Monthly Archives: August 2019
Review: All Roads Lead to You by Jennifer Probst
All Roads Lead to You
Jennifer Probst
Stay Series, Book 3
Published July 23rd 2019 by Montlake Romance
All bets are off in this heartfelt romance by New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst.
Happily single, Harper Bishop trusts in only one passion—her rescue farm and healing her thoroughbred, Phoenix. Her dream is to lead him to the Triple Crown. But how unreachable is it without experience or help? A handsome new guest at her family’s B&B has what it takes to make it come true. And with his irresistible brogue, warm smile, and soothing touch, he’s a major distraction.
After a bitter betrayal, horse trainer Aidan O’Connor has fled Ireland for a vacation in New York’s Hudson Valley. When he sees the horse with the fighting spirit, he’s inspired with a new goal: to train Phoenix to win. He’s also facing an unexpected new challenge: his feelings for Harper.
How can she dare to open her heart to a man who’ll be there only long enough to break it?
So Harper and Aidan agree: try to keep it professional, and focus only on Phoenix and the finish line. But along the way, they could also learn a few lessons in love, trust, and taking chances. And, as painful as it promises to be, saying goodbye.
4 Stars
Looking for that slow burn kind of book……
All Road Lead to You is just that. Jennifer Probst’s third book in the Stay Series is the story of Harper Bishop and Aidan O’Connor.
Harper and Aidan both are animal lovers to the core. Both loners by nature find an unexpected bond through the common passion for animals. Both have been burned and tread lightly on the ground of love. There is no lack of attraction or chemistry, just hard headed people who had broken hearts. All Road lead to you is not just Harper and Aidan’s story. The animals play just as big of a part of the story as the human characters do. Phoenix will melt your heart. Even if your not a horse lover. Ms. Probst inserted a level of intimacy to the story that I was not expecting.
ARC Review: Luscious by Melissa Schroeder
Luscious
Melissa Schroeder
Camos and Cupcakes Series, Book 2
Published August 2019 by Harmless Publishing
When by the book Harry Bradley gets thrown together with his sister’s best friend EJ, opposites don’t just attract, they explode.
She’s my sister’s best friend. A woman who calls to me on every level, but she can’t stand me. Our one date ended when she deemed it over and left–before we even ordered food. So I shouldn’t want her.
But I do.
Still, I’ve mastered controlling my emotions and my lusting…well, mostly. Of course, when she suggests we work together to promote both of our businesses, I jump at the chance. That chance leads to a kiss…and so much more.
Now, if I can just restrain my control freak ways, all will be well.
Warning: This book includes more cupcakes (of course), meddling friends, romance book references, a gun-toting Grandma, a trip out of state, wine, more cupcakes, and a dirty talking hero who not only surprised the heroine, but also this author. I’m not embarrassed…not really. Okay, maybe a little…a lot. Never mind. Just know that you have been warned and I will not be held responsible for any blushing in public. Also…CUPCAKES.
4 Stars
From the concept, to the characters, to the storyline, what’s not to love. Melissa Schroeder gots something special going on with her Camos and Cupcakes Series. The second book of the series, Luscious gives readers the icing on the cake on with an emotional, fun and sexy read. Harry and EJ are decadent together.
Harry is one fine Texas man. What can I say, Harry is giving all my favorite Santini men a run for their money. Charming, a smile to stop you in your tracks, and a mouth you never see coming. Smart, caring and as Harry says his momma raised him right. He’s charismatic and full of personality. Harry is fun character.
EJ is a spit fire of a southern belle if there ever was one. She’s strong, independent and in control of her life. Seeing love fail first hand has steered her clear. Being the owner of a romance only bookstore is kind of a contradiction to EJ’s way of thinking. In EJ’s mind happily ever after‘s are for books not for life.
Harry and EJ shared an evening together months back that they both referred to as the date from hell. It may have been a date from hell, but their chemistry and their bodies didn’t agree with that. Fast forward to the present and you’re both trying to fight the crush is a decade in the making and what chemistry is doing to them. I love the dynamic between Harry and EJ. The back-and-forth banter between these two is downright hysterical at times. As they give into the chemistry that’s when the emotional side of the story comes into play. They are explosive. Hot doesn’t even begin to discribe what these two do to each other. When one doesn’t want to believe in love and then realizes they’re in love that’s some emotional turmoil in the making. The way Harry stands by EJ, shows her support and is there for her, even after a heated argument shows what kind of man Harry is. Even if he does do the man thing. Men! EJ learns for herself what love can be and is. Slow Harry help pull away some of those layers of hurt and replaced them with happiness.
Luscious is what I love in my romance reads. Fun and sexy. Emotional and heated. Good characters with great personalities. Harry and EJ will knock your socks off. Bold and brazen and a healthy dose of dirty talk. You will love Harry by the time you read the end. Luscious is just that, a truly luscious read!
Warning: This book will trigger your need for something very sweet.
Book Blitz: Finders Keepers boxed set
Book Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47578462-finders-keepers
Kindle/Kindle Unlimited: https://amzn.to/2ZxDiGx
Book Blurb:
Welcome to Finders Keepers where Possession is 9/10ths of the law and it has never been so sweet…or scandalous! Curl up with eight romances where each heroine discovers a surprise in her purse that sends her on a wild ride to her happily-ever-after.
Open the clasp and see what’s inside!
USA Today Bestselling Author Jen Talty: What started as a reunion ends in a deadly twist and an unexpected finish.
USA Today Bestselling Author Casey Hagen: Mama always warned her that her sense of adventure would only lead to trouble. Tall. Dark. Delicious. Trouble.
Nicole S. Patrick: He’d cracked the wall around her heart.
Stacey Wilk: When a chance encounter warms the heart and lights the way home.
Rayvn Salvador: Their past is the key to everything, but the move to unlock the future has yet to be made.
Lisa Ricard Claro: When the past and present collide, love can be a real killer.
Robin Stone: He lost his true love. Will he ever find another?
Judy Kentrus: Their journey to love is battered by secrets from their pasts
What started as a reunion ends in a deadly twist and an unexpected finish.
About the author:
Welcome to my World! I’m a USA Today Bestseller of Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, and Paranormal Romance.
I first started writing while carting my kids to one hockey rink after the other, averaging 170 games per year between 3 kids in 2 countries and 5 states. My first book, IN TWO WEEKS was originally published in 2007. In 2010 I helped form a publishing company (Cool Gus Publishing) with NY Times Bestselling Author Bob Mayer where I ran the technical side of the business through 2016.
I’m currently enjoying the next phase of my life…the empty NESTER! My husband and I spend our winters in Jupiter, Florida and our summers in Rochester, NY. We have three amazing children who have all gone off to carve out their places in the world, while I continue to craft stories that I hope will make you readers feel good and put a smile on your face.
Website: http://www.jentalty.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/191706547909047/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenTalty
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jen-Talty/e/B007H91LVY/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jen-talty
Book+Main Bites: https://bookandmainbites.com/JenTalty
Mama always warned her that her sense of adventure would only lead to trouble. Tall. Dark. Delicious. Trouble.
About the author:
USA Today Bestselling author Casey Hagen pens her snarky, passionate stories from the salty air of Kennebunk, Maine. She’s a born and raised Vermont native, a New England girl to the core, with Ben & Jerry’s in her heart and real Vermont maple syrup pumping through her veins.
She’s the proud mother of three girls and a new, first-time grandma with an insatiable addiction to Fall Out Boy, and a new, rather concerning obsession with tattoos and piercings. Can you say “cool grandma?”
The inked and pierced grandma spends her time tucked away in her office, coated in cat hair, alternating between tearing her hair out trying to find the perfect words and being one step ahead of her three scheming fur babies she is positive are plotting her demise with every swirl around her ankles at the top of her office stairs.
She loves writing stories about real people, with complicated histories, relatable everyday problems, and giving them the hard-won happily-ever-afters they deserve.
And she thanks every last one of you who picks up one of her stories.
Casey is done talking about herself in the third person.
*Casey out*
Website: http://caseyhagenauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaseyHagenAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaseyHagenAuth
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2nsawlU
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/casey-hagen
Book+Main Bites: https://bookandmainbites.com/CaseyHagen
He’d cracked the wall around her heart.
About the author:
Nicole S. Patrick has always loved to read, and in her teenage years, she “borrowed” her mom’s books to sneak away and become lost in the world of romance. After more than ten years in the corporate world of tech recruiting and HR management, she decided to stay home and raise children. But with so many romantic stories and characters floating around in her head, when the kids napped, she was compelled to put those words on a page and pursue this crazy dream of becoming published. Nicole writes romantic suspense and her heroes are those alpha males in uniform. She lives in New Jersey with her real-life hero, her husband, and her two sons.
Website: http://nicolespatrick.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NicoleSPatrickauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicolespatrick
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Nicole-S-Patrick/e/B00GHUSJFK/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_3
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/nicole-s-patrick
When a chance encounter warms the heart and lights the way home.
About the author:
Stacey Wilk wrote her first novel in middle school to quiet the characters in her head. It was that or let them out to eat the cannolisand she wasn’t sharing her grandfather’s Italian pastries.
Many years later her life took an adventurous turn when she gave birth to two different kinds of characters. She often sits in awe of their abilities to make objects fly, it snow on command, and remain dirty after contact with water. She does share the cannolis with them for fear of losing her fingers.
Because of the extraordinary characters now in her home instead of in her head, including a king who surfaces after dark and for coffee, she writes novels about family: those that we are born to and those that we pick up along the way. You can find her message in her middle-grade fantasy novels as well as her women’s fiction novels. Family are those that love you when you need them.
When she’s not creating stories in make-believe places, she can be found hanging with the cast members of her house, or teaching others how to make make-believe worlds of their own.
Website: https://staceywilk.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stacey.t.wilk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stacey_wilk/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stacey-Wilk/e/B00J3AF30K/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_4
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/stacey-wilk
Their past is the key to everything, but the move to the future has yet to be made.
About the author:
Rayvn Salvador is a lifelong bibliophile who left her eighteen-year IT career to live her dream: gettingpaid to read and write. She lives in Florida with her hellion kitten and her incredibly supportive beau, dreaming about the Midwest’s changing leaves as she perfects her yoga poses on the beach.
Website: http://www.rayvnsalvador.com (under construction)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RayvnSalvador
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RayvnSalvador
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rayvn-Salvador/e/B07WC3PMQN/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_5
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/rayvn-salvador
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17895655.Rayvn_Salvador
Book+Main Bites: https://bookandmainbites.com/rayvnsalvador
He lost his true love. Will he ever find another?
About the author:
Robin started writing stories when she was five years old. She wrote essays, articles, and over a million words of nonfiction before turning to fiction in 2011. She watched erotic romance authors having way too much fun, and after writing her first erotic romance, she was hooked.
She writes erotic romances starring handyman heroes. Robin’s imagination is filled with delivery men, landscapers, and carpenters. Her sex-positive books (M/F, M/M, and M/M/F) are emotional stories that keep readers coming back for more.
Robin lives near Boston and likes reading, travel, and eating good chocolate. She loves hearing from her readers.
Website: http://robin-stone.net/bio/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobinStoneBooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobinStoneBooks
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Robin-Stone/e/B019JSO8JM?ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vu00_tkin_p1_i0
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/robin-stone-376014bc-273f-4a47-b7d2-607c940aa9ae
When the past and present collide, love can be a real killer.
About the author:
Lisa Ricard Claro is an award-winning author and Pushcart Prize nominee whose work is published across multiple media to include articles, essays, short stories, children’s educational books, and her hands-down favorite: melt-your-heart Romance novels featuring unforgettable characters who tangle their lives and their hearts on the road to a life-changing love.
After years of spinning her stories from a landlocked Southern town, Lisa heeded the call of her inner mermaid and moved to the beach with her husband, cat, and two dogs, because nothing soothes her spirit and sparks her creativity like saltwater and sand. Margaritas are also a plus, because mermaids love that salty stuff!
Lisa also has a heart for rescues, and you’ll find a rescued pet companion in every one of her books. After all, even if messy and covered in fur, love is what life is all about.
Website: https://www.lisaricardclaro.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisaricardclaroauthor
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/lisaricardclaro
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Ricard-Claro/e/B00MUYB8IW
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lisa-ricard-claro
Book+Main Bites: https://bookandmainbites.com/lisaricardclaro
Their journey to love is battered by secrets from their pasts.
About the author:
I was born and raised in NJ and moved to PA ten years ago. I’m a romantic at heart, having married my high school sweetheart and we raised a wonderful son and daughter. My books are fun, romantic suspense that will make you laugh, cry and sigh from their HEA’s.
Website: http://www.judykentrus.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/judykentrusauthor?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/judykentrus
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Judy-Kentrus/e/B00J73FZ1A?ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vu00_tkin_p1_i0
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/judy-kentrus
Book+Main Bites: https://bookandmainbites.com/judykentrus
Cover Reveal: Sink or Swim by Tessa Bailey
SINK OR SWIM
By: Tessa Bailey
Goodreads Link: https://bit.ly/2MbDTXM
BLURB:
Andrew Prince wakes up before everyone else. He schedules the bar shifts, demands perfection from Long Beach’s lifeguards—most of all himself—and makes sure the family debts are paid. His unfaltering worth ethic might leave him exhausted, but it comes with one advantage. It distracts him from the love he’s been harboring since childhood for the girl next door—who he cannot have.
Jiya Dalal has dreams. To fly a plane, see the world below…and prove irresistible to her best friend, Andrew. But she needs to be a good daughter first, which is becoming an increasingly difficult task, since her parents expect a good marriage and the man she loves with all her heart refuses to pursue the blistering connection between them. Just when she’s beginning to believe Andrew truly doesn’t want her, a moonlight tryst on the beach exposes his true feelings. But an echo from the past kept them apart before…and it’s only growing louder with every stolen kiss…
Tessa Bailey
Website: www.tessabailey.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tessabaileyisanauthor/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TessaBaileyAuthor/?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mstessabailey
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6953499.Tessa_Bailey
Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.
Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.
She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of eleven years and six-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.
Excerpt
Jiya looked up and found Andrew watching her intently. “What is this, Andrew?”
“We’re dancing,” he rasped, his gaze slightly unfocused.
“You’ve never danced with me like this before.”
His gaze strayed to her lips, before he resolutely dragged them away. “Do you want to stop?”
“No and that’s the problem.” Come on, Mrs. I Don’t Play Games Anymore, bring up the elephant in the room. It’s not going away. “You’ve been different with me lately. Is it…” She took two bracing breaths. “Is it because I’m dating?”
He started to deny it, then changed his mind. “Might be. Yeah. I know that’s fucked up,” he said. “You’ve always been min—my best friend. We won’t have this if you start dating someone seriously. If you…”
“Get married?”
His complexion turned gray. “Mmm.”
Cement caked her insides, but she was used to it by now. She’d loved Andrew since she was a child. She’d waited patiently for him to love her back—as more than a friend—and he hadn’t. He’d done nothing about it. So while she yearned to dissect his every word and rejoice in them, ached for what he was feeling, she couldn’t do it anymore without being a fool. “Ask me the question, Andrew. The one you ask me every night.”
A line formed between his brows. “Can I do anything for you, Jiya?”
“Yes.” She took his face in her hands. “You can stay my friend. No matter what happens. Fine, things are changing in my life. But I couldn’t bear it if I ever lost what we have. Just stay my friend. Promise me.”
His jaw bunched. “You know I’d cut my heart out before saying no to you, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then you have your answer.” He wet his lips. “But we’re finishing the dance.”
Coffee Books Life 