Shine, Shine, Shine - Review

Review by K.T Sullivan

Sunny and Maxon Mann are not just like everyone else. She, the daughter of a missionary father killed in Burma, was born without hair anywhere. Sunny is also dealing with her dying mother and a dark secret. How did they escape from Burma? He, the son of an abusive father, is an astronaut looking to colonize the Moon with robots. Their son, Bubber, is autistic and a baby girl is on the way. Sunny has hidden her baldness with a series of wigs and hats. After a car accident, her fake hair flies out the window and exposes her to the neighborhood. She decides to embrace the baldness. Meanwhile, Nobel Prize winning Maxon is in space with his robots. He relates to them better than most people in his life. Sunny and Maxon grew up together and have been a couple since high school. The weird girl and the misfit boy. There is an accident in space and Sunny is in premature labor. Will the star crossed lovers reunite and mend the distance, personal and physical, between them?

The robots serve as a metaphor for what’s missing between the characters. Maxon notes robots don’t show love, regret, and forgiveness. The author explores these three aspects of life. She applies the human conditions to her anything but normal couple. Their lives are shaped by their pasts and the search for acceptance. The author takes their yearnings and makes them universal. Even under the unique circumstances, readers can relate to the doubt, discovery, and hope. A worthy read.

I was born in Detroit and raised by two public school teachers. We lived in Michigan during the school year, and at an old farm in the hills of western Pennsylvania during school vacations. My world revolved around horses, music, and books. I went to college and grad school in the midwest, met my husband and got married in Chicago, and then moved to Norfolk when we decided to have kids. We have two: a boy and a girl. I homeschool them and taxi them to orchestra rehearsal, the karate dojo, the pony farm, and many music lessons. At our homeschool co-op, I teach literature and choir, and I love to travel, knit, play my electric guitar, and of course read.

Connect with Lydia at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Take Me, Cowboy - Review & Giveaway

Review by Marlene Engel

As one hundred and fifty guests sat in the church waiting for the ceremony to begin, Charles was informing Jenny that he no longer wanted to go through with the wedding.  Jenny grew up in Marietta and had a difficult childhood.  Charles, on the other hand, came from a rich family in Illinois.  Their worlds couldn’t be more different.  Although he knew that she came from a modest background, now that they were about to get married he was starting to think that she may be marrying him for his money and could no longer go through with the wedding.

                

Colton Thorpe was driving when he saw a beautiful woman in a wedding dress standing at the bus stop.  Sensing that she could use a ride, he pulled over and offered his assistance.  Colton was a few years older than Jenny, grew up on the same street, and had a bad reputation, but Jenny had always had a crush on him.  Recently divorced, he was back in Marietta to chair the 75^th Copper Mountain Rodeo.  Although Jenny turned down Colton’s offer to drive her home, it didn’t take long for their paths to cross again.  It also didn’t take long for the feelings that Jenny had for Colton as an adolescent to resurface.  But when Colton makes it known that he wants Jenny just as much as she wants him, will she allow the pain that Charles caused her to affect her future with Colton?

Take Me, Cowboy is the fourth book in The Copper Mountain Rodeo Series.  I really enjoyed this book and fell in love with Jenny and Colton’s characters.  There’s just something about the way Jane Porter writes that makes you feel like you are a part of the story.  Take Me, Cowboy is a must read for anyone who loves hunky cowboys, a strong female character and an amazing story!  I definitely recommend this book to everyone!  Although it’s not necessary to read the three previous books in the series to get the story in this book, it is definitely recommended as several of the characters have been introduced in the previous books.  Once again, another amazing book from the very talented, Jane Porter!

Purchase this book at:

Amazon * Smashwords * Barnes&Noble * Kobo

About the author: Bestselling author Jane Porter has been a finalist for the prestigious RITA award four times and has over 12 million copies in print. Jane’s novel, Flirting With Forty, picked by Redbook as its Red Hot Summer Read, went back for seven printings in six weeks before being made into a Lifetime movie starring Heather Locklear. A mother of three sons, Jane holds an MA in Writing from the University of San Francisco and makes her home in sunny San Clemente, CA with her surfer husband.

Connect with Jane and learn more about Montana Born Books at:

• Montana Born Books website

• Take Me, Cowboy page 

• Jane Porter’s website

• Montana Born Books Twitter

• Montana Born Books Facebook

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Finding The Right Girl - Release Blast & Giveaway

Finding the Right Girl

A Nice GUY to Love Spin-off

By: Violet Duke

From the New York Times & USA Today bestselling author who brought you the Nice Girl to Love trilogy, comes A Nice GUY to Love spin-off...

Brian Sullivan has been in love twice in his lifetime. He lost his first love to early-onset Huntington’s, and he lost the other more recently…to his brother. And somehow, his heart has managed to heal itself after both. Amazingly, without therapy. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t gotten a bit more cautious, however. Lately, Brian’s been thinking that maybe his brother’s now retired nothing-but-flings rule isn’t such a bad idea after all. Unfortunately, as the unofficial nice guy poster boy, Brian isn’t exactly versed in the fine art of flings. So he looks to the outrageously ‘unique,’ inexplicably enigmatic, provokingly button-pushing Tessa Daniels for a crash course.

There’s absolutely no way he’s falling in love with this one...right?

Tessa has no idea what she was thinking telling Brian that she was some sort of fling expert. She’s never been flung before and she sure as heck doesn’t know where or how to begin flinging a guy like Brian. It was a temporary lapse in sanity—no doubt because of the can’t-help-but-fall-for-him brain fuzz that hits her whenever he’s around. Not only does the man have her being more herself than she’s ever been in her life, but he’s the only person she knows who seems to have as many demons and skeletons in the closet as she does. What’s more, he’s got her thinking of the one thing she stopped letting herself even hope for years ago.

A happily ever after.

Pre-Buy Link

iTunes * Goodreads Link

Excerpt

"Babe, we have to stop.  You're hurting and your emotions have gone through the wringer tonight.  I can't take advantage of you like that."

"Then don't,” she replied simply, wrapping her arms around his neck.  “Let me take advantage of you.”

Jerking back to put some head-clearing distance between them was about as painful as ripping off his own skin.  “Why don’t we just hang out tonight?  We can sit and talk more about those dickheads we ran into tonight if it’ll help, or we could just watch a movie…anything you want to do." 

He quickly snatched her wandering hands as they traveled down his lats and started tugging at the hem of his t-shirt.  "Anything except that," he groaned.  "Work with me here, woman."  Raggedly, he put his forehead against hers and counted to ten to try and find the tattered remains of his restraint. 

The thought almost made him laugh.  Who was he kidding?  He had no restraint when it came to Tessa.  By the fifth second, his lips had already found their way back to hers. 

And goddammit if her whole body didn’t just tremble right there in his arms.

She was just so mind-wreckingly responsive.  As usual, without even trying, she was driving him batshit crazy. 

Tapping into a reserve even he didn’t know he had, he broke off the kiss and took another step away from her.  Then he watched in sad disbelief as her expression became completely shuttered a half an instant later—closing him out behind the walls of a now ten-story castle and a moat filled with fire-breathing piranhas. 

The lightning quick response time of her defenses was a punch to his gut.  What the hell happened in her past?

"Look Brian, if you don't want to, you can just tell me you know.  I’m a big girl; you don't have to make excuses to let me down easy—"

He gave her a look that said he wondered about her IQ before grabbing her hand and dragging it over the zipper of his jeans.  "Does that feel like I don't want to?"

Her eyes widened, and her grip closed tight around him.

Bourbon soaked shards of glass went hissing down his throat.  "For chrissakes, stop."  The blood supply in his brain was dipping down to a dangerous low.

And the damn temptress was clearly all torn up about it.  He glared at the smile she was biting back.  “I’m glad you find this so amusing.”

“It’s not amusement, it’s relief.  Here I was thinking it was just me getting affected with my perpetually wet panties around you and all."

A seriously pained groan escaped him then.  "To preserve my sanity—and your panties—don’t use the word wet in any more sentences tonight."

She sighed.  "I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of this.  You heard Troy earlier this evening.  Being the ‘good girl’ was never my thing."  She brushed up against the hardening ridge tenting his jeans to drive home her point.

With a muttered curse, he clamped one arm around her waist and tangled his free hand in her hair.  "Sweetheart, this thing between us is a big deal," he said roughly, tugging gently on her hair and nearly losing it when she arched her back in response.  Her fitted tee was so paper-frickin’-thin.  One sharp yank was all it’d take to rip it right down the middle.

Jesus Christ, he needed to find some control. 

"Tessa, when, and yes I said when we have sex, I’ll make damn sure that every single second of it seeps into your bones, burns into your memory, and turns into a relentless craving that makes you forget all the assholes from your past,” he ran his lips along the thrumming pulse at her throat, “and if I’m really lucky, it’ll also help ruin you for all other men completely."  

Author Info

National bestselling author Violet Duke is a former professor of English Education who is ecstatic to now be on the other side of the page writing wickedly fun contemporary romance novels.  Besides writing and feeding her book-a-day reading addiction, she can often be found tackling reno projects with her power tools and trying pretty much anything without reading the directions first, or cooking 'special edition' dishes that laugh in the face of recipes.  Violet lives in Hawai'i with her two cute kids and similarly adorable husband.

Connect with the author at:

Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads * Website

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Living Again by L.L. Collins - Blog Tour

Review by Darcey Pickett

Fate is not always what you expect it to be.  Kayley is on the verge of having it all…her loving husband; Alex and she are expecting their first child.  She couldn’t be happier.  And then her telephone rings and her life is changed forever.

Thinking she has lost everything and not knowing if she will ever love or be loved again, she meets Ben in the most unlikely place.  Closing him out immediately, allows Ben the chance to court her the way every woman dreams of being treated.  The thrill of the chase does not come without a price.  Thankfully, Emily, Kayley’s best friend is there to urge Ben not to give up and talk Kayley into giving this Knight in Shining armor a chance.  Kayley feels like she is damaged, she has her baggage, and not sure if she can give her heart to someone other than Alex.  Ben has been hurt as well and the assumptions he makes could destroy everything he worked so hard for.  This couple’s love is put to the test by so many external forces and internal struggles too.    

The book had me in tears, made me laugh and then had me cheering the couple on.  Ben is a dream come true for any woman, a true gentleman.  My heart broke for Kayley as I could relate to what she lost, and as the story progressed I wanted nothing more than for her to be happy.  This was a story I couldn’t wait to read and was so sad to have it end.  L.L. Collins knew which buttons to push and had me wanting more.

“L.L. Collins is a 30-something teacher from Florida.  She is a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend.  Her love of writing found a home in the self publishing world in 2013.  Her debut novel, a contemporary romance called Living Again, released as an eBook and paperback on October 4, 2013. 

LL has been writing since she was old enough to write. Always a story in her head, she finally decided to let the characters out and start writing.”

Connect with the author at:

Facebook * Twitter * Website * Pinterest

Follow the blog tour HERE

Younger, Thinner, Blonder By Sue Watson

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to have everything?

Tanya Travis doesn’t have to. As host of TV show ‘The Truth with Tanya Travis,’ she has glamour, luxury, success and public adulation while solving the problems of Britain's great unwashed every day on her show.

However, things are not all they seem and Tanya’s life of designer kitchens, Prada handbags and myriad TV awards is as difficult behind the scenes as those of her TV show guests. Tanya is hounded by the press, with damning headlines about her life, looks, and body. But when she reads about her partner’s weakness for young blondes and problems mount up on the show, Tanya’s carefully constructed celebrity life begins to come apart at the seams.

Her only lifeline is ‘Celebrity Spa Trek’ a reality show in the Himalayas ‘Where bad celebrities go good.’ But can clean-freak Tanya cope with no hot water, starvation, exhaustion, heartbreak and the sheer showbiz bitchiness of a celebrity trek through the Himalayas?

Even with her relationship in crisis, cellulite on overdrive and career on the line, Tanya can’t face the thought of prime time exposure with a desperate gaggle of C-List wannabes. ..but does she have a choice?

A sharp, witty novel about our celebrity obsessed culture from the author of bestselling Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes.

Quotes for Press Release for YTB – Sue Watson

“As a TV Producer I worked closely with celebrities and glimpsed at close range the reality of being famous. Everywhere you go people want a piece of you, from the paparazzi camping in the garden to strangers demanding photos and autographs e everywhere and anywhere.

There’s a huge price to pay for the premieres, the freebies and the accolades when you can’t spend a day on the beach without your cellulite appearing on the cover of a magazine.

Some of what happens to Tanya the heroine in Younger, Thinner, Blonder, is stuff I saw and was told about in the world of TV celebrity - sometimes it’s very, very funny and sometimes it’s not.”

Sue Watson was a TV Producer with the BBC in London, who combined motherhood and family life with a busy career. However, one day it dawned on Sue that Cosmopolitan magazine may have been telling porkies about 'having it all,' and she realized her life had become a slightly crazed juggling act. So after much comfort eating and soul searching she quit the job, bought a flamingo pink laptop and took the plunge as a writer.

The result was Sue's first novel, romantic comedy 'Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes,' a story about a woman whose life is a constant struggle with the weighing scales and being a working mum, wife and daughter.

The author researched intensely, baking and tasting and baking and tasting ...and tasting ...to create the fabulous recipe collection of easy but impressive cakes in the book. Sue also gained an equally impressive extra ten pounds on her hips, which to this day she carries with her.

Sue's second book, 'Younger, Thinner, Blonder,' is a story of love, betrayal, fame and cellulite.

Originally from Manchester, Sue now lives with her husband and teenage daughter in Worcestershire where she is currently writing her third book. When she's not toiling over her latest novel, Sue can be found enjoying large bags of chicken crisps, large tubs of Caramel Chew Chew ice cream and 'The Biggest Loser USA' on series link.

Connect with Sue at:

Blog * Facebook * Twitter

8 Fantastic Chick Lit Reads for $3.99 or Less!

Fasten your seat belts and put your tray tables in the upright and locked position. Over the next few days, some of your favorite Chick Lit characters will be jetting across the Atlantic to visit with fictional friends on the other side of the pond.

The event kicks off on Monday, Oct. 21.

On Tuesday, Oct. 22, read about Stella from Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes and Chloe from Lying to Meet You as they travel across the Atlantic to visit each other. 

On Wednesday, Oct. 23, it’s time to discover what happens when Emma from The Pollyanna Plan and Kim from Blogger Girl meet.

On Thursday, Oct. 24, Izzy from Izzy’s Cold Feet and Jamie from Finding Lucas will be taking you on a trip alongside their characters.

And on Friday, Oct. 25, Kate from Sealed with a Kiss and Pilar from In Need of Therapy will be chatting about their overseas experiences.

Here’s a little sneak peek at the fun, frothy books and sassy gals featured in our international promo, all of which are priced at $3.99 or less:

Finding Lucas by Samantha Stroh Bailey – Daytime talk show producer Jamie Ross is beyond fed up with her toxic bad boy turned metrosexual boyfriend. Spurred on by her gang of quirky friends, she goes on a hilarious, at-times disastrous, and totally life-changing hunt to track down the ”one who got away.” But are some loves best left behind? 

Available on Amazon.com * Amazon UK * Kobo 

In Need of Therapy by Tracie Banister – Handling the problems of hysterical hypochondriacs, lovelorn neurotics, and compulsive man whores is all in a day’s work for super-shrink Pilar Alvarez. But can she deal with her crazy Cuban family, a trio of unsuitable suitors, and a threat to her practice without ending up on the couch herself? 

Available on Amazon.com * Amazon UK * B&N 

Lying to Meet You by Anna Garner – Overworked New York fashion girl Chloe Lane has no time for a real relationship, but when her childhood pal asks her to play the part of his girlfriend in order to test a theory, she decides to go for it. The lies start piling up and things start getting crazy. Will Chloe be able to keep it together? 

Available on Amazon.com * Amazon UK * B&N 

Sealed with a Kiss by Rachael Lucas – Kate breathes a sigh of relief when she's dumped at her best friend's wedding. When she takes a job on the island of Auchenmor, she's determined to have a year off men, but that's before she rescues Flora the seal pup with the help of Roddy, her mysterious new boss... 

Available on Amazon.com * Amazon UK 

The Pollyanna Plan by Talli Roland – Emma Beckett has always looked down on 'the glass is half full' optimists. But when she loses her high-powered job and fiancé, Emma makes a radical decision: from here on in, she'll attempt to see the upside, no matter how dire the situation. Can adopting a positive attitude give Emma the courage to build a new life, or is finding the good in everything a very bad idea? 

Available on Amazon.com  * Amazon UK 

Blogger Girl by Meredith Schorr – Kimberly Long has two passions: her successful chick lit blog and Nicholas, her handsome colleague down the hall. But when her high school nemesis pops onto the chick lit scene with a hot new book and eyes for Nicholas, Kim has to make some quick revisions to her own life story. 

