The Promise Girls - Pub Day Review & Giveaway

What if you could create your ideal child, would you?  For Minerva Promise the answer was yes.  Prodigies designed for success and greatness by their narcissistic mother, as adults they were determined to break free of the hold that she had over them.  What better platform to do so than while on live TV?

Now adults, none of the daughters are doing what their mother was determined to make of them.  Yet all are struggling with issues that stemmed from their childhood.  After an accident brings financial strains, the sisters agree to do a documentary that will expose how the Promise girls’ lives turned out. 

So many strive for perfection, but what’s perfect to one may not be to another.  And with the advancements of science, there’s always someone out there trying to manipulate what should just be left up to will.

I found this book to be fascinating.  The story flowed smoothly and the characters felt so real and relatable.  A perfect weekend read that you will consume in one sitting!

Purchase the book at:

Amazon * Barnes&Noble

About the author:

Marie Bostwick is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of novels about family, relationships, and women’s friendships.  She was born and raised in the northwest, but in the three decades since her marriage, Marie and her family have lived in 8 different states at 18 different addresses. These experiences have given Marie a unique perspective that enables her to write about people from all walks of life and corners of the country with insight and authenticity. Marie currently resides in Oregon, where she enjoys writing, spending time with family, gardening, collecting fabric, and stitching quilts.

Connect with the author at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Kensington Publishing is giving one lucky winner

A print copy of Marie Bostwick’s new release

The Promise Girls

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Royally Roma - Pub Day Promo

In ROYALLY ROMA, the first book in the three-book series The Royals, Niccolo La Torre, the Crown Prince of Lazaretto, gets a taste of life as a civilian when he disappears for a day under the guise of wealthy tourist. His tour guide, a broke, overworked graduate student named Julia Costa, is looking to start fresh in a new country following a devastating break-up and a scandal involving her father. Consumed by her busy schedule, she rarely picks up a tabloid or turns on the television, so when she crosses paths with Niccolo, she fails to recognize him and instead mistakes him for a client. Intrigued by the idea that there is someone in Rome who has no idea who he is, Niccolo acts on impulse and assumes the role of Julia’s client.

Although she senses that something amiss, Julia can’t quite put her finger on what it is and more importantly, she needs the money, so she ignores all warning signs that Niccolo is not who he claims to be. Complicating matters is the undeniable chemistry between Julia and Niccolo. As the adventurous day comes to a close, their attraction grows more intense and they struggle to keep things professional. And in the back of Niccolo’s mind he wonders if he’s willing to let go of the first person who’s ever seen him as just a man and not a prince.

Purchase the book at:

Amazon * Barnes&Noble

About the author:

Teri Wilson is a novelist for Harlequin Books and Gallery/Pocket Books. She is also a contributing writer at HelloGiggles.com and Teen Vogue covering books, pop culture, and more.  She has a gift for writing enchanting and cinematic love stories. Her 2013 novel Unleashing Mr. Darcy, a modern-day retelling of Pride & Prejudice, was optioned for film by the Hallmark Channel and debuted as a Hallmark Channel Original Movie in January 2016 to 3 million viewers and set social media records for the network. Following the success of Unleashing Mr. Darcy, the Hallmark Channel optioned her 2016 novel The Art of Us and her 2013 novel Sleigh Bell Sweethearts for release Christmas 2017.

Connect with the author at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Sweet Lake - Review #Wintervention

The Mayfair Inn, located in the small town of Sweet Lake, Ohio is a family business that Linnie has been running since her father had a stroke.  After she began overseeing the inn she began making improvements that she thought would ensure that she be able to take over the business.  But the inn has always been passed on to the son of the family. 

It was never Sarah and Treat Mayfair’s intention to cause a rift between their children.  They felt they were doing what was right for the business and following tradition.  When their son, Freddie, does something deceitful he causes the fissure between him and his sister to become even deeper.

But leave it to the Sweet Lake Sirens, a group of elderly women, to concoct a plan to reunite Linnie and Freddie.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but she quickly made me a fan.  I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Purchase the book at:

Amazon * Barnes&Noble

About the author:

Award-winning author Christine Nolfi provides readers with heartwarming and inspiring fiction. Her novel TREASURE ME, Liberty series book 2, is a Next Generation Indie Awards finalist. The Midwest Book Review lists SECOND CHANCE GRILL, Liberty series book 1, and the other Liberty books as "highly recommended". 

Look for SWEET LAKE, book 1 of her new series, on February 28, 2017 and THE COMFORT OF SECRETS, book 2, on July 18, 2017.

Connect with the author at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Learn more about BookSparks’ #wintervention book tour HERE.

Connect with BookSparks at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Two Good Dogs - Pub Week Giveaway

Single mom Skye Mitchell has sunk her last dime into a dream, owning the venerable, if run-down LakeView Hotel in the Berkshire Hills. It’s here where she believes she’ll give her fourteen-year-old daughter Cody a better life. But being an innkeeper is more challenging than she imagined, and Cody still manages to fall in with the wrong crowd. In addition, Cody is keeping an earth-shattering secret that she’s terrified to reveal. The once loving, open girl has now become completely withdrawn, and Skye is both desperate and helpless to reach her.

When Adam March and his pit bull Chance check into the hotel, it becomes the first of many visits. Here in these peaceful mountains he finds an unexpected relief from his recent bereavement. He and the beleaguered innkeeper form a tentative friendship. Adam knows the struggles of raising a difficult teenager and Skye understands loneliness.

And then there is Mingo, a street kid with a pit bull dog of his own. When Cody discovers an overdosed Mingo, Adam takes the boy’s dog not just for safekeeping, but to foster and then rehome. But the dog isn’t the only one who needs saving. A makeshift family begins to form as four lost people learn to trust and rely on each other, with the help of two good dogs.

Purchase the book at:

Amazon * Barnes&Noble

About the author:

Susan Wilson is an American author. Her first novel, Beauty, was adapted into a television movie. A later book, One Good Dog, was a New York Times bestseller.

She is working on her next novel, another work featuring the complicated relationship between humans and the dogs they love. 

She lives on Martha's Vineyard with her husband.  She has two grown daughters and three grandchildren.  Susan also lives with her demanding terrierist, Bonnie. 

Connect with the author at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter

St. Martin’s Press is giving one lucky winner

A print copy of Two Good Dogs by Susan Wilson

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Typewriter's Tale - Pub Week Giveaway

‘Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to.'

This is the maxim of celebrated author Henry James and one which his typist Frieda Wroth tries to live up to. Despite her admiration for the great author, Frieda is marginalised and under-valued, lost between the faceless servants and the chattering guests.

The arrival of the hypnotic Morton Fullerton brings Frieda into sudden focus. As she is drawn into his confidence she finds herself at the centre of an intrigue every bit as engrossing as the novels she types. Her loyalties tested, Frieda must choose between anonymity in the presence of a literary master and an uncertain love with a man she barely knows

Purchase the book at:

Amazon * Barnes&Noble

About the author:

Michiel Heyns grew up all over South Africa – Thaba Nchu, Kimberley, Grahamstown, Cape Town - and was educated at the Universities of Stellenbosch and Cambridge. For much of his adult life he was an academic, lecturing in English at the University of Stellenbosch, but after publication of his first novel, The Children’s Day, he took to writing full-time.

Connect with the author at:

Website

St. Martin’s Press is giving one lucky winner

A print copy of The Typewriter’s Tale

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It Happens All The Time - Review #Wintervention

Review by Melinda Garza

In Amy Hatvany's novel, It Happens All The Time, you quickly become consumed with this emotional and very complex read. This story has alternating views between Amber and Tyler. Amber and Tyler are close friends, if not best friends. They have known each other since their teenage years when Tyler and his parents moved into the neighborhood. A short time after moving in, his parents divorce and Amber's mom and Tyler's become confidants. Amber and Tyler also trusted and depended on each other.

After Amber graduates from college, she returns to her childhood home for the summer. She and Tyler spend a lot of time together. One night they attend a party and Amber kisses Tyler but Amber is engaged to her college sweetheart. She always felt like their relationship was just one of friendship but unbeknownst to Amber, Tyler always secretly wished they would be more than just friends. This drunken kiss and what happens next when she says no and he doesn't listen, changes their lives forever and the trust they once shared is shattered.

When rape and the lack of consent in sexual interactions occur, there are dire consequences. How will they live the rest of their lives and understand what happened? Rape and its recovery is a very sensitive and heavy subject and after reading this novel, I would recommend it to all. It is an emotionally wrenching story that opens doors to the conversation of date rape. It is a definite must read!

Purchase the book at:

Amazon * Barnes&Noble

About the author:

Amy Hatvany graduated with a degree in Sociology only to discover most sociologists are unemployed. Soon followed a variety of jobs – some of which she loved, like decorating wedding cakes; others which she merely tolerated, like receptionist.

Amy spends most of her time today with her second and final husband, Stephan. (Seriously, if this one doesn’t work out, she’s done, kaput, no more husbands.) She stays busy with her two children, Scarlett and Miles, and her “bonus child,” Anna. Their blended family also includes two four-legged hairy children, commonly known as Black Lab mutts, Kenda and Dolcé.

When Amy’s not with friends or family, she is most likely reading, cooking, or zoning out on certain reality television shows. Top Chef is a current favorite. She eagerly awaits auditions for the cast of “Top Author.”

Connect with the author at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Learn more about BookSparks’ #wintervention book tour HERE.

Connect with BookSparks at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter