The Sweetest Thing - Review

Blurb

Tully Morgan hasn’t been back to Marietta for anything more than the briefest of visits since the night of the 1996 senior prom eighteen years ago, when the dramatic exposure of a long-held family secret sent her running to her uncle in California in shock. She stood up her date Ren Fletcher that night, and she hasn’t seen him since.

Now she’s here for an extended stay, to help take care of her seriously ill mother. It’s an ambivalent reconciliation. Tully had so much anger toward Sugar Morgan for so long.

But Sugar still has one more secret that needs to be dealt with, and for this she and Tully will both need Ren Fletcher’s help. Has he forgiven Tully for leaving him in the lurch on prom night, when everything later turned so sour? And is there any chance that they can rekindle what they might once have had, when he’s still married to someone else?

Review by Marlene Engel

Tully’s mother, Sugar, is in her final stage of cancer. Growing up, she was led to believe that Sugar was her sister. After finding out the truth, and leaving Marietta for the past 18 years, Tully was asked by her Grandmother to come home and forgive Sugar for deceiving her all those years. Tully’s life has been less than easy and it’s about to get more complicated!

The Sweetest Thing is an emotional book about family, secrets, lies and seeing if you can forgive and move past the hurt of the past. I absolutely loved this book. It took me on a roller coaster of emotions and had me feeling like I was right there living every moment with them. The author did a great job grabbing your attention from the beginning and holding on tight to it all the way to the end. This is a must read book about family and the power of forgiveness.

About the Author:

Lilian Darcy is a five-time Rita™ Award nominee who has written over eighty romances for Harlequin, as well as several mainstream novels. She has also written for Australian theatre and television under another name, and has received two award nominations for Best Play from the Australian Writers Guild. In 1990 she was the co-recipient of an Australian Film Institute award for best TV mini-series.

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And check out Tule Publishing and learn more about Montana Born Books at:

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Better - Cover Reveal

  Better

By: Carey Heywood

Releasing Feb 17^th, 2014

Blurb

Aubrey is embarking on a bucket list trip around the world, the last wish of her Aunt Ally. It was supposed to be the trip Ally would take when she got better. Now it's just a chance for Aubrey to say goodbye.

Adam escapes in his solo trips overseas, working just enough to fund the next one. When the opportunity to circle the globe falls in his lap he can't refuse. The only catch, he won't be traveling alone this time.

Unable to hide from each other Adam's overprotective nature thwarts Aubrey's desire to find her own way. Can they move past initial assumptions to find something better?

Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17803289-better

About the Author:

Carey Heywood was born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia. Ever the mild mannered citizen Carey spends her days working in the world of finance, retreating into the lives of her fictional characters at night.

Supporting her all the way are her husband, three sometimes adorable children, and 9lb attack Yorkie. Inspired by people everywhere her characters sometimes spend chapters learning life lessons while dealing with all the pitfalls that come with falling in love. A self published New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with four books out and many more to come.

In her free time Carey enjoys curling up with a good book. If her family insists she leave the house she has also been known to ski, kayak, and attract Mosquitos. She can make a mean Belgian waffle and has an unhealthy obsession with Swedish fish.

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The Hypothetical Girl - Review & Giveaway

 Review by K.T Sullivan

This book is a compilation of fifteen short stories about love. Love comes in every shape and size. The preconceived notions and romance of love are explored along with dating sites disasters. Three stories resonate with me. The first, The Opposite of Love, is about a college professor who lands her dream job the same day she finds out she has breast cancer. Being new to the faculty and without a friend base, she tells no one about her condition. She’s outed when she meets a fellow employee after a chemo session. After that, her students and the college staff treat her with sympathy and support. She learns love means sacrifice, her health and her job balance her joy and fear. The Man who made Whirligigs is next. An older man decides he would like a child and has made the decision to adopt a five year old girl. He meets a woman and they date for a while. Once the child enters his life, he devotes himself to her. No one else matters. A parent’s love is a selfish love. Dog People explores the notion that pets can open the door to love. Two people meet and their dogs bond. She believes this is a sign of true love, but she’s wrong. All the stories ring true with their emotion and disappointment.

                                                                             

None of these stories are sugar coated. Love is not always acknowledged or returned. The only advice my brother gave me about guys still rings true. “Just because they talk to you doesn’t mean they want to date you.” But it’s always worth the pursuit.

Recommended as a quick read for those who like a dose a realism with their romance.

About the Author:

I am an Assistant Professor of English at SUNY Plattsburgh, where I serve as the fiction editor for the Saranac Review. My memoir, The Family on Beartown Road (Random House, 2003), was a New York Times Notable Book, and my articles, stories, and poetry have appeared in SELF, MORE, Newsweek, People, New York Times Magazine, Salon, Tablet, and the Yale Review, among other publications.

I live in Plattsburgh, New York, with my daughter, Ava, our dog, Samo, and way, way too many cats.

My favorite color is purple, my favorite food is spice cake and I have a thing for cowboy boots and old trucks. In fact, I have an old truck.

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Reaching Rachel - Review

Review by Darcey Pickett

She is his past, seeing her through one of the most difficult times of her life is his present.  Can he move past all the hurt of the past and present to create a beautiful future?

Reaching Rachel is an emotionally charged story of Rachel, who we first meet in Living Again.  Rachel is a strong, sexy, fun loving fiery red head who has always been viewed as a wild child.  For her, this is the way it has to be.  The truth is far too painful for her to face.  Finally she lets her guard down, only to realize it was a costly mistake.

Devin is a funny, loving, and beast of a man who has been hurt in the past and uses that pain as a reminder so it never happens again.  He takes a job where he is put in the middle of his worst nightmare.

Reaching Rachel was a beautifully written story and I will not be that reviewer that spoils it for you.  The story is powerful and at times difficult to read, but the message is strong – love can conquer all.  It was wonderful to see some of my favorite people from Living Again so closely intertwined in this story, but not to the point where you will be lost because you did not read it – YET! 

This story will stay with me for a very long time.  The characters were strong and engaging.  I found myself hoping that the pages would flow forever and that this story would not come to an end.  I was sneaking into my book at every chance I could and reading well past my bed time.  Ms. Collins’s Reaching Rachel was everything I could have hoped for and well worth the missed hours of sleep.  I highly recommend Reaching Rachel to you all; I promise it will be worth a few hours of missed sleep and all the stolen moments.

LL Collins, having written two books that I adore, has climbed her way in to my top five authors and I am anxious to read what she has coming out next.  I find myself hoping it is sooner than later!

Purchase book at:

Amazon

LL Collins is a teacher who loves spending her days in the Florida sun with her husband and boys, reading, and writing. Her love of writing has found a home in the self-publishing world. Look for her debut novel, Living Again, released October 4th to eBook and paperback, and her second novel, Reaching Rachel, in January 2014. 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 and try to make her lifelong dreams of becoming an author come true. She has been a teacher for over ten years, a wife for 14, and a mom to two boys, 11 and 9.

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Texas Fandango - Release Day Blast & Giveaway

Texas Fandango

Texas Montgomery Mavericks

By: Cynthia D’Alba

Samhain Publishing

Blurb

KC Montgomery was eleven when she met the love of her life. Of course, seventeen-year-old Drake Gentry didn’t know she existed, but that didn’t stop her girlish fantasies from growing and changing over the years.

Now, after enjoying a front-row seat to his breakup with his latest girlfriend, she’s been handed an all-grown-up fantasy come true—two weeks at the Sand Castle Resort. With him.

Drake most definitely noticed KC a long time ago, but the timing’s never been right. Now that he’s facing a lonely vacation that was supposed to be for two, it seems only natural to accept KC’s offer to fill in. And as far as her terms go… No strings. No expectations. No holds barred. Drake is no fool—he’s all over it.

But once they’re back in Texas there are invisible strings still hanging between them. Strings labeled attraction, affection…even love. And the more they try to untangle the knots, the tighter they’re bound together.

Warning: Beware of sunburns, whirlpool sex and sand in delicate places.

Buy Links

Amazon * B&N * iTunes

Follow Tour HERE 

About the Author:

Cynthia D’Alba started writing on a challenge from her husband in 2006 and discovered having imaginary sex with lots of hunky men was fun.  Her first book, Texas Two Step, released in 2012 to outstanding reviews, was a Samhain Publishing best seller.  The second book in the Texas Montgomery Mavericks series, Texas Tango, will be released by Samhain Publishing in November 2013.  In February, 2014, Texas Fandango, a Novella in the Texas Montgomery Series will be released by Samhain Publishing.   She is currently at work on book 3 of the Texas Montgomery Mavericks series (Texas Twist).

 She has stories in two anthologies released this year…Smoking Hot Firemen (Something’s Burning) in July 2013 and the Mammoth Book of Medical Romance (Wake Me When It’s Over) in September 2013. She’ll have a story in Cowboy Heat (Back Stage Pass) coming in 2014.  She holds a Bachelor Degree in Nursing, a Master Degree in Business Administration, a Master Degree Curriculum and Instruction and a Doctorate in Higher Education Administration.

Connect with the author at:

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Ebook copy of Texas Two-Step (Book one in the Texas Montgomery Mavericks series), Ebook copy of Texas Tango (Book two in the Texas Montgomery Mavericks Series series), Personalized Texas Montgomery Mavericks Canvas Bag, Bag of Swag collected from various conferences I attended...postcards, bookmarks, and lots of surprises, or $20.00 Gift Card to the online store of the winner's choice.

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Sugar Spun Sister by Anna Garner

Blurb:

Life isn’t exactly sweet for Cricket Whittier. Her boss hates her, her work is soul-destroying, and the sexy guy she’s hooking up with doesn’t want to date her. But this girl is far from hopeless. When Cricket’s in the kitchen with her ice cream maker and a few choice ingredients, her troubles slip away as she becomes a delectable dessert-designing powerhouse. She loves it so much, she dreams of opening her own ice cream shop one day.

As it turns out, “one day” just might be closer than she thinks. Propelled by the help and encouragement of her best friends, Lindsay and Nora, Cricket starts making plans to set up shop. Which is easier said than done what with the internal squabbling, the sky-high costs, her parents forecasting failure and her increasingly complicated love life. Despite all these hurdles, will Cricket be able to make her sweet dreams come true?

Purchase the book HERE

About the Author:

Born and raised in the Midwest, Anna Garner's adventurous spirit kicked in after graduating from high school, and she's since lived in Boston, NYC and London. For several years, Anna worked in fashion--first as a journalist and then as a shopkeeper, and for a while she dabbled in design. Although chick lit was her first love, Anna started writing quirky romances, and her first one, Fashioning a Romance, was published in May 2012 under the name of Libby Mercer. This was followed by two more quirky romances: Unmasking Maya and The Karmic Connection. Since Lying to Meet You is written in old school chick lit style and isn't a clear cut love story, Anna decided to publish it (and the subsequent Sugar Spun Sister) under her real name. She currently lives in San Francisco and spends most of her time cranking out more stories.

Connect with the Author: Blog * Facebook * Twitter

Divine Moves - Excerpt & Giveaway

Divine Moves

By: Ellyn Oaksmith

Blurb

Seventeen years of loving is a hard habit to break…

Meryl thought things couldn’t get any worse. She’s caught her husband in bed with the neighbor. She just found out she’s broke. Then her outrageous mother, Faye, shows up.
Faye wants to be a grandmother and has money to loan so it’s hard to say no. But what Meryl doesn’t know is that Faye, a former stripper and born again Christian, plans on opening an exotic dance and women's fitness studio in Meryl’s affluent suburban community.

When Meryl’s book club gets roped into promoting the studio by dancing at a charity tea, they discover that their laced up ‘burb isn’t as proper as they think. As her husband fights to win her back, Meryl grows increasingly attracted to a handsome sheriff, recovering from his own loss. As a crisis looms, Meryl must face her demons from the past. But first she has to get through Christmas.

Funny, sad and sweet, Divine Moves reveals the forces that derail our lives and the sometimes divine intervention that keeps us on track.

Buy Link

Amazon

Link to Follow Tour HERE

About the Author:

I've been hooked on writing since 4th grade when my story of an alley cat was read in class as an example of a good scene setting. I just about fell off the chair in utter joy. I was a total goner when a film I'd written while at the American Film Institute was screened and people laughed. At the right places!

At Smith College I gave my professor a heart attack when I compared Tess of the D'Urbervilles, the book, to the movie.  

I write every day from 10-2 although while editing, it's much longer. I live in Seattle Washington with my family and my shelter dog who is my workout partner. I love to interact with readers on https://www.facebook.com/EllynOaksmith and http://ellynoaksmith.tumblr

Connect with the Author at:

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