Available on Amazon.com * Amazon UK * B&N * Apple iTunes 

Izzy’s Cold Feet by Sarah Louise Smith – Izzy is engaged to Greg, who is everything a girl could want. The trouble is – all she can think about is the men she loved before she met him. In the week leading up to her wedding day, Izzy is forced to ask herself who she loves the most. And, given the choice, who would she want to spend her life with? 

Available on Amazon.com * Amazon UK *  B&N * UK Nook 

Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes by Sue Watson – TV Producer Stella is over worked, over weight and under fire battling to balance family, career and those weighing scales. In the past she’s always found comfort at the bottom of her mixing bowl but now the most delicious lemon sponge with zesty frosting has no effect. However, life is about to get even tougher... and Stella has to face some truths about herself, her life and her future. Available on Amazon.com and Amazon UK 

  

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

Tuesday, Oct. 22

Stella will be on Anna Garner’s blog and Chloe will be on Sue Watson’s blog

Wednesday, Oct. 23

Emma will be on Meredith Schorr’s blog and Kim will be on Talli Roland’s blog 

Thursday, Oct. 24

Izzy will be on Samantha Stroh Bailey’s blog and Jamie will be on Sarah Louise Smith’s blog

Friday, Oct. 25

Kate will be on Tracie Banister’s blog  and Pilar will be on Rachael Lucas’s blog  

Rescue Me, Maybe - Review

Review by Marlene Engel

Death is never easy to deal with, but when you lose both your husband and dog to cancer within two weeks of each other, it’s bound to push even the strongest person over the edge.  Jane’s husband was diagnosed with Melanoma and his health quickly plummeted.  Of course she misses him and feels guilty that she’s still around and able to enjoy life, but their marriage had hit a rocky patch and she had planned on leaving him until he got sick.   So, it’s no surprise to her that it’s not Ryan’s passing that has her so upset, but the passing of her dog, Barnum.  Barnum had been her trusty companion for fourteen years and she misses him like crazy.  But she doesn’t dare let others know that her mourning has more to do with her dog than her husband. 

Now that Jane is free to live life as she wishes, she plans to move back to San Diego asap!  But there’s a little problem.  She has no job and no place to live.  Reluctantly, she accepts an offer to stay at her family’s Bed & Breakfast in exchange for working there.  She figured that it would only be temporarily, and since she had no other options, what does she have to lose?  On her way to the B&B she stops at a rest stop and finds a stray dog.  She’s a beautiful dog, albeit a bit skinny, with a tag that reads, Penny.  She finds this ironic since her father in law has always told her that ‘found pennies are gifts from heaven.’  She decides to take the dog with her so that she can bring it to the shelter the next day.  However, when her aunt sees the dog, she’s quick to try convincing Jane to keep it.  But Jane isn’t ready to open her heart to a new furry friend while she’s still mourning the loss of Barnum.  Will Jane learn to open her heart to the possibility of a new dog and her mind to enjoying being at the B&B?

Rescue Me, Maybe is such a fun book.  Although it touches on some serious topics such as illness and death, the author does such a wonderful job incorporating humor in what would normally be such sensitive subjects.  I found this book to be very enjoyable, the characters relatable and the humor spot on!  I also really liked how one of the main characters was a dog.  How can you not love a book with a lovable, furry companion?  This is the perfect book to cuddle up on the couch with your favorite four legged companion and read!  I loved this book and know that you will too!

Purchase links:  Amazon * Barnes&Noble

Jackie used to be trapped in the hamster wheel of corporate America, but she was lucky enough to escape and now fully understands the term "struggling writer." Jackie loves: reading, writing, and, yes, even 'rithmetic (seriously, algebra rocks); professional cycling; margaritas; blogging (she never thought she'd say that, but she does); dogs in general, and her crazy rescue pup specifically; and her hubby. (Not in that order.) Jackie dislikes: rude people and writing about herself in the third person. After living in Southern California, then Bermuda, then Canada, then the East coast, Jackie and her husband settled in San Diego. American Jackie, her Canadian hubby, and her Mexican rescue mutt form their own happy little United Nations. 

Jackie's debut novel, "What The Dog Ate," was followed by "Rescue Me, Maybe."

Connect with Jackie at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads