red couches interspersed for the comfort of the patrons who needed a rest from dancing in the lounge area, he searched the faces for a glimpse of her chocolate brown waves. Still no Melodie.

He rolled his neck to ease the growing tension. She didn’t strike him as the type to agree to come and then back out. He moved to the center of the lounge area to check out the dancers. Though still early for a Friday night, the dance floor hosted a decent number of people gyrating to the band’s rendition of a popular Def Leppard song.

Keen eyes scanned the crowd looking for her dark brown head bobbing in time to the music. Based on what he’d learned about her, it didn’t seem likely she’d be hanging out with a bunch of strangers, but he felt compelled to cover all the bases. Still nothing. Where in the hell could she be? His disappointment seemed largely out of place for a woman he’d just met and had only known for a few hours. Time for a drink. Someday soon he’d have to find something besides alcohol and women to mask his pain, but that day was not today.

Moving back to the bar, he ordered a beer and made his way toward the outdoor patio. Maybe he could bum a cigarette off someone. He really didn’t smoke, but sometimes he needed to distract himself from his nonstop internal diatribe.

Right before exiting, he caught sight of the brunette beauty, the most beautiful wallflower he’d ever laid eyes on. Melodie. In a denim skirt, white blouse, and red jacket—the picture of patriotism in a curvy, sexy package. He made eye contact and swaggered in her direction. “God bless the USA.”

Her innocent look shot arousal through his veins, settling just below his belt. Thirty seconds and already he needed a cold shower. Or a hot time in bed with Miss USA here.

“Do you always make random comments, or do I just bring out the best in you?”

“You definitely bring out the best in me, sweetheart. I was just commenting about how patriotic you look in your red, white, and blue.”

“Oh…” her blush matched her jacket.

Wanting to save her from herself, he gulped a few more swigs of his beer before tossing it in the trash can. “Let’s dance, eighties girl.”

Grabbing her hand, he pulled her away from the wall. His brows creased. She’d looked comfortable essentially fading into the woodwork. His eyes swept over her body. Why wouldn’t she be the center of attention no matter what the occasion? Beautiful and smart with a hint of sweetness—a dangerous combination for his heart. Not wanting to delay his body in close proximity with hers one moment longer, he pulled her into the fray of the mosh pit, hoping modesty prompted her to lie about having two left feet. The moment her body started moving in time to the music, he forgot all about her feet as her softer curves begged for attention.

He matched his steps to hers. The crowd of people pressed against them, forcing their bodies closer. This is more like it. Muscles flexed, hips rotating—sharing all his best moves. Her moves were damn good too. Those hips…her breasts…even her legs…moving to Brian Adam’s smooth beat. Each subtle sway sky-rocketed his libido to levels for which he couldn’t be held responsible for very long.

The guitars strummed while the drums grew louder, feeding off the energy of the crowd. No slow songs from this group. Time to improvise and make his move. Pulling her tighter, he closed his eyes to focus on the warm-blooded woman fate had delivered in the seat next to him. This wallflower possessed curves which, at present, were exactly where he wanted them—pressed against his chest. Lower, the softness led to muscled thighs igniting multiple fantasies about them being wrapped around his hips. Despite his self-proclaimed promise to behave, he lowered his face to the curve of her neck, inhaling softly. Sweet Jesus, not only did she rally every ounce of testosterone in his body to attention, but her sweet smell was capable of bringing any man…this man…to his knees.

Dear God in heaven, he was in trouble.

*****

Author Info:

Nicole is a debut author with her contemporary romance series, Heroes of the Night. She has been an avid reader and lover of books from a very young age. Starting with Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, and The V.I. Warshawski novels, her love for mysteries grew and expanded to include romance and suspense. A Midwest girl, born and raised, her stories capture the love and laughter in her real world heroes and heroines.

Email:  nicoleleiren@yahoo.com

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

Twitter:  @NicoleLeiren

Website:  www.nicoleleiren.com

Street Team:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/Leirens.Lovelies/

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/LeirensLovelies/

Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Nicole-Leiren/e/B011MKQRMQ/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

*****

Giveaway:

$25 Amazon Gift Card

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c7458f4375/

*****

Spotlight – Holiday Hookup

Tags

A Bad Boy For Christmas, Debbie Mason, Jessica Lemmon, Katie Lane, Snowbound at Christmas, Unwrapped

I know it is a LITTLE early … but who doesn’t love a good Christmas romance?  Today we get three!

*****

SNOWBOUND AT CHRISTMAS

by Debbie Mason

Ex-cop Cat O’Connor is bored working for her sister, Chloe, as a personal assistant on the set of her soap opera. Until Chloe gets an opportunity to audition for the role of a lifetime and asks her identical twin to substitute for her on the soap with no one the wiser. It’s a perfect switch-until Cat attracts the attention of the mysterious Mr. Tall, Dark, and Way-too-handsome leading man.

Grayson Alexander never thought being snowbound in the charming town of Christmas, Colorado, for the holiday would get so hot. But between working with sexy, tough Cat on set and keeping his real reason for being there under wraps, he’s definitely feeling the heat. And if there’s one thing they’ll learn as they bring out the mistletoe, it’s that in this town, true love is always in season.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1ika5pa

B&N: http://bit.ly/1i4O6Sy

iBooks: http://apple.co/1VSnTFP

GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/1UIRHY8

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

BAM: http://bit.ly/1UMFb4A

*****

Excerpt:

“We don’t have time to talk about it,” the older woman said as she helped Cat out of the fur coat. “We have just been presented with the perfect opportunity to put our plan into action.”

Great, Estelle and Chloe had a plan. Cat tugged the sweater’s neckline higher. Her sister may like to show off her girls, but Cat’s were going undercover. And since she didn’t want Estelle to blow her cover, she hoped the older woman enlightened her about their plan.

They were a few feet from the table where Harry stood looking deliciously edible when Nell waved a gingerbread man in the air. “Get a kiss with your cookies, ladies. Two dollars for a kiss and a cookie.”

A horde of women stampeded in their direction.

“Make it count, my dear,” Estelle murmured, shoving Cat at the table.

The push caused Cat to wobble on her heels. If not for Harry reaching across the table, encircling her biceps with his strong hands, she would have fallen on her face. Something her sister would never do. So it was imperative that Cat put on a believable performance. She fluffed her hair, did a flirty head tilt, and batted her fake eyelashes.

“I’ll take two, Harry.” She puckered her lips.

His mouth flattened, a muscle ticking in his clenched jaw. Then he leaned toward her. It’s possible he said bloody hell under his breath as he lowered his head, but she couldn’t be sure because everything went a little fuzzy the moment his warm, firm lips touched hers. She tasted mint, smelled his expensive cologne, and drew closer, placing her hands on his shoulders to avoid toppling over. Okay, so it was an excuse, but she was sure her sister would have taken advantage of the situation in exactly the same way.

Her mouth softened, her fingers tightening on his broad shoulders as her lips parted. She was just getting into the kiss, and it was some kiss, when his mouth left hers. He took what appeared to be a startled step back. She understood the reaction—the kiss had rocked her world, too.

“Hang on, I need a picture for the Chronicle,” Nell said, putting down the cookie to pick up her cell phone. “Okay, go for it.”

In the background, she heard George saying something to Phil about breaking his promise. Harry looked over her head, then back at her. An emotion she couldn’t read darkened his blue eyes, then he brought his hands to the sides of her face and did as Nell suggested. He went for it.

Gently tilting her head so his lips slanted over hers at a precise angle, he gave her a deep, passionate kiss. It was long and lush, and breath-stealingly perfect. Her eyes were still closed, her head tipped up, when she realized she was kissing air. Blinking her eyes open, she stared at him. Acting as though he was completely unaffected, as if he hadn’t felt the same emotional rush of desire, he handed her two cookies.

If that was a kiss from an uninterested man, she’d eat . . .

“That will be four dollars, Chloe.” His words were cool and clipped, his back ramrod straight.

And her heart, that seconds ago had been dancing to a happy beat, froze. It wasn’t her he was kissing. It was her sister.

*****

Author Info:

Debbie Mason is the bestselling author of the Christmas, Colorado series. Her books have been praised for their “likable characters, clever dialogue and juicy plots” (RT Book Reviews). She also writes historical paranormals as Debbie Mazzuca. Her MacLeod series has received several nominations for best paranormal as well as a Holt Medallion Award of Merit. When she isn’t writing or reading, Debbie enjoys spending time with her very own real-life hero, their four wonderful children, an adorable grandbaby, and a yappy Yorkie named Bella.

http://www.authordebbiemason.com/

https://twitter.com/AuthorDebMason

https://www.facebook.com/Debbie-Mason-492150187499546/timeline/

*****

A BAD BOY FOR CHRISTMAS

by Jessica Lemmon

Connor McClain knows what he wants. And after four harrowing years in Afghanistan, that’s a quiet life in the lakeside town of Evergreen Cove. But coming home has land mines of its own-the most dangerous of them being long-legged bombshell Faith Garrett. Now getting her into his arms this holiday is going to require more than mistletoe . . .

With a cheating ex behind her, all Faith wants is a relaxing holiday free from man drama. And even though every moment with gorgeous Connor is a sweet temptation, Faith is determined not to give in. But Jack Frost has other plans, and soon Faith and Connor are snowbound in a winter wonderland with only the sparks flying between them to keep them warm. As one hot kiss leads to another, they’ll have to decide if they’re ready to give each other the best gift of all-love.

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

B&N: http://bit.ly/1KJ6zkN

iBooks: http://apple.co/1K2C2e1

GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/1QtdsWe

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1M2fVoT

BAM: http://bit.ly/1J3fTII

*****

Excerpt:

She came to a halt at the threshold of the kitchen, her breath clogging in her throat.

Part of it was shock over the fact that Connor was leaning over the countertop inhaling one of her cupcakes. The other part, and the part she was having trouble reconciling, was the fact that there was a tear beneath one of the pockets of his jeans, and the slash of skin she was currently staring at was his bare ass.

He stood, chewing and smiling with his lips closed. She knew because she hastily redirected her gaze to his face. The way he licked the frosting off the corner of his mouth and lifted his brow suggested he may have caught her eyeballing something she shouldn’t.

“Tore them on a nail on the fence this morning.” He turned to look over his shoulder, splitting the tear with his fingers to show her a faint red scratch on one chiseled butt cheek. “Hurt like a bitch.” His eyes found hers and he gave her a sly smile. “Don’t suppose you’d be willing to patch me up.”

She choked on her laughter, shaking her head for effect. “I don’t think so,” she said, trying to sound disgusted and not turned on.

His smile erased as his brow went down like she’d hurt his feelings. “You would deny me medical care in my moment of need?”

Flustered, she stepped past him and snatched the small white box off the counter, determined to change the subject. “I hope you know you owe me a cupcake.”

“Cupcake, I took that in payment for the kiss you never gave me.”

So he didn’t forget.

“You’d rather have a carrot cupcake than a kiss?” Her pulse pounded against her neck. She knew which one she would prefer, and hoped she was doing a good job hiding it.

“Hmm…” He made a show of craning his neck to look at the remaining cupcake in the bottom of the box. “It was a pretty good cupcake.”

Her mouth opened in argument, but the argument never came. And the reason it never came was because Connor covered her lips with his, launching his tongue into her mouth. She tasted sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg from the frosting, and his mouth, which tasted wonderful because it tasted like him. The smell of lavender filled her senses, that earthy, spicy smell mingling in her nostrils and making her lean into him. Cupping the back of his neck, she tilted her chin, continuing their sparring session with fervor.

Noses bumped, his unshaven chin scraped her jaw, and his hands—his big, manly, rough hands—grasped her at the waist and pulled her flush against him.

This went on until finally, she had to pull back to inhale or suffocate. Not a bad way to go, she’d admit. Now she was panting and trying to recalibrate her brain cells, which had apparently oozed right out of her ears since Connor put his mouth on hers.

He looked as dazed as she did for a second before his smile snapped into place. “Nope. That was much better than the cupcake.”

*****

Author Info:

Jessica Lemmon has always been a dreamer. At some point, she decided head-in-the-clouds thinking was childish, went out, and got herself a job . . . and then she got another one because that one was lousy. And when that one stopped being fulfilling, she went out and got another . . . and another. Soon it became apparent she’d only be truly happy doing what she loved. And since “eating potato chips” isn’t a viable career, she opted to become a writer. With fire in her heart, she dusted off a book she’d started years prior, finished it, and submitted it. It may have been the worst book ever, but it didn’t stop her from writing another one. Now she has several books finished, several more started, and even more marinating in her brain (which currently resides in the clouds, thankyouverymuch), and she couldn’t be happier. She firmly believes God gifts us with talents for a purpose, and with His help, you can create the life you want. (While eating potato chips.)

http://www.jessicalemmon.com/

https://twitter.com/lemmony

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

*****

UNWRAPPED

by Katie Lane

Jacqueline Maguire has a problem tying the knot. After fleeing the altar (again), the runaway bride drives off with no particular destination in mind. Which is how Jac finds herself stranded in a snowstorm with a hot, hard-bodied stranger who treats her to the naughtiest night of her life . . . but come morning, he’s long gone.

Contractor Patrick McPherson is deeply committed to his bachelor lifestyle. No strings, no rings. As the Christmas season approaches, however, Patrick still can’t quite forget his curvalicious one-night stand. Then Jac shows up unexpectedly, and all holiday hell breaks loose. Because this year, Patrick is getting the biggest Christmas surprise of his life.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1KvF2Oc

B&N: http://bit.ly/1JlEnx7

iTunes: http://apple.co/1KvF88q

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1KvF7Bp

*****

Excerpt:

“Am I a vampire?”

He chuckled at the joke and smoothed the damp hair off her forehead.  “No.  I don’t change my victims . . . I just snack on them.”  She didn’t crack a smile, but her shoulders relaxed, bringing his attention back to the welt.  “How badly are you hurt?”

Her hand went to the marks on her neck.  “Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would.”

Patrick felt his face heat with embarrassment.  “I’m sorry.  I forgot about the fangs.”

Her gaze flickered to his mouth, and damned if he didn’t get hard again.  “Well, I guess since you didn’t . . . umm . . . overindulge, it’s not a big deal.”

Overindulge?  Oh, he wanted to overindulge.  Especially with those phenomenal breasts just a reach away.  But he wasn’t that big of a jerk.  “So can you tell me what happened?  Are there any other victims?”

“No.  No one else was in the car with me when Big Foot—I mean, a deer jumped out in front of the car.  I would’ve been okay if my brakes had worked properly.  It was almost like someone had tampered with—” She paused, and her eyes widened.  “Mr. Darby.”  She glanced at the door.  “And he’s probably the one who flattened your tire.”

Patrick started to wonder if she wasn’t suffering from a concussion.  She seemed to be talking in circles.  Of course, most women talked in circles.  “I thought you said no one was in the car with you.  Who is Mr. Darby?”

“No one was in the car with me.  Mr. Darby is the guy who’s trying to k—” She stopped and cleared her throat.  “Never mind.  It’s not important.  So you were saying?”

His brow knotted.  Why couldn’t women be as easy to read as a blueprint?  He released his breath in a sigh.  “I was wondering how badly you were injured.”

“I’m fine now.  I was just a little lightheaded before.”  She sat up to prove it, bringing her full pouting lips inches from his.  He might not be able to read her, but he sure as hell desired her.  He had never wanted to kiss a woman so badly in his life.  It was like her lips were magnetized and he was solid metal.  But before he could kiss her, she got to her feet and started picking up the items that had spilled out of her purse.  Since there was a lot of crap, he knelt down to help her.

“So what are you doing up here?” he asked as he lifted her wallet and handed it to her.  “I’m assuming by the costume that you were coming back from a party.”

There was a slight hesitation before she nodded.  “And I got lost.”  She leaned over to reach the tube of lipstick that had slid under the coffee table, and her breasts swelled forth in twin mounds of bodacious beauty.  “So if you can’t take me back to Denver, do you think you could get me to a working phone?”

It took her grabbing the lipstick and straightening before he could talk.  “I could if I didn’t have a flat tire.”  Now that his temper had cooled, he realized that she wouldn’t have had time to flatten his tire.  He probably ran over a nail at one of the jobsites, and it had been slowly leaking air all day.

“Don’t you know how to fix it?” she asked.

“Yes, but I’m not going to do it in a blizzard.”  He picked up her phone and tried it.  There was still no reception so he tapped the screen closed.  A screensaver picture of two people popped up.  Patrick didn’t know why he was more interested in the skinny guy than the pretty, dark-haired woman.  Or maybe he knew why, but just wasn’t willing to admit it.

“Are you married?” he asked.

“Not yet.  I’m still working on it.”  Before he could figure out what that meant, she got up and took the phone and her purse from him.  “So if you’re not going to fix the tire, just what am I supposed to do?”

In heels, or at least in one heel, she was only a few inches shorter than he was and sturdily built.  He realized that he liked that about her.  He was tired of petite women he had to worry about breaking.  This woman looked like she could handle a man who liked things a little rough.  And since she wasn’t married, was in no way connected to his aunt’s schemes, and was here . . .

Patrick smiled.  “You’re going to spend the night with me.”

“What?” she squeaked.  “I can’t spend the entire night with a . . .”

“Patrick.”  He held out his hand.  “And you are?”

She swallowed hard before answering.  “In big trouble.”

 

*****

Author Info:

Katie Lane is the USA Today bestselling author of the Deep in the Heart of Texas and Hunk for the Holidays series. Katie lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and when she isn’t writing, she enjoys reading, traveling, and cuddling with her high school sweetheart and cairn terrier Roo.

http://www.katielanebooks.com/

https://twitter.com/ktlane3

https://www.facebook.com/katielaneauthor

*****

*****

Giveaway:

5 Holiday Hookup Gift Sets!

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/26635ce2250/

*****

Book Review – Zack

Tags

Book Review, Cold Fury Hockey series, Sawyer Bennett, Zack

Zack

A Cold Fury Hockey Novel

by Sawyer Bennett

New York Times bestselling author Sawyer Bennett goes for a hat trick with the latest romance in a sexy series about cool-as-ice hockey players and the women heating up their lives.

Warning: The following contains spoilers from a cliffhanger in Garrett.

Rising star Zack Grantham has been stuck in a downward spiral of grief that has put his career on hold. Back on the road with the Carolina Cold Fury, still crippled by emotional baggage, and now a single dad, he’s in need of some serious help with his son. But while the nerdy new nanny wins his son’s heart, Zack isn’t sure he’s ready for a woman’s touch—even after getting a glimpse of the killer curves she’s hiding under those baggy clothes.

Kate Francis usually keeps men like Zack at a distance. Though his athlete’s body is honed to perfection, he refuses to move on with his life—and besides, he’s her boss. Still, the sparks between them are undeniable, tempting Kate to turn their professional relationship into a personal one. But before she makes a power play for Zack’s wounded heart, Kate will have to open him up again and show him that love is worth the fight.

If you haven’t read any of the Cold Fury stories then this is a fantastic place to start – events that lead to Zack’s story do start in Garrett, but it isn’t like you can’t figure out what happened and the important parts are explained.  Although I’m definitely not going to tell you to ignore Alex and Garrett, because they are fantastic and definitely worth your time.

I do not have a clue how Kate manages to be so amazingly well put together – she’s smart, calm, understanding, and funny.  And I love her to bits!  She’s great not only with 4 year old boys but also with their daddies 🙂  Ben has typical little boy energy and adorableness, and Kate is just as cute dealing with him as his nanny.  Zack on the other hand has some serious issues stemming from Gina’s death.  He’s dealing with a lot of guilt and it leads to some major hot & cold moments with Kate, especially once he starts to find himself interested in her and her exuberant, goofy personality.

There are so many issues here, all of them laying at Zack’s door, but Bennett handles them absolutely beautifully, with care and a delicate touch because they are so very complicated.  I feel for Zack so much, I’m there with him for every step forward and for every two steps he takes back.  I root for Kate’s compassion and silly humor to help bring him to a better place and hurt with them when things go bad.  Of course you know it is all going to end up alright, but that doesn’t make those bumps any easier to take.

Unlike with Garrett I didn’t have any trouble getting into this one.  And just like the other two I was quickly lost in Bennett’s characters and their troubles and now I can’t wait to get to Ryker’s story.

 

Buy on Amazon

Book Review – Ryker

Tags

Book Review, Cheryl Douglas, Ryker, Steele Brothers series

This is the first of two reviews in the next week or so for books titled Ryker … not sure how that happened 🙂  But both of them are absolutely fantastic reads and I highly recommend them.

So, for today, let’s meet Ryker Steele – a dedicated husband, father and business man, but with a bad boy past and sexy tattoos.  VERRRRY swoon-worthy!

*****

Ryker

Steele Brothers #1

by Cheryl Douglas

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Published: September 10, 2015

 

Blurb:

Mackenzie Steele assumed she’d be with her husband forever. He’s still her best friend and the father of her children. But when weeks turn into months without intimacy, she realizes she’s too young to feel so old. She wants to feel desirable again, to find the woman Ryker fell in love with twenty years ago. And there’s only one way to do that… by asking him to move out.

Ryker’s blindsided when his wife tells him she wants to separate. He knew they’d hit a rough patch, but he’d never allowed himself to imagine his life without her. Now he has no choice. She seems happy without him, living life on her own terms, and he knows if he doesn’t find a place for himself in her new life, it will be too late to save his marriage.

Goodreads Link:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26168946-ryker

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1igv7on

Amazon CA: http://tiny.cc/16j62x

Amazon UK: http://tiny.cc/b7j62x

Amazon AU: http://tiny.cc/87j62x

Barnes & Noble: http://tiny.cc/50j62x

Smashwords: http://tiny.cc/s1j62x

iTunes: http://tiny.cc/12j62x

Kobo: http://tiny.cc/i3j62x

*****

What Others Are Saying:

“This story sucked me in and didn’t let go. I was hooked from the first heartbreaking scene and after real life intervened, I was anxious to get back to this story. I had to see what happened. I needed to see Ryker and Mackenzie and their boys happy.” ~ A is for Alpha B is for Books

“This was so far up my street I could have been neighbours!!! Holy Moly what an absolute stonker… loved it!

