Book Review: Until There Was Us (The Montgomery Brothers #7) by Samantha Chase

Until There Was Us 

(The Montgomery Brothers #7)

by Samantha Chase 

Goodreads

Amazon

B&N

Megan Montgomery has always been the careful type. Except...one time at her cousin's wedding when she threw caution to the wind and had the steamiest hook-up of her life. But that was two years ago— why can't she stop thinking about it? So when Megan accepts a job at her cousin's company, she does everything she can to avoid Alex—knowing he'll shake up her carefully crafted world.

Alex Rebat's been living a good life. He loves his career and friends, but like Megan, hasn't been able to stop thinking about their passionate encounter. And once Megan moves to town, Alex makes it his personal goal to show her that maybe it's time to start taking a few more risks...

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Her phone beeped, and she let out a small whine. “That sounds like reality calling.”

…her mother was a firm believer in short engagements and long marriages. Basically she believed in fairy tales.

I wasn’t flirting with anyone. I was merely being polite to the woman who has the ability to spit on our food.

You realize that every time you talk about your trip into the woods, your encounter with what I’m guessing was a squirrel gets wilder and wilder right?

 

My Review:

I was stunned when I counted over thirty Samantha Chase books on my Read list at Goodreads. Although I regret to report that this one is undoubtedly the least entertaining and my least favorite of that collection.  I struggled through most of the first half and had difficulty remaining engaged as the storyline seemed rather repetitive and progressed in extremely slow and tiny increments.  Nor could I connect or work up much feeling for the unsympathetic main character of Megan; other than for her love of Double Stuffed Oreos she was rigid, cold, and difficult toward the delectable and perfect BBF of Alex, whom I totally adored.  I seriously considered a DNF as over a hundred pages in - I couldn’t comprehend why a sexy, sweet, and romantic man such as Alex would be expending so much thought and effort to forge a connection with her, given her avoidant personality and chilly attitude.  Alex had the patience of a saint while I wanted to give the prickly Megan several hard pinches and maybe even a few choice whacks to the head with my Kindle.  But I stayed the course and was rewarded for my patience as the second half of the book marked a vast improvement over the Hallmark Channel blandness of first.  Glimmers of amusing humor and steam helped to perk up my interest and once the frosty Megan began to thaw, I enjoyed their sweet romance.  

 Empress DJ

About the Author 

Website

Twitter

Goodreads

Amazon



New York Times and USA Today Bestseller/contemporary romance writer Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan's Return, in November 2011. Although she waited until she was in her 40's to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Her motivation to take that step was her students: teaching creative writing to elementary age students all the way up through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams gave Samantha the confidence to take that step as well.



When she's not working on a new story, she spends her time reading contemporary romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina.

Book Review: Save Me by Cecy Robson

Save Me 

(O'Brien Family #5)

by Cecy Robson

Goodreads

Amazon

B&N

RT Book Reviews proclaims that the O’Brien Family series from award-winning author Cecy Robson “has the hottest brothers ever!” And in SAVE ME, it's time for Seamus, the family’s most notorious bachelor, to find true love.

Three weddings. No date. What’s a hot stud to do when all the women on his speed dial are either serving dinner to their families or serving time?

Out of all the O’Briens, Seamus is the best-looking, most creative, and, did I mention, best-looking? Single at almost forty wasn’t a big deal until every sibling in his large and loud Irish family found “the one.” Now, he’s desperate for a wedding date, one he doesn’t have to worry will make out with the limo driver or rob the bride and groom blind.

Allie Mendes is the good daughter, who’s spent her life living in her perfect sister’s shadow. But when her sister steals the man Allie was supposed to marry, that shadow she’s lived in threatens to swallow her whole. Allie wants to believe a bright future awaits. But when she begs God to save her from this disastrous twist of fate, the last person she expects Him to send her is Seamus O’Brien.

Allie needs a stand-in boyfriend to avoid appearing as lonely as she feels. Seamus needs a decent woman without an ankle bracelet or a rap sheet as long as his muscular arms. The two make a deal to pose as each other’s perfect date. But weddings mean romance and a chance at forever neither had planned.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

There are a few grays on my temples, too, but for some reason the chest hair seems to bother him more… “It’s what the ladies call dignified.” They really don’t. More to the point, they say things like, “Ride me, cowboy” or “faster, my probation officer will be here soon.” The latter only happened once, okay twice, but in my defense, it was with the same broad.

I wanted to get married on the beach with just us. But no. Ma insists I get married in a church or risk God releasing a plague that will have flying monkeys shooting out of my lady bits. No one needs that…

We just don’t want you to be alone, you know? You hear about those spinster women found dead, their faces half-eaten by their twenty cats. We don’t want that to be you. We don’t want to find you dead, alone, surrounded by asshole cats licking their whiskers.

We’re going to need to drop a few bills on new clothes. The hair, I know someone who can fix it… You look like a Mormon and not the good kind. I mean the cult kind. The one with multiple wives and three hundred kids. The kind that make us Irish look infertile. Seriously, Allie. You’re sexy and everything. But if you told me you’re number four of six sister wives, I’d believe you based on what you’re wearing.

I try to tone down my smirk. It doesn’t work. Smirks are like wolves. You have to let them loose to run free.

She thought the guy was a manager at CBS. Turns out he’s a manager at CVS. She’s freaking out, trying to get it annulled, even though they spent the night banging like grizzlies in the woods with cymbals.

 

My Review:

I haven’t had this much fun in ages. Save Me was outrageously witty and highly amusing.  I smirked and barked aloud more than a few times as I read.  This is only my second time reading the delightfully clever words of Cecy Robson, but I am now a devoted and rabid fangirl.  I adore and admire her to such a massive degree she could hit me up for a kidney if she were in need of a spare.  I gleefully inhaled this engaging tale that not only had me howling with mirthful laughter but also found me choking up with sweet tears during a tenderly written and emotionally moving wedding scene.  I am greedy to read all the previous books in this series as well as every other book this talented scribe has produced.  I gluttonously covet all her clever words.  

Empress DJ

About the Author

Cecy Robson is an author of contemporary and new adult romance, young adult adventure, and award-winning urban fantasy. A double-nominated RITA® Finalist, Winner of the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, and published author of more than twenty titles, you can typically find Cecy on her laptop or stumbling blindly in search of caffeine.

Connect with Cecy online:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Newsletter | Goodreads | Amazon Author Profile

Book Review: Between Me and You by Allison Winn Scotch

Between Me and You

by Allison Winn Scotch 

Goodreads

Amazon / B&N

From New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch comes an honest, touching, and funny exploration of falling in and out of love, told from two perspectives—one rewinding history, one moving it forward—and each with bias and regret.

When their paths first cross, Ben Livingston is a fledgling scriptwriter on the brink of success; Tatum Connelly is a struggling actress tending bar in a New York City dive. They fall in love, they marry, they become parents, and they think only of the future. But as the years go by, Tatum’s stardom rises while Ben’s fades. In a marriage that bears the fallout of ambition and fame, Ben and Tatum are at a crossroads. Now all they can do is think back…

A life of passion, joy, tragedy, and loss—once shared—becomes one as shifting and unpredictable as a memory. As the pieces of their past come together, as they explore the ways love can bend and break, Ben and Tatum come to see how it all went wrong—and wonder what they can do now to make it all right.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

I want you to be anything you dream of. But mostly I want you to be happy. Those things aren’t always the same, you know.

I can’t measure my love for Ben against Mom’s love for Dad because it’s not like you can quantify these things. It’s not like I can pour them into a cup and see which one measures more.

It’s raining in Los Angeles, and no one knows what to do about it. People are scattering around, hovering in Whole Foods, tweeting with panicked abandon: It’s raining! It might be the apocalypse!

He tells me he’ll be on his best behavior, but I’d cleaned up enough of Leo’s messes over the years… to know that while Leo might promise the moon, he’ll often never even glance up at the sky.

“He needs to grow up, Ben.” I could picture my dad shaking his head like he couldn’t imagine how Leo had gotten this far in life without being drafted into clown school.

 

My Review:

I struggled, valiantly I must add, oh, how I struggled, as this book was a full-on angst-fest and that is so not my jam.  But I also couldn’t stop reading.  Hmm, Allison Winn Scotch seems to have a handle on this writing thing… The storylines wove in and out of various timelines, and not in chronological order, with emotions and motivations capriciously seesawing from cautious jubilation to bleak and heart-squeezing despair, with clever licks of humor and amusing observations periodically tossed in.  Ms. Scotch’s deftly paced, observantly insightful, and emotive writing pulled me in quickly and held my attention, despite my exasperation with the prickly and temperamental characters. 

The characters weren’t inherently bad people but they were fatally flawed and vastly insecure as well as alluring, complicated, moody, selfish, stubborn, and damn it, they fascinated me to no end.  They weren’t always likable or admirable, in fact, there were times I despised them and wanted to throw my Kindle down in disgust of their self-centered, pettish, and pedantic behaviors.  And the more successful they became, the more out of sync, self-involved, dour, and loathsome they appeared.  Both had made critical errors in judgment in dealing with each other, so much so that I wasn’t sure a reunification was the best thing for either one.  The actress’s penchant for playacting had gone so far afield she had become inauthentic, even with herself.  Yet despite their odious and repellent behaviors, I couldn’t stop reading… I was more than satisfied with the conclusion and proud of myself for my dogged perseverance yet I had the irrational impulse to hurriedly close my Kindle before they could start in on each other and ruin it again.  Silly me.  

Empress DJ

Allison Winn Scotch

Website

Goodreads / Amazon

I'm the author of a bunch of novels, including IN TWENTY YEARS, THE THEORY OF OPPOSITES and TIME OF MY LIFE. My next and seventh book - which I am suuuuper-excited about! - is titled BETWEEN ME AND YOU and will be released in January 2018.

As an author, I know how brutal reviews can be, so I'll only post about books I've enjoyed. (Just in case you're wondering why all of my reviews are positive!)

Book Review: Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank

Same Beach, Next Year: A Novel

(Lowcountry Tales #11)

by Dorothea Benton Frank 

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank returns to her magical Lowcountry of South Carolina in this bewitching story of marriage, love, family, and friendship that is infused with her warm and engaging earthy humor and generous heart.

One enchanted summer, two couples begin a friendship that will last more than twenty years and transform their lives.

A chance meeting on the Isle of Palms, one of Charleston’s most stunning barrier islands, brings former sweethearts, Adam Stanley and Eve Landers together again. Their respective spouses, Eliza and Carl, fight sparks of jealousy flaring from their imagined rekindling of old flames. As Adam and Eve get caught up on their lives, their partners strike up a deep friendship—and flirt with an unexpected attraction—of their own.

Year after year, Adam, Eliza, Eve, and Carl eagerly await their reunion at Wild Dunes, a condominium complex at the island’s tip end, where they grow closer with each passing day, building a friendship that will withstand financial catastrophe, family tragedy, and devastating heartbreak. The devotion and love they share will help them weather the vagaries of time and enrich their lives as circumstances change, their children grow up and leave home, and their twilight years approach.

Bursting with the intoxicating richness of Dorothea Benton Frank’s beloved Lowcountry—the sultry sunshine, cool ocean breezes, icy cocktails, and starry velvet skies—Same Beach, Next Year is a dazzling celebration of the infrangible power of friendship, the enduring promise of summer, and the indelible bonds of love.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

He was with a woman, a very large woman, who had to be at least ten years older than him, if not twenty.  She was towering over a grinning Ted, wearing a black mink coat to the ground, high heels that could produce altitude sickness, and enough makeup to scare the hell out of Estee Lauder… “Merry Christmas, y’all!” she said in a smoky voice that suggested a lifetime of dedication to tobacco products.

