Spotlight – Walking the Edge

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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

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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

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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 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sophia_singh_sasson/?hl=en 

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SophiaSasson 

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

*****

Spotlight – Her Texas New Year’s Wish

Tags

Her Texas New Year's Wish, Michelle Major, The Fortunes of Texas, The Fortunes of Texas: The Hotel Fortune, The Hotel Fortune

Need an old fashion romance to kick off the new year? Harlequin always has you covered.

*****

Her Texas New Year’s Wish

The Fortunes of Texas: The Hotel Fortune

by Michelle Major

Price: $5.99

ON-sale date: 01/01/2020

ISBN: 9781335404589

Blurb:

Can you fall head over heels And land on your feet?

When Grace Williams topples from the balcony at the soon-to-open Hotel Fortune, the last thing she expects is to find love with her new bosses’ brother. Wiley Fortune is visiting from Chicago, and the polished attorney has looks, money and charm to spare. But Grace’s past makes her wary of investing her heart—and risking her job. Do a small-town Texan and a city sophisticate really have a chance?

From Harlequin Special Edition: Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.

Harlequin: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335404589_her-texas-new-years-wish.html 

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-texas-new-years-wish-michelle-major/1137325553?ean=9781335404589&st=AFF&2sid=HarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC_7651142_NA&sourceId=AFFHarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC 

Booksamillion: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781335404589?AID=10747236&PID=7651142&cjevent=5efbf39a185c11eb82dd008a0a240610 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Her-Texas-Years-Wish-Fortunes-ebook/dp/B08CS7K2PP/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Her+Texas+New+Year%27s+Wish+%28The+Fortunes+of+Texas%3A+The+Hotel+Fortune%29&linkCode=gs3&qid=1603807057&sr=8-1&tag=haperpublican-20 

Indie bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335404589

*****

Excerpt:

“I wouldn’t drink that if I were you.”

Wiley Fortune plucked the glass from his sister’s hand and placed it back on the polished mahogany bar.

Nicole gave him a funny look. “It’s water, Wi. Roja is providing the food for this party. I may be a guest, but I’m also still on the clock.”

“I know it’s water.” Wiley tugged on the end of Nicole’s long blond hair, the way he used to do when they were kids. “That’s my point.”

Nicole, Ashley and Megan Fortune—the triplets—had been born seven years after Wiley, miracle babies in every sense of the word. Their parents, David and Marci, had married after a whirlwind courtship, marriages in a way that would have made Carol Brady’s head spin back in the day.

The boys had gotten off to a bit of a rocky start as they attempted to figure out their roles in the new family. Everything had changed when his mom gave birth to Stephanie five years later. One thing all four boys could agree on was how much they adored their baby sister. Mom had hoped to add another sibling to the mix right away, but she’d had trouble conceiving. Although she’d tried to hide her emotional pain and physical exhaustion, Wiley knew that season of loss had taken a toll on her. 

Wiley loved every member of his family, but he’d been a quiet, introverted kid and it was a lot to grow up in such a big, boisterous family. Maybe that fact had something to do with the distance that had seemed to grow between him and the rest of his siblings.

He was the only one who hadn’t migrated to the quaint town of Rambling Rose, Texas, although they’d convinced him to visit over Christmas and return for his cousin Adam Fortune’s son’s first birthday party.

“What’s wrong with the water in Rambling Rose?” Nicole asked, scrunching her perfect nose.

“It’s obviously tainted,” Wiley said, keeping his features neutral and using the same tone with her that he did for contract negotiations in his law firm back in Chicago. “Look around at all the nauseatingly happy couples here tonight. Something happens with the sweet nurse and her adorable twin toddlers, Sasha and Luna.

“It’s the water,” he repeated. “Or they’ve all been stricken by the Texas heat. Even Steven is all googly-eyed for his lady. I barely recognize my own brothers.”

A second sister, Megan, let out a mild laugh as she approached from the other side of him and helped herself to a sip of his drink. “If you don’t recognize your brothers, it’s because you spend too much time on your own.”