It took me just one chapter to fall head over heels for this book and one day to finish what is one of the most realistically pitched stories that I have engaged with for a while.” ~ Books Laid Bare

“Wow! What a way to start a book off —the moment I read that sentence, geez the prologue, I was hooked! Hooked in the sense that I finished this book in one day. I couldn’t put it down.” ~ Smut- Brarians

*****

Review:

I love how real this book is – it’s the story of two people who love each other but just lost touch with one another.  Mac and Ryker have been together for 20 years, built up a multi-million dollar business and raised two kids.  However, they somehow have lost the passion and connection that they thought would be there forever.  This is a problem that so many people experience and I dig how well Douglas brings it to life.  There is no big drama, no infidelity, nothing but two people who just have to decide if they can fall in love with each other again or if it is best to go their separate ways.

Ryker is fantastic.  He’s pulled himself up from nothing to an amazingly successful businessman.  He loves his wife and sons, loves being a family man, and is proud that he’s the father and husband that his own father never was.  He’s supportive of everyone, including his brothers and his mother-in-law.  The only thing that he’s not that good at is confronting the growing distance between him and Mac – he’s afraid that he’s not going to like her answer.  When she finally asks him to leave, he’s devastated but convinced he’s going to do whatever it takes to win her back.

After being a wife and mother, supporting her husband as he followed his dreams and raising two sons, Mac has lost her sense of self.  She’s reached a point where things have to change and it starts with asking Ryker to leave.  She’s spent the following 6 months focusing on herself, but now she’s at the point that she needs to try to get to know her husband again or let him go.

It’s so great to see Mac take control and do what she has to do for herself.  It is so easy to just let things go so it’s refreshing to see someone realize that something is wrong and take the steps to fix it.  Together, Ryker and Mac try to learn from their mistakes and work on going forward – hopefully together.  Unfortunately since we get both of their perspectives, you know when things are going to go bad … which makes you cringe because you love both of them so much, but it is that kind of connection that has you frantically turning pages to find out what happens.

Ryker is an amazingly realistic look at a couple who have been together for so long that they’ve fallen into a rut and stopped actively trying to connect.  And it’s caused me to look at my own life and make changes to ensure this doesn’t happen in my house.

*****

Author Info:

When one door closes, another one opens. I closed the door to my business for the last time in 2011, which left me with a decision. What now? Find another location and move my nutrition business, go to work for someone else, or take a chance on my dream? I chose the latter and I’ve never looked back!

I’ve always loved reading and writing, but it wasn’t until I jumped in with both feet and decided writing would be my career, instead of just a hobby, that my muse woke up from her deep slumber.

It was like someone flipped a switch inside my head and stories just came pouring out. At the end of the day, I would often look at the keyboard and wonder, ‘Who the heck wrote that? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure it wasn’t me!’

I don’t write books. I tell stories, or rather, I allow my characters to tell their stories through me. I’m not a plotter, never have been, never will be. Why? Because I have no idea how the story will evolve and it’s not my place to manipulate it. My job is to get to know these characters, figure out what makes them tick, then follow their journey wherever it takes me.

When I’m not writing, I’m daydreaming. Thankfully, I have an understanding husband and son who know I’ll re-join the land of the living just as soon as my muse decides it’s quitting time. I don’t work for myself. I work for her. She’s the boss. And I’m okay with that.

Social Media Links:

Website: http://cheryldouglasbooks.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/cheryldouglasbooks

Twitter – https://twitter.com/CherylDouglasNN

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5761770.Cheryl_Douglas

Newsletter: http://cheryldouglasbooks.com/newsletter/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Cheryl-Douglas/e/B007ISZOMQ

*****

Book Review – Win Me Over

Tags

Book Review, Hearts and Crafts series, Nicole Michaels, Win Me Over

Win Me Over

Hearts and Crafts series

by Nicole Michaels

WINNING ISN’T EVERYTHING

Callie Daniels is a singular sensation. She owns and operates her own bakery, contributes to a popular lifestyle blog, and is the dance team coach at a local high school. She lives by her own design and is much too busy to consider dating. Mr. Right will have to fit into her life when the time is right…

UNLESS YOU’RE PLAYING FOR KEEPS

Football coach Bennett Clark always plays by the rules. He knows that his new colleague Callie is off limits but she’s so beautiful-and irritating!-that Bennett can’t get her off his mind. She wants him to participate in a charity dance contest, and won’t take no for an answer. Soon, what begins as a festive athletic endeavor turns into a heated flirtation on and off the dance floor. Could it be that the free-spirited Callie has finally found a way through Coach Clark’s line of defense?

Callie is wonderfully spunky and fun – sassy and a great match for Bennett.  She helps him not take things too seriously and brings out a more playful side to the devoted coach.  I really like how dedicated both are to their students and their friends.  Their interactions are full of humor and heat – the time they spend together learning to dance is the perfect playful foreplay to taking their relationship further.  I also love her friends and her parents – they are more bright spots in an already shining story.

And so, I adored this book … until about 4/5 of the way in.  And then, while I still liked it, I was a little disappointed as well.  There’s a tragedy that shakes Callie and Bennett’s world and while I think Michaels handles the fallout from their perspective very well, there were more people involved and that was glossed over.  I think if maybe this event had happened a little earlier in the book, there’s great potential for additional character and relationship development.  It isn’t enough of an issue for me to lower my ranking of the book, but it is enough to leave me a little dissatisfied.

Outside of that, though, I did enjoy the ending.  I think that the way that Callie and Bennett face their troubles fits well with the people we’d grown to love.  It left me a little bruised for them, which shows how much I’d begun to care, but then I gave a little cheer when they figured it all out and started moving forward together.

If you are like me and this is your first book by Michaels (of course), no worries because it can totally stand on its own.  We do get more of Anne and Mike, who were the characters from the first book, but I totally wasn’t lost by not having the details from Start Me Up.  Although I’m really looking forward to the next book, Draw Me Close, because what we were given a glimpse of here definitely has me curious about what is coming for Lindsey & Derek!

 

Buy Win Me Over on Amazon

Guest Post – The Duke’s Daughter

Tags

Sasha Cottman, The Duke of Strathmore Series, The Duke's Daughter

This has got to be one of the coolest guest posts I’ve had on this site.  Sasha Cottman, whose newest book The Duke’s Daughter is out now (and sounds fabulous), also cooks up Regency era recipes to go along with her historical novels.  And she was kind enough to share a yummy dessert with us … so very suh-weet of her!

Make sure that you check out her social links below so you can go to her site where she recreates other recipes (with mixed results 🙂 )

*****

Paris certainly gives London a run for its money when it comes to excellent food.

-The Duke’s Daughter

Pear Tarte Tatin

My daughter had to make a French three course dinner for school, this blog post is a nod to the great French Pear Tarte-Tatin recipe.

While the history of the Tarte-Tatin dates to the later period of the 1880’s from the Tatin sisters, it is commonly accepted in France that the recipe is based on one which had been used throughout the country for many years.

Ingredients

30g softened butter

¼ cup brown sugar

3 soft ripe pears, peeled and sliced

1 sheet frozen puff pastry thawed

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Grease a 4cm-deep, 20cm (base) round cake pan. Line base with baking paper. (We used a baking dish because we didn’t have a cake pan, it really made no difference).

Mix the sugar and butter together in a saucepan and melt.

Pour into the cake pan. Arrange pear slices over base of pan, slightly overlapping.

Using the cake pan as a guide, cut a 21cm round from the pastry sheet. Place pastry round over pears, tucking pastry into side of pan.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden. The butter and sugar should have created a lovely caramel sauce in the pears and the pan.

We had ours with vanilla ice-cream.

Bon Appetite

*****

The Duke’s Daughter

The Duke of Strathmore Series

by Sasha Cottman

Blurb:

When handsome army officer Avery Fox unexpectedly inherits a fortune, he instantly becomes one of the season’s most eligible bachelors. More accustomed to the battlefield, he has no patience with the naive debutantes who fill the ballrooms of London.

Honest and impetuous Lady Lucy Radley is a breath of fresh air, guiding him through the season and helping him to avoid any traps. So when Avery is left with little option but to marry Lucy, he can’t help but feel he’s been manipulated. Nor can he shake the feeling that a duke’s daughter should be out of his reach.

From the wildly beautiful Scottish Highlands to the elegant soirees of Paris, Avery and Lucy go on a journey that is full of surprises for them both.  But will their feelings for each other be strong enough to overcome the circumstances of their marriage and survive the ghosts of Avery’s past?

THE DUKE OF STRATHMORE SERIES:

Letter from a Rake

An Unsuitable Match

The Duke’s Daughter

The Duke’s Daughter is available at the following eretailers.

Amazon | Amazon Australia | iTunes | Googleplay | Kobo

*****

Excerpt:

Chapter One

By every measure of her own behaviour, Lady Lucy Radley knew this was the worst.

‘You reckless fool,’ she muttered under her breath as she headed back inside and into the grand ballroom.

The room was a crush of London’s social elite. Every few steps she had to stop and make small talk with friends or acquaintances. A comment here and there about someone’s gown or promising a social call made for slow going.

Finally she spied her cousin, Eve. She fixed a smile to her face as Eve approached.

‘Where have you been, Lucy? I’ve been searching everywhere for you.’

‘I was just outside admiring the flowers on the terrace.’

Eve frowned, but the lie held.

Another night, another ball in one of London’s high-society homes. In one respect Lucy would be happy when the London social season ended in a few weeks; then she would be free to travel to her family home in Scotland and go tramping across the valleys and mountain paths, the chill wind ruffling her hair.

She puffed out her cheeks. With the impending close of the season came an overwhelming sense of failure. Her two older brothers, David and Alex, had taken wives. Perfect, love-filled unions with delightful girls, each of whom Lucy was happy to now call sister.

Her newest sister-in-law, Earl Langham’s daughter Clarice, was already in a delicate condition, and Lucy suspected it was only a matter of time before her brother Alex and his wife Millie shared some good news.

For herself, this season had been an unmitigated disaster on the husband-hunting front. The pickings were slim at best. Having refused both an earl and a viscount the previous season, she suspected other suitable gentlemen now viewed her as too fussy. No gentleman worth his boots wanted a difficult wife. Only the usual group of fortune-hunters, intent on getting their hands on her substantial dowry, were lining up at this stage of the season to ask her to dance. Maintaining her pride as the daughter of a duke, she refused them all.

Somewhere in the collective gentry of England there must be a man worthy of her love. She just had to find him.

What a mess.

‘You are keeping something from me,’ Eve said, poking a finger gently into Lucy’s arm.

Lucy shook her head. ‘It’s nothing. I suspect I am suffering from a touch of ennui. These balls all begin to look the same after a while. All the same people, sharing the same gossip.’

‘Oh dear, and I thought I was having a bad day,’ Eve replied.

‘Sorry, I was being selfish. You are the one who needs a friend to cheer her up,’ Lucy replied. She kissed her cousin gently on the cheek.

Eve’s brother William had left London earlier that day to return to his home in Paris, and she knew her cousin was taking his departure hard.

‘Yes, well, I knew I could sit at home and cry, or I could put on a happy face and try to find something to smile about,’ Eve replied.

Eve’s father had tried without success to convince his son to return permanently to England. With the war now over and Napoleon toppled from power, everyone expected William Saunders to come home immediately, but it had taken two years for him to make the journey back to London.

‘Perhaps once he gets back to France and starts to miss us all again, he shall have a change of heart,’ Lucy said.

‘One can only hope. Now, let’s go and find a nice quiet spot and you can tell me what you were really doing out in the garden. Charles Ashton came in the door not a minute before you, and he had a face like thunder. As I happened to see the two of you head out into the garden at the same time a little while ago, I doubt Charles’ foul temper was because he found the flowers not to his liking,’ Eve replied.

*****

Author Info:

Sasha Cottman’s debut novel was published in 2013. Letter from a Rake, was a Romantic Book of the Year finalist in 2014 and won the Book Junkies Choice Award in 2014.

Her books are centred on the theme of love, honour and family. Her current book series, The Duke of Strathmore, covers the story of the love lives of a group of siblings and their cousins.

Sasha’s second novel An Unsuitable Match, was a four time ARRA finalist in 2015. The third book in the Duke of Strathmore series, The Duke’s Daughter, was released in August 2015.

Sasha divides her time between the city of Melbourne, Australia and her family beach retreat at Torquay. She and her family have discovered all the places the family cat disappears to whenever it realises they are about to head home on a Sunday night.

Before accidently enrolling in a course for romance writers a number of years ago, she had always had a love of history. While her writing career may appear at odds with her professional career as a finance executive, it means she can spot a poorly written company board report at twenty feet.

A self-confessed ‘hopeless’ cook, she writes a blog, In the Regency Kitchen, where she recreates recipes from the Regency/Georgian era. Her family have so far managed to survive being the test subjects of her culinary efforts.

The little time she has left during the week and weekends is spent trying to beat her husband at Fitbit challenges and trying to find where the pair to that sock really went.

Sasha is published by Destiny Romance a digital imprint of Penguin Random House.

You can follow Sasha and find out more about her and her books on her website:

http://www.sashacottman.com

For her In the Regency Kitchen Blog where she attempts to recreate Regency Recipes with mixed success http://www.sashacottman.com/in-the-regency-kitchen

Follow her on Twitter  http://www.twitter.com/sashacottman

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sashacottmanauthor

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7136108.Sasha_Cottman

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sashacottman/

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00DH2ACPG

Sasha’s newest release The Duke’s Daughter is released through Destiny Romance.

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qq65ZbPmwc

 

Spotlight – Mystic Mayhem

Tags

Jean Steffens, Mystic Isle Mystery series, Mystic Mayhem, Sally J. Smith

Now something a little special for those who like the funny and the love-y to go along with their mystery.

*****

The Inspiration for our Mystic Isle Series

The Magic Castle in the hills above Hollywood Boulevard is the headquarters and private clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts, Inc., a worldwide organization devoted to the art of magic. Its membership consists of magicians as well as those who just love magic. If you ever have the chance to go there, DO. It’s mysterious, haunting, spellbinding, and a little creepy.

The Magic Castle was the inspiration for Mystic Isle Mysteries, our new series debuting September 15th from Gemma Halliday Publishing. Our series takes place in the bayou near New Orleans, Louisiana on Mystic Isle where The Mansion at Mystic Isle is now open and taking guests. It’s a place similar to the Magic Castle only Mystic Isle is dedicated to all that’s magical and paranormal. Its guests experience the skills of magicians, mediums, fortunetellers, astrologers, and much more. Of course, none of it is real—or is it?

*****

Mystic Mayhem

A Mystic Isle Mystery

by Sally J. Smith and Jean Steffens

Humorous Cozy Mystery – Gemma Halliday Publishing

Blurb:

Melanie Hamilton is not your average artist. She brings home the bacon by inking tattoos at New Orleans’s Mansion at Mystic Isle, a resort in the middle of the bayou that caters to fans of the peculiar and paranormal, but her true passion comes alive when she volunteers restoring Katrina-ravaged landmarks. Between her day job, her restoration work, and selling her paintings in Jackson Square, Mel’s life is more hectic than Bourbon Street on Fat Tuesday. But when a guest of the resort, a millionaire’s widow, is poisoned, and Melanie’s close friend is arrested for the murder, things go from hectic to downright dangerous.
Mel joins forces with the resort’s delish manager, Jack Stockton, to prove her friend’s innocence. Soon they find themselves dealing with séances, secret passages, the ghost of the millionaire himself, gators, swamp rats, and a sinister killer who proves that not everything is what it seems in the Louisiana bayou.

Come on along, and get your creep on.

Buy links:       Gemma Halliday Publishing   Nook    iBooks    Kobo    Smashwords   Amazon

Subscribe to the newsletter to receive email alerts when new books are available.

Book Trailer:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRca7hgX0-8

*****

Excerpt:

Séances were held in a small but lovely room where Miss Marple might serve tea. Burgundy drapes swagged corner to corner. Blue flames flickered low in the fireplace courtesy of a special-effects chemical log Fabrizio swore would bring up the ambiance.

A medium-sized round table sat smack in the middle of the room, seven chairs around it and a purple cloth covering it. The lights were low. So many candles were lit that the place was warm enough for bread to rise.

Fabrizio was already there, looking nervous as a crawfish next to a pot on the boil. He knew, and I knew, and he knew I knew he wasn’t exactly what you’d call a genuine medium, but I had to give him credit. He looked like one, every inch, from the top of his turbaned head to the bottoms of his white patent-leather boots. His long face glistened with perspiration.

“Fabrizio,” I said. “Why don’t we blow out a few of these candles? Your makeup and eyeliner are going to run.”

He nodded, and I set about doing it. The poor guy had to be pretty warm. His long-sleeved white jumpsuit was layered under a full-length sequined white cape. A cross between the Great Houdini and Liberace.

Within a few minutes, Mrs. Cecile Elway and company arrived. Five in all, just like at dinner the night before. There were low murmurs of appreciation as they glanced around the room, taking in the whole experience.

*****

Author Info:

Sally J. Smith and Jean Steffens, are partners in crime—crime writing, that is. They live in the Valley of the Sun in Arizona, awesome for eight months out of the year, an inferno the other four. They write bloody murder, flirty romance, and wicked humor all in one package.