Let’s be honest.  Who could please Cookie?  She’d find fault with the pope himself!  He’d come to dinner and bring baked ziti and she’d hate it!  She’d hate the pope’s baked ziti!  She’d tell him it tasted like dog shit.  Believe me!  I’ve given this a lot of thought!

The air was thick with contentment, something you might run through your fingers if you held your hand outside the window.  I wished I could grab some, put it in a jar, and keep it with me. 

 

My Review:

I always eagerly anticipate reading a Dorothea Benton Frank book as I admire and relish her easy pace, bright wit, observant insightfulness, relatable plots, and twists of clever irony.  She is a skilled illusionist and uses colorful distractions and crafty sleight of hand to keep us guessing; things are seldom what they seem.  I adore her quirky and vibrant characters who aren’t always likable or admirable but take Southern eccentricity to a new level of entertainment.  Reading her books is like going on a fun yet relaxing vacation with a seldom seen but trusted friend.  I was provided with a review copy of this lovely book by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins.  

Empress DJ

About Dorothea Benton Frank

New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank was born and raised on Sullivans Island, South Carolina. She resides in the New York area with her husband.

Find her on the web at www.dotfrank.com, or like her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Book Review, Giveaway: The Penance List by Siobhan C Cunningham

The Penance List

by Siobhan C Cunningham

Goodreads

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU

This one comes with a warning - a steamy suspense-ridden psychological thriller - think Silence of the Lambs meets 50 Shades and hold on tight! S C Cunningham writes with a skilled mix of fuelled tension, dark humor and pulsating sex scenes. Grab a glass of wine, close the bedroom door and read alone!

What happens when opposites attract - when a scorned childhood sweetheart grows into a gorgeous sexual tour de force - when a fun loving career girl, her racy girlfriends and insatiable lovers get caught in his revenge - when sex becomes a weapon, hearts become bait and straight tastes gay - when hi-flying careers, clandestine affairs and wannabe starlets are hunted by celebrity hungry press? Obsession, kidnap, murder... and he's just getting started!

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

We’re a bit old for older men don’t ya think? Ours would come with a wheelchair and bus pass. It would be more useful to learn a few resuscitation techniques... a good bit of slap’n tickle and a cheeky bit of CPR, very sexy.

Tara had a sweet way of talking naughty whilst making it sound as if she were discussing pruning petunias.

She was hardly WAG material, being over thirty, more like GAG material, ‘grandmothers and girlfriends’.

… and to think she’d grown up wanting to be a nun – as a girl, she’d loved their outfits, particularly the long blue dresses with the white veils. She could do the ‘doing good’ bit easily enough; it was the ‘being good’ bit where she failed.

The hovering Enzo stared at her. Maybe he should consider becoming gay. You learned so much about women working in the restaurant business.

My Review:

It always worries me when I fall deeper and deeper into a creepy and sinister plot while vastly enjoying the experience.  I fear there may be something wrong with me to become so enthralled and transfixed on such a twisted and disturbing story.  But in my defense, this superbly penned stunner quickly mesmerized me and held me in thrall with razor-sharp and well-crafted writing.  The storylines were ingenious and compelling, cleverly insightful, and often witty and amusing. I had a hard time putting my Kindle down any longer than necessary for those pesky chores such as sleeping and seeking sustenance.  The characters were fascinating, original, complex, and enticing, yet deeply flawed - some more than others. 

The taut narrative was skillfully written in the third person omniscient POV of practically everyone, including taxi drivers, waiters, and receptionists; with frequent dashes of clever humor, intense sensual scenes, and a mesmerizing and suspense-filled build-up to the gruesomely plotted climax.  But I also want to mention there were also haunting, dark, and grisly descriptions of abuse and violence.  It was highly evocative and often elicited a powerful response whether empathic or severely creepy.  But did you notice this was Book #1?  While the cliffhanger wasn’t vile and heinous, the story is not complete, damn it, but it did reach a comfortable stopping point.    

