tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11083565364612065092023-12-04T13:43:22.488-10:00Rockin' & Reviewing<p>Empress DJ - Rabid Reader, Unabashed Book Reviewer, All Purpose Goddess!</p>
<p>Sam Valkyrie- Lover Of Great Reads, Reviewing Those Great Reads, & Rocking Out To Life In General! </p>okiedokeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02465023186425078669noreply@blogger.comBlogger2862125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-23011986088358742772020-08-19T08:35:00.001-10:002020-08-19T08:35:16.680-10:00Book Review: A Little Bit of Grace by Phoebe Fox<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1msNy3jdDWgm2ghwsrnZLzrAv1hlVQA5LjUls3OyNeeo9rwiNHRDw1WqqzdXYmLH7OrkXsit8d-YLIJhFLzPNH141ChRp21ttDQcOae249Vt35r9PXkQbxC09G2LYYht-YtAM2IW1ic6q/s820/82989366_1685074808301823_7732475067484864512_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="820" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1msNy3jdDWgm2ghwsrnZLzrAv1hlVQA5LjUls3OyNeeo9rwiNHRDw1WqqzdXYmLH7OrkXsit8d-YLIJhFLzPNH141ChRp21ttDQcOae249Vt35r9PXkQbxC09G2LYYht-YtAM2IW1ic6q/s640/82989366_1685074808301823_7732475067484864512_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHpCxpRPvoTYQSj5HAiAGnWgsT-lgGTY8vbCZtARAfJp9tfRZ0DzCmgqvCJ136OOP0_sceoD7DoSOcR9XzUPHVGr3qJsKYsd1cfJChNAiRdDn2lAPqdwyBwiHIJ5XIKESpBfMzkxZ8s9c/s475/35706356._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHpCxpRPvoTYQSj5HAiAGnWgsT-lgGTY8vbCZtARAfJp9tfRZ0DzCmgqvCJ136OOP0_sceoD7DoSOcR9XzUPHVGr3qJsKYsd1cfJChNAiRdDn2lAPqdwyBwiHIJ5XIKESpBfMzkxZ8s9c/s0/35706356._SY475_.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><b>A Little Bit of Grace</b></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>by Phoebe Fox</b></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35706362-a-little-bit-of-grace" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></b></span></div>
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<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WQPS6CF?_bbid=13622595&tag=individualbookpagesite-20" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Amazon</a> / <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-little-bit-of-grace-phoebe-fox/1127288617?ean=9780593098363&_bbid=12829575&st=AFF&SID=Barnes+%26+Noble&2sid=Pubmark+Inc._5620418_NA&sourceId=AFFPubmark+Inc.&cjevent=189d62c6e24611ea802400040a1c0e0c&dpid=tekz25v83" rel="noopener" target="_blank">B&N</a> / <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Phoebe_Fox_A_Little_Bit_of_Grace?id=adupDwAAQBAJ" rel="noopener" target="_blank">GP</a>/ <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/a-little-bit-of-grace/id1477012252?_bbid=12829570&at=10l3CC&ct=bookbubblogd&mt=11" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Apple</a> </span></h1>
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<span><span>Family is everything—Grace McAdams’s mom must have said it to her a thousand times before she died. Before Grace’s dad ran off with an aspiring actress half his age. Before only-child Grace found out she was unable to have children of her own. Before Brian—her childhood best friend, business partner, and finally her husband—dropped a “bombshell” on her in the form of her stunning new replacement. </span><br /><br /><span>Which means Grace now has…nothing.</span><br /><br /><span>Until a letter from a woman claiming to be a relative Grace never knew she had sends her on a journey—from the childhood </span><span>home</span><span> she had to move back into (three doors down from the happy couple) to a tropical paradise island to meet a total stranger who claims to be family. And Grace starts to uncover answers about the eccentric woman her family never mentioned: an octogenarian who writes a viral relationship-advice blog, a compulsive (and highly successful) matchmaker…and the keeper of an unimaginable family secret held for more than fifty years. </span><br /><br /><span>A heartfelt, funny story about family and forgiveness, starting over when the happy ending ends, and handling it all with a little bit of grace.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>‘Because I told Mandy she could have Grandmother’s chair
over my dead body, and I’m nothing if not a woman of my word.’ Mrs. Fielding had taken that vow to the
extreme, I reflected, breathing through my mouth as I looked at where her body
sat slumped in that same chair, thinking that new upholstery might not be
enough to get the smell of her decomposing body out of the antique for Ms.
Yeager.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>I wish I understood young people’s obsession with their own
genitalia and capturing it for posterity… Honey, there’s not one thing you can
do about a man who lacks any class and the sense God gave him and insists on
foisting his frank and beans onto your phone screen.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Gracie, you’re a beautiful young woman… But you’re a
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>“First time stripping the taco? … The lady portal. The
bizniz. Sweeping the stairway to heaven.”
I stared. “Come on, you know—waxing Madame Bovary. First time you got
the full monty?” She made a diamond of
her hands around her groin area.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Sugar, when the day comes that someone has to live here with
me and wipe my helpless bottom, I assure you he will be far younger,
well-muscled, and more macho than you are.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>“Don’t you know our state mottoes? ‘Florida: home of the newly wed and nearly
dead.’ ‘Death’s doorstep.’ ‘Where
America goes to die.’ There is a lot of fertile ground here for estate
planning.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I tumbled right into this engaging, cleverly written, and delightful tale that was packed with all the feels. I reveled in Ms. Fox’s witty descriptions and clever use of humor while navigating the painfully insightful inner musings of the endearing and lovable character of Grace. Grace was struggling to come to grips with a series of devastating losses and unpleasant surprises. The final straw that proved too much for the normally mild and placid woman to withstand had her boiling over with a level of emotion that shocked her, as much as her impulsive yet clever act of retribution had appalled and dismayed her – she quickly fled town under the cover of darkness for a much-needed vacation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> Phoebe Fox has a smooth and sneaky way of implanting me behind her characters’ eyes. I was right there feeling all of Grace’s feels, my chest was tight when she was devastated, I fist-pumped when she finally got mad, and my eyes burned and lower lip quivered as she sweetly detailed incidents of her childhood with her mother to her long lost aunt. I think I may have even walked funny after Grace had her first waxing experience. Most of us have known a Grace at some point during our sojourn on earth; Grace was the ultimate small-town “good girl,” sweet, kind, considerate, trustworthy, admirable, unassuming, smart, overlooked, plainly dressed, prepared, making do, and patiently waiting. Full disclosure - I have never been a Grace. <br /><br /><br /> The storyline was superbly crafted and unfailingly entertaining while the writing was witty and wryly amusing yet also thoughtful, emotive, poignant, and keenly insightful. The narrative was vividly detailed with humorous and colorful observations that often had me smirking. I adore Ms. Fox’s endearingly flawed, lovable, and relatable characters; even her secondary characters continually enticed and plucked at my curiosity and had me wanting to know more about them. I adored the ebullient and feisty Aunt Millie, whose inner beauty and indefatigable kindness despite her family’s long-standing history of rejection stung my eyes and made my heart hurt. Literally ;)</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">About Phoebe Fox</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01RNU7psGCIWm6Q40-75IYfmH6JXtGxpXHninjfWDLkjDknsVVkGmDA4UJ9sH7gYS-Gg7R5tmjbEtQJwo1-TTEja473DBLRgEe3bbygKRK9dX2VW1Lo2bAO2KXTnru2OEWBQdOYeyZD99/s1600/Phoebe+Fox.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01RNU7psGCIWm6Q40-75IYfmH6JXtGxpXHninjfWDLkjDknsVVkGmDA4UJ9sH7gYS-Gg7R5tmjbEtQJwo1-TTEja473DBLRgEe3bbygKRK9dX2VW1Lo2bAO2KXTnru2OEWBQdOYeyZD99/s1600/Phoebe+Fox.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8041366.Phoebe_Fox" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/PhoebeFoxAuthor/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> / </span></span><a href="http://www.phoebefoxauthor.com/" target="_blank">Website</a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /><a href="http://phoebefoxauthor/" target="_blank">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Phoebe-Fox/e/B00J0HODLQ/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Phoebe Fox has been a contributor and regular columnist for a number of national, regional, and local publications--currently for the Huffington Post as a relationship writer. She's been a movie, theater, and book reviewer; a screenwriter; and has even been known to help with homework revisions for nieces and nephews. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and two excellent dogs.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-53489993061775588822020-06-21T10:53:00.001-10:002020-06-21T10:53:29.358-10:00Book Review: The Sea Gate by Jane Johnson<div data-blogger-escaped-style="text-align: center;">
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<h1 style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="6"><em><strong>The Sea Gate</strong></em> </font></h1><h1 style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="6"><em><strong>by Jane Johnson</strong></em></font></h1><div><font face="verdana" size="6"><em><strong><br /></strong></em></font></div>
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<h1 lang="" style="text-align: center;"><strong><font face="verdana" size="5"><span lang=""><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084G9K9BY/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon</a> / </span><span lang=""><a href="https://bit.ly/35T5F2y" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kobo</a> / </span><a href="https://bit.ly/3ctmGD1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google Play </a> / <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sea-gate-jane-johnson/1137044073?ean=9781982140878" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">B&N</a></font></strong></h1>
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<p lang="" style="text-align: center;"><strong><font face="verdana" size="5"><br /></font></strong></p><p lang="" style="text-align: center;"><strong><font face="verdana" size="5">One house, two women, a lifetime of secrets...</font></strong></p><p lang="" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">Following the death of her mother, Becky begins the sad task of sorting through her empty flat. Starting with the letters piling up on the doormat, she finds an envelope post-marked from Cornwall. In it is a letter that will change her life forever. A desperate plea from her mother's elderly cousin, Olivia, to help save her beloved home.</span></p>
<p lang=""><font face="verdana" size="5">Becky arrives at Chynalls to find the beautiful old house crumbling into the ground, and Olivia stuck in hospital with no hope of being discharged until her home is made habitable.</font></p>
<p lang=""><font face="verdana" size="5">Though daunted by the enormity of the task, Becky sets to work. But as she peels back the layers of paint, plaster, and grime, she uncovers secrets buried for more than seventy years. Secrets from a time when Olivia was young, the Second World War was raging, and danger and romance lurked around every corner...</font></p>
<p lang=""><font face="verdana" size="5">The Sea Gate is a sweeping, spellbinding novel about the lives of two very different women, and the secrets that bind them together.</font></p><p lang=""><font face="verdana" size="5"><br /></font></p>
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<h1><em><strong><font face="verdana" size="6">Favorite Quotes:</font></strong></em></h1><div><em><strong><font face="verdana" size="6"><br /></font></strong></em></div><font face="verdana" size="5"><em>Estelle swore in vehement French, which Olivia mentally noted down for future use.</em> </font></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="5"><em><br /></em></font></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="5"><em>She still did not believe there had ever been a Mr. Ogden. And if there had been he was probably, judging by his offspring, a hobgoblin.</em>
<em> </em> </font></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="5"><em><br /></em></font></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="5"><em>The long mirror on the inside of the wardrobe door throws my image at me. There is little worse in life than being caught unawares by your reflection, before you’ve made the small adjustments all women make – I have avoided mirrors for so long that I have forgotten to look out for them – and there I am, thin and white and strangely shaped…</em>
<em> </em> </font></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="5"><em><br /></em></font></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="5"><em>Olivia hated Sundays. Who on earth thought it was a good idea to have a day of rest and then make you get up early to go to church?</em>
<em> </em> </font></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="5"><em><br /></em></font></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="5"><em>I feel nothing. Not regret, or hatred or even repulsion. Nothing at all. All my emotions appear to have burst out of me in that one punch. I imagine them flowing down my arm like Popeye’s spinach, pumping up the muscles, exiting in a cartoon-bubble POW!</em>
</font></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="5"><br /></font></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="5"><br /></font><h1><em><strong><font face="verdana" size="6">My Review:</font></strong></em></h1><div><em><strong><font face="verdana" size="5"><br /></font></strong></em></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">I adored this brilliantly crafted tale! The storylines were highly engaging, emotively written, colorfully and effusively detailed, insightfully observant, staggeringly eventful, and cleverly paced while hitting all the feels with a powerful punch and taunting my curiosity with a constant itch. The cast of characters was vastly diverse and well-drawn with despicable villains and endearingly flawed protagonists, but my favorite was the highly astute and humorously profane parrot. This was an epic tale that intrigued, squeezed my heart, amused me, and kept me well entertained and actively engaged while reading. This sly missive was my introduction to the wily Jane Johnson and has me greedy for more.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div></div>
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</font><h1><strong><font face="verdana" size="5">About the Author</font></strong></h1>
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<p lang=""><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Jane-Johnson-writer-59201258923/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><font face="verdana" size="5">Facebook</font></a></p>
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<p lang=""><font face="verdana" size="5">Jane Johnson is a British novelist and publisher. She is the UK editor for George R.R. Martin, Robin Hobb, and Dean Koontz and was for many years publisher of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Married to a Berber chef she met while researching <em><strong>The Tenth Gift,</strong> </em>she lives in Cornwall and Morocco.</font></p>
<p lang="" style="text-align: center;"><strong><font face="verdana" size="5"><br /></font></strong></p><p lang="" style="text-align: center;"><strong><font face="verdana" size="5">Follow Head of Zeus:</font></strong></p>
<p lang="" style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="5">Website:<a href="https://headofzeus.com/books" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> www.headofzeus.com</a></font></p>
<p lang="" style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="5">Twitter: @HoZ_Books</font></p>
<p lang="" style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="5">Facebook: @headofzeus</font></p>
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</div><br />DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-7787078424528788662020-06-10T18:19:00.002-10:002020-06-10T18:24:49.080-10:00Book Review: First Shot by John Ryder <div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="6"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXQYZ7YTKTAPjv5TLB21TTAT75iFC-hF0CV3LbBmw9V9zEEasNE0coR3aoobneZSSCes0SlWiEZO6hdD4EigeatTn4J92GQKnS17EgcFcqjIXHXbJw84ZB4rQfPbO2ixUIPdssWxQ4Pa37/s1640/89058348_132573574944125_9129879678381719552_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXQYZ7YTKTAPjv5TLB21TTAT75iFC-hF0CV3LbBmw9V9zEEasNE0coR3aoobneZSSCes0SlWiEZO6hdD4EigeatTn4J92GQKnS17EgcFcqjIXHXbJw84ZB4rQfPbO2ixUIPdssWxQ4Pa37/w640-h266/89058348_132573574944125_9129879678381719552_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgoqSgeVRVygcYrzYVw797uQQ3FTrqczFCHIqv7q6FWr0FGBIuUoMMnwzpcDiJIwrI8BPujQ0y5ovJZDXom0iJxE9vRVt9wf7Dmvjmr3stsZa9MzlJ1hqLgJzLiCAIGrBSBUUthbhQvn4s/s2298/First-Shot-Kindle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2298" data-original-width="1500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgoqSgeVRVygcYrzYVw797uQQ3FTrqczFCHIqv7q6FWr0FGBIuUoMMnwzpcDiJIwrI8BPujQ0y5ovJZDXom0iJxE9vRVt9wf7Dmvjmr3stsZa9MzlJ1hqLgJzLiCAIGrBSBUUthbhQvn4s/w261-h400/First-Shot-Kindle.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><b><br /></b></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="6"><b> First Shot </b></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="6"><b>by John Ryder </b></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52097614-first-shot" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="41" data-original-width="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvxrop_i2f09wSBLMkrvgD8J-SI2-s8h_Td4kFrGdsgElflb2aO2CqTBMX9FvIC_5FGc5NSI7IuYKffu6q7TmA3qKHqEfGiYJtHjj_TDK7yhcrsbJi8VU1qKcdG9nw2sKZG1hqSMjRT1L/d/goodreads-add.png" title="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52097614-first-shot" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://geni.us/B085DXSTKLSocial">Amazon</a> / </b><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/first-shot-john-ryder/1137081425?ean=9781838887537" target="_blank">B&N</a> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4">When girls go missing here, no one says a word…<br /><br /> <br /><br />Twenty-four-year-old Lila has disappeared without trace. It’s the kind of case that ex-military loner Grant Fletcher would normally be happy to take on—he will always seek justice if someone has the money to pay him. But this one he’s doing for free. This one’s personal.