Website:  http://www.smithandsteffens.com

Email: smithandsteffens@cox.net

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Smith-and-Steffens/406147242823342?fref=ts

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/search?q=SmithSteffens&src=typd

*****

Giveaway:

Two great giveaways going on right now !!

#1 Giveaway:  http://www.smithandsteffens.com/signup.html

To celebrate the release of MYSTIC MAYHEM on September 15, Jean and Sally are giving away an awesome New Orleans Café du Monde basket full of goodies from the Big Easy—13 ounces of French Roast coffee, 13 ounces of Chicory Coffee, a box of their world famous Beignet Mix, and two gorgeous Café du Monde mugs to put you in the mood while you’re visiting Mystic Isle. Entering’s a breeze. Just go to the ABOVE LINK between now and September 30, & sign up! Winner to be selected via random.org.

#2 Giveaway:  $25 Amazon Gift Card

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c7458f4374/

*****

Click on the banner below to check out the rest of the tour

Book Review – Garrett

Tags

Book Review, Cold Fury Hockey series, Garrett, Sawyer Bennett

Garrett

A Cold Fury Hockey Novel

by Sawyer Bennett

USA Today bestselling author Sawyer Bennett hits the ice with the story of a playboy athlete whose winning ways lead him to a beautiful woman with a lot to lose.

Carolina Cold Fury star Garrett Samuelson never wants to miss out on a single minute of fun. Whether he’s playing hockey, hanging out with friends, or walking the red carpet with a new date on his arm, he lives every day to the fullest. When he meets Olivia Case, he sees someone who’s exactly his type—confident, sexy, smart . . . his next fling. But the more he pursues her, the more Garrett shares a side of himself that other women don’t normally get to see.

Olivia has been keeping a secret. While Garrett lives for the next thrill, Olivia’s not sure she’ll live to see the next day. She’s undergoing treatment for some serious medical issues, and she doesn’t have time for a relationship with no guarantees—especially one with a hot-as-sin womanizer who won’t take no for an answer. But as she gets to know the real Garrett, Olivia can’t help falling for him . . . hard. To reveal the truth would mean risking everything—but you can’t score without taking the tough shots.

I actually had a hard time getting into this one – I’d make it a few chapters and then put it down to try again.  I did that a couple of times and then when I saw that Zack’s story was coming out, and I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to read it, I knew I had to try again.  Apparently the third time’s the charm because not only did I finish it but I actually enjoyed it quite a lot.  I think there were a couple of issues for me my first few times – I could see where their problems were going to be a mile away plus, I wasn’t all that big a fan of Garrett.  I thought after Alex that I’d love him but he comes across not so much like a modern day rake (which I love) and more of just a manwhore.  Once I got to know him a little better though I actually liked him a lot.

And even though I knew where things were going to go wrong I decided to try to just sit back and enjoy the ride.  It’s a little bit of a secret (but not one that is hidden very long) – Olivia’s issue is that she has been fighting cancer and she’s about to fight it again.  When she meets flirtatious and oh-so-sexy Garrett she decides to take the chance to enjoy some fun sex with the hottie hockey player.  Only it turns into something a little more serious.  So of course her health issues become the huge trouble spot for the two.  Mixed in with how unappealing I found Garrett at the beginning and I just wasn’t sure I wanted to face that, but he quickly changed my mind and I loved the dedicated boyfriend he became.

Bennett is a great story teller and her characters are complex with deep issues, so once I got started I quickly found myself drawn into their story.  The ending was a little difficult to read because both of them needed a good smack but it just made their HEA all the better.

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Spotlight – Footprints

Tags

Footprints, Nicky Jayne, The Deception Series

Today, we have a book that is getting some fantastic reviews on Amazon.  But a warning, it looks like this one will leave you wrung out so make sure you are ready!

*****

Footprints

The Deception Series, Book 1

by Nicky Jayne

Blurb:

As a young child, Riley Crass watched helplessly from an oil stained tarmac in her mother’s embrace as her father walks into the belly of the air force transport plane, taking him away from her. Throughout Riley’s life, her mother alone raised her while her father was away fighting a destructive war. When tragedy struck, her father is ripped away from ever returning, and Riley vows she would never endure this pain again. Even while memories linger silently, Riley has intentionally avoided ever crossing paths with military men, but nothing prepared her when she collided with Tanner Baker.

An average guy he was not. From a distance Tanner was everything any woman would want but deep down hidden beneath his war torn skin is the heart of a broken Hero. Joining the military as soon as he was old enough, Tanner ran away from what he felt was holding him back the most but after time learned that family is the one constant the on rock he has to lean on. It took a tragedy to realize this, that was until he met Riley Crass….

Amazon – http://amzn.to/1V3BlJZ

Goodreads → https://goo.gl/3PI4nc

*****

Author Info:

Nicky Jayne, was born and raised in the UK. Always having a passion for numbers she received her bachelors degree in business and finance, but after her long affair with numbers, she decided to take another path. Not phased by the hurdles that she would more than likely face she began writing, instantly falling in love with her words. What was supposed to be one short story turned into a series.

She releases Embracing Life in September 2013, followed shortly by Embracing Love in October 2013. In her spare time, when not chasing her children around with a vacuum cleaner, carpooling to sports, drooling over her military man (its the uniform) and overseeing a mass of sleepovers. She loves to read, with a cup of English tea in her hand and the Nevada sunset in front of her. Nicky Jayne has released six books to date..

Head on over and check them out. The Embrace Series: Embracing Life Embracing Love The Deception Series: Footprints Taking Flight Grounded Forgiven.. Coming Late summer 2015…. Entwined. “Sometimes a happily ever after isn’t enough.”

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*****

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