To end on a positive note, I also picked up some new vocabulary words, several of which would never pass the Amazon censors but I believe sloaney will make it, which is apparently a young party animal from a posh and wealthy family with more money than sense.  Hmm, I would have aspired to being a sloaney young adult in my day.  

Empress DJ

Author Bio –

British Crime Investigator & Crime Writer, Siobhan C Cunningham creates steamy psychological thrillers and kick-ass paranormal romance with a skilled mix of fuelled tension, dark humor, and pulsating sex scenes. Having worked in the very industries she writes about, her novels offer a fresh level of sincerity and authority, rare in fiction.

An ex-model, British born of Irish roots, she married a rock musician and has worked in the exciting worlds of music, film, sports celebrity management and as a Crime Investigator for the British Police (Wanted & Absconder Unit, Major Crime Team, Intelligence Analyst, Investigations Hub).

Abducted as a child, she survived; and every night for months afterward, she prayed to God, asking for a deal. This personal journey sparked the fuse behind the intriguing and riveting fictional world she portrays in The Fallen Angel Series. Twenty years later she crossed paths with a violent serial attacker who haunted the streets of London, the seed for The David Trilogy was sown, book one is The Penance List, and has been adapted to film screenplay.

She is the proud mother to contemporary Artist Scarlett Raven and is owned by three dogs.

Social Media Links –

Website - http://www.sccunningham.com/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/SCCunningham8

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pg/sccunningham8/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/siobhancunningham8/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sccunningham/

Google+ - https://plus.google.com/+SCCunninghamAuthor

Amazon Author Page - https://www.amazon.co.uk/S-C-Cunningham/e/B002L3ZC2U/

Giveaway 

Win 1 x Signed Copy of The Penance List

 (Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for the fulfillment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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Book Review: Fallen Angel - Part 5 by Tracie Podger

Robert Stone and Rocco Sartorri are back, and they have a story to tell!

Fallen Angel Part 5

by Tracie Podger

   

Blurb

 I figli devono pagare per le colpe dei padri

(Children must pay for the sins of the fathers)

Robert Stone has an identity. After discovering his father, a far greater dynasty was forged.

But with this dynasty comes new enemies.

From the olive groves of Italy to the boardrooms in Washington, D.C., Robert is to command a business like no other.

Not all wars are fought on a battlefield, most are won in the corporate arena.

Not all wars are bloody – unless you threaten Robert’s family, of course.

Told from Robert Stone and Rocco Sartorri’s point of view, Fallen Angel, Part 5 picks up from the end of Part 4 and explores a unique relationship.

Two powerful men, both with secrets and enemies, come together in this explosive story of revenge, lost love, and hate that spans thirty years.

A Mafia romantic suspense for readers over the age of 18

   

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

Salvatore was not the most attractive man; in fact, he was what we would have said back in the village, a man who should have been drowned at birth. Short, fat, and sweaty…

My Review:

This was not a stand-alone volume and although I had read and enjoyed all previous books of this series, I struggled with and battled my way through this melancholic and gritty installment.  But holy bloodbath Batman, it was just not my cup of tea… The narrative was well beyond my comfort zone for carnage and I was heartbroken by the callous indifference and brutality displayed by several of the main characters.  And there were far too many assholes!  The overall tone of the story heavily tipped the scale to the negative range of emotion with a near constant thrum of tension and angst, as well as anger, resentment, and copious servings of sorrow. 

I will take personal responsibility for a major part of my discontent being due to my own faulty memory.  It would have made a significant difference and been much easier to follow and remain engaged had I recently read or reread the previous books to refresh my recall of past events, as I had forgotten far too many salient details and story points.  My limited pea brain did not retain several chunks of the data stream required to fully grasp the continuing tale, important information and critical details that unfortunately were not recapped.  The storylines were intriguing yet complicated and at times I was quite frustrated and nearing the point of itchy exasperation, much as I would if attending an advanced physics course where the concepts being discussed resided in a stratosphere far and above my level of comprehension, yet Ms. Podger’s word voodoo held me hostage and I couldn’t stop reading.  If I had a magic wand or Hermione’s Time-Turner, I would go back and start the beloved series from the beginning and skip over the disturbingly brutal images, which I’m sure would be a vastly more enjoyable experience.  Lesson learned.  

Empress DJ

Excerpt

Robert - Chapter One

It was in a small room in a villa in Tuscany that my life changed forever–again.

Everything I knew, or believed, had been a lie. Just over Forty years of thinking one man was my father, and that he had been killed with my mother, was disproved with a simple DNA test. I barely remembered him; I hardly remembered my mother. Just a week after discovering the letters, I’d found the man who would protect my wife, who was the love of Evelyn’s life, was also my biological father. To say my head had been fucked up was an understatement.

****

“Do you want to talk?” I heard. I had been sitting on the edge of the fountain in the courtyard of the villa.

I looked up to see Brooke walking toward me. I patted the wall.

“Sit with me,” I said.

She picked up my hand and threaded her fingers through mine as she did. I stared at her for a moment. Her blue eyes were ringed, faintly, with dark circles and laugh lines fanned out across her skin. She looked tired and I guessed my overactive brain working day and night had been the cause of that.

“How do you feel today?” she asked gently.

I sighed and closed my eyes; I raised my face to catch the last of the day’s sun before I spoke.

“Better. One minute I have no biological family; the next, I have a father, a half-brother and a half-sister. It’s been a little difficult to process all that,” I confessed.

“No shit,” she replied, with a chuckle.

I turned to look at her. I shifted my body until I was facing her and traced my fingers down her cheek.

“I’ve been a complete prick this past week, haven’t I?”

She tried to hide the smirk. “I know of Mr. Angry, Mr. Playful, Mr. Sarcastic, and all the other misters that make up Robert Stone, but I’m a little unsure who’s with us right now.”

“Mr. Honest?” I offered.

“Ah, it could be. Therefore the answer would be, yes, you have been a complete prick this week. But with good reason, Robert,” she said.

I laughed quietly.

“Have you spoken to him today?”

Initially, after I’d discovered Rocco was my father, we’d talked, he’d cried, but then sadness settled over me. Forty years of memories were shattered on the opening of an envelope that contained evidence and I struggled with it. I’d endured years of abuse at the hands of my aunt, yet I had a father who could have rescued me from her. It was an unrealistic thought, of course, he didn’t know about me, but it bothered me.

For a Very Limited Time you can #OneClick Fallen Angel Part 5 for 99p/99c!

#OneClick HERE

---

Start the Fallen Angel series TODAY!

On the first day of her holiday to Washington, DC, Brooke Stiles meets Robert Stone.

Dark eyed, damaged and dangerous - Stone has never had a normal relationship for fear of his past being exposed. Not knowing how to respect nor love, he struggles with his feelings for a woman who makes him question everything that he is.

Brooke falls in love with him and as their relationship grows she learns who he really is.  Her future is set. She is to heal her man and mend his broken soul. But can she do the one thing that he asks?

This is a story of an ordinary woman who falls in love with an extraordinary man and has to discover whether she is strong enough to forgive him his past.

Part 1 is FREE on ALL Platforms!!!

---

   

Author Bio

Tracie Podger currently lives in Kent, UK with her husband and a rather obnoxious cat called George. She's a Padi Scuba Diving Instructor with a passion for writing. Tracie has been fortunate to have dived some of the wonderful oceans of the world where she can indulge in another hobby, underwater photography. She like getting up close and personal with sharks.