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Because Fletcher owes his life to Lila’s father. And Fletcher knows that returning Lila safe and sound is the only thing that matters to his wheelchair-bound friend.<br /><br /> <br /><br />She last called her father from a small town in rural Georgia. Arriving there, Fletcher’s feet barely touch the ground before he finds trouble. He also discovers that his friend’s daughter wasn’t the first girl to go missing there. Not the first by far.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Then the last person to have seen Lila before she disappeared is murdered. As an outsider, Fletcher becomes the local deputy’s only suspect, leaving him no choice but to go on the run. Because Fletcher knows someone’s abducting girls in this town. And he also knows he’s the only person who can find them…<br /><br /> <br /><br />Fans of high-octane action and unforgettable heroes like Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne and David Baldacci’s Amos Decker will love First Shot.<br /><br /></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font></font></div>My Rating: </b></font></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMa9Py9gDZkpH166IC6FtY-tGmSgBrUxiq7vjRwXKfQrWJSLyuV4PCz7i-ITueiYloQgNo4QUABMPD4CuY_qtmltwIqBaTRrv1eCvCWfJFxxkRgSgYAt3kep24vsJxhWCeXVejAfVZhOn/s320/5+big+stars.jpg" /></div><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><br />Favorite Quotes: </b></font><br /><br /> <i><br /><br /><font size="4">Tall Boy eyed him as if he was a circus freak from bygone days. ‘You’s talkin’ with the tongue outta your shoe… C’mon, let’s get outta here ’fore we catch arthritis from this old coot.’ </font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">Daversville was a town that time hadn’t ever known about, let alone forgot. The clothes worn by the townspeople weren’t so much outdated fashion as never having been fashionable. Each item was clean and well presented, but they were clearly worn as an alternative to nudity rather than make the wearer feel or look good. </font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">Fellers wasn’t a bar for tourists, it was a spit and sawdust kind of place with genuine sawdust and extra spit. </font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">With the pace of an arthritic sloth, Fletcher took a few gentle steps forward. </font><br /></i><br /> <br /><font size="4"><br /></font></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b>My Review: </b></font></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I rarely read books of this genre but I would routinely add them to my routine if I could find a bevy of them as easy to fall into and difficult to let go of as <i><b>First Shot</b></i> proved to be. Mr. Ryder’s engaging writing was taut with tension, surprisingly emotive, and well packaged with glints of humor and refreshingly clear descriptive details where each perfected honed word packed a powerful punch while also being smartly strung together in clever arrangements that pulled sharp visuals and defined step-by-step planning and eventful fight scenes that ran like a movie reel behind my eyes. I definitely wanted to give the caustic and surly FBI agent an attitude adjusting whack to the back of her head, although the bad guys eventually did that for me. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"><br /><font size="4"> I was already duly impressed before I noticed <i><b>First Shot </b></i>was the only book listed for this author – could it actually be his first?!? I have just made a new addition to my list of authors to watch for as I now have a taste for an action hero named Grant Fletcher. </font></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGEH6JyOFFxpQOD5Qjw4VNfEuqD4SOVGUVOZGyYcxKKEZEoW99I4bkQtHoXAbCvLp9b9d6qORfZSLz2MdYW54-gA9bIErk66rMjhuhgHB3z9DR_0YFqgqBLNasuZSGMy7GVjIgDV4rlfR/s1600/Combo++-+ears.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGEH6JyOFFxpQOD5Qjw4VNfEuqD4SOVGUVOZGyYcxKKEZEoW99I4bkQtHoXAbCvLp9b9d6qORfZSLz2MdYW54-gA9bIErk66rMjhuhgHB3z9DR_0YFqgqBLNasuZSGMy7GVjIgDV4rlfR/s1600/Combo++-+ears.png" /></font></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></b></div><div><font face="verdana"><font size="4"><b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">About The Author</b><br /></font><br /></font><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSmpEPjJY0w6SiK_q8dW9aGx-5L9PJ9ZQt4IpgBLYCy-OWbXBQqYGuUbW1hyXcraR-if49C4SIQW05B9u8jJU8Q63tOqDyYPhCoYJVYC9ur5ARcwRNMS4m-mwrxzfxbeWxhy1EKRt5ewJ/s4608/DSCF6571.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSmpEPjJY0w6SiK_q8dW9aGx-5L9PJ9ZQt4IpgBLYCy-OWbXBQqYGuUbW1hyXcraR-if49C4SIQW05B9u8jJU8Q63tOqDyYPhCoYJVYC9ur5ARcwRNMS4m-mwrxzfxbeWxhy1EKRt5ewJ/s320/DSCF6571.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">John Ryder is a former farmworker and joiner. He’s turned his hand to many skills to put food on the table and clothes on his back. A life-long bibliophile, he eventually summoned the courage to try writing himself, and his Grant Fletcher novels have drawn inspiration from authors such as Lee Child, Tom Cain, Zoe Sharp, and Matt Hilton. When it comes to future novels, he says he has more ideas than time to write them.</span><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">When not writing, John enjoys spending time with his son, reading, and socializing with friends. A fanatic supporter of his local football team, he can often be found shouting encouragement to men much younger and fitter than he is.</span><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Facebook: </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/JohnRyderAuthor/" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">https://www.facebook.com/JohnRyderAuthor/</a><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Twitter: </span><a href="https://twitter.com/JohnRyder101" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">https://twitter.com/JohnRyder101</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-18830655744679720332020-06-07T10:21:00.000-10:002020-06-07T10:21:27.304-10:00Book Review: The Fallen Girls by Kathryn Casey <div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="verdana" size="6"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGqG2qdRFRILFL25DwzqQYhgL_AsyyzG6EiIW3EQyEWCbSodoPWtdixCmV4z6PnbrcQHTbOlj3JRbK_dddunVFST-7DaaWyCzZkwNvcnHMMIIIYZHKVsobzSVUtz1IU04t-FN2PfVOo56/s1640/82878482_10220844819448910_5078231917606731776_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGqG2qdRFRILFL25DwzqQYhgL_AsyyzG6EiIW3EQyEWCbSodoPWtdixCmV4z6PnbrcQHTbOlj3JRbK_dddunVFST-7DaaWyCzZkwNvcnHMMIIIYZHKVsobzSVUtz1IU04t-FN2PfVOo56/w640-h266/82878482_10220844819448910_5078231917606731776_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><b><br /></b></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="verdana" size="6"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7N_HBkedXldpCmGhp1LotPjKm9Btm54PNl1n1mpWeEnvwnn94eRMH6FJ8kUs4-2FnAzX_8JDxeb1G8eQGLWcqUS9vGkERWP5DQ__Ob9ln5X1L1JFMIJcGP0tXLKVJh-ouxzbE9_cQ9_T/s2725/THE+FALLEN+GIRLS+final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2725" data-original-width="1788" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7N_HBkedXldpCmGhp1LotPjKm9Btm54PNl1n1mpWeEnvwnn94eRMH6FJ8kUs4-2FnAzX_8JDxeb1G8eQGLWcqUS9vGkERWP5DQ__Ob9ln5X1L1JFMIJcGP0tXLKVJh-ouxzbE9_cQ9_T/w263-h400/THE+FALLEN+GIRLS+final.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><b><br /></b></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="verdana" size="6"><b>The Fallen Girls</b></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="verdana" size="6"><b> by Kathryn Casey</b></font> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53257151-the-fallen-girls" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="41" data-original-width="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvxrop_i2f09wSBLMkrvgD8J-SI2-s8h_Td4kFrGdsgElflb2aO2CqTBMX9FvIC_5FGc5NSI7IuYKffu6q7TmA3qKHqEfGiYJtHjj_TDK7yhcrsbJi8VU1qKcdG9nw2sKZG1hqSMjRT1L//" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://bit.ly/2zDKLbP" target="_blank">Amazon</a> /</b><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fallen-girls-kathryn-casey/1136662857?ean=9781838886011" target="_blank">B&N</a> / <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kathryn_Casey_The_Fallen_Girls?id=uHzUDwAAQBAJ" target="_blank">GP</a> / <a href="https://bit.ly/3c8HMWa">Kobo</a> / <a href="https://apple.co/2AgcCic">Apple</a></b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><font face="verdana" size="4"><br />She didn’t notice the corn stalks shiver a few feet to her right. By the time she looked up, the man towered above her. In a single movement he wrapped one thick hand around her waist, the other he clamped over her mouth, muffling her screams. <br /><br />Detective Clara Jefferies has spent years running from her childhood in Alber, Utah. But when she hears that her baby sister Delilah has disappeared, she knows that the peaceful community will be shattered, her family vulnerable, and that she must face up to her past and go home.<br /><br />Clara returns to find that her mother, Ardeth, has isolated her family by moving to the edge of town, in the shadow of the mountains. Ardeth refuses to talk to the police and won’t let Clara through the front door, believing she and her sister-wives can protect their own. But Clara knows better than anyone that her mother isn’t always capable of protecting her children.