Read Your Writes Book Reviews: July 2013

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Interview & Giveaway with Texas Redeemed author Isla Bennet

Isla Bennet's first encounter with a smoldering hero was on the junior high school bus--between the pages of a novel. Books have been her constant through growing up in the Midwest, partaking in some wicked travels, and working as a bookseller and nanny while earning two college degrees. She's studied everything from English to sociology to art, and has figured out that she loves meeting people--particularly the ones she makes up. These days she indulges in her weakness for carpentry and all things retro, and dives into a new love story every day as a writer, freelance editor and RWA member--all while pursuing her wish to become a horseback-riding, volleyball-playing, French-speaking seasoned traveler.

Guest Post & Giveaway Ruthie Knox

A hotel bar. A sexy stranger. A night of passion. There’s a part of Amber Mazzara that wants those things, wants to have a moment—just one—when life isn’t a complicated tangle of house and husband and kids and careers. Then, after a long, exhausting “vacation” with her family, her husband surprises her with a gift: a few days on the beach . . . alone.

Only she won’t be alone for long, because a handsome man just bought her a drink. He’s cool, he’s confident, and he wants to take Amber to bed and keep her there for days. Lucky for them both, he’s her husband. He’s got only a few days in Jamaica to make her wildest desires come true, but if he can pull it off, there’s reason to believe that this fantasy can last a lifetime.

SPOTLIGHT ~ Wedding Cake and Big Mistakes by Nancy Naigle

Welcome to Adams Grove…where the wedding cakes are sweet, but the recipe is murder.

For years, Carolanne Baxter dreamed of a life beyond Adams Grove. Being the daughter of the town drunk was no picnic, so when college offered her a chance for escape, she took it. Now Carolanne has returned home, finally ready to make amends with her father, Ben, and to celebrate the wedding of her best friends Jill and Garrett. Of course, the fact that Connor Buckham, her sexy new law partner and Garrett’s best man, happens to be the same guy the town matchmaker named as Carolanne’s perfect match…well! That’s just icing on the cake.

But Carolanne’s hopes for a fresh start are dashed when a dead body surfaces during Jill and Garrett’s wedding reception…and Ben Baxter becomes the prime suspect. The murder throws the town into uproar, threatening to destroy the tentative peace between father and daughter—and to derail the budding romance between Carolanne and Connor. Has the matchmaker’s perfect streak come to end? Or will the truth finally bring Carolanne the happy ending she’s dreamed of for so long?

Christi Barth earned a Masters degree in vocal performance and embarked upon a career on the stage. A love of romance then drew her to wedding planning. Ultimately she succumbed to her lifelong love of books and now writes contemporary romance. Christi is President of the Maryland Romance Writers and lives in Maryland with her husband.

Darcy Trent is lucky Cooper Hudson is on hand to sweep her off her feet—literally—when she nearly drowns while swimming in the ocean. But life-saving aside, Mr. Perfect's timing stinks: Darcy's career is about to take her to the complete opposite side of the Atlantic. Still, a little summer loving with the tall, blond and sexy former cop is far too tempting to pass up.

When his plans to enter the Secret Service went south thanks to a bum knee, Coop retreated to the family beach house to mull his future. Romance is the last thing on his mind, until he fishes a curvy brunette out of the sea. Now, spending time in Darcy's arms seems like the ideal distraction, even if it is just for a week.

But with Darcy's departure date fast approaching and their careers on the line, can they realize in time that their beach fling might become the real thing?

REVIEW ~ Lions, Tigers, and Sexy Bears Oh My! by Candace Havens

A Montana town where no one is who they seem....

Everything about runaway heiress Ainsley McLeon screamed trouble—from her luscious midnight locks to her Louboutin-clad toes. Yet sexy, stoic bar owner Luc couldn’t deny the instant connection he felt to the tempting stranger…or the long-dead feelings she evoked. She could work in his pub until her truck was fixed but after that she had to leave town for good.

Ainsley traveled with her own emotional baggage and there was no way she'd fall for the bear-tempered Luc...no matter how many passionate nights she spent in his bed or how safe she felt in his muscular arms. Can these two opposites find love in the middle of a blizzard, or will Luc's darker side and Ainsley's past catch up with them?

Stupid curse!

Yves Sucat was a Crusader trapped in a canine body…until a beautiful twenty-first century dog groomer offered the missing link to break his spell. But Regina Patterson was no fluffy-headed female who would instantly melt at Yves' silvery seduction. The more time he spent with the tender-hearted blonde, the less he was able to keep his paws—hands!—off of her.

Regina was much more comfortable with dogs than men, and the stunningly handsome – stunningly male – knight who now shared her apartment was no exception. She’d hoped to find a man as loyal as the pooches she pampered day after day, but would Yves’s broken curse end with her own broken heart?

Review ~ TOUCH by Melissa Haag

A touch. That’s all it takes for Tessa to know her future with a boy. Her mom tells her she needs to choose her best option before she turns seventeen. Problem is, she sees all her ‘options’ dying before they turn thirty. That may have worked for the last fourteen generations of women in her family tree, but she can’t choose and condemn someone to an early grave.

An unfortunate incident at school starts a chain of events that reveals a centuries old chaos demon and a chance to remove her 'gift' forever.

REVIEW ~ Texas Redeemed by Isla Bennet

Ranch owner Valerie Jordan learned the hard way that people carve out their own destiny. She knows firsthand what can come of one night of unchecked attraction and lost inhibitions. And she also knows there’s only one way to handle guarded missionary doctor Peyton Turner: with caution. Thirteen years ago, they went from being friends to lovers to strangers. To save himself and outrun his past, Peyton disappeared. Now the prodigal son of Night Sky, Texas, is home—though he has no intention of staying. But once the revelation that he and Valerie share a troubled teenage daughter sends him on a hunt for answers, there’s no avoiding one another … no ignoring the undeniable desire that draws them together.

Texas Redeemed is a passionately written and emotionally gripping story of lust and risk, love and forgiveness, of confronting the damaging secrets of the past for a chance at redemption.

GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY ~ Jennifer Probst - Journey Of A Billionaire

Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again.

She is the NYT and USA Today bestselling author of The Marriage Bargain. She is published both erotic and sexy contemporary romance with Entangled, Decadent, Red Sage and TWRP. She has also written a children’s book, Buffy and the Carrot, co-written with her twelve year old niece, along with a short story, “A Life Worth Living.” Visit her website for more info!

Her sisters have found wedded bliss with their wealthy, wonderful dream men, but not Julietta Conte. She’s stayed on terra firma as top executive of the family’s corporation, La Dolce Famiglia bakery. Work is her passion, and her trendy Milan apartment her sanctuary . . . until Sawyer Wells, a masculine masterpiece in a suit, lures her out of hiding with an irresistible offer: an exclusive partnership with his international chain of boutique hotels.

Julietta’s been burned before—and trusting her brother-in-law’s friend, whose powerful gaze alone has her rethinking the best use of a conference room, is the riskiest proposition. But with a once-in-a- career chance to take the bakery global, will she mix stone-cold business with red-hot seduction?

Susan Hatler INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAY for Save the Date

Kristen swears off men, but temptation swoops in when her sexy friend Ethan starts flirting with her.

Kristen knows men hide things. Case in point, her last boyfriend turned out to be married. Just like anyone else, Kristen is devastated. However, since Kristen evaluates people for a living, her ex’s duplicity has her searching for a new career as well as swearing off men.

Touring history museums with her sexy friend Ethan doesn’t count, because he has a girlfriend, and has only shown friendly interest in Kristen. He even helps with her career counseling tasks. Although Kristen has a secret crush on Ethan, spending time with him is safe. Until she discovers he’s actually single. Gasp. And now he’s flirting with her, too.

Suddenly, Ethan is way too dangerous. Not to mention tempting. Sure, he seems like sixty shades of perfect, but how’s a girl with bad judgment supposed to detect what skeletons he has in his closet?

Cover Reveal & Chapter Preview ~ I'll Be Home for Christmas by Jessica Scott

It was only supposed to last one night…

Roxanne Stokes doesn’t believe in love. She does, however, believe in the sexy-as-sin stranger who literally knocks her off her feet in front of a nightclub. The chemistry sparking between them takes her breath away, and she’ll do anything to ease the pain in his eyes…until she realizes the handsome stranger is her best friend’s older brother who’s just come home from war.

Ian Walser had no idea the gorgeous woman he slept with the night of his homecoming party was his little sister’s best friend—or that she’d be gone before morning. Roxanne’s touch soothes him in a way nothing else can, and he’s not ready to walk away from that yet. Not when spending time with her gave Ian a glimpse of everything he’s ever wanted.

When his sister unwittingly pushes them together, he sees his chance. But convincing a woman who doesn’t believe in love that she’s his Mrs. Right might be harder than any mission Ian’s undertaken. Good thing this soldier likes a challenge…

BRAZEN BASH ~ Epic Giveaways & Sales

Torn between love and sex. By the time Connie decides, it could be too late.

Part I: Hungry

Connie Chatterley isn’t exactly thrilled about the move to Palo Alto. What will she do in the land of tech billionaires and IPOs? But when her boyfriend Cliff says he needs to do it for his company, she agrees. Isn’t compromise a part of every good relationship? Once in California, Cliff spends all his time with his demanding assistant Ivy Bolton and shark-like investment banker Tommy Dukes, leaving Connie with nothing better to do than go to the gym. But when she starts training with rugged CrossFit coach Oliver Mellors, Connie feels a dangerous attraction to the sexy stranger. And after one shocking moment of weakness, the move isn’t the only thing Connie starts to question.

Don’t miss the next episodes of this four-part serial re-imagining of D.H. Lawrence’s classic Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

SPOTLIGHT & GIVEAWAY ~ Buying Thyme by TJ Hamilton

JUST MY LUCK by Rosalind James
(Escape to New Zealand #5)
Contemporary Romance
Date Published: 7/11/2013

A little distraction can be a wonderful thing.

Nate Torrance has a job to do, and the biggest rugby boots in the world to fill. He can’t afford to lose his focus, especially not to a brown-eyed Canadian who pushes all his buttons and looks much too good in a climbing harness.

Allison Villiers may not know what she wants to do with her life, but she’s clear about one thing. She’s not impressed by the new captain of the All Blacks, however big a deal he is to the rest of New Zealand. If only her unfortunate taste for adventure didn’t keep leading her astray . .

GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY ~ Love Him or Leave Him by Sara Daniel

SPOTLIGHT & GIVEAWAY ~ Reality Hero by Ashlynn Monroe

Tour Schedule

The winner of The Wedding Gamble by Cindi Myers is......

Marcy Margate has it all: she's young, rich, and built like Barbie. She isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but the girl's got sass and spunk to spare. Plus, she's sizzling hot. When her marriage to a real live genius starts to dim and grow cool, however, she's tempted to fool around with the horny neighbor. It would be so simple just to revert to her former loose, single-gal ways, so easy to take the sleazy way out.

But Marcy loves her husband, even if Jess Margate is from the planet of the nerds. She decides to play it smart for a change. Using spyware and creative strategy, she plots to find out why her geek has been interruptus. Armed with the latest in miniature technology, Marcy plans to uncover the cause for the downtime in their love life.

A modern romantic comedy of hot errors and hotter apologies, Geekus Interruptus is a story for our time. Because these days, nerds rule. And geeks have guilty pleasures too, some quite different from our own.

REVIEW ~ Deception by Lisa Clark O'Neill

Samantha Martin’s carefully reconstructed life is teetering on the edge of disaster. After surviving an abusive childhood, Sam is only months away from completing her hard-won college degree when she gets devastating news about her brother. Donnie, her protector and best friend, lies in a coma in a Charleston hospital.

Sam struggles with the question of who shot her beloved brother as well as the monumental expenses of his ongoing care, and in desperation seeks ready cash by agreeing to act as the “entertainment” for a local man’s bachelor party – where to her everlasting mortification, she encounters the one man who’d ever meant enough to her to break her heart.

Forensic artist Josh Harding recognizes the butterfly tattoo on the curvaceous hip of the wig-bedecked stripper. After all, he’d spent hours sketching her lovely figure while a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Now here she is, eight years later, and it becomes clear that Sam is in trouble. Seemingly unrelated threads weave into a pattern surrounding her and her brother. Exposing criminal enterprise among the upper echelon of local society and the shocking truth behind the city’s most famous murder, the unexpected connections that neither Josh nor Sam saw coming draw them both into a tangled web of love and Deception.

SPOTLIGHT & GUEST POST ~ Zoe York's What Once Was Perfect

Heading home always stirs up mixed emotions for Laney Calhoun. Twelve years ago she left for graduate school, broken-hearted. She’s found professional success, but positive personal relationships have proved elusive. Running into her ex-boyfriend fans flames she thought long extinguished, and causes a renewed interest in love. Not with Kyle, of course. Never again. But as sparks fly and items of clothing disappear, she scrambles to keep her emotions in check.

Kyle Nixon let Laney slip away once. Their chemistry together is undeniable, but steamy sex is not enough to convince her to let him back into her heart. Even if she did trust him again, her medical career is five hundred kilometers away from the hometown that he loves, and the life that he once chose over her.

We Are Made of Stardust Winners Are....

You’re invited to the Sweet Nothings trunk show. See what the shop has to offer, taste some wonderful food, catch up with friends, and solve a murder…

Emma Taylor is happy to be drawing in customers at her aunt Arabella’s lingerie shop, Sweet Nothings, but replacing the store’s broken window is going to cost a small fortune. Hoping to hoist up their sagging profits, Arabella arranges to have a trunk show at the home of a local socialite who will invite all of her friends and take care of the catering. All Emma and Arabella have to do is show up and show off their wares. Seems simple enough…

A gorgeous spread is prepared for the event, including delicious cupcakes topped with edible flowers. But after one of the partygoers takes a bite and winds up dead, the guest list becomes a suspect list. Now Emma must separate facts from idle gossip before the killer gives the cops the slip…

SPOTLIGHT & GUEST POST ~ FINAL SENTENCE by Daryl Wood Gerber

In need of a change, Jenna Hart leaves the high-pressure world of advertising to help her aunt, Vera, open a culinary bookshop and café. Back with her family in Crystal Cove, California, Jenna seems to have all the right ingredients for a fresh start—until someone adds a dash of murder.

As a marketing expert, Jenna wants to make sure the grand opening of the Cookbook Nook draws a crowd, and no one is better at getting attention than her old college roommate, celebrity chef Desiree Divine. But when Desiree arrives in quiet Crystal Cove to do a cookbook signing, the diva stirs up more trouble than business…especially when she turns up dead.

Known for stealing husbands and burning bridges, Desiree left behind plenty of suspects—including Jenna. Though the celebrity’s life always appeared to be an open book, Jenna will have to read between the lines in order to clear her name, and catch a killer before another body is served cold.

REVIEW ~ Temporary Detective by Joanne Sydney Lessner

Phones, light typing...and murder.

Think breaking into show business is hard? Try landing a temp job without office skills. That's the challenge facing aspiring actress Isobel Spice when she arrives in New York City, fresh out of college and deficient in PowerPoint. After being rejected by seven temp agencies for her lack of experience, Isobel sweet-talks recruiter James Cooke into letting her cover a last-minute vacancy at a bank. New to his own job, and recently sober, James takes a chance on Isobel, despite his suspicion that she's a trouble-magnet. His misgivings are borne out by lunchtime, when she stumbles across a dead secretary in a bathroom stall. With her fingerprints on the murder weapon, Isobel sets out to prove her innocence by investigating the crime herself. While learning to juggle phone lines and auditions, she discovers an untapped talent for detective work--a qualification few other office temps, let alone actresses, can claim.

Please note: this is a cozy mystery with an edge; contains some adult language and situations.

REVIEW ~ (Mis)fortune by Melissa Haag

Our world is being judged and even they remain unaware.

Michelle, another young woman with an unexplainable gift, finds herself surrounded by the previously undiscovered werewolf society. Kept prisoner for the predictions that torment her, she meekly follows orders waiting for her opportunity to run. When her stepfather dies, she takes a chance and escapes.

After witnessing Blake, her captor, grow canines, she knows he will do anything to find her. She needs a place to hide and someone to listen to her predictions so her head doesn’t explode, but knows there’s nowhere she can hide forever, and no one who can protect her… unless she can find someone just like him.

Part of the fur wearing faction wants to use her, another part strives to keep her safe. The second book of the Judgement of the Six series will raise more questions about the purpose of these gifted few and Michelle will need to fight for answers. Will what she discovers be enough to help her keep those she loves safe from an emerging evil?

About Forbes ~

Jennifer Garcia’s (aka Forbes Arnone) love of travel began when she traveled to the West Coast to visit her father at the age of three. Her home until she was sixteen was a small coastal town near Boston. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, two sons, and two dogs.

Her lifelong love for reading and writing was put aside for many years while she made her way in the world and nurtured her young family. Even though she is older, and life never seems to settle, she’s finding her way while attending college full-time in pursuit of a B.A. in English Literature. She also runs a business, and is still caring for her family. Believing she can do it all, with the help of her family, she worked on her first novel during the late hours of the night while balancing the rest of her life during the day. Her hard work paid off, as her first novel, My Mr. Manny, will be published August 2013.

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