“I’m here now,” Wiley muttered.

“Because Mom guilted you into it,” Megan reminded him. She, Nicole and Ashley looked almost identical with their shiny hair and delicate features. They’d followed their brothers to Rambling Rose and opened a farm-to-table restaurant, Provisions, to a great deal of success. Megan was the most serious of the trio and handled the finances for both Provisions and Roja, located inside the Hotel Fortune, which was due to open in just over a month. Nicole was the more flamboyantly creative and was using her culinary skills to create an innovative menu for Roja as the restaurant’s executive chef. Ashley took on the role of bossy micromanager in the best way possible, and as the general manager for Provisions.

“Wiley thinks Rambling Rose is a bad influence on all of us because the Fortunes are falling in love here.”

“You could use some more love in your life.” 

Megan poked a finger into his biceps. “You work too much.”

“How would you know? I live in Chicago. Don’t tell me you’re keeping tabs on my life from halfway across the country.” Wiley felt heat prick the back of his neck as his sisters exchanged a knowing glance. He didn’t think he’d sounded defensive, but this was the reason he skipped so many family gatherings. There was no privacy to be had once his brothers and sisters got involved.

“All you talk about is work,” Megan answered, smoothing a hand over her cream-colored sweater.

“I like my job.” Wiley took a long drink of whiskey, welcoming the burn of the liquor in his throat. “It’s fascinating.”

“Contract law isn’t fascinating.” Nicole laughed. “The restaurant business is fascinating. It’s always evolving.”

“Not to mention there’s no shortage of yummy food to taste,” Megan added.

“Being an attorney is fascinating to me,” Wiley grumbled.

“Because you need more excitement in your life.” Nicole turned to him. “Don’t you long for a change, Wi? For years, you’ve been at the same firm in the same position—”

“And living in the same condo.” Megan fist-bumped her sister.

“I’m stable and consistent,” Wiley told them.

*****

Author Info:

USA Today bestselling author Michelle Major loves stories of new beginnings, second chances and always a happily ever after. An avid hiker and avoider of housework, she lives in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains with her husband, two teenagers and a menagerie of spoiled furbabies. Connect with her at www.michellemajor.com.

Website: https://michellemajor.com/ 

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

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/michelle_major1 

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6468588.Michelle_Major 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/mmajor11/ 

*****

Spotlight – The Ultimate Betrayal

Tags

Kat Martin, Maximum Security series, The Ultimate Betrayal

In case you missed this one in all the holiday fuss, it is definitely worth talking about again.

*****

The Ultimate Betrayal

A Maximum Security Novel

by Kat Martin

Blurb:

When investigative journalist Jessie Kegan’s father, a colonel in the army, is accused of treason, Jessie is determined to clear his name. Reluctantly, she turns to former Special Ops soldier, Brandon Garrett, her late brother’s best friend–a true heartbreaker, according to her brother.

With danger coming from every angle, time is running out and the game being played is deadly. Working together, Bran and Jessie must risk everything to solve the riddle and confront the threat–before it’s too late.

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Betrayal-Maximum-Security/dp/1335483756

B&N

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ultimate-betrayal-dwayne-t-martin/1125832346?ean=9781335483751

Indiebound

https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335483751

Kobo

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-ultimate-betrayal-26

Google

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kat_Martin_The_Ultimate_Betrayal?id=GqmqDwAAQBAJ

Itunes

https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-ultimate-betrayal/id1477473206

*****

Excerpt:

They ordered-in Chinese and Bran turned the TV on in the living room, but neither of them were in the mood to watch. Jessie knew exactly what she was in the mood for. She hadn’t thought about sex this much in the last three years. Now, every time she looked at Bran, having sex with him was all she could think of.

Everything about him turned her on. The cadence of his voice, the way he laughed, the way he moved. Just watching him amble across the living room sent a curl of heat into the pit of her stomach.

What would it be like to kiss him? Run her hands over all the lean, hard muscles she had seen and couldn’t get out of her head? What would it be like if he made love to her?

Would she ruin it the way she had when she had tried before? Start thinking about Ray Cummings and the intimate way he had touched her? Conjure images of the rape he had planned to carry out the third night if she hadn’t managed to escape?

Fidgety and unable to relax, she headed for the pool, Bran reluctantly accompanying her. Exercising in the warm water was the perfect stress reliever. She glanced over to where he paced the deck at the opposite end of the pool, tall and lean-muscled, blue-eyed, and built. Nothing better than swimming–except for hours of erotic sex with the man of her fantasies.

It seemed so outrageous she found herself grinning as she stroked to the far end of the pool. She was still smiling when she came up out of the water, dripping and adjusting her swimsuit, just a few feet away from him.

“What’s so funny?” Bran asked, as grumpy tonight as he had been the night before.

She looked into his hard, handsome face and some little devil made her say it. “If you really want to know, I was thinking what it might be like to have wild, uninhibited sex with you.”

Hunger flashed in his eyes so quickly she took a step back. “Is that so,” he drawled, his gaze running over her, assessing every curve her orange-striped bikini displayed.

Her whole body flushed with heat as she realized she wasn’t the only one who’d been thinking about sex.

She swallowed. “I was imagining what it might be like, but I… I know if we tried, I’d screw it up. After Ray, I’ve got, you know, hang-ups.”

His gaze grew more intense. “What kind of hang-ups?”

She picked her towel up off the mesh table next to a lounge chair and quickly dried off, then slipped on her white terrycloth robe. Fortunately, the overhead lights began to flash, signaling it was time for the pool to close.

“Time to leave.” She started walking back to the room, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut. By the time Bran opened the door and checked inside to be sure it was safe, she was starting to relax.

“What hang-ups?” Bran he as he closed the door behind them.

Jessie’s stomach instantly knotted. What had possessed her to mention it? But Bran had opened up to her yesterday, which meant she owed him the same courtesy today.

Trying to appear nonchalant, she shrugged. “You know, kissing’s okay, but if a guy starts touching me, my mind flashes back to Ray Cummings and I-I start thinking about the way he touched me, where he touched me, and pretty soon sex is the last thing I want to happen.”

Bran’s jaw looked iron hard. “He rape you?”

She swallowed and shook her head. “On the third day, just before he got home, I managed to get loose. I couldn’t get out of the basement, so I searched for a weapon.” Her lips trembled as the memory became all too clear. “I found a wooden box and pried a board loose. The board had a nail in the end so I held it like a bat, and I-I waited till he came down the stairs.”

“Go on,” Bran said so softly she felt a chill.

“He always wore this black knit ski mask with a red ring around the mouth, which made him look even more terrifying. Knowing what he planned to do gave me courage. The minute he stepped off the bottom step, I swung the board as hard as I could and smashed him in the side of the head. As soon as he hit the floor, I starting whacking him over and over with the nail in the end of the board. He was unconscious and bleeding when I took off running.”

“Finish it,” Bran said when she paused, more a demand than a request.

Her voice trembled. “The woman in the house next door let me in and called the police. Ray was still unconscious when they got there. Turned out he was a serial rapist. He had abducted four other women and locked them up just like me. Eventually, he released them somewhere, but they couldn’t identify him or the place he had taken them. I was the only one who escaped.”

She was shaking. She didn’t realize she had tears in her eyes till Bran pulled her into his arms.

*****

Author Info:

Bestselling author Kat Martin, a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, currently resides in Missoula, Montana with Western-author husband, L. J. Martin. More than seventeen million copies of Kat’s books are in print, and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Fifteen of her recent novels have taken top-ten spots on the New York Times Bestseller List, and her novel, BEYOND REASON, was recently optioned for a feature film. Kat’s latest novel, THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL, a Romantic Thriller, was released in paperback December 29th.

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/katmartinauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52293322-the-ultimate-betrayal

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

Website: https://www.katmartin.com/

*****

Giveaway:

Enter Kat’s Monthly Contest

https://www.katmartin.com/monthly-contest/

~

 

Spotlight – Truly Madly Plaid

Tags

Eliza Knight, Truly Madly Plaid

How about we start the new year with a guy in a kilt?

*****

Truly Madly Plaid

by Eliza Knight

Publication Date: 12/29/2020

Blurb:

USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight takes you into the heart of the Highlands, where these warriors are prepared to give up everything in the fight for their country.

Annie MacPherson’s world was torn apart when her family’s castle was ravaged during the war. Determined to aid her countrymen, she braves the battlefield and finds gravely wounded Lieutenant Craig MacLean. Soon her heart belongs to the fierce warrior.

As the English dragoons draw closer to Annie’s makeshift hospital, Craig knows they have to escape together if they’ll have any chance to survive. But when they come face-to-face with the enemy and Craig is imprisoned, Annie will have to risk everything she has to save the man she can’t live without.

History and adventure come to life in Eliza Knight’s thrilling Scottish Highland romance. Annie is based loosely on Anne MacKay, Anne Leith, and Lady Maxwell, who risked their lives to protect Jacobite soldiers by hiding them, healing their wounds, and helping them escape from enemy forces.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2L7BCe0

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

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

Kobo: http://bit.ly/3gdFJUB

Bookshop: http://bit.ly/2I3ZPUz

BAM: http://bit.ly/3qm6fzr

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

*****

Excerpt:

April 5, 1746 

This was a mistake. 

Every hair on the back of Lieutenant Craig MacLean’s neck stood on end, as though each one wielded its own sword against the enemy. 

Without the protection of the fortress walls, they were sitting ducks tromping through the forest. An army with most of its men on foot would not be able to escape should a legion of redcoats cut off their path. 

Winter had not stopped the sieges. Winter had not stopped death. 

A vulture flew overhead, accompanied by two cronies as they cut a wide circular path in the graying sky. Were he and the men the dead meat they sought? 

“We should go back,” he said to Graham MacPherson. “Your invitation was appreciated, but I’ve no’ got a good feeling about this.” 

There was no telling when Cumberland’s men would make their move, and if the men were inebriated from drink and tired from too much celebrating, they’d not be ready for an attack. 

Graham chuckled and tossed the end of a stick he’d been chewing at Craig. “Ye’re afraid of a few birds, are ye?” 

“I’m no’ afraid of anything.” 

“Let loose, MacLean. The men need to have some fun, and so do ye.” 

The very last place that Craig wanted to be was riding toward Cullidunloch Castle. It wasn’t that he didn’t like castles or his host or the warm feast that Graham had promised or the ale that was certain to be flowing. 

Craig liked all of those things quite a lot. More than a lot, if he were being honest. Toss in a bonnie wench or two to flirt with, and he’d be in his own version of heaven. But Cullidunloch Castle wasn’t only home to his best mate. It also happened to house a woman he’d been working hard to avoid for months. Graham’s sister Annie was very beautiful and very irksome. She was as brilliant as she was irritating, and despite that brilliance, the lass had conveniently forgotten the single encounter the two of them had shared. 

He hadn’t forgotten. How could he? And now he was descending upon her home—her and Graham’s home—to partake of their hospitality. Her hospitality. If she was willing to give it. 

Hospitality he would really like to have, considering he hadn’t had a warm bath in weeks. He’d only managed to keep himself from smelling like a chamber pot by swimming—when the lochs weren’t covered in a sheet of ice. His clothes were getting stiff from use, and he was fairly certain that his last good pair of hose now had a hole where his big toe was greedily trying to squeeze through. 

At least right now they weren’t dealing with snow, though it was only early spring and another storm was inevitable in the Highlands. The temperatures had been rising steadily, enough so that the men in his regiment weren’t so fearful of freezing to death anymore. Unless of course it snowed tonight and Annie MacPherson tossed him out with the last of the evening’s rubbish. He wouldn’t put it past her. 

Craig would have to make nice with her, though he found the very idea absurd. Graham didn’t need to know what a termagant his sister truly was. He’d never told his friend what had happened when he’d found Annie retching after battle. 

To everyone else she encountered, Annie was sweet as sunshine. Even the men she had to stitch up while they writhed in pain called her their angel—men in his own regiment, men he’d trained and led into battle. She was lauded for her nursing skills and her bedside manner, which stung even more. Of course he sent his men to her to be mended; she was the best damn healer he’d ever seen. 

And that was about all the amount of niceties he’d extend. Why had he been the only unlucky fellow to have encountered her waspish side? 

He would never be caught openly acknowledging the bonniness of her face. The way her chin curved into a petite point or the way her eyebrows arched delicately over her mesmerizing eyes. Eyes that were the most incredible amber color. 

Bloody hell. 

Every time he looked at Annie, every time she smiled, he saw that derisive sneer she’d flashed at him the night he’d tried to help her. He’d seen a side of her he was certain no one else had, and he’d run as far as he bloody could—after making sure she was safely taken care of, that was. 

He wasn’t a complete monster. 

But he was quite all right with her believing he was, if that meant she’d stay the hell away from him. 

“Is the pottage breakfast no’ agreeing with ye?” Graham’s teasing voice cut through Craig’s thoughts. 

He snorted. “I’ve an iron stomach, lad.” 

“Lad? I think I’ve got a year or two on ye. And ye forget we’ve been living together on campaign for months. Bean pottage is no’ your friend, mate.” 

Craig snickered. “Are ye saying that ye’re in need of a latrine?” 

“Debatable.” 

Craig was glad for his friend’s distraction. Though he didn’t want to talk about beans or what happened after he ate them. 

“Annie’s sure to have a hearty meal for the lot of us this evening.” Graham sounded so wistful, as though he were talking about something more fantastical than food. Like the war ending with Prince Charles Stuart sitting on the throne. Now that was something to long for. 

Craig’s smile faded, and he nodded, having hoped to avoid any further conversation about Graham’s chit of a sister. 

“I’m honored to be your guest.” This much was true. 

“Honored?” Graham let out a guffaw. “Ye’re my brother in arms, mate.” 

While they’d known each other for years, they’d become closer friends after having saved each other’s arses at the battle at Falkirk the January past. 

“I’m certain Logan will want to spar with ye,” Graham was saying of his younger brother, who’d been sent home from the front with a grave injury. “And Annie, she’ll be there to sew ye up.” 

Craig laughed, but only half-heartedly. If he had his way, he’d keep Annie the length of a jousting stick away from him—preferably farther—at all times. 

Excerpted from Truly Madly Plaid by Eliza Knight. © 2020 by Eliza Knight.
Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

*****

Author Info:

ELIZA KNIGHT is an award-winning and USA Today bestselling author of over fifty sizzling historical romances. When not reading, writing, or researching, she chases after her three children. In her spare time she likes daydreaming, wine-tasting, traveling, hiking, and visiting with family and friends. She lives in Maryland.

Author Website: https://eknightauthor.com/

*****

Giveaway:

5 Copies of The Rebel Wears Plaid to celebrate Truly Madly Plaid release

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54ca7af7998/?

~

Spotlight – Christmas in Bethlehem

Tags

Beth Rhodes, Christmas in Bethlehem

I’m so pleased to have Beth Rhodes here today to share her newest book! And it is just perfect for the holiday season.

*****

If you’re like me, 2020 has been both confusing and invigorating. You can’t believe what life looks like right now. You’re shocked you never left the house for months at a time, except to perhaps make a trip to the store. For certain, you’re wondering why you don’t have five books written!! 

Maybe, your priorities have changed…and finding joy and love is more your pace. Maybe the almighty dollar doesn’t seem that big a deal. Maybe writing for the joy of writing—a revelation in years past,—has now been cemented into your soul. And you might never go back to the daily grind of routine tasks and making a buck.

My Christmas story, Christmas in Bethlehem, is like that.

And when I think back on all the books I’ve written, it’s always the ones I’ve done without inhibition that end up being everyone’s favorite.

This story was demanded by a friend, inspired by the Spirit, and given in the name of romance to all of you who are in desperate need of a book that will make you laugh and sigh and smile. Joy. 

I hope you find love, peace, and joy this Holiday Season: from Christmas straight through to the New Year.

*****

Christmas in Bethlehem

by Beth Rhodes

Blurb:

A soldier in the U.S. Army, Roxie St. John is about to end her time in the service. And she expects a Christmas trip to her grandmother’s Christmas Tree Farm is just what she needs to test the waters of living back home. If she can convince Nana to sell and move to town, maybe the feelings of discontent won’t return.

Ben Niklaus grew up as a stowaway on Bethlehem’s tree farm. So when an opportunity arises to buy it outright, he doesn’t waste any time. Having Roxie around only cements his suspicion: he never should have let her go. But love isn’t any easier to decipher now than it was six years ago. 

An unexpected visit from two stranded travelers and a new baby make this a Christmas Roxie and Ben will never forget.

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P439ZSJ

*****

Excerpt:

Prologue

With the whiteout conditions obscuring the windshield view of the road in front of him, Joe Carpenter gently pressed on the brakes as they rolled through one more small town on their way north toward the Canadian border. 

His wife slept soundly for the first time in weeks. 

Nerves hit his stomach. They had met while he was undercover investigating a human trafficking ring. She worked in the main house close to the boss. Her access to the workings of the organization was access that would eventually place her in danger. He hadn’t trusted her at first, and then he’d dropped his guard and fallen for her because he’d seen she was different. 

Her determination to get to know him had made him suspicious. What did she want? How could he help her? Was she looking to expose him? 

There were dozens of women being brought into the organization. Some moved to legit jobs. Others were chosen to go dark—Joe’s definition of what happened. The women would just…disappear. One day there’d be twenty women training as if to go on to a secretarial job, and the next day half of them would be gone. 

Except for Marie Jude. In his first month there, she was never placed. A red flag.

But then, one day, she came to him in that moment before dawn and tapped on his door. 

She’d taken a huge risk and asked him to help two of the women escape. 

And his undercover had gone undercover.

“Hey,” Marie whispered from her side of the car. “Everything okay?”

“The roads are treacherous.” He gripped the wheel. 

“Should we stop?” 

“I don’t think we should. We really need to get miles between us and King.”

She wasn’t a stranger to the tension running through him, though. “We can find a place to hole up. A cheap motel, something. We need to be safe.”

“Safe is getting home,” he gripped the wheel when the car swerved on the ice.

He loved her now. It hadn’t taken long, a few months. He wanted her to be safe. And safe meant getting her back to her family in Canada until the agency could close the case. Then he’d have to go back to fill out reports and testify in court again. 

He pulled into a gas station. “Let me get some gas, and we’ll see how far we can go.”

She let out a sigh. “Joe,” she warned.

Joe got out without a word. He had to think. Stopping could put them in danger. 

As he pumped the gas, the wind blew at his face, and the snow made visibility close to nil. Even the little shop front of the gas station was hard to see. She was right. Their little Pinto wasn’t going to hold up well in this weather. 

When he got in, he turned to her, his love. “We’ll start looking for somewhere to stop. But we need to be careful. You know—”

“I know,” she said. “We’ll stay safe with you guarding us.”

Joe touched her face. “You and me and little Bean. Okay?”

Her trust smothered the doubt, and he nodded, put the car in gear, and headed out to find a place for them to find refuge.

*****

Author Info:

…she unfollowed the world and found her heart.

Country music Love Junkie. Boxing and low-carb Health Addict. Birdwatcher. Garden Grower. Adorer of God and His son, Jesus. Married to my own soldier Hero. T1D Warrior. Add six children.

www.authorbethrhodes.com

www.facebook.com/beth.writes

www.instagram.com/bethrhodes_99

*****

Giveaway:

Gift Bag: Books and More!

 https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9b7405bf3/

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Spotlight – Layla

Tags

Colleen Hoover, Layla

This month bestselling author Colleen Hoover released her very first paranormal romance, Layla. Today Colleen shares one of her very favorite parts of the book and introduces the scene. Colleen, take it away!

“Leeds and Layla have just met about an hour before this scene takes place. I wouldn’t say they experienced insta-love, but it was definitely an immediate attraction. Leeds is lonely and withdrawn from life, while Layla is the opposite. She’s over the top and fun and everything Leeds isn’t. He’s a musician who has never released any of his own music due to insecurities and doubt. But Layla lights a fire in him and uncovers the confidence about his music that he keeps buried.”

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Layla leans in and I expect her to kiss me, but instead she whispers, “Play me something,” against my mouth. Then she moves to the couch and lies down. “Play something worthy of that piano,” she says.

She crosses her legs at her ankles and lets one of her arms dangle off the couch. She runs her finger against the hardwood floor while she waits for me to start playing, but I can’t stop staring at her. I’m not sure there’s another woman on this planet who could make me want to stare at her without blinking until my eyes dry up, but she’s looking at me expectantly.

“What if you don’t like my music?” I ask. “Will you still let me kiss you?”

She smiles gently. “Does the song mean something to you?”

“I wrote it using pieces of my soul.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about,” she says quietly.

I spin around on the bench and place my fingers on the keys. I hesitate for a moment before playing the song. I’ve never performed it for anyone before. The only person I’ve ever wanted to sing it for is my father, and he’s no longer alive. His death is the reason I wrote this in the first place.

I’ve never been nervous while playing Garrett’s songs onstage, but this feels different. This is personal, and despite the fact that there’s only one person in the audience right now, it feels like the most intense audience I’ve ever performed for.

I fill my lungs with air and slowly release it as I begin to play.

That night I stopped believing in heaven
I can’t believe in a god that cruel
Can you?
That night I stopped praying on my knees
But I don’t pray standing either
Do you?
That night I closed the door and closed the
window
I’ve been sitting in the dark
Are you?
That night I learned happiness is a fairy tale
A thousand pages read aloud
By you
That night I stopped believing in God
You were ours, he didn’t care, he
Took you
So that night I stopped . . .
I stopped . . .
I just
Stopped.
That night I stopped.
I stopped.
I just stopped.
That night I stopped.
I . . .

When I’m finished playing the song, I fold my hands in my lap. I’m a little hesitant to turn around and look at her. The whole room got quiet after I played the last note. So quiet—it feels like all the sound was sucked out of the house. I can’t even hear her breathing.

I close the cover to the piano and then slowly spin around on the bench. She’s wiping her eyes, staring up at the ceiling.

“Wow,” she whispers. “I wasn’t expecting that. I feel like you just stomped on my chest.”

That’s how I’ve felt since I first laid eyes on her tonight.

“I like how it ends,” she says. She sits up on the couch and tucks her legs beneath her. “You just stop in the middle of the sentence. It’s so perfect. So powerful.”

I wasn’t sure if she’d realize the intentional ending, but the fact that she does makes me all the more enamored of her.

*****

Layla

by Colleen Hoover

Release Date: December 8, 2020

Publisher: Montlake

Blurb:

When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her—until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences.

Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow—another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them.

*****

Author Info:

Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including the bestselling women’s fiction novel It Ends with Us and the bestselling psychological thriller Verity. She has won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance three years in a row—for Confess (2015), It Ends with Us (2016), and Without Merit (2017). Confess was adapted into a seven-episode online series. In 2015, Hoover and her family founded the Bookworm Box, a bookstore and monthly subscription service that offers signed novels donated by authors. All profits go to various charities each month to help those in need. Hoover lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys.

Website: http://www.colleenhoover.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorColleenHoover/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/colleenhoover
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5430144.Colleen_Hoover

*****

Giveaway:

A Bundle of Colleen Hoover Books!

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/07c2363f264/

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