<br /><br />When Clara finds out that two more girls have disappeared, all last seen around the cornfields near her family’s home, she realizes it’s not just Delilah who’s in danger. And then she gets a call that a body has been found…<br /><br />Clara will have to dig deep into the town’s secrets if she’s going to find Delilah. But that will mean confronting the reason she left. And as she gets closer to Delilah, she might be putting her more at risk…<br /><br />Gripping and spine-chilling, readers will love Detective Clara Jefferies, reading The Fallen Girls deep into the night. Fans of Kendra Elliot, Lisa Regan and Melinda Leigh won’t stop turning the pages of this unforgettable new series from bestselling and award-winning author Kathryn Casey.<br /><br /></font><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">My Rating: </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Taj23_HQ9pV5qzmV4Wmr1_M-YGKzT9vAIGAscAYBJI4DcbT-UIuNpJNTJ7mLU_nk5MTPBEUrZEl5cYSVr3kHwOUGXdtPEQbsk0ofP7LNleML8ZMkBS17H3IjiTOHrrAF5_435-qRHGk3/s362/5-stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="139" data-original-width="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Taj23_HQ9pV5qzmV4Wmr1_M-YGKzT9vAIGAscAYBJI4DcbT-UIuNpJNTJ7mLU_nk5MTPBEUrZEl5cYSVr3kHwOUGXdtPEQbsk0ofP7LNleML8ZMkBS17H3IjiTOHrrAF5_435-qRHGk3/s320/5-stars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Favorite Quotes: </span></font><br /><br /> <i><br /><br /><font size="4">Guns don’t mix well with stupid. Guns and stupid are even more dangerous when paired with crazy drunk. </font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">For the most part, I was in good shape, and I was too young for aches and pains. I considered the fine wrinkles webbing my eyes. One of my fellow detectives described them as laugh lines, but then noted that he’d never actually seen me crack a smile. </font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">Mother methodically inspected me, looking at my face and hair, my clothes, and my dust-covered shoes. She examined me as if I were a specimen on a glass slide. </font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">What this trip has taught me is that you can leave home, but you can’t ever truly leave it behind. No matter where you end up, where you started haunts you. </font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">In the margins she’d drawn playful caricatures of our family. My tension eased enough that I chuckled at one of my mother. It bore a striking resemblance to the wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz. </font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">They looked as tense as I felt. Even my teeth were nervous. </font></i><br /><br /> <br /><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b>My Review: </b></font></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font><br /><font size="4">While perusing this craftily written tale, I was well aware that I over-identified with the protagonist of Clara. Although I did not grow up in a cult, my parents were weirdly and stridently religious. Even as a child I knew it was strange and deeply resented the vile coercion, bombastic oratory, and blatant hypocrisy. I rarely read books with a religious theme as I find most religious dogma and rhetoric deeply annoying and tiresome with the essence of most being that everything is a sin that will be severely punished and anyone who does not follow their faith is doomed to an eternity of teeth gnashing. I’d rather be an altruistic, kind, and nonjudgmental person; believe as I please, and be proactive by obtaining dental implants. </font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">Ms. Casey’s writing was emotive and atmospheric yet easy to follow and her storylines were well-plotted, shrewdly paced, taut with tension, maddeningly intriguing, loathsomely realistic, and sneakily unpredictable. I remain deeply curious about the details of Clara’s personal escape eight years prior. The Mormon sect that Clara’s family adhered to is a prime example of the idiocy of the devout who blindly follow teachings that allow and condone child abuse. Deplorable cretins such as this cause me to grind my teeth in the here and now, making those planned dental implants a probable need. </font></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"><font size="4"></font></font><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGEH6JyOFFxpQOD5Qjw4VNfEuqD4SOVGUVOZGyYcxKKEZEoW99I4bkQtHoXAbCvLp9b9d6qORfZSLz2MdYW54-gA9bIErk66rMjhuhgHB3z9DR_0YFqgqBLNasuZSGMy7GVjIgDV4rlfR/s1600/Combo++-+ears.png" /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></font></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><font face="verdana"><font size="4"><b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">About The Author</b><br /></font></font></div><div><font face="verdana"><font size="4"><b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;"><br /></b></font></font></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="826" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIe4pjfHIza_cgO2hklzzljBp4HIr5sM1gRMkbd6w-XzKsh5Bsxgi3QGQOEemUalKcVtsq09ZngyYhi7OkLmtytS7D2qCppJP0Z2lqXPeB-obSF_5MwzaN7FYY7cwm9qjve1OEsRDAV_80/s320/Kathryn-006.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A novelist and award-winning journalist, Kathryn Casey is the author of eleven highly acclaimed true crime books and the creator of the Sarah Armstrong mystery series. Library Journal picked THE KILLING STORM as one of the best mysteries of 2010. Her latest true crime, IN PLAIN SIGHT, investigates the Kaufman County prosecutor murders, a case that made worldwide headlines. Casey has appeared on Oprah, 20/20, the Today Show, Good Morning America, the Biography Channel, Reelz, The Travel Network, Investigation Discovery, and many other venues. Ann Rule called Casey “one of the best in the true-crime genre.” </span><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><a href="http://kathryncasey.com/" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">kathryncasey.com</a><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/kathryn.casey.509" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">https://www.facebook.com/kathryn.casey.509 </a><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">@KathrynCasey</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-73720524250497129482020-06-05T14:24:00.000-10:002020-06-05T14:24:30.572-10:00Book Review: Fortuity (Transcend, #3) by Jewel E. Ann <div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFLFjEFj5ydHk3QLJnN4JfMJkmve9vgqlRiArqLnm0cn1yMA4vj1nIXc_4iXAzwsFUMr_jHts-UGvBZ39lkYJvzntq9JoC-VKSJRyf5HnLXIDNRuVELICCeDv0UoinXeTqyx4P8BnXdr3k/s1705/Fortuity+-+BT+banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1705" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFLFjEFj5ydHk3QLJnN4JfMJkmve9vgqlRiArqLnm0cn1yMA4vj1nIXc_4iXAzwsFUMr_jHts-UGvBZ39lkYJvzntq9JoC-VKSJRyf5HnLXIDNRuVELICCeDv0UoinXeTqyx4P8BnXdr3k/w640-h236/Fortuity+-+BT+banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Fortuity-AN1" class="size-full wp-image-10846 aligncenter" height="400" src="https://thereadreportblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/fortuity-an1.png" width="400" /> </div></div><div class="separator"><p style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></p></div><div><br /></div><div><font face="verdana" size="6"><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Fortuity (Transcend, #3)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Jewel E. Ann</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div></b></font><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="6"><b><div data-blogger-escaped-style="text-align: center;"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53610135-fortuity" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" class="aligncenter" data-blogger-escaped-data-original-height="41" data-blogger-escaped-data-original-width="130" height="41" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDups4g6HQvpCYQmdaF_T6fP2TqoBmkWQuSs9lQvlH3aRPkKUl5Y71PXnPXllZTZmGECpOiKnc-nkCk_M2NttAn7EMWGBb-1gQjBUFQgWbfSqUlLzhQdqIP3EKI3bUXPqubuXS1k-jNNd/s1600/goodreads+add.png" width="130" /></a></strong></div><h1 data-blogger-escaped-style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></h1></div></div></b></font><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fortuity-Standalone-Contemporary-Romance-Transcend/dp/1734518251/ref=sr_1_7?crid=29XSIEYFEUJR6" target="_blank"><font face="verdana" size="6"><b>Amazon</b></font></a></div></div></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Fortuity, an all-new inspirational and moving standalone contemporary romance from </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wall Street Journal</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;"> bestselling author Jewel E. Ann, is available now! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></div></div></div>
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<font face="verdana" size="4"><img alt="Fortuity-Amazon (1)" class="size-full wp-image-10847 aligncenter" height="640" src="https://thereadreportblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/fortuity-amazon-1.jpg" width="427" /></font></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Forty-something Gracelyn Glock is living the dream.
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">No husband.
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">No retirement plan.
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">And since her self-imposed man-ban—no need to shave above her knees.</span></font></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">After a tragic accident, Gracelyn inherits her ten-year-old nephew. She signs a lease on a San Diego beach house and learns their neighbors for the summer are a sexy anatomy professor and his young daughter.</font></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">Professor Nathaniel Hunt has spent the last decade being a single dad . . . and not having sex.</font></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">So when he discovers Gracelyn has a peculiar outdoor stripping ritual, a million inappropriate thoughts fill his responsible mind.</font></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">When kisses are stolen, man-bans are broken, and summer comes to an end, will hearts stay in one piece and hope stay alive? Or will saying goodbye destroy everything?</font></span></p>
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<font face="verdana" size="4"></font><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><b>Download your copy today or read for FREE on Kindle Unlimited!</b> </font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><a href="http://mybook.to/fortuitypb"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://mybook.to/fortuitypb</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></font></p>
<br /><font face="verdana"><br /><font size="6"><span style="font-weight: bold;">My Rating: </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pQuPzic_MevCSNTLZYBnAhJVH2Tks4yMdVrSVyYCgMojJKmnTXKbhdS5bD_HZrWIvEWZM8SnB3lTD77dVtAtBMkvs2ejhyphenhyphensNZxkljdBTkPkTvzBww7ERzgmaIjAlVRzpOhtN5EKWlcl2/s362/5-stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="139" data-original-width="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pQuPzic_MevCSNTLZYBnAhJVH2Tks4yMdVrSVyYCgMojJKmnTXKbhdS5bD_HZrWIvEWZM8SnB3lTD77dVtAtBMkvs2ejhyphenhyphensNZxkljdBTkPkTvzBww7ERzgmaIjAlVRzpOhtN5EKWlcl2/s320/5-stars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Favorite Quotes: </span></font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><i><font size="4">I’m retired from men. A series of unfortunate events forced me into early retirement. Death. Cheating. Houdini at the altar. I’m lucky like that. </font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">“I’ve never had a boyfriend. And you haven’t had a girlfriend since Mom. It would be nice to practice a little before I start school this fall.” “Practice?” I tilt my head to the side. “Yes. If I get a boyfriend in school, I don’t want him to think I don’t know what I’m doing.” Kill. Me. Now… “It’s like when you try to get me to try something new to eat and I say I don’t like it. You say I can’t know that until I taste it. Well … I need a taste of a boyfriend.” </font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">“It was the third strike. Three men have crushed me. I’ve officially retired from dating. I call it a man ban… How many strikes do you have?” I drum my fingers on the table. His lips corkscrew for a few seconds. “Two.” “See.”I point a finger at him. “You have one more chance. Don’t let it go to waste.” “Mmm …if that’s the case, I think I’ll save my third chance for the nursing home… Why not? A younger woman of course. Some hottie in her late eighties with her own teeth and who still wears red lipstick.” My smile threatens to crack my face. “Not me. If I had my last chance to use in the nursing home, I’d seduce a male nurse. We’d be the topic of all the gossip, and the other old biddies would hate me…” </font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">Before I had the chance to fall in love. I dreamed of you. You didn’t have a face or a name. Your voice was simply a medley of my favorite love songs, the whisper in my head when reading my favorite poems about love. You were the reason I woke up two hours before school to do my hair and makeup in hopes that some boy would give me a second glance. It was you … the idea of you. The dream of you. The promise from my adoring mother that someday I would find my Romeo. </font><br /><br /></i> <br /><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font></font><div><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b>My Review: </b></font></font></div><div><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font><br /><font size="4"> I cherished and reveled in every perfectly chosen word of this beguiling and engaging tale. I adored these characters to the nth degree, all of them. I adored them as much as I admire and covet their creator’s full listing. I haven’t read them all but she has never failed to delight or hold my interest with her crafty wit, and unique and indescribably stellar storytelling skills. Fortuity hit all the feels and while the characters’ personal histories were tragic and heart-squeezing, the overall emotional balance tipped more heavily toward the side of smirk filled levity, wistful smiles, and well-pleased sighs. This was crazy good writing and although I haven’t read the first two books in the series and didn’t need to, it is now a deep desire to come full circle with the total experience. Jewel E. Ann is da bomb! </font></font><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZD7iJGoutXVkUMY1r3d5KsZDMERwvmaFFbH2c51A5HqdpqlBjFMHgDJTO5WI2i5q6IYg3z7Vx1EMX4CLAMiCUoUP6FY3WJBb1TC5kUVogTJ94dGwXEFuCS8wdmoqhdiWP-adGN_Hh3rOk/s1600/Combo+-+arms.png" /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></font></div><div><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /><img alt="www.annajon.es" class="wp-image-9940 alignleft" height="199" src="https://thereadreportblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/image-asset.jpeg" width="299" />
</span><font face="verdana" size="4"><b>About Jewel</b></font></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">Jewel is a free-spirited romance junkie with a quirky sense of humor.</font></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">With 10 years of flossing lectures under her belt, she took early retirement from her dental hygiene career to stay home with her three awesome boys and manage the family business. </font></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">After her best friend of nearly 30 years suggested a few books from the Contemporary Romance genre, Jewel was hooked. Devouring two and three books a week but still craving more, she decided to practice sustainable reading, AKA writing. </font></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">When she’s not donning her cape and saving the planet one tree at a time, she enjoys yoga with friends, good food with family, rock climbing with her kids, watching How I Met Your Mother reruns, and of course…heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, panty-scorching novels.</font></span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><b><font face="verdana" size="4">Connect with Jewel</font></b></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Facebook: </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="http://bit.ly/2Qzj2iq">http://bit.ly/2Qzj2iq</a></span></font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4">
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Twitter: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2urUQG0"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2urUQG0</span></a> </font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instagram: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2ZZwpLD"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2ZZwpLD</span></a> </font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">BookBub: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2s4ftr1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2s4ftr1</span></a> </font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stay up to date with Jewel by joining her mailing list:
</span><a href="http://bit.ly/2FpGXdA"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2FpGXdA</span></a> </font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Website: </span><a href="http://www.jeweleann.com"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://www.jeweleann.com</span></a></font></p>
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</p></div></div>DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-10445893092402515842020-06-03T12:50:00.001-10:002020-06-03T20:10:30.035-10:00Book Review: The Staycation by Michele Gorman<div class="separator"><p style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Staycation - BT banner" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-483" height="236" src="https://cattyjanepa.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/staycation-bt-banner.jpg" width="640" /><b></b></p></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Staycation, an all-new laugh-out-loud story of fun and a holiday escape close to home by </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">USA Today</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> bestselling author Michele Gorman is out now!</span></font></h2>
<div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><img alt="9781409190110 (3) (1)" class="wp-image-10862 aligncenter" height="400" src="https://thereadreportblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/9781409190110-3-1.jpg" width="261" /></font></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><font face="verdana" size="4">Two families. One canceled flight. And a last-minute house swap...</font></b></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">Things get desperate for strangers Harriet and Sophie when they become stranded with their families in Heathrow's Terminal 5. Each woman has her own reason for really really really needing the family holiday they've anticipated for months. But Iceland's volcano has other plans for them. When their flights are cancelled, the families swap houses and discover that sometimes the best things in life happen close to home.</font></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b><font face="verdana" size="4">This ash cloud has a silver lining, even if no one can quite see it yet.</font></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></b></p>
<font face="verdana" size="4"><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Staycation - AN" class="wp-image-10861 aligncenter" height="479" src="https://thereadreportblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/staycation-an.jpg" width="479" /></div></font><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><b><br /></b></font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><b>Download your copy today! </b></font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><b>
</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/353RPtT"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/353RPtT</span></a> </font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Apple Books: </span><a href="https://apple.co/2KFdTBm"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://apple.co/2KFdTBm</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon Worldwide: </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="http://mybook.to/thestaycation">http://mybook.to/thestaycation</a></span></font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nook: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/2Kkl1mv"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://bit.ly/2Kkl1mv</span></a> </font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kobo: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/2yAFYHa"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://bit.ly/2yAFYHa</span></a> </font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Google Play: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/2VqJBso"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://bit.ly/2VqJBso</span></a></font></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Add THE STAYCATION to Goodreads: </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://bit.ly/3eGuYsw">https://bit.ly/3eGuYsw</a></span></font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></p><h1><span style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="6">My Rating:<o:p></o:p></font></span></h1><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="6"><br /></font></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0iD4iD1e0yYIB_ewxBwu6MxonqyaUfb3uvheNThSdNxyNlfSUq584EzR1YLeX1vpe0-1h_0HDhBDrjiVWFyZxTbouvKXmzWeZoIub7yE_S79z7mN35yECuCJ36Rs3J_jPg-a9iW7exqN1/s362/5-stars.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="139" data-original-width="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0iD4iD1e0yYIB_ewxBwu6MxonqyaUfb3uvheNThSdNxyNlfSUq584EzR1YLeX1vpe0-1h_0HDhBDrjiVWFyZxTbouvKXmzWeZoIub7yE_S79z7mN35yECuCJ36Rs3J_jPg-a9iW7exqN1/s320/5-stars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><h1 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h1><h1><span style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="6">Favorite
Quotes:</font><font size="4"><o:p></o:p></font></span></h1><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="6"><br /></font></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4">Dogs smelled, and they sniffed crotches and licked their bits and
breathed their bitty breath into your face. She didn’t actually know what kind
of dog it was, but she was sure it did all of those things.</font></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></font></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4">Your crown is crooked, drama queen…<o:p></o:p></font></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></font></span></i></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4">There were enough scented candles to light a Roman Catholic
Mass, but not one had been lit anywhere in the house. Someone was either
romantically optimistic or had a friend who thought their house could use the
extra fragrance.<o:p></o:p></font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></font></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4">How wonderful to be a bird, she thought. Except for catching live
rodents and tearing them up into little pieces for dinner and living on top of
the whole family in a cramped nest. Still, the flying would be nice.<o:p></o:p></font></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></font></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font size="4"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘I loved having babies, the way they’re so warm and snuggly. I
craved the feeling, the smell.’ ‘That’s just the hormones your body makes so
you don’t eat your baby,’ Harriet said.</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> </font></span></p><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><div><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font></font></div>My Review:</b></font></font><div><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font><font size="4"><br /></font></font></div><div><font face="verdana"><font size="4">Michele Gorman is a wickedly clever, highly observant, and insightful lexicographer. I adore her wry humor and perceptive storytelling, she weaves quite an amusing tale with red herrings and unexpected tricks thrown in for added kicks. I cringed, gnashed my teeth, and giggle-snorted my way through this engaging story featuring vastly different women.</font><br /><br /><br /><font size="4">Harriet and Sophie were polar opposites in most ways, although they were both going through a similar period of adjustment and significant marital concerns while away from home during a much-needed vacation. Harriet was controlling, rigid, uptight, impatient, selfish, thoughtlessly insensitive and blunt, painfully and obnoxiously OCD and mostly likely also a high functioning Aspergers. Sophie was easy-going, loosely organized, and eager to please. I enjoyed the dichotomy although Harriet was difficult for me to appreciate as well as being uncomfortably familiar as she was a judgmental cold fish with limited social skills and not someone I would choose to spend time with as I had already suffered this unfortunate fate during my first eighteen years of life. Yet Ms. Gorman tricked me into caring for and about her, which is a testament to her mad skills.</font></font></div><div><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font><font face="verdana"><font size="4"></font></font><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijbHmBQbea_qCwAqUCJqeF21RqebGTRzFlApI1OxBuB6GpDDc8cHIn4ruixLS2NWPwWoZn8x8N1iyNHlIKwZkvuvLOa9VIazA5PyfcoNR4Z9EwMeKdoqavSCKKT7NoeElC9cRl7d34JOCM/s280/Combo+-+arms.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijbHmBQbea_qCwAqUCJqeF21RqebGTRzFlApI1OxBuB6GpDDc8cHIn4ruixLS2NWPwWoZn8x8N1iyNHlIKwZkvuvLOa9VIazA5PyfcoNR4Z9EwMeKdoqavSCKKT7NoeElC9cRl7d34JOCM//" /></a></div><font face="verdana"><br /></font><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><font face="verdana" size="4">Meet Michele Gorman: </font></b></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Michele writes comedies packed with lots of heart, best friends, and girl power. She is both a </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sunday Times</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and a </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">USA Today</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> bestselling author, raised in the US, and living with her husband in London. Michele also writes cozy comedies under the pen-name, Lilly Bartlett. Lilly’s books are full of warmth, quirky characters, and guaranteed happily-ever-afters.</span></font></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><b>Connect with Michele: </b></font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Facebook: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/2SbvGof"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://bit.ly/2SbvGof</span></a> </font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instagram: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/3eGzuHl"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://bit.ly/3eGzuHl</span></a> </font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2Kl0VIO"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/2Kl0VIO</span></a> </font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">BookBub: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/2XSbcEs"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://bit.ly/2XSbcEs</span></a> </font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Goodreads: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/3bumYc0"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://bit.ly/3bumYc0</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Website: </span><a href="http://www.michelegorman.co.uk/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://www.michelegorman.co.uk/</span></a></font></p>
</div>DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-62864008427408687022020-06-01T22:33:00.001-10:002020-06-01T22:37:55.541-10:00Book Review: Sister Dear by Hannah Mary McKinnon<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqUSF5aammkW2wWHufT_Sl_Le1k4b47J5XbRzAhy8I-uhbbU9S5cMxsEW3LrevDTehmNhBtIITSpnWuYiuyTuE1569jKdJGXdRChAot7_rL1rFNVvolfxAyx87M24Z6Nr9J3jwIsdhTK7//" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="820" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqUSF5aammkW2wWHufT_Sl_Le1k4b47J5XbRzAhy8I-uhbbU9S5cMxsEW3LrevDTehmNhBtIITSpnWuYiuyTuE1569jKdJGXdRChAot7_rL1rFNVvolfxAyx87M24Z6Nr9J3jwIsdhTK7/w640-h244/100651082_2613860112162270_6687462799418851328_n.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSbrq7lBMIhbN3tD5tLWYWuIVsM3t7L0LkbaD_4Xpywc133a9vnadwywQ1oEJqRtLWckMWnK4LC54z1SMoibF9JLX4mlJYLoqeDzC6zddQKTRaUcZPdrg6ENJ_938I-TpA_rxna81wWAx//" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="413" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSbrq7lBMIhbN3tD5tLWYWuIVsM3t7L0LkbaD_4Xpywc133a9vnadwywQ1oEJqRtLWckMWnK4LC54z1SMoibF9JLX4mlJYLoqeDzC6zddQKTRaUcZPdrg6ENJ_938I-TpA_rxna81wWAx/w268-h400/Sister+Dear+Cover.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: xx-large;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: xx-large;">Sister Dear </b></div><font face="verdana" size="6"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Hannah Mary McKinnon</b></div></font><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></b></span></div><font face="verdana" size="4"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9780778309550_sister-dear.html">Harlequin</a> / <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sister-dear-hannah-mary-mckinnon/1132648650?ean=9780778309550">B&N</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sister-Dear-Hannah-Mary-McKinnon/dp/077830955X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sister+dear&qid=1585840615&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Amazon</a> / <a href="https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Sister-Dear/Hannah-Mary-McKinnon/9780778309550?id=7670068459528">B-A-M</a> / <a href="https://www.powells.com/book/-9780778309550" target="_blank">Powell’s</a></b></div></font><font face="verdana" size="4"><br />In Hannah Mary McKinnon’s psychological thriller, SISTER DEAR (MIRA Trade; May 26, 2020; $17.99), the obsession of Single White Female meets the insidiousness of You, in a twisted fable about the ease of letting in those who wish us harm, and that mistake’s dire consequences. <br /><br />The day he dies, Eleanor Hardwicke discovers her father – the only person who has ever loved her – is not her father. Instead, her biological father is a wealthy Portland businessman who wants nothing to do with her and to continue his life as if she doesn’t exist. That isn’t going to work for Eleanor. <br /><br />Eleanor decides to settle the score. So, she befriends his daughter Victoria, her perfect, beautiful, carefree half-sister who has gotten all of life’s advantages while Eleanor has gotten none. <br /><br /> As she grows closer to Victoria, Eleanor’s obsession begins to deepen. Maybe she can have the life she wants, Victoria’s life, if only she can get close enough.</font></div><div><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></div><div><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></div><div><h1><font face="verdana" size="6">My Rating:<o:p></o:p></font></h1><div><font face="verdana" size="6"><br /></font></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XHBu-P64FOJspnHjKHdeVF1MD-tegkWzgnDBXBGHh6yIHlei8OgzNeVRMFZ4DCvj8m2du1gdJSzYUp4pNlfmRg1Xy70hKJjb7zOBWuJGFv0AEoPytnKEzVtADGeSYVaeSj0XNsJlJHMf//" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="139" data-original-width="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XHBu-P64FOJspnHjKHdeVF1MD-tegkWzgnDBXBGHh6yIHlei8OgzNeVRMFZ4DCvj8m2du1gdJSzYUp4pNlfmRg1Xy70hKJjb7zOBWuJGFv0AEoPytnKEzVtADGeSYVaeSj0XNsJlJHMf/s320/5-stars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<h1><font face="verdana"><font size="6">Favorite
Quotes:</font><font size="4"><o:p></o:p></font></font></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="verdana" size="4"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="verdana" size="4">Her glacial tone would freeze hell over when she left this world.
No way would she go anywhere but south when she did.<o:p></o:p></font></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="verdana" size="4"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></font></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="verdana" size="4">Today, all of those choices seemed as appealing as a bowl of hair
soup.<o:p></o:p></font></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="verdana" size="4"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></font></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="verdana" size="4">Penelope had unearthed my cheekbones with the skill of a veteran
archeologist.<o:p></o:p></font></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="verdana" size="4"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></font></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="verdana" size="4">I wasn’t just up shit creek without a paddle, I’d fallen out of
the boat.<o:p></o:p></font></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="verdana" size="4"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></font></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="verdana" size="4">Malcolm looked as if he’d time-traveled from Wall Street circa
1985. Pin-striped suit, slicked-back hair— revealing a widow’s peak Dracula
would’ve run through sunlight for— and a chunky monogrammed ring.<o:p></o:p></font></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="verdana" size="4"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></font></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="verdana" size="4"><i>…if still waters ran deep, he was the human equivalent of the
Mariana Trench.</i><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="verdana" size="4"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></p>
<h1><font face="verdana"><font size="6">My Review:</font><font size="4"><o:p></o:p></font></font></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="verdana" size="4"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="verdana" size="4"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> </font><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I
have been on a lucky streak lately and seem to be discovering a new favorite
author every few days. I appear to be as fickle as an eighth-grade girl but it
bares shouting that the clever Hannah Mary McKinnon is a wily minx. This twisty thriller kept me taut with
tension, nibbling on my cuticles, and feeling on edge due to the mousy main
protagonist's out of character behaviors putting her at constant risk of
discovery. Eleanor was a binge eater
who ate her emotions, something I well understand, and given the treatment she
had received from her horrid harridan of a mother, Eleanor had a lot of them to
swallow. The storylines were oozing
with apprehension, heartbreak, indecision, bad choices, inner conflicts, guilt,
resentment, bitterness, indignation, triumphs, empowerment, duplicity, and an
awe-inspiring and shocking conclusion that left me addled with the taste of
ashes in my mouth while my gaping lips flapped like a goldfish who had jumped
the tank– it was outstanding! </span></p>
<br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZD7iJGoutXVkUMY1r3d5KsZDMERwvmaFFbH2c51A5HqdpqlBjFMHgDJTO5WI2i5q6IYg3z7Vx1EMX4CLAMiCUoUP6FY3WJBb1TC5kUVogTJ94dGwXEFuCS8wdmoqhdiWP-adGN_Hh3rOk/s1600/Combo+-+arms.png" /></div><div><br /><div><font face="verdana"><font size="4"><b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">About The Author</b></font></font></div><div><font face="verdana"><font size="4"><b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;"><br /></b></font></font></div><div><font face="verdana"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEAlNEcmr7muItkBR2QDA5J4s0BHUf_trq_iaLjRSJ7sEad2eKedZEJfhH4mfYybQhsfgBnqLNLb3DCZkITdZiJ3a-dDOAxVvuIGrn9TYm7_2BtZfiMITPne2bgxmnHKvgboKfK4Ypvaim//" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2445" data-original-width="2256" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEAlNEcmr7muItkBR2QDA5J4s0BHUf_trq_iaLjRSJ7sEad2eKedZEJfhH4mfYybQhsfgBnqLNLb3DCZkITdZiJ3a-dDOAxVvuIGrn9TYm7_2BtZfiMITPne2bgxmnHKvgboKfK4Ypvaim/w294-h320/Hannah+Mary+McKinnon.jpg" width="294" /></a></div></span></font><a href="https://hannahmarymckinnon.com/" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Author Website</a><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Twitter: </span><a href="https://twitter.com/hannahmmckinnon" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">@</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hannahmmckinnon" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">HannahMMcKinnon</a><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Instagram: </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/hannahmarymckinnon/" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">@</a><a href="https://www.instagram.com/hannahmarymckinnon/" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">hannahmarymckinnon</a><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Facebook: </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/hannahmarymckinnon/" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">@</a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/hannahmarymckinnon/" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">HannahMaryMcKinnon</a><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15144570.Hannah_Mary_McKinnon" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Goodreads</a><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Hannah Mary McKinnon was born in the UK, grew up in Switzerland and moved to Canada in 2010. After a successful career in recruitment, she quit the corporate world in favor of writing, and is now the author of The Neighbors and Her Secret Son. She lives in Oakville, Ontario, with her husband and three sons, and is delighted by her twenty-second commute. </span><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><font face="verdana"><font size="4"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></font></font></div></div>DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-8859820587800783332020-05-31T17:19:00.000-10:002020-05-31T17:19:12.122-10:00Book Review: Why She Died by J.G. Roberts<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="verdana" size="6"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKxMRgRKzf8h-2DmpJS8Vd104Vo_0FRVfutgkMPAo3vCgOMhu_KtCgJ3w7X6MnP5fOqGMDRo7mdJH21DZNrsiwANeXy2kXZak51Yd1tckjcz8_08CgfoDBoWYUdRwpL_jpASk0_WR1Akdd//" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="960" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKxMRgRKzf8h-2DmpJS8Vd104Vo_0FRVfutgkMPAo3vCgOMhu_KtCgJ3w7X6MnP5fOqGMDRo7mdJH21DZNrsiwANeXy2kXZak51Yd1tckjcz8_08CgfoDBoWYUdRwpL_jpASk0_WR1Akdd/w640-h266/101257088_3075322395859439_4616295441753964544_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWITojupAcXh5YQGsXYJbutC_17zp9lYp5VzFxEHH42yzqLiV0AvEr2JKIbeuimPXP1GCRONA615WLLoiF5P8ek-tuC6G817aNf5_FlPrrMpYRKUTtdk9FaEAZT40kMN5mM0_GNAmG007F//" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2800" data-original-width="1750" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWITojupAcXh5YQGsXYJbutC_17zp9lYp5VzFxEHH42yzqLiV0AvEr2JKIbeuimPXP1GCRONA615WLLoiF5P8ek-tuC6G817aNf5_FlPrrMpYRKUTtdk9FaEAZT40kMN5mM0_GNAmG007F/w250-h400/Rh9CxxHg.jpeg" width="250" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Why She Died </b></div></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="verdana" size="6"><b>by J.G. Roberts</b></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="verdana" size="4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51930591-why-she-died" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="41" data-original-width="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDups4g6HQvpCYQmdaF_T6fP2TqoBmkWQuSs9lQvlH3aRPkKUl5Y71PXnPXllZTZmGECpOiKnc-nkCk_M2NttAn7EMWGBb-1gQjBUFQgWbfSqUlLzhQdqIP3EKI3bUXPqubuXS1k-jNNd/s1600/goodreads+add.png" /></a></font></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></b></span></div><font face="verdana" size="4"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://bit.ly/2z8Hph1" target="_blank">Amazon</a> / </b><b><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/why-she-died-jg-roberts/1136854831?ean=9781786819222" target="_blank">B&N</a> / <a href="https://bit.ly/3cSCkYL" target="_blank">GP</a> / <a href="https://bit.ly/2TrLeVl" target="_blank">Kobo</a> / <a href="https://apple.co/2LOHYze" target="_blank">Apple</a></b></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></b></font><font face="verdana"><font size="4">It was a person after all, but she was suspended in mid-air. Abi’s heart began to thump against her ribcage as the full horror of what she was seeing became apparent. Her shrill scream pierced the silence, startling birds into taking flight. ‘Help me!’ she cried. ‘Somebody please help!’</font><br /><br /><font size="4">When beautiful and bright Hannah is late for their morning run, her best friend Abi thinks nothing of it. Hannah isn’t always that reliable – she’s probably just overslept.</font><br /><br /><font size="4">But as Abi runs through the woods, following the same route she always does, she is greeted by a horrifying sight: Hannah’s body, swaying in the breeze.</font><br /><br /><font size="4">Detective Rachel Hart is called to the scene. Something seems wrong from the start. Hannah’s friends and family insist that she had everything to live for, and no one has a bad word to say about her. But when murder is confirmed, and Rachel starts digging, she soon realizes that there were plenty of people with reasons to want Hannah dead.</font><br /><br /><font size="4">Then a second woman is found strangled in the same woods, and everything Rachel thought is thrown into doubt. Is there a serial killer at work?</font><br /><br /><font size="4">Rachel is determined to find answers before another life is lost – all the time unaware that the killer’s sights are focussed firmly on her.</font><br /><br /><font size="4">Can Rachel unravel the deadly game before she walks into a trap?</font><br /><br /><font size="4">A breathtakingly twisty thriller for fans of Rachel Abbott, Cara Hunter, and Angela Marsons. </font><br /><br /><b><font size="6"><br />My Rating:</font></b></font><div><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font></font><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibckHD2sIkBXxD_hPHaR50dfR9wUIM8Re7afHRt8nFhyiySkRA72-fl_crhEsVHyVxkktGvaQVgiznWM-Rk_5CwtCyP7p3fPuJf8jSMXOmdjbJHgmODsMhuVHCyE_CRuGvRQzr5ehCIqc7//" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="55" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibckHD2sIkBXxD_hPHaR50dfR9wUIM8Re7afHRt8nFhyiySkRA72-fl_crhEsVHyVxkktGvaQVgiznWM-Rk_5CwtCyP7p3fPuJf8jSMXOmdjbJHgmODsMhuVHCyE_CRuGvRQzr5ehCIqc7//" /></a></div><font face="verdana"><br /><br /><br /><br /><font size="6"><b>Favorite Quote:</b></font><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><font size="4"><i>Quicker than a heartbeat, Lucie grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back and had him pressed up against the wall. Phil was stunned into silence. ‘The first rule of combat, Phil, is to know your opponent. I might look like a fragile little Bible-thumper, but when I’m not singing in the choir or going to church services, I do martial arts so I can deal with idiots like you,’ she said, forcing his arm further up his back to press home her advantage. </i></font><br /><br /><br /><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b>My Review:</b></font><br /><br /><br /><br /><font size="4">The premise and storylines were well-conceived, smartly paced, well-plotted, and twisty. The identities of the guilty parties were not at all ones I had suspected, and I love it when that happens. However, I had an issue with the variability of the writing which at times seemed as if written by two different people at dissimilar levels of skill development due to the quality being noticeably jagged and uneven in emotional depth and at the most crucial of times felt oddly flat and one-dimensional. Although, it may just be that I’ve recently been spoiled by an exceptionally superb lineup of extraordinary scribes that would make even Hemingway pale in comparison.</font></font></div></div><div><div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGEH6JyOFFxpQOD5Qjw4VNfEuqD4SOVGUVOZGyYcxKKEZEoW99I4bkQtHoXAbCvLp9b9d6qORfZSLz2MdYW54-gA9bIErk66rMjhuhgHB3z9DR_0YFqgqBLNasuZSGMy7GVjIgDV4rlfR/s1600/Combo++-+ears.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGEH6JyOFFxpQOD5Qjw4VNfEuqD4SOVGUVOZGyYcxKKEZEoW99I4bkQtHoXAbCvLp9b9d6qORfZSLz2MdYW54-gA9bIErk66rMjhuhgHB3z9DR_0YFqgqBLNasuZSGMy7GVjIgDV4rlfR/s1600/Combo++-+ears.png" /></font></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><font face="verdana"><font size="4"><b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">About The Author</b><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjEgdKnhyg79G6tbJDB780HLSA-cNTk2sJIHrVcpTACnS5HkYBKv9HDbqo20NYJckvzOz69Ns3em0RAlwJr00sAEB5d6051NqUPGqvWsujU-vc1svW9BlcnZyTceXO47yfRK8B4P2Tz-JY//" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjEgdKnhyg79G6tbJDB780HLSA-cNTk2sJIHrVcpTACnS5HkYBKv9HDbqo20NYJckvzOz69Ns3em0RAlwJr00sAEB5d6051NqUPGqvWsujU-vc1svW9BlcnZyTceXO47yfRK8B4P2Tz-JY//" /></a></div></font></font><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Having signed with Bookouture in late 2018, my first book with them, Little Girl Missing, was published in June 2019 followed by the second in the Detective Rachel Hart series in October of the same year. The third book in the series, my seventh novel overall, is called Why She Died and is on pre-order prior to publication in May 2020.</span></div><div><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I'm originally from Nottingham, where I have based a couple of my novels, but I am now resident in Berkshire and have used Reading and the surrounding area as the location for the DCI Rachel Hart series.</span><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">From the age of ten I had wanted to write fiction but left it until I was fifty-seven before self-publishing my first novel, Life's a Beach and Then, proving it's never too late to start something new.</span></div><div><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">When I'm not writing, I am a full-time presenter on QVC, the UK's most successful shopping channel where I have worked for over twenty-six years. I also enjoy cooking, watching football, in particular my team Crystal Palace, gardening, and Pilates which is helping with my rehabilitation following recent ankle surgery. I'm an animal lover and a committed vegetarian for the past thirty-five years. </span><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">@JuliaRobertsTV</span><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /></div><div><font face="verdana"><font size="4"><br /></font></font></div></div></div></div></div>DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-81563896644219428012020-05-30T13:15:00.001-10:002020-05-30T13:15:11.079-10:00Book Review: What Only We Know by Catherine Hokin <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQHXuCUtqNjO3mSNYtyEf5yoR6CjvDXyW71jgXKd51A97ZzLWImqEvIKbPjMeu6muQVrHR1R8g9tRKGuF_vlpHn16tFTS7-p6JdkXZgVKTtUM0lACsLxZl-lt3nlIlVTz-2BAvZmmw6fa//" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQHXuCUtqNjO3mSNYtyEf5yoR6CjvDXyW71jgXKd51A97ZzLWImqEvIKbPjMeu6muQVrHR1R8g9tRKGuF_vlpHn16tFTS7-p6JdkXZgVKTtUM0lACsLxZl-lt3nlIlVTz-2BAvZmmw6fa/w640-h266/banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0j7gXP31s889hlljbtj_Z6j4yZfKWTqIGIaH0iU6RJYp5Ed1gx4X_9aRCTLYUr7FHBbBtPxncFkCMIDKGEstBE2U1y9rx2LjD4UViNnqkujltoPHV_Q81QmuEHKTsk7uorK2KTPi1nIuA//" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2339" data-original-width="1524" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0j7gXP31s889hlljbtj_Z6j4yZfKWTqIGIaH0iU6RJYp5Ed1gx4X_9aRCTLYUr7FHBbBtPxncFkCMIDKGEstBE2U1y9rx2LjD4UViNnqkujltoPHV_Q81QmuEHKTsk7uorK2KTPi1nIuA/w260-h400/XH1AVHLg.jpeg" width="260" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><font face="verdana" size="6"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>What Only We Know</b></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Catherine Hokin</b></div></b></font><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51231247-what-only-we-know" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><font face="verdana" size="4"><img border="0" data-original-height="41" data-original-width="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDups4g6HQvpCYQmdaF_T6fP2TqoBmkWQuSs9lQvlH3aRPkKUl5Y71PXnPXllZTZmGECpOiKnc-nkCk_M2NttAn7EMWGBb-1gQjBUFQgWbfSqUlLzhQdqIP3EKI3bUXPqubuXS1k-jNNd/s1600/goodreads+add.png" /></font></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></b></span></div><font face="verdana" size="4"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://bit.ly/3e1ofIy" target="_blank">Amazon</a> / </b><b><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-only-we-know-catherine-hokin/1136525984?ean=9781838881832" target="_blank">B&N</a> /<a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Catherine_Hokin_What_Only_We_Know?id=4Z_PDwAAQBAJ" target="_blank"> GP </a>/ <a href="https://bit.ly/2zWwXZK" target="_blank">Kobo</a> / <a href=" https://apple.co/3e28r8h" target="_blank">Apple</a></b></div></font><font face="verdana"><br /><br /><b style="font-size: large;">A door slammed and the unmistakable sound of boots came crashing up the hall.</b><font size="4"> Liese held her little daughter’s hand so tightly, the tiny fingers had turned purple. The SS officer’s hand was at Liese’s throat before she saw him move. </font><b style="font-size: large;">‘I can kill you easily, then I can kill your daughter.’ He relaxed his grip a little. ‘Or perhaps I could kill her first?’</b><br /><br /><b style="font-size: large;">England, forty years later.</b><font size="4"> When </font><b style="font-size: large;">Karen Cartwright</b><font size="4"> is unexpectedly called home to nurse her ailing father, she goes with a heavy heart. The house she grew up in feels haunted by the memory of her father’s closely guarded secrets about her beautiful dressmaker mother </font><b style="font-size: large;">Elizabeth’s</b><font size="4"> tragic suicide years before.</font><br /><br /><b style="font-size: large;">As she packs up the house, Karen discovers an old photograph and a stranger’s tattered love letter to her mother postmarked from Germany after the war.</b><br /><br /><font size="4">During her life, Karen struggled to understand her shy, fearful mother, but now she is realising there was so much more to Elizabeth than she knew. </font><b style="font-size: large;">For one thing, her name wasn’t even Elizabeth, and her harrowing story begins long before Karen was born.</b><br /><br /><b style="font-size: large;">It’s 1941 in Berlin, and a young woman called Liese is being forced to wear a yellow star…</b><br /><br /><b style="font-size: large;">A beautiful and gripping wartime story about family secrets and impossible choices in the face of terrible hardship.</b><font size="4"> Perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, We Were the Lucky Ones and The Alice Network. </font><br /><br /><font size="6"><b><br />My Rating:</b></font></font></div><div><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font></font><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="6" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="132" data-original-width="383" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMa9Py9gDZkpH166IC6FtY-tGmSgBrUxiq7vjRwXKfQrWJSLyuV4PCz7i-ITueiYloQgNo4QUABMPD4CuY_qtmltwIqBaTRrv1eCvCWfJFxxkRgSgYAt3kep24vsJxhWCeXVejAfVZhOn/s320/5+big+stars.jpg" width="320" /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="6" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></font></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="6"><br /></font></div></div></div><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b>Favorite Quotes: </b></font></font><div><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font><br /><i><font size="4">Michael had a girlfriend, a cigarette-smoking redhead he slobbered over like she was carved out of candy. </font><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><font size="4">I have one more piece of advice, if you can bear to hear it. When you dig up the past, do it gently. With a care for the living. </font><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><font size="4">There wasn’t a sound from the adjoining room, or from the bed where Lottie lay spreadeagled like a starfish. There wasn’t a sound from the streets outside. The world was as silent as if it had stopped turning. </font><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><font size="4">‘Everyone in the camp is dying. If you’re lucky, you get to do it under your own steam.’ The owner of the voice was too thin to claim a discernible age or a gender; only the filthy dress marked her out as a woman. ‘Come in – don’t be shy. Press yourself close and choose your poison: TB, cholera, dysentery – we’ve got the whole set.’ </font><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><font size="4">It was as if she had wandered into Hell while its demons were sated and napping after an orgy of violence. She felt the stillness like a pause: it was filled with tension, time suspended while the next madness took shape. </font><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><font size="4">We were brought together by a place. Now we need different places. To find our stories in. To be remembered in. </font></i></font></div><div><font face="verdana"><font size="4"><i><br /></i></font><br /><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font></font><div><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b>My Review:</b></font></font><font face="verdana" size="4"> <br /><br /><br /><br />This was my first experience in reading this author and I was quickly absorbed and duly impressed with this epic saga. Catherine Hokin unwinds quite a shrewdly paced and riveting tale of a curiously enticing mystery bound in tragedy that spanned several timelines and countries with a host of maddeningly annoying yet compelling characters and several intriguing yet devastating storylines that squeezed my cold heart and maintained my rapt attention. Her thoughtful writing was breathtakingly descriptive and conjured sharp visuals and keenly observant insights that hit all the feels with her deeply perceptive and sneakily emotive arrangements of words. <br /><br /><br /> I was turned inside out yet completely invested and unwilling to put my Kindle down while compelled to read late into the night until my eyes went on strike and closed on their own. All the dispirited threads were expertly and cunningly woven together in a manner I never saw coming and ended with a highly satisfying conclusion that left me feeling surprisingly buoyant despite all the prior turmoil. Ms. Hokin has a new fangirl.</font><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"> </font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGEH6JyOFFxpQOD5Qjw4VNfEuqD4SOVGUVOZGyYcxKKEZEoