Spotlight – Song for a Cowboy

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Kings of Country series, Sasha Summers, Song for a Cowboy

“Cute”, “feel good”, “sappy”, “sweet” – just a few things that Goodreads readers are saying about Sasha Summers newest release!

*****

Song for a Cowboy

Kings of Country series

by Sasha Summers

Blurb:

Country star Emmy Lou King is singing the blues over the cowboy who got away…

Emmy Lou King’s whole family is legendary in country music. When she lands the opportunity to sing the American Football League anthem and serve on one of the AFL’s anti-drug charities, she’s sure she can handle working with Brock Watson. She was charmed by the cowboy once upon a time—and she’s never loved anyone else—but she can handle it. Right?

Brock Watson is feeling the pressure. From dealing with his father’s declining health, to keeping their ranch running, staying in game-ready shape, and his dedication to the charity that changed his life, there’s no time for anything else. Emmy Lou included. After six years, he’d like to think she couldn’t mess with his head anymore. But one look, one smile—and he knows she’s as dangerous as ever. He can’t resist her—he never could.

The more time Emmy Lou spends with Brock, the harder it is for them to keep their distance.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2CYEZTJ

B&N: https://bit.ly/2BuQaDc

Apple: https://apple.co/3hzMq2H

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3b3rHUF

Google: https://bit.ly/35ZMbKX

Add the book to Goodreads:  https://bit.ly/39lT0a7

*****

Excerpt:

“Duly noted.” He stood, reached for her, and swung her up into his arms.

“Brock, I can walk.” Her hands pressed against his shoulder.

“I know.” He nodded at her ankle. “If you want to make that worse, you can. Don’t you have a video to make tomorrow?” That was pretty much all the guys could talk about—Emmy Lou King, her legs, her voice, and wondering what sort of getup she’d be wearing for the video.

She was going to argue, he could tell. Instead she said, “I need my purse.”

He stooped and let her grab her purse.

“Thank you.” She stared at her purse.

With his focus fixed on the door to the locker room, he carried her across the field. He didn’t think about the brush of her ponytail against his bare arms or the hitch in her breath or the way she relaxed into his hold, her slight frame too fragile. She’d always done this—brought out his protective side. Little did he know, he’d been the one who needed protecting from her.

“What about your leg?” She sniffed.

“What about it?” He frowned.

“Should you be carrying me?”

No, definitely not. But that had nothing to do with his leg and everything to do with the effect she had on him. “I’m fine, Emmy Lou.” He would be—once her scent wasn’t filling his nostrils.

“I wasn’t angry about Ricky Ames,” she said suddenly. “I mean, I was. But not about anything he said to me. Guys are like that sometimes.”

I bet they are. Men tended to notice beautiful women. But noticing and acting like a complete prick weren’t the same thing.

“I was upset because of what he said…about you.” Her words ended on a hiccup.

Why the hell did she care what Ricky Ames said about him? He risked a look at her.

“I get that the team has to bring in someone until you’re released to play. But…it’s like he doesn’t know who you are.” Her cheeks were going red again. “Doesn’t he know your record? Does he have four hundred and sixty-nine tackles? Ninety-one sacks? Does he watch Reggie White footage to be a better defensive end? Does he even know who Reggie White is? Or that this is your team? And you carry this defensive line? He really thinks he can replace you?”

She was talking about football. His stats, but football. And he liked what he was hearing a hell of a lot. “Never pegged you as a football fan.” He waved Todd Flynn, one of the trainers, over and carried her into the game-day emergency clinic. Gently, he set her on an exam table and started unlacing her tennis shoes.

“Thank you.” Her gaze shifted, meeting his.

He nodded, carefully sliding the pink sequined shoe off her foot. Her hands fisted at her sides. “Sorry.”

She nodded. “It’s fine.”

He inspected her now apple-sized swollen ankle. Her sock was stretched tight. Pink socks. Pink shoes. It had always been her favorite color. Hell, he’d worn a pink tie to prom for her.

He nodded as Todd came in. “Her ankle.”

“I can see that.” Todd bent, his fingers moving over the inflamed joint. “Tell me if this hurts.”

Brock crossed his arms and watched her face. She scrunched up her features and closed her eyes as Todd slowly moved her foot one way, then the other.

“That.” Her hands pressed, flat, against the exam table.

“Probably a sprain. Ice and elevate. I’ll go get some. Might call your doctor, get an X-ray to make sure.” Todd nodded and glanced his way. “Um, looks like you could use some ice, too?” He shook his head and left the room, saying, “Be back.”

“I’m not.” She swallowed, staring down at her ankle and wiggling her toes. “A football fan, I mean.”

“No?” He leaned against the counter. “I thought only die-hard fans cared about stats?”

“I guess.” She shrugged. “I only know yours.”

For a split second, he was frozen.

Don’t. Don’t do this. He wasn’t eighteen years old anymore; he knew better.

*****

Author Info:

Sasha Summers grew up surrounded by books. Her passions have always been storytelling, romance and travel–passions she uses when writing. Now a best-selling and award winning-author, Sasha continues to fall a little in love with each hero she writes. From easy-on-the-eyes cowboy, sexy alpha-male werewolves, to heroes of truly mythic proportions, she believes that everyone should have their happy ending–in fiction and real life.

Sasha lives in the suburbs of the Texas Hill country with her amazing and supportive family and her beloved grumpy cat, Gerard, The Feline Overlord. She looks forward to hearing from fans and hopes you’ll visit her online.

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sasha.summers/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sashasummers/boards/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sashawrites

Website: https://sashasummers.com/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/sasha-summers

Newsletter:  https://bit.ly/2OPDee7

*****

Spotlight – Lethal Protector

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Kaylea Cross, Lethal Protector, Rifle Creek series

Cross has made a name for herself in romantic suspense and her newest series is getting a whole lot of 5 star reviews on Goodreads.

*****

Lethal Protector

Rifle Creek series

by Kaylea Cross

Blurb:

She unknowingly threatens his control.

Single mom Tala Baldwin is no stranger to sacrifice. After losing her leg while serving her country, she’s now training to become a competitive biathlete. With her daughter off to college, she’s able to shoot for her dream of making the national masters team. Even her Christmas break in Rifle Creek doesn’t slow her down. She’s asked her trusted friend Braxton to help her train—all while trying to pretend she doesn’t ache for him. Braxton was there for her during the darkest day of her life and he’s been there for her since…but only as a friend. In fact, he seems more determined than ever to hold her at arm’s length—until a deadly blizzard traps them in the mountains with a wanted killer hot on their trail. Now Tala once again finds her life in his hands as they face the lethal threats together.

Now he’s at his breaking point.

Sgt. Braxton Hillard is a master sniper, renowned for his ability to operate without emotion. Except with Tala. She’s all he’s ever wanted—but can’t have. For four long years he’s kept his distance. She’s way too good for him and she would realize that if he ever made a move. But the attraction between them is too powerful to deny, and once she makes it clear she wants him, he can’t keep his distance any longer. As they fight to survive in the mountains, all bets are off. Braxton is ready to sacrifice everything to protect the woman he loves—even his own life.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3cbUvv2

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3c8srsb

Apple: http://apple.co/2Mss68T

Nook: https://bit.ly/367vA7Z

*****

Excerpt:

Tala stopped, looking up at him, her pulse skipping at the focused look on his face. She couldn’t read his expression but his stare was intense. As if he had something important on his mind that he needed to tell her.

“Is…everything okay?” she asked slowly.

He shifted his feet but didn’t answer, and his hesitation worried her.

“Brax? Is something wrong?”

He glanced away, ran a hand over his jaw, then focused on her again. “What you said earlier. About me being part of the family.” His voice was low, taut, the muscles in his jaw and shoulders tight.

She frantically tried to gather her scattered thoughts, wondering what had upset him. “What about it?”

“Is that how you see me? As family?”

Something in his tone, in the silent tension coming from him, gave her pause and warned her to phrase her answer carefully. Especially when she took into account the things he’d said earlier. Was he hinting that…

Voicing her feelings aloud made her feel incredibly vulnerable, but she needed to be honest right now, because this would change everything, one way or the other.

Holding his gaze, she drew a steadying breath before answering. “If you’re asking if I think of you in a brotherly way, then… No.” Not even a little.

He stilled, his gaze sharpening, the leap of heat of that dark stare sending a ripple of shock—and hope—through her. “So how do you think of me?”

She looked away, fighting a blush as her discomfort level skyrocketed. She didn’t want to make a fool of herself or be humiliated if he didn’t reciprocate her feelings. “I…”

“Tal. Look at me.”

She did, and felt herself drowning in those deep brown eyes, all the feelings she’d repressed for years suddenly rushing to the surface.

“Say it,” he rasped out.

I’ve wanted you forever.

The unspoken words got tangled on the tip of her tongue. But she couldn’t look away. Couldn’t drag her eyes from his, her pulse pounding in her ears as she waited for him to say something. Do something to put her out of her misery.

He took two steps toward her, stopping inches from her boots to reach both arms past her. He leaned in to cage her against the truck doorway with his big body, his hands on either side of her head, the muscles in his arms, shoulder and jaw standing out.

And his eyes. The sudden, volcanic heat in them made the breath stall in her lungs.

Shock punched through her, followed by a wave of molten desire as she stared up at him, his face mere inches from hers. She had to be reading this wrong. Had to be, because he was staring at her like he wanted to devour her and was struggling to hold back.

“Tal.” His voice was low, his taut expression making her heart thud against her ribs. He’d only ever looked at her like this in her dreams.

“What?” she whispered back, anticipation and need swirling inside her.

Touch me. Oh, God, touch me…

*****

Author Info:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kaylea Cross writes edge-of-your-seat military romantic suspense. Her work has won many awards, including the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence. A Registered Massage Therapist by trade, Kaylea is also an avid gardener, artist, Civil War buff, Special Ops aficionado, belly dance enthusiast and former nationally-carded softball pitcher. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband and family.

Website: http://kayleacross.com/v2/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kayleacross

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaylea_cross_author/

Newsletter: http://kayleacross.com/v2/newsletter/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2902054.Kaylea_Cross

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2V6iyQs

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/KayleaCrossBB

~

 

Spotlight – Her Banished Knight’s Redemption

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Her Banished Knight's Redemption, Melissa Oliver

Need to feed that historical romance addiction after binge watching Bridgerton?

*****

Her Banished Knight’s Redemption

by Melissa Oliver

Price: $5.99

ON-sale date: 26/01/2020

ISBN: 9781335506030

Blurb:

A lady’s need for protection a knight’s chance for redemption.

Exiled Knight William Geraint answers only to himself. Yet, a mission to reunite lost heiress Lady Isabel de Clancey with her family is Will’s chance to finally atone for the torment of his past. With every rushed mile, their intense attraction becomes dangerously thrilling. He swore to protect Isabel not seduce her, but their desire for each other could threaten the redemption he’s worked so hard to achieve…

Harlequin: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335506030_her-banished-knights-redemption.html  

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-banished-knights-redemption-melissa-oliver/1137325532?ean=9781335506030&st=AFF&2sid=HarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC_7651142_NA&sourceId=AFFHarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC 

Booksamillion: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781335506030?AID=10747236&PID=7651142&cjevent=d2272f321ab811eb8025015b0a24060d 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Banished-Knights-Redemption-Notorious-Book-ebook/dp/B08CSR1RFV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Her+Banished+Knight%27s+Redemption+%28Notorious+Knights%2C+2%29&linkCode=gs3&qid=1604066662&sr=8-1&tag=haperpublican-20 

Indie bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335506030

*****

Excerpt:

Will Geraint spotted him the moment the old peacock stepped inside the tavern. The older man was not the usual customer who frequented the dirty, dubious establishment that Will liked to call his home away from home. 

Instinct made Will lean back and sink into the shadows, clasping the hilt of his dagger underneath the wooden table as he watched the man scan the room. His beady eyes settled near the area where Will was sat and he gave a decisive nod before walking over. 

Who the hell was he? And, more importantly, what did he want? 

Will tightened his grip around the hilt as the man flung his feathered hat on the table and sat opposite him, his eyes studying Will closely. There was something about the man’s presumptuous manner that he didn’t particularly like. 

‘Mind if I sit here?’ The stranger spoke French, but Will realised instantly that he was English. A fellow countryman—a courtier, no less. His senses were further alerted to the man’s every movement, aware that he might not be here alone, might have any number of accomplices waiting somewhere outside.

The fact the older Englishman had come to this godforsaken tavern in a remote part of France made it obvious he had meant to seek Will out, especially since the tavern wasn’t particularly busy and he could have sat anywhere else.

Will ascertained the various ways he could leave expeditiously without using the front entrance and without the man being able to follow him in any capacity.

He shrugged without betraying any of his internal calculations. ‘I don’t care where you sit, stranger, as long as you don’t disturb me.’

‘That is not my intention. However, I was told that I would find a man here whose talents with a sword were—and still are—legendary,’ he said, brushing non-existent dirt off his shoulder. ‘A man whose reputation precedes him, even if he does seem to prefer living in such obscure places, as he has these past two years.’

‘There is no man of that description. Not here.’

‘No? What if I could give this man a chest full of silver and a pardon so he could return home to England?’

Hell’s teeth!

Will had to tread carefully here. He had been living in France as a mercenary, a sword for hire, in the shadow of exile for the past few years. The truth, however, was that since King John’s death he had worked tirelessly for England’s new regent and Lord Protector, William Marshal, gathering important information for the Crown under the guise of being a disgraced man. A disgraced rogue knight. Not that many knew. Not that this man knew. 

‘And what would you want with such a man? If one were to exist.’

‘I’d need him to find something—rather, someone. Urgently.’

Will smirked dismissively. ‘I cannot think of who you would mean. You have the wrong place.’

‘No, I don’t think so. I have been making a lot of enquiries, both here and in England and I’m certain I am in the right place, talking to the right person. You are Sir William Geraint,’ the man said as his lips curled into a sneer.

Will tightened his grip on his dagger and spoke in a low voice. ‘If I were you, stranger, I’d leave and go back the way you came. That is, if you want to hang on to your life.’

‘Peace, Sir William, peace.’ The man held out his hands, palms facing outwards, and swallowed. ‘You have not been at court and so have not been privy to the whispers and rumours about how you, along with the knight you squired for, Sir Percival of Halsted, saved a young girl’s life more than ten years ago.’

‘What of it? It was our duty and not of any consequence.’

Except for the lasting memories of the young girl, of course…

Will had often thought of the frightened little girl with unusual eyes whom he had once helped rescue when he was still a young lad himself. He had wondered from time to time since that fateful day what had happened to the girl. He remembered her looking so desolate, so hopelessly alone and so reluctant to stay in that cold, foreboding place. He’d felt sorry for her and hoped the intervening years had treated her kindly. 

Although the incident had been harrowing, Will had been commended and rewarded by Sir Percy for his perceptive quick thinking in the situation. It had led to a time when life seemed like an endless adventure, full of possibilities.

Not like the shadowy, dark world he inhabited now.

Will dragged the leather cord out from under his tunic and absently wrapped his fingers around the silver and ruby pendant that dangled from his neck. A pendant the little girl had gifted him and which he had always worn since.

The other man’s eyes narrowed and he murmured something under his breath, no doubt recognising the jewel. Damn, that was short-sighted of Will, but he could hardly hide it now.

The man pressed his lips into a thin line before speaking again. ‘Neither of you ever knew the girl’s identity—not that I’m surprised. Her family were out of favour with King John and never came to court. With Sir Percival having only just returned from the Holy Land, my mistress has only now learnt of this girl’s existence, when she had been presumed dead all this time.’

‘And who are you and who is your mistress?’

‘Eustace Rolleston at your service, Sir William.’ He inclined his head. ‘And my mistress is Lady Adela de Clancey.’

‘So, Eustace Rolleston, let me comprehend this. You want to commission me to find a girl, who is, if she is still alive, a fully-grown woman?’ He smirked, shaking his head. ‘Apologies, but you have the wrong man for this.’ 

‘Oh, I have the right man. Sir Percy confirmed it as much but his memory is hazy now and he cannot remember anything about the incident other than your gallant rescue of the girl somewhere outside of La Rochelle.’ 

The fact that the old knight Will had once served had told this man the barest of information about the incident, however hazy his memory, sent darts of warning through him. Sir Percy was sending him a message of caution regarding the man sat opposite him.

Will narrowed his eyes. ‘No, I don’t believe you understand, stranger. I am hired for many reasons, but finding lost people is outside my remit, especially when I have no idea where they may be.’ He leaned forward. ‘And no amount of silver would tempt me to stray from that.’

That was not strictly true, but Will wanted to ascertain how far he could bargain, how large that chest of silver was…and how desperate this man’s cause.

*****

Author Info:

Melissa Oliver is from south-west London where she writes historical romance novels. She lives with her lovely husband and three daughters, who share her passion for decrepit, old castles, grand palaces and all things historical. She is the winner of The Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Joan Hessayon Award for new writers in 2020 for her debut, The Rebel Heiress and the Knight. When she’s not writing she loves to travel, paint and visit museums & art galleries.

https://twitter.com/melissaoauthor?lang=en

*****

Spotlight – Someone to Trust

Tags

Patricia Davids, Someone to Trust

This one is definitely on my TBR list. There is just something so uplifting and satisfying about Harlequin’s Love Inspired books.

*****

Someone to Trust

by Patricia Davids

Price: $5.99

ON-sale date: 26/01/2021

ISBN: 9781335488657

Blurb:

Some connections go beyond words…in this novel by USA TODAY bestselling author Patricia Davids. On an Amish matchmaking trip, can she avoid falling in love? Esther Burkholder has no interest in her stepmother’s matchmaking when her family visits an Amish community in Maine. Deaf from a young age, she’s positive a hearing man couldn’t understand the joys and trials of living in a silent world. But Gabe Fischer is certainly handsome, hardworking and brave. More importantly, he sees the real Esther. Might this Amish bachelor be her unexpected perfect match?

Harlequin: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335488657_someone-to-trust.html 

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/someone-to-trust-patricia-davids/1137354172?ean=9781335488657&st=AFF&2sid=HarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC_7651142_NA&sourceId=AFFHarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC 

Booksamillion: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781335488657?AID=10747236&PID=7651142&cjevent=f086188b1ab711eb82f201570a240614 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Someone-Trust-North-Country-Amish-ebook/dp/B08D5MKPZV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Someone+to+Trust+%28North+Country+Amish%2C+4%29&linkCode=gs3&qid=1604066285&sr=8-1&tag=haperpublican-20 

Indie bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335488657

*****

Excerpt:

“I’m happy to tell you that your mother’s cousin Waneta is coming for a visit.”

Gabe Fisher looked up from the glowing metal wheel rim he was heating in the forge as something in his father’s voice caught his attention. Ezekiel Fisher, or Zeke as everyone called him, wasn’t overly fond of Waneta, so why was he trying so hard to sound cheerful?

Gabe glanced around the workshop. None of his three brothers seemed to have noticed anything unusual.

Seth continued setting up the lathe to drill out a wheel hub. “That will be nice for Mamm. She has been missing her friends back home. I know she and Waneta are close.”

Seth was Gabe’s younger brother by fifteen minutes. They might look identical, but Seth was the most tenderhearted of the brothers. He was twenty minutes older than no-nonsense Asher, the last Fisher triplet, who was readying wooden spokes to be inserted into the finished wheel hub. Asher bore only a passing resemblance to his two older brothers. Where Gabe and Seth were both blond with blue eyes, Asher was dark-haired with their mother’s brown eyes. All three men shared the same tall, muscular frame as their father.

“Is she bringing her new husband to meet the rest of us?” Moses asked, greasing the axle of the buggy they were repairing. At twenty he was the baby brother by four years and the one that looked the most like their mother, with his soft brown curls and engaging grin. He was the only one who hadn’t yet joined their Amish church. He was still enjoying his rumspringa, the “running around” years most Amish youths were allowed before making their decision to be baptized.

“This isn’t the best time for a visit,” Asher said, expressing exactly what Gabe had been thinking.

“Apparently your mother and Waneta have been planning this for ages, but she only told me last night. She wanted it to be a surprise for you boys.”

Asher’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

“You know Waneta. She likes to surprise folks. They should be here later today.”

Gabe continued turning the rim in the fire. Both his parents had gone to the wedding, but he and his brothers had been busy keeping the new business running. A business that didn’t look like it would support the entire family through another winter. If things didn’t improve by the end of the summer, the family would have some hard choices to make.

“They? Her new husband is coming with her, then?” Seth said.

Gabe glanced at his father and saw him draw a deep breath. “He isn’t, but his children are.”

Seth finally seemed to notice their father’s unease and stopped working. “How many children?”

“Five.” 

“The house will be lively with that many kinder underfoot,” Moses said. “How old are they?”

“The youngest is ten. The others are closer to your ages,” Daed said, keeping his eyes averted.

Seth, Asher and Gabe exchanged knowing looks. They shared a close connection that didn’t always require words.

Asher’s lips thinned as he pinned his gaze on his father. “Would they happen to be maydels close to our age?”

Their father didn’t answer.

“Daed?” the triplets said together. Moses stopped what he was doing and gave them a puzzled look.

Their father cleared his throat. “I believe your mother said they are between twenty and twenty-five. Modest, dutiful daughters, as Waneta described them.”

“Courting age,” Moses said with a grin.

“Marriageable age.” Seth shook his head. “I don’t have any interest in courting until we are sure our business will survive.”

Gabe crossed his arms over his chest. “Has Mamm taken to importing possible brides for us now?”

There was a lack of unmarried Amish women in their new community in northern Maine, but that didn’t bother Gabe. Like Seth, his focus was on improving the family’s buggy-making and wheel-repair business while expanding the harness-making and leather goods shop he ran next door.

“Tell Mamm we can find our own wives,” Asher said.

“When we are ready,” Seth added.

Daed scowled at all the brothers. “That kind of talk is exactly why your mother was worried about sharing this news. She wants you boys to be polite to Waneta’s new stepdaughters and nothing more. Show them a nice time while they are here. No one is talking about marriage.”

*****

Author Info:

USA Today best-selling author Patricia Davids was born and raised in Kansas. After forty years as an NICU nurse, Pat switched careers to become an inspirational writer. She enjoys spending time with her daughter and grandchildren, traveling and playing with her dogs, who think fetch should be a twenty-four hour a day game. When not on the road or throwing a ball, Pat is happily dreaming up new stories.

Website: https://patriciadavids.com/index.html

*****

Spotlight – The World According to Liam

Tags

According to Liam series, The World According to Liam, V.L. Locey

I love Liam and I can’t wait to start reading Locey’s newest.

*****

The World According to Liam

According to Liam series

by V.L. Locey

Cover Design: Meredith Russell

Length: 51,662 words

Blurb:

When you see the world through the eyes of a child, there’s magic everywhere.

And crumbs. Lots of crumbs…

But that’s not going to stop Mike and Bryn Kneller from traveling with their nephew Liam at their side. Not that deciding to take the lad to visit Bryn’s homeland was an easy decision for the two recently wedded men despite how much they adore the boy. This trip was supposed to be a romantic anniversary trip after all. 

However, life, as it does, tends to lead us down a path of its own choosing. Combining an unexpected announcement from a family member with the not-so-subtle pleadings of Bryn’s parents, the decision was made. With lots of hand sanitizer and a heaping helping of patience, the journey begins, leading Bryn and Mike to discover a great deal about themselves, their marriage, and their plans for the future.

According to Liam Series

Book #1 – Life According To Liam – http://vllocey.com/Read-LifeLiam

Book #2 – Christmas According To Liam – http://vllocey.com/Read-ChristmasLiam

Book #3 – Love According To Liam – http://vllocey.com/Read-LoveLiam

Book #4 – The World According To Liam – http://vllocey.com/Read-WorldLiam

*****

Author Info:

USA Today Bestselling Author V.L. Locey – Penning LGBT hockey romance that skates into sinful pleasures.

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Torchwood and Dr. Who, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a pair of geese, far too many chickens, and two steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in one hand and a steamy romance novel in the other.

Facebook | Facebook Group | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

*****

Giveaway:

Ebook of Life According To Liam

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/3e0e9a43787/

~

 

 

Spotlight – Walking the Edge

Tags

Danger in the Big Easy series, Sue Ward Drake, Walking the Edge

Sue Ward Drake takes you on a wild ride through the steamy streets of New Orleans in this action-packed, sexy romantic suspense!

*****

Walking the Edge

Danger in the Big Easy series

by Sue Ward Drake

Publication Date: 12/29/2020

Blurb:

On the knife edge of danger in the streets of New Orleans, these rugged men call the Big Easy home, and they’ll do whatever it takes to protect their own.

Ex-army ranger Mitch Guidry never should have let his brothers talk him into joining them in the Big Easy. Particularly when they have him going head-to-head with the very last thing he needs: a feisty redhead who has more opinions than even his hard-headed brothers. Loyal and overprotective to a fault, Catherine Hurley will do everything she can to stop Mitch from finding her fugitive brother… and yet, he can’t get enough of her.

Cath should be furious with the overbearing ex-ranger who shows up on her doorstep looking for her brother. Sure, Mitch Guidry is hotter than a Louisiana summer and pushes every one of her buttons, but he’s also an immediate threat to her family, and family is everything to Cath. Unfortunately, the only way to save her brother is to stick to Mitch like glue. But sharing close quarters with him while they search for her missing brother together proves to be more than a little challenging…particularly when it comes to protecting her heart.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/36irdWv

B&N: https://bit.ly/3d0HyS0

Apple: http://apple.co/3mtWe0S

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2VADJvL

Bookshop: https://bit.ly/2yn0KKU

BAM: https://bit.ly/2zQPXce

Walmart: http://bit.ly/33ybzpR

Books2Read: https://bit.ly/3lw52SM

*****

Excerpt:

Cath extended her hands to indicate the old city around her. “The French Quarter has been lived in for three hundred years. Some early inhabitants still linger. For you ghost doubters, I bet you’ll come away from our walk believing. At least a little.”  

The sound of pounding feet drew everyone’s attention to the man running toward them. She urged her customers closer to the entrance of Pere Antoine Alley, but the jogger stopped under a street lantern right in front of her.  

Her blood sizzled. She’d seen this tan windbreaker, this dark cap of hair, and the body probably capable of two hundred push-ups before breakfast. Exactly forty-five flipping minutes ago. Like metal to a magnet, her body veered into his force field until…his fierce gaze pinned her with a laser-tag blast.  

Cath staggered under the impact, the earlier butterflies fluttering back to life. He stood as still as the wrought iron fence behind him, his big hands hanging beside powerful thighs. For now. Any minute he could spring into action.  

Within seconds of busting into her apartment, he’d barged past her and pushed her brother against the stove. Then when Les bolted out the door, this guy had followed in a heartbeat.  

No. Back up the reel.  

They’d stared at each other for a Guinness-record-setting second then, and now his whole body seemed to hum like a live wire. He’d found her brother inside her house. Did that mean he could arrest her, too?  

Her throat closed up, and a clamp squeezed all the air from her lungs. She braced, waiting for him to grab her hands and lock on cuffs.  

A cough from one of her group jolted her.  

The clock on her two-hour ghost tour ticked away, and she had to make sure the travel website guy would have nothing but raves.  

“Listen…” Cath raised a finger to her lips. “If you’re quiet you can sometimes hear a man singing.”  

The tourists followed her down the flagstone walkway. She turned around to speak again but slammed her mouth shut. Of all the gall.  

The hunky bounty hunter stood front and center. The hard angles of his features cast a pattern of light and dark across his face, and danger flashed from him in neon lights. For one insane moment when his body had brushed hers in the apartment alley, she’d sensed he might kiss her like the prince waking up Sleeping Beauty. He’d awakened something, alright. Cath squared her shoulders and cleared her throat. “Excuse me, this is a paid tour.”  

“Is it too late to join?” His rich baritone melted into her hungry pores like chocolate sauce on a sundae.  

Days. Weeks. Months too late. 

Not for a minute did she believe him to be a rabid fan of haunted houses or an avid collector of ghost stories, but she needed all the dinero she could earn to pay for Les’s lawyer. She eyed the bounty hunter. “Would you like to buy a ticket?” 

“You take plastic?” His long—sensual—mouth lifted. The masculine assurance in his smile ought to send her back straight up. Instead, the heat coming off him poured into her private places.  

“Of course.” They conversed like polite strangers, not people who’d been forced to interact under extreme conditions. She wanted to know what had happened with her brother, but she couldn’t ask in the middle of her tour. “I didn’t say anything at the time, but you can pay now for your previous tour, if you like.” 

“My previous tour?” The confusion in his eyes disappeared when he realized she meant his bounty hunter visit to her apartment. He shrugged all friendly-like. “I can always contest the charge if it’s not correct.” 

Of course, he would.  

“Nah. Consider it lagniappe.” Cath turned to her tourists and explained the old New Orleans custom of grocers giving customers a little something extra. Handsome would likely never know if she charged more than normal, but she prided herself on running an ethical business. “What’s over is over.” Please. 

One eyebrow rose. “Are you sure about that?”  

Positive. She lowered her head to avoid the sight of his disturbing physique. “If you give me an email address, I’ll send you a receipt.”  

“No need. I’m good.”  

Good at his job? Good at flirting? Good in bed?  

Or all three. She handed back his credit card. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Mitchell Guidry.”  

“Mitch.”  

“I doubt we’ll ever be on a first name basis, Mr. Guidry.”  

“You underestimate me.”  

She was coming to see the truth in that.  

Excerpted from Walking the Edge by Sue Ward Drake.
© 2020 by Sue Ward Drake.
Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca,
an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

*****

Author Info:

Sue Ward Drake has lived in most of the different neighborhoods of New Orleans, including the French Quarter. She was forced to leave during hurricane Katrina, but still counts as friends a wide spectrum of the city’s inhabitants. Though she now resides minutes from the mountains, her heart will always belong to the Big Easy.

*****

Giveaway:

5 Copies of Walking the Edge

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54ca7af7999/?

~

 

Spotlight – Agent Under Siege

Tags

Agent Under Siege, Lena Diaz

Harlequin Intrigue is a definite go to for fast suspenseful reads.

*****

Agent Under Siege

by Lena Diaz

Price: $5.99

ON-sale date: 01/01/2020

ISBN: 9781335401489

Blurb:

Can they outsmart a killer …who’s already escaped justice?

The Kentucky Ripper is in prison…or is he? When no one will help Teagan Ray find the man who really abducted her, former profiler Bryson Anton agrees to investigate. But soon their search takes two jolting turns—brutal attacks from a cunning suspect…and a powerful mutual attraction.

Harlequin: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335401489_agent-under-siege.html 

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/agent-under-siege-lena-diaz/1137325518?ean=9781335401489&st=AFF&2sid=HarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC_7651142_NA&sourceId=AFFHarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC 

Booksamillion: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781335401489?AID=10747236&PID=7651142&cjevent=a7f876b4185511eb804700750a24060c 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Agent-Under-Siege-Justice-Seekers-ebook/dp/B08CSRNL7R/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Agent+Under+Siege+%28The+Justice+Seekers%2C+2%29&linkCode=gs3&qid=1603804173&sr=8-1&tag=haperpublican-20 

Indie bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335401489 

*****

Excerpt:

Long before the shadow fell across the end of the dock and hovered over Bryson Anton’s wheelchair, he knew the man was there. Motion sensors and security cameras had made Bryson’s watch buzz against his wrist when the man parked his car in the driveway. More messages warned when the man crossed the back patio. And again, when he’d descended the gently sloping lawn that ended at the creek. Bryson didn’t care who was now standing behind him, as long as he didn’t have to engage in conversation.

“Nice place,” the man’s voice rang out. “Probably one of the highest views in the Tennessee side of the Smoky Mountains. I’ll bet at night you can see nearly every light in downtown Gatlinburg from here.”

Bryson sighed but didn’t turn around. “My former boss took pity on me after I got myself hurt on the job. He gave me a boatload of money, and I was selfish enough to take it and buy this property. But that doesn’t mean he can drop by any time he wants.”

“I’m still your boss. I haven’t accepted your resignation.” 

“That’s not how it works, Mason. I resigned, whether you accept it or not. I’ll never be a Justice Seeker again. I’m not going back to Camelot. You and your knights of the round table are better off without a washed-up former profiler jacking up your investigations.”

“Is that why you’re sitting out here drinking like a fish, because you think you jacked up everything?”

“Something like that.” Bryson grabbed a can of beer from the cooler beside his wheelchair and popped the top. He took a deep long swallow, more to irritate his unwelcome visitor than because he wanted it.

Mason retrieved a beer and eyed the label, then tossed it back unopened. “Fish biting?”

“Do you see a fishing pole around here somewhere?” Bryson emptied his can in the water and dropped it on his lap before wheeling around. “Enjoy the view as long as you want. You paid for it.” He rolled his chair up the flagstone walkway toward the house.

“Dalton and Hayley missed you at their wedding last week.” Mason fell into step beside him.

“Yeah, well. I didn’t have time to learn the latest dance steps.” He stopped at the sliding glass doors and tossed the empty beer can in the recycle bin. When he reached for the door handle, Mason leaned past him and held it closed.

Bryson swore. “What do you want from me?”

“I want you to do your job. A new client came to Camelot yesterday. She specifically wants to hire you.”

He scoffed. “You expect me to believe she asked for a washed-up former FBI agent to screw up her case so someone else will die? If she did, send her on over. I can accomplish that without lifting a finger.”

Mason leaned back against the door. “That’s a heck of a guilty conscience you’re nursing. Or are you just feeling sorry for yourself?” He waved toward the wheelchair. “If you’d actually go to your physical therapy appointments instead of being a no-show half the time, you’d be out of that thing by now. Don’t look so surprised. I pay your insurance premiums. I see what’s billed. And there’ve been a surprising lack of medical invoices lately. You’ve given up, Bryson. The question is why?”

“Why?” he gritted out. “Let me remind you that when I was the FBI’s golden boy, everyone treated my profiles like biblical text. So when I presented them with a profile for the Kentucky Ripper, they focused all their efforts on Avarice Lowe, the suspect at the top of my list. Meanwhile, Leviathan Finney—the real Ripper—was no longer under surveillance. To celebrate, he kidnapped and gutted another woman. Because of me, he was able to kill again.”

“Because of you, the police were able to significantly narrow their list of suspects much faster than they could have otherwise. The choices they made after that weren’t your fault. Hell, Bryson. If it wasn’t for the work you did, it would have taken far longer to catch the Ripper and put him in prison.”

“Tell that to the family of the last woman he killed.”

Mason shook his head. “I hear someone anonymously sends money to the last victim’s family every month. While I admire the generosity and kindness of the gesture, that person is making payments on a debt he doesn’t owe. The only person responsible for that woman’s death is the man who killed her—Leviathan Finney.”

Bryson fisted his hands on the arms of the wheelchair. “Are we about done here? It’s getting late.”

“Big plans tonight?”

“I have to wash my hair.”

Mason let out a deep sigh. “Just explain one thing, then I’ll go. Why now? You left the FBI over three years ago and started working for me as one of the Justice Seekers. Why is the Ripper case bothering you again after all this time?”

Bryson stared at him incredulously. “Bothering me again? It never stopped bothering me. But I tried to make something good from the bad, atone for my sins by working investigations for you. And what did I do? I nearly got Hayley killed, got myself shot and here I sit with shrapnel they can’t dig out of my hip without risking the loss of my leg. Do I sit here feeling sorry for myself? No. I don’t deserve anyone’s sympathy, least of all my own. The people who deserve sympathy are the ones I’ve hurt, those who nearly died because of me, and the one who did. Accept my resignation and leave me alone. I’m not going to risk hurting anyone else. I’m done.”

*****

Author Info:

Lena’s heart belongs to the rolling hills of her homestate of Kentucky. But you’re more likely to see her near the ocean these days in northeast Florida where she resides with her hubby and two children. A former Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart® finalist, she’s also a four-time winner of the Daphne du Maurier award and a Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller. When not writing, she can be found sprucing up her flower beds or planning her next DIY project.

Website: https://lenadiaz.com/ 

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

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5026871.Lena_Diaz 

*****

Spotlight – The Forever Girl

Tags

Jill Shalvis, The Forever Girl, Wildstone series

Shalvis definitely knows how to give readers all the feels that’s topped off with that just right happy ending.

*****

The Forever Girl

A standalone Wildstone novel

by Jill Shalvis

Blurb:

When Maze returns to Wildstone for the wedding of her estranged bff and the sister of her heart, it’s also a reunion of a once ragtag team of teenagers who had only each other until a tragedy tore them apart and scattered them wide.

Now as adults together again in the lake house, there are secrets and resentments mixed up in all the amazing childhood memories. Unexpectedly, they instantly fall back into their roles: Maze their reckless leader, Cat the den mother, Heather the beloved baby sister, and Walker, a man of mystery.

Life has changed all four of them in immeasurable ways. Maze and Cat must decide if they can rebuild their friendship, and Maze discovers her long-held attraction to Walker hasn’t faded with the years but has only grown stronger.

Amazon

IndieBound

Barnes & Noble

Books-A-Million

Bookshop.org

*****

Excerpt:

CHAPTER 1

Now

You’ve got this, Cat told herself. But note to self: she so did not in fact have this. Her nerves had taken over—her own fault, of course. She’d done a thing. A big thing. And though her heart had been in the right place when she’d done that thing, butterflies were revolting in her gut, telling her she’d be the only one who’d see it that way. It was times like this that she missed Michael the most, because he would’ve been her ally in this, she was sure. Back then, even at half her height and weight, he’d been her shadow. The cutest shadow on the planet. Over time, she’d gotten used to being without him, but it’d never gotten easier.

Twin piglet-like snorts distracted her, and she looked down at her fiancé’s “babies.” The pug brothers had huge buggy black eyes and little round bodies and vibrated like they needed their batter- ies changed. Roly was black and Poly tan, both with black faces, black curly tails, and little black feet.

They snorted at her until she gave in and scooped them up, one in each arm, having to smile at their smushed-in faces. “Okay, guys, listen up. We’ve got a lot to do today.” She took a good, hard look around the old cabin that had been in her family’s possession since the early 1900s. It sat right on Rainbow Lake, about twenty minutes outside of Wildstone, a small ranching community on California’s central coast. She had a lot of good memories here: visiting her grandparents, learning to swim . . . she’d even run away here a few times in her dramatic teens.

Her grandparents were gone, and her parents now lived in South Carolina, where both of them were college professors. They were thinking of selling this place, but had agreed to let her live here until her wedding. At least that was the official reason. The unofficial one was that she was losing her collective shit and had needed the safety net.

The problem was that there were still a few vital pieces missing from the puzzle of Caitlin’s life: the most important pieces, the corner pieces, the ones you couldn’t do without. And since Michael was an angel now—and damn, her heart still squeezed painfully every time she thought about him, which was a lot— she was really counting on the wedding to bring the other vital pieces back to her. Those pieces named Heather, Walker, and Maze.

The estrangement between them all felt like a huge, gaping hole. It’d started at Michael’s grave three years ago and had only gotten worse. Hence the thing she’d done.

No one was going to thank her. And it was entirely possible it would all blow up in her face. But she’d had to try. Just thinking about it had the butterflies in her belly escaping and taking flight in her nervous system, giving her the shakes. But that might have been the five cups of coffee she’d consumed. She set down the pugs, much to their snorting, squealing dis– pleasure, and got to it. Running around like a madwoman for the next few hours, she changed the sheets on the beds in the spare bedrooms, swept the wood floors, washed the towels so they’d smell fresh . . . all while fielding call after call from her boss, Sara.

Cat managed the Wildstone deli that Sara owned. Cat also made all the hot food, which was actually the only part of her job she enjoyed, because the deli itself was a nightmare. She’d taken three weeks off for the wedding, but Sara, who’d missed her calling as the passive-aggressive queen of the universe, had been in contact almost every day in the guise of needing something, while really just wanting Caitlin to know of her every little mistake or misstep.

So when her phone buzzed in her pocket yet again while Cat was folding clothes in the laundry room, she ignored it.

“Caitlin?” came Dillon’s voice. “Can you bring me my laptop?”

She transferred another load into the dryer, turned it on, blew a stray hair off her sweaty face, and poked her head out of the laundry room to find Dillon sitting on the couch in the living room, feet up on the coffee table, Roly and Poly curled up on his lap.

“Are you kidding me?”

He flashed her the charming smile that had caught both her attention and her heart a year ago. “Sorry,” he said. “But my ankle’s bothering me again. Do you mind?”

Hard to, when his twisted ankle was actually her fault. She’d seen a Cosmo post online titled “The Top Ten Ways to Spruce Up Your Sex Life.” Feeling ambitious, she’d gone with number one: “Seduce Your Man in the Shower.” What could she say? The illustrations had looked intriguing.

Turned out attempting intriguing things in the shower was dangerous.

Feeling guilty, she ran up the stairs and got his laptop, stopping to straighten out the mess he’d left on the desk. When she got back downstairs, he was standing at the front door with his golf bag slung over his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Just got a call from Mom. Her golf date bailed and she needs me to do the back nine with her.”

“But your ankle.”

“We’ve got a cart.” He handed her the pugs.

Juggling the soft sausage loaves while trying to avoid the inevitable face kisses—a big no-thank-you, since they had a fondness for licking each other’s butts—she stared at Dillon. “You said that you’d be here to meet my family and have dinner with us.”

“Babe.” His face softened. “I’m your family. Me and my mom, and your parents.”

“You know that’s only technically true,” she protested. She and Heather and Walker and Maze might not be blood, but they were something even deeper. A self-made family, and yeah, okay, maybe it was a very dysfunctional one, but it felt more real than anything else in her life.

“Come on,” Dillon said, putting his hands on her hips and giving her a frustrated smile. “When’s the last time you heard from Maze or Heather”—he set a finger against her lips when she tried to speak—“where you didn’t contact them first. I mean, have they offered to help you with the wedding? They’re in it—you insisted on them over your local friends—so . . . where have they been?”

She could admit that he had a point. They hadn’t been together since their fight in front of Michael’s grave. Heather had vanished, just gone dark for a whole year before suddenly responding to Caitlin’s texts again as if nothing had happened. But she still hadn’t been back to Wildstone and wouldn’t give Caitlin much in- formation other than that she was okay and “working on things.” Whatever that meant.

Caitlin hadn’t seen Maze either, and not for a lack of trying. But they’d texted and had a few strained calls. And to give Maze credit, she always responded when Caitlin reached out, even with her busy life that was now in Santa Barbara, two hours south of Wildstone.

But Caitlin had, however, seen Walker. Sparingly, but he’d been gone on the job nearly nonstop the past three years. She missed him. She missed all of them and wanted them back together.

And as the self-appointed bossy older sister of the fam, she was determined—and, okay, also slightly desperate—to make it hap- pen. And yeah, maybe, maybe, she’d rushed her wedding along, knowing it was the one thing that could bring her siblings of the heart back together. She couldn’t help herself. For whatever rea- son, the four of them had synced and melded into a core family that long-ago year, but they were losing each other, and that scared her. She’d already lost Michael; hell if she’d lose the others too. She needed this so badly she couldn’t even explain it to Dillon. But the truth was the last time she’d felt vibrantly alive had

been when they’d all been in her life, and she was just desperate enough to play with fate to make it happen.

“Please stay, Dillon.”

He studied her face and sighed, his eyes lit with affection as he cupped her jaw. “I promised Mom, but I’ll get back asap. Take care of my babies?”

It was the best she was going to get, so she nodded. He brushed a nice, warm kiss across her lips, and then he was gone.

From THE FOREVER GIRL by Jill Shalvis, published by William Morrow.
Copyright © 2021 by Jill Shalvis. Reprinted courtesy of HarperCollinsPublishers 

*****

JAuthor Info:

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website, www.jillshalvis.com, for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

Website: http://jillshalvis.com/

Facebook: @JillShalvis

Twitter: @JillShalvis

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillshalvis/

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

Tumblr: http://jillshalvis.tumblr.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22370.Jill_Shalvis?from_search=true

~

 

Spotlight – Earl’s Well That Ends Well

Tags

Earl's Well That Ends Well, Jane Ashford

Anyone new to historicals after the runaway Netflix series? Jane Ashford has quite a few under her belt!

*****

Earl’s Well That Ends Well

by Jane Ashford

Publication Date: 12/29/2020

Blurb:

This beautiful, clean Regency romance from beloved author Jane Ashford takes you to a glittering world of revelations and romance, where a lonely earl can find love where he least expects it…

Arthur Shelton, Earl of Macklin, has helped four young noblemen recover from grief and find love, but he’s learned to live his own life as a widower. Yet when he returns home after traveling, his estate feels too empty, and he quickly heads to London. There, he encounters Teresa Alvarez de Granada, a charming Spanish noblewoman and is immediately entranced.

There is no room for earls in the quiet, safe life Teresa has finally found for herself. The earl might be charming and handsome, but she knows firsthand how dangerous attraction can be. The more determined Teresa is to discourage Arthur, the more entangled they get, and it’s only a matter of time before her respect for him starts to feel a lot like love.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2M4Eusq

B&N: https://bit.ly/3daIjbn

Apple: https://apple.co/2M6qUoi

Kobo: http://bit.ly/39CVt26

Bookshop: https://bit.ly/2Acgjpd

BAM: https://bit.ly/2X660Mo

Books2Read: http://bit.ly/3olZoUP

*****

Excerpt:

It was a lovely spot. The carpet of blue blossoms wound back into the trees like rivulets of color, beckoning one deeper into the shade of branches in new leaf. A stream ran nearby, the gurgle of water blending with birdsong. The blossoms’ sweet scent filled the air.

Senora Alvarez turned in a circle to take it all in. “Maravilloso!” She held out her arms as if to embrace the landscape and laughed.

It was the first time Arthur had seen her really laugh, and he found it glorious – the musical sound, the flash of her dark eyes, the joyous gesture, the curve of her lips. She seemed lit from within, as if a shadow had been whisked away and the brilliance inside revealed. This was how she should always be, he thought, glowing, carefree. To be the thing that made her happy – that would be an achievement!

“I have been meaning to take up some cobbles behind my house and make a place for a garden,” she said. “Why have I put it off? I must do it at once. This is…comida para el alma. Food for the soul.”

Removing a few cobbles sounded meager. Arthur had gardens galore at his estates. He wished he could give her one. But a garden wasn’t like a jewel, to be handed over. Even if she would easily accept gifts, which she would not.

“I think Mr. Dolan would be glad to pull them out,” she went on as if the plan was unfolding in her mind.

“Dolan?”

Senora Alvarez turned as if she’d forgotten he was there. “One of my neighbors is a builder.”

“Ah. Friend of yours?” He was not, of course, jealous. That would be ridiculous.

The query seemed to arrest and then amuse her. “He is, along with others on my street, ever since we rid ourselves of Dilch. That canalla bullied Mr. Dolan’s son.”

And she had stopped it. Arthur had never known a woman so self-sufficient. She had a life he knew nothing of, a network of friends. He felt he wasn’t quite one of them, and this galled.

“People talk and do small favors for each other now. It is pleasant.” She walked deeper into the wood, looking right and left as if to drink everything in. She was enraptured, and Arthur found himself envying a swathe of flowers. The idea made him laugh.

Senora Alvarez looked over her shoulder at him. “You find this amusing? That people should be kind?”

“Not that.”

She raised dark eyebrows.

“I was laughing at myself.”

“You were?” She sounded surprised.

“Why shouldn’t I? In particular.”

“You are an earl.”

“And that means I cannot be ridiculous? The title conveys no such immunity. Alas.” He smiled at her.

For some reason, she looked uneasy.

“And I have found laughter the remedy for a great many ills,” Arthur added. Senora Alvarez seemed mystified, or…annoyed? That couldn’t be right. Why should she be? Just a moment ago she’d been delighted. “Is something wrong?”

“You puzzle me…sometimes.”

“But I am the most transparent of men,” he joked. He was so pleased to learn that she thought about him that he added, “What do you wish to know? I have no secrets.”

Her expression revealed his mistake. Senora Alvarez didn’t care to discuss secrets. She had too many of her own. “I ask nothing of you,” she replied, turning to walk on.

Disappointed, with her and himself, Arthur followed. Tom had wandered off, as he tended to do. There’d been no sign of him since they left the carriage. They were alone in a world of color and birdsong and scent. Perhaps the peaceful beauty of the place would soothe her temper, Arthur thought. But he didn’t know what would gain her confidence.

The gurgle of the stream grew louder, and then there it was, a thread of clear water tumbling over rocks. Bluebells, ferns, and mosses bent over the banks. Soft moisture wafted through the air. Senora Alvarez breathed it in. “Hermosa,” she said.

She was, but Arthur was not foolish enough to voice his opinion. He could not resist stepping closer.

A partridge erupted out of the bracken with a violent whirr of wings. Arthur started, twisted one boot heel on a stone, missed his footing with the other, and stumbled toward the stream.

She caught him with an arm about his waist, stopping his slide to a certain dunking. They teetered together on the bank. He held onto her shoulders to regain his balance. Though she was much smaller, her grip was strong, her footing solid. She could hold her own and more. Her body felt soft and supple against his as they came safely to rest.

Arthur looked down. Her face was inches away. Her dark eyes were wide, her lovely lips slightly parted, as if primed for a kiss. She raised her chin. He bent his head to touch them with his, an instant of exquisite pleasure.

She jerked away, nearly sending him reeling once again. Her expression had gone stark. All the beautiful animation had drained out of it. “Do not play such games with me,” she said.

“Games?”

“I told you that what I said at the theater meant nothing!”

“So you did,” replied Arthur, stung. “And I heard you.”

“Yet you try to take advantage.”

“The bird startled me. I tripped.”

“Into my lips.” Her tone was contemptuous.

“I beg your pardon. In the moment I thought you…”

“You know nothing about me. But I will tell you that I despise tricks like that.”

“It was no such thing.”

She made a derisive sound.

She had no grounds to address him with such disdain, to practically call him a liar. “Do you doubt my word?”

“I observe your actions,” she answered, moving away from him. “Where has Tom gone?”

“I have no idea.”

“Tom?” she called. “Where are you?”

“Here,” came the reply from downstream “Come and see. There’s a waterfall.”

Senora Alvarez walked away.

~

Excerpted from Earl’s Well That Ends Well by Jane Ashford.
© 2020 by Jane Ashford. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

*****

Author Info:

Jane Ashford, a beloved author of historical romances, has been published in Sweden, Italy, England, Denmark, France, Russia, Latvia, and Spain, as well as the United States. Jane has been nominated for a Career Achievement Award by RT Book Reviews. Visit her online at http://www.janeashford.com. She lives in Los Angeles, California.

Author Website: https://www.janeashford.com/

*****

Giveaway:

3 Sets of book 1-4 of The Way to a Lords Heart series

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54ca7af7996/?

~

 

 

Spotlight – Running Away with the Bride

Tags

Running Away with the Bride, Sophia Singh Sasson

This mistaken identity romance may be my favorite read of the new year!

*****

Running Away with the Bride

by Sophia Singh Sasson

Price: $5.25

ON-sale date: 01/01/2021

ISBN: 9781335232670

Blurb:

Stop the wedding! Steal the bride! And fall for a perfect stranger?

Billionaire Ethan Connors vows to stop his ex’s wedding so they can be together. But crashing the wrong nuptials and spiriting away the wrong wife-to-be is more than he bargained for! Divya Singh is beautiful, talented, passionate…and from a traditional Indian family who won’t accept him as a match for their daughter. Can Divya and Ethan’s unexpected relationship stay the course or will one of them run again?

Harlequin: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335232670_running-away-with-the-bride.html 

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/running-away-with-the-bride-sophia-singh-sasson/1137428356;jsessionid=66652FEA61A48EDF806C0552FC646890.prodny_store02-atgap16?ean=9781335232670&st=AFF&2sid=HarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC_7651142_NA&sourceId=AFFHarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC 

Booksamillion: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781335232670?AID=10747236&PID=7651142&cjevent=7236db11185311eb805f00700a24060b 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Running-Bride-Sophia-Singh-Sasson/dp/1335232672/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1603803223&sr=8-1 

Indie bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335232670

*****

Excerpt:

“Stop this wedding!”

Ethan Connors searched the stage on the back lawn of the Mahal Hotel where a mandap had been set up. The couple was seated on floor-level settees under a pergola-like structure in front of a small fire. A priest dressed in loose orange clothing chanted and threw things into the fire, making it crackle and smoke.

Ethan wished he’d paid more attention to the wedding sequence the one time he’d been to an Indian wedding with Pooja. He had no idea if he’d made it in time to stop hers.

At his outcry, the bride, groom and the dozen or so people surrounding them looked at him with surprise. The priest froze and the chatter of the crowd behind Ethan died. He could feel the stares of hundreds of guests on him. He tried to catch Pooja’s eyes but the heavy bridal veil covered her head and fell halfway across her face. The smoke from the fire swirled around her. He looked at the older Indian couple seated next to her. Were they Pooja’s parents? If the glare they were shooting him was any indication, they were.

A knot twisted in his stomach. After six months of dating, including three months of living together, she’d never introduced him to her parents, and he couldn’t pick them out based on the pictures he’d seen on her bookshelf.

A younger man seated next to the bride stood and made his way to Ethan. “I don’t know who you are but you’re interrupting my sister’s wedding. You best leave quietly before I call security.” The man’s voice was low and icy.

But Ethan was determined he wasn’t going to lose her again. He may have come to his senses in the eleventh hour, but he was going to save himself, and Pooja. She’d known the guy sitting next to her for three months. How could she marry him? I want to know my husband and be sure that we’re compatible, she’d said to Ethan. He and Pooja were compatible. Why hadn’t he seen that sooner? When she’d first brought up marriage—and how her family wouldn’t approve of her relationship with a white Midwesterner unless he put a ring on her finger—he’d thought he needed more time to figure things out. But what was left to think about? He was pushing forty. His brother was ten years younger and had been married for nine years and had two kids. Pooja was the only woman who had deemed him worthy enough to even discuss marriage. He wasn’t going to let her get away a second time.

Pooja was now standing, but Ethan still couldn’t get a clear line of sight through the crowd that was gathering around him. He hadn’t spoken to her since she walked out three months ago, but she’d sent him an email telling him she was getting married today. Why would she do that if she didn’t want him to make a grand gesture? It would’ve been helpful if she’d sent him some details other than that her groom was planning “a grand baarat down the Vegas strip.” He’d spent the entire morning driving up and down the strip, looking for a groom on a horse surrounded by a bunch of people dancing. The traditional Indian baarat, the arrival of the groom’s party, would be hard to miss, or so he thought. He’d been on the other side of the strip when he’d heard on the radio that traffic was snarled because of an Indian wedding, and he’d driven like a madman to get there.

He had charged in ready to take on the world, or at least a bunch of angry relatives, but now doubt snaked its way through him. Did Pooja really want him to rescue her? And how the hell was he going to get out of the hotel without hundreds of guests and hotel security guards stopping him?

Take off your veil and look at me, Pooja. He wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to succumb to her parents’ pressure and marry whichever Tom, Dick or Hari they had found for her. He was ready to step up and make a commitment. 

Another man who bore a family resemblance to the one who’d identified himself as Pooja’s brother broke through the crowd and strode toward him. Who knew how many family members there were, and Ethan had zero backup. When will you stop being so impulsive? His mother’s familiar recrimination blared in his head.

He focused on Pooja, who was clearly looking in his direction, despite the veil on her face. “I’m sorry I was such an ass and didn’t realize how much you meant to me. I want to marry you. Run away with me.” Brother One whispered something into a phone, no doubt calling security. “We must go now!”

“Yo dude, this isn’t some Hollywood film. What do you think you’re doing?” Brother Number Two was now within punching distance and didn’t seem quite as reserved as Brother One. “My sister doesn’t know who you are. Get out before I…” He pulled his arm back, clearly preparing to punch Ethan in the face.

“Wait!” Pooja’s voice sounded strange.

*****

Author Info:

Sophia puts her childhood habit of daydreaming to good use by writing stories that will give you hope, make you laugh, cry and possibly snort tea from your nose. She was born in Mumbai, India, and has lived in the Canary Islands, Spain and Toronto, Canada. Currently she calls the madness of Washington, DC, home. She loves to read, travel to exotic locations, bake, scuba dive and watch Bollywood movies. Contact her through http://SophiaSasson.com.

Website: http://SophiaSasson.com 

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GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/14584440.Sophia_Singh_Sasson 

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