Tracie writes in various genres, Contemporary Romance but likes to explore relationships that are not always easy and there isn't always a happy ending, Romantic Suspense, Thriller, and Erotic Romance. She likes to have her books feel real with realistic timelines and with strong women who don't run because the going gets tough. Sex is important between loving people, therefore all her books contain graphic scenes. However, the character's relationship is more important. 

If you would like to know more, please feel free to contact her, she would love to hear from you.

Social Media Links

Facebook    Twitter    Amazon    Instagram

Website    Facebook Reader Group

Facebook Book Club

   

Book Review: Savor You (Fusion #5) by Kristen Proby

Savor You

(Fusion #5)

by Kristen Proby

Goodreads

Amazon  /  B&N

In the next sizzling romance in Kristen Proby's New York Times bestselling Fusion series, two celebrity chefs compete in a culinary competition, but resisting each other will prove to be the greater challenge.

Cooking isn't what Mia Palazzo does, it's who she is. Food is her passion . . . her pride . . . her true love. She's built a stellar menu full of delicious and sexy meals for her restaurant, Seduction. Now, after being open for only a few short years, Mia’s restaurant is being featured on Best Bites TV. To say Seduction is a wild success is an understatement. All the blood, sweat, tears, and endless hours of work Mia has put into the restaurant has finally paid off.

Then Camden Sawyer, the biggest mistake of her life, walks into her kitchen . . .

Camden's celebrity chef status is world-renowned. He's the best there is, and the kitchen is where he's most at home. He can't resist the invitation to Portland for a showdown against Mia for a new television show. Mia was in his life years ago, and just like before, he's met his match in the beautiful Italian spitfire. The way she commands the kitchen is mesmerizing, and her recipes are clever and delicious. He's never had qualms about competition, and this is no different. He can't wait to go head to head with Mia. But can he convince her the chemistry they share in the kitchen would be just as great in the bedroom as well?

As Mia and Camden face off, neither realizes how high the stakes are as their reputations are put on the line and their hearts are put to the ultimate test.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Marry him right now. Sweet, considerate, sexy men are unicorns. You’ll never see another one of them out in the wild. I know. I looked.

You two are ridiculously good looking… Is that a requirement to be a firefighter or EMT? That you have to be hot so you can make calendars and bring in a bunch of money in calendar sales?

My Review:

I can see what all the fuss was about.  But I was horrified to realize I have lived this long without ever indulging in the hedonistic delight of reading a Kristen Proby book. But I have rectified that error in judgment and am thrilled to report the experience was everything I imagined it would be and more.  Her writing was a fun, cleverly amusing, and tasty treat.  The storylines were entertaining, well-paced, and a pleasure to engage in.  I adored her quirky yet relatable characters and enjoyed their clever banter and wit as much as the sweet and sexy second chance romance.  But the delectable descriptions of the food had me salivating and smacking my lips as I read.  I may have picked up a pound or ten from her delicious words alone.  

Empress DJ

About the Author  

Goodreads /  Amazon

Kristen was born and raised in a small resort town in her beloved Montana. In her mid-twenties, she decided to stretch her wings and move to the Pacific Northwest, where she made her home for more than a dozen years.

During that time, Kristen wrote many romance novels and joined organizations such as RWA and other small writing groups. She spent countless hours in workshops, and more mornings than she can count up before the dawn so she could write before going to work. She submitted many manuscripts to agents and editors alike, but was always told no. In the summer of 2012, the self-publishing scene was new and thriving, and Kristen had one goal: to publish just one book. It was something she longed to cross off of her bucket list.

Not only did she publish one book, she’s since published close to thirty titles, many of which have hit the USA Today, New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestsellers lists. She continues to self-publish, best known for her With Me In Seattle and Boudreaux series, and is also proud to work with William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins, with the Fusion Series.


Kristen and her husband, John, make their home in her hometown of Whitefish, Montana with their two pugs and two cats.