Talk To Me - Review

Review by Melinda Garza

Jules Wake's debut novel, Talk To Me, takes place in London. Olivia and Emily are flatmates and while Emily is dating Daniel, Olivia and he have had a connection and friendship filled with misunderstandings and a complete failure in communication. Since Olivia is hurt due to Daniel dating Emily she decides to do a night of speed dating. Emily, who is quite the selfish woman, decides to join Olivia that night. The night doesn’t turn out as hoped and strange things start to happen. Olivia and Emily have a stalker. Things become increasingly scary and odd. Several events later, including Olivia's sisters medical scare, Olivia and Daniel begin to sort things out and figure out their feelings for each other.

What happens to Emily? Do Olivia and Emily's friendship outlast the stalker? Do Olivia and Daniel have what it takes, including the ability to communicate, to overcome the stalker, Emily's bitterness, and ultimately become a couple?

Ms. Wake's novel is a superb read and keeps you wanting to know what will happen next. The characters are full of drama, romance, and intrigue and one never knows what is going to occur next. This is one novel you will be happy you read.

Purchase the book at:

Amazon

About the Author:

I write contemporary feel good romance and my debut novel Talk To Me was published in June 2014. My next book will be out in May 2015. In the meantime, I am delighted to announce that I'm one of 13 authors who have contributed short stories to a special Halloween anthology, Hocus Pocus 14, a selection of spooky tales with a twist. 

Connect with the author at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter

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Talk To Me

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Sweet Cowboy Christmas and The 12 Days of Sweet Blog Tour & Giveaway

 Sweet Cowboy Christmas 

Sweet, Texas # 3.5

By: Candis Terry

Releasing November 25^th, 2014

Avon Impulse

Blurb

Mistletoe, holly, and cowboys, oh my! Christmas in Texas has never been sweeter.

Years ago, Chase Morgan traded in his dusty cowboy boots for the shimmering lights of New York City and a fast track up the corporate ladder. But when his shiny life is turned on end just in time for Christmas, Chase knows he needs to reevaluate even if that means going home to Texas to endure his least favorite holiday.

When Mr. Tall, Dark, and Smoking Hot walks through her door at the Magic Box Guest Ranch, Faith Walker sees just another handsome, rich exec looking to play cowboy for a week-at her expense. She’s sure the grumpy, but sexy as hell Scrooge will put a crimp in her holly jolly plans. Until a sizzling kiss has her seeing him in a new light.

Chase is haunted by secrets, and even though it goes entirely against her “hands off the guests” rule Faith is tempted to help him leave the past behind. As the magic of the season swirls around them, she is determined to succeed because now she is certain one sweet, cowboy Christmas will never be enough.

Buy Links: Amazon | Barnes | iTunes | Kobo

Author Info

Candis Terry was born and raised near the sunny beaches of Southern California and now makes her home on an Idaho farm. She’s experienced life in such diverse ways as working in a Hollywood recording studio to chasing down wayward steers. Only one thing has remained the same: her passion for writing stories about relationships, the push and pull in the search for love, and the security one finds in their own happily ever after.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

12 DAYS OF SWEET BLOG TOUR—Candis Terry

DAY 3:

Abby Morgan Wilder (from Sweetest Mistake)

Firemen are undoubtedly hot. Jackson Wilder might lead the troops in the hot and sexy department. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t a whole handful of trouble. Doesn’t mean he isn’t worth it either. While he does love his sweets, he’s more of a cake and pie kind of guy than a chocolate fanatic. I discovered this recipe and he really seems to like it. Or maybe he just likes the whipped cream that he always seems to find to use another way. I’ll let you use your imagination.

Cranberry Shortcake

Shortcake Ingredients:

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons shortening

3/4 cup half and half

Melted butter to brush shortcakes

Cranberries

Ice cream or whipped cream

Shortcake Directions:

·       Heat oven 450 degrees.

·       In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.

·       Cut in butter and shortening.

·       Mix in half-and-half.

·       Drop by large spoonfuls onto a baking sheet.

·       Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.

·       Bake for 15 minutes or until brown.

·       Cool and eat with cranberries, ice cream and/or whipped cream.

Cranberries Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

4 cups fresh cranberries

1/3 cup orange marmalade

Juice of 2 lemons

1/3 Ameretto Liquer

Cranberries Directions:

·       Mix sugar and water, bring to boil.

·       Add cranberries, cook till they “pop” and become tender.

·       Add lemon juice, marmalade, and Amaretto.

·       Mix, then cool or serve warm with shortcake.

Exclusive Twelve Days of Sweet Giveaway

Leave a comment sharing the Holiday Dish/Desert/Drink you ‘Pass On’ every year, with a Valid Email Address, to be entered to win a Sweet Texas Series book of the winner’s choosing and Box of Candy straight from the lovely state of Idaho. (US ONLY)

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Flirting With Love - Review & Giveaway

Flirting With Love

The Bradens # 10

By: Melissa Foster

Releasing December 15^th, 2014

Blurb

FLIRTING WITH LOVE is the newest addition to the BRADEN series by New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Melissa Foster. This contemporary romance series features alpha male heroes and sexy, empowered women. They’re flawed, funny, passionate, and very relatable to readers who enjoy new adult romance, contemporary romance, and women’s fiction.

IN FLIRTING WITH LOVE…

Elisabeth Nash has spent years dreaming of returning to the small town of Trusty, Colorado, where she spent summers with her favorite aunt. When she inherits her aunt’s farmette, she closes her Los Angeles pet bakery and pampering business, sure that life in Trusty will be as peaceful and as welcoming as she remembers. But being an outsider in the close-knit town proves to be very different from the happy summers she remembers from her childhood—and falling for Trusty’s hot, wealthy, and sinfully irresistible veterinarian, Ross Braden, sends the rumor mill into a frenzy.

Ross Braden learned long ago that gossip spreads faster than weeds in his small hometown, and Ross loves nothing more than his privacy.  For that reason, he doesn’t date women who live in Trusty. But that was before blond, beautiful, and refreshingly honest Elisabeth Nash flew into his vet clinic seeking help for her panicked piglet and turned his comfortable life—and his heart—inside out.

Despite rumors about Elisabeth’s motives toward her aunt’s property, passion brews between Elisabeth and Ross. Every steamy kiss and every sensual touch brings the pair closer together, and when Ross helps Elisabeth try to fit into the town he adores, it makes their bond even stronger. But even Elisabeth’s efforts toward reaching the community, and the love she and Ross so desperately believe in, might not be enough for the protective small town to offer them a future.

Buy Links : Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

Review by Marlene Engel

As a child, some of Elisabeth’s best memories were spent on her aunt’s farm in Trusty.  Although she grew up in the fast paced, hustle and bustle life of LA, she knew that her heart was never far from Trusty. 

When Elisabeth’s aunt passes and leaves the farm to her, she doesn’t hesitate to close up her pet pampering business in California and move.  What she didn’t expect was the cold welcome she received from just about everyone in Trusty.  What happened to the small town closeness that she remembered as a child?  But the locals feared that she was just there to sell her aunt’s farm and move back to LA.

It soon becomes apparent to Elisabeth that life on a farm was more work that she realized.  When one of her piglets acts up, she rushes to the local veterinarian’s office for assistance.  She was greeted by tall, handsome and irresistibly sexy, resident doctor Ross Braden.  He not only took care of the problem at hand, he also warmed Elisabeth’s heart and reaffirmed all of the reasons why she loved Trusty. 

Ross and Elisabeth soon become inseparable, which only sparked the Trusty rumor mill.  But Ross knew that there was something special about her.  Special enough that he broke his own rule of not dating women from his town.  But when someone from Elisabeth’s past shows up in Trusty, it threatens to break apart the bond that Ross and Elisabeth have formed, and it doesn’t take long before rumors of Elisabeth’s intentions with the farm resurface. 

There’s just something about small towns that draw you in.  From the close-knit bonds to the local businesses, you just can’t go wrong!  That is, as long as you’re not an “outsider” trying to fit in.  I felt for Elisabeth who, although she had good intentions, had a hard time getting the locals to warm up to her.  If you like small town charm and tall, dark and dreamy men then this is the book for you!

About the Author:

"Melissa Foster is a wonderful connector of readers and books, a friend of authors, and a tireless advocate for women. She is the real deal"-- Bestselling Author Jennie Shortridge

"What sets Melissa Foster apart are her compelling characters who you care about... desperately. This  is psychological suspense at its most chilling. I dare you to read the first chapter and not be hooked."  International bestseller, M.J. Rose 

Melissa Foster is an award-winning, International bestselling author. Her books have been recommended by USA Today's book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the Women’s Nest, a social and support community for women, the World Literary Café. When she's not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on  Fostering Success. Melissa is also a community builder for the Alliance for Independent Authors. She has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine. 

Connect with the author at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter * My social network for women * World Literary Café * Fostering Success * Facebook (Fanpage) * Goodreads 

Two ebook Copies of
ROMANCING MY LOVE
Braden's Book Nine

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Hello From The Gillespies - Review & Giveaway

Review by K.T Sullivan

After thirty three years of Christmas letter writing, Angela Gillespie is stumped. She sits at her computer and thinks of her family in disarray. Instead of the usual cheery note, she pours out her heart about her family and life in general. Their missteps, secrets, and embarrassments fill the page. No one is spared, even herself. She steps back and imagines her life if she never left London for Australia and married her boyfriend, Will and had the perfect daughter, Lexie. When she finishes, there is a family emergency and she rushes her son to the hospital. Later in the day, her husband notices her letter is sitting on the computer waiting for her return. He decides to do Angela a favor and hits send. The letter is on its way to over one hundred inboxes. By the time Angela realizes the mistake, the responses are piling up. All are positive congratulating her on her honesty and humor. Her family, on the other hand, is mortified. How could she? As the weeks go on, each one acknowledges she’s right and starts making moves to change. Angela suffers from headaches and goes to a specialist for help. She’s in a serious car accident and forgets reality. Her mind settles in her fantasy world with Will and Lexie at her side. Her family is at their wit’s end until she recovers. What will they do if she doesn’t come back to them?

This story is funny and sad. The letter reveals so much of what Angela wants to say to her husband and children, but doesn’t want to hurt their feelings. Moms should only heap praise and encouragement on their families, not point out the flaws. It’s a very realistic and human story. Angela is torn between duty and truth. After years of reading Christmas letters, I’d love to receive one like Angela’s because it’s easy to relate to her worries and concerns.

Purchase the book at:

Amazon * B&N * BAM

About the Author:

Monica McInerney is the Australian-born Dublin-based author of the best-selling novels Hello from the Gillespies, The House of Memories, Lola’s Secret, At Home with the Templetons, Those Faraday Girls (The Faraday Girls in the USA), Family Baggage, The Alphabet Sisters, Spin the Bottle (Greetings from Somewhere Else in the USA), Upside Down Inside Out and A Taste for It; the novella Odd One Out and a short story collection All Together Now, published internationally and in translation. Her articles and short stories have appeared in newspapers, magazines and anthologies in Australia, the UK and Ireland.

Monica, 49, grew up in a family of seven children in the Clare Valley wine region of South Australia, where her father was the railway stationmaster and her mother worked in the local library. Since then Monica has lived all around Australia (in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart) in Ireland (in County Meath and Dublin) and in London, and has also travelled widely.

She was a book publicist for ten years, working in Ireland and Australia and promoting authors such as Roald Dahl, Tim Winton, Edna O’Brien and Max Fatchen and events such as the Dublin International Writers’ Festival.

She has also worked as an event manager and organiser of tourism festivals in the Clare Valley; as a freelance writer/editor and in arts marketing in South Australia; a public relations consultant in Tasmania; a record company press officer in Sydney; a barmaid in an Irish music pub in London and as a temp, grapepicker, hotel cleaner, kindergym instructor and waitress. Her first job out of school as a 17-year-old was as wardrobe girl (and later scriptwriter) for the children’s TV show Here’s Humphrey at Channel 9 in Adelaide. She is now a full-time writer.

For more than 20 years, she and her Irish husband have been moving back and forth between Australia and Ireland. They currently live in Dublin.

Connect with the author at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Penguin books is giving one lucky winner a print copy of

Hello From The Gillespies!

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Wanted: Wife & Kiss Me, Captain - Book Tour & Giveaway

Wanted: Wife and Kiss Me, Captain
French Kiss Series books 1 & 2

By: Gwen Jones

Avon Impulse

Blurb for Wanted: Wife

Andy Devine is advertising for a wife on a utility pole, and interviewing him is the last thing TV reporter Julie Knott needs. Especially after her cheating fiancé just tweeted their disengagement. Now she has got to choose: get the story — or become it?

Wanted: Wife

Landed, Financially Secure 40-Yr-Old Male

* Handsome, but with old-school communication skills and a secret past *

Seeks Healthy, Athletic Female

* Preferably a pretty reporter with a messy love life who has never spent a day in the woods *

For Marriage and Family

* What could possibly go wrong? *

If you love the humor and romance of Rachel Gibson and Susan Elizabeth Phillips, don't miss the fabulous debut of Gwen Jones!

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes | iTunes | Kobo

Blurb for Kiss Me, Captain

French billionaire Marcel Mercier loves women. And there's a string of broken hearts across two continents to prove it. But as CEO of Mercier Shipping, he's got more important things to worry about … like why the charter company he just purchased in the United States is suddenly the center of an international media firestorm.

Now that big, bad Mercier Shipping owns Captain Dani Lloyd's ship, she's sure her job is at stake. But she won't go down without a fight—even if it means chaining herself to the mast of the Esther Reed and refusing to set foot on shore.

The delectable captain and her newsworthy dramatics are a PR nightmare, but Marcel is happy to let Dani prove her skills on a weeklong sail to Boston. He knows no woman can resist him for that long … in fact, he's counting on it. But Marcel's plan to seduce Dani backfires as sparks fly between the billionaire playboy and the passionate captain. Which leaves Marcel realizing that winning her heart is a challenge he can't afford to lose.

Purchase the book at:

Amazon | Barnes | iTunes | Kobo

About the author:

GWEN JONES, is an MFA, HEA addict, politics geek, and part-time native of the Jersey Shore. She lives with her husband, Frank, and the absolute cutest cats in the world, Gracie and Tommy, near Trenton, New Jersey.

Connect with the author at:

 Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Print Copy of KISS ME, CAPTAIN, DVD of FRENCH KISS,

& Bag of Hershey's Kisses (US ONLY)

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Beauty & the Biker - Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway

Beauty and the Biker

Impossible Dream Series, Book One

By: Beth Ciotta

Releasing Nov 3^rd, 2014

Blurb

A new contemporary series—Impossible Dream—celebrating hope, love, and the magic of the human spirit!

Five long-time girlfriends—known as The Inseparables—find themselves in their thirties and battling disillusion. Tangled up in real-life troubles and stifled aspirations, they’re ready to ditch their deepest desires ... until they stumble upon the peculiar matchmaking company, “Impossible Dream,” where they each find the rare opportunity to make seemingly impossible dreams come true.

A series of modern-day fairytales beginning with . . . Beauty & the Biker

PRINCE CHARMING IS OUT THERE. SOMEWHERE.

Miracles happen every day. Even in Nowhere, Nebraska. That’s Bella Mooney’s philosophy and she’s sticking to it! A children’s librarian who writes fairy tales on the side, Bella has earned the reputation of fanciful Pollyanna. No surprise that she applied for her “ideal man” via ImpossibleDream.com, an Internet company designed to make dreams come true. However, even whimsical Bella has real-life issues, forcing her to take drastic actions in order to spin her dad’s life (and in turn her own) for the better. As fate draws her into the troubling world of her new neighbor—a cynical biker with a scarred soul and checkered past—Bella finds herself falling for the most unlikely man, twisting her perceptions of true love and testing her faith in dreams.

FATE LANDED HIM IN NOWHERE.
  

Expect nothing. Anticipate the worst. As a detective with the Chicago Police Department, Joe Savage witnessed heinous crimes and acts of cruelty on a daily basis, obliterating his faith in humanity. When a personal vendetta cost him his job and a quirky inheritance offered escape, Joe packed it in and steered his Harley toward a small town bordering Tornado Alley and the Twilight Zone. Where better to lose himself than no where? Resigned to a dark and lonely existence, Joe’s life is suddenly shoved into the sunshine when his eccentric neighbor offers him a chance he can't refuse, especially after her kiss of hope rekindles his dead heart. Inspired and challenged by Bella’s infectious optimism, Joe dares to make the impossible come true. 

Watch the book trailer here:

Buy Links: Amazon | Kobo | B&N

About the Author:

Storytelling comes naturally to award-winning author Beth Ciotta. Dubbed "fun and sexy" by Publisher's Weekly, Beth specializes in writing Romantic Comedy with a Twist of Suspense and is published in contemporary, historical, steampunk, and paranormal romantic fiction. 

Beth lives in NJ with her husband, two zany dogs, and a crazy cat. A veteran professional performer, Beth now pours her artistic passion into her writing.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Beth is giving away a

Kelly Rae Roberts Inspirational Cuff Bracelet
(US ONLY)

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Hit - Review

Review by Marlene Engel

Sarah’s sick of the immature high school boys that she’s used to dealing with.  It isn’t until she begins a poetry class, held by a UW grad student, that she feels like she’s met a real man.  A man who, when reciting poetry, is speaking directly to her.  Convinced that they share the same attraction, Sarah starts using her poetry journal as a way to express her feelings for Mr. Haddings.  But wanting to let him know once and for all her true feelings, she writes a poem and heads off to school to give it to him.  However, after an unlikely turn of events, Sarah finds herself being airlifted to the hospital after being struck by a car.  A car driven by none other than Mr. Haddings.  Questioning if his interactions with Sarah could put his career in jeopardy and concerned about being arrested for the accident, Mr. Haddings goes through a mental battle with himself.  Will this put his job in jeopardy?  But, more importantly, will Sarah survive despite her life threatening injuries?

As a parent, the worst news you could ever get is that your child has been hurt.  The way the author tells this story makes you feel like you’re living it right along with the characters.   She takes you on an emotional roller coaster as not only Mr. Haddings, but also the family, deals with the aftermath of the accident.

 

Hit is a well written, fast read that you won’t be able to put down until you get to the last page.  It’s a book I would definitely recommend!

Purchase the book at:

Amazon * Barnes&Noble

About the Author:

I was born and raised in Miami, Florida. I used to pretend to read before I could by carrying around Nancy Drew books and flipping through the pages. I studied ballet for ten years and was a member of the Miami Ballet Company. When I grew too tall for the profession, I turned my focus to fine art at the University of Miami. Eventually, my love for the written word yielded verse novels and board books. My fantasy novel, Firstborn, received a Kirkus Starred Review, and my board book, Bedtime Kiss for Little Fish, was named a Parents Magazine Best Children's Book. I co-founded readergirlz and readertotz. Living with my husband in the foothills of Mt. Rainier, I write, practice weapons tai chi, and watch hawks take flight.

Connect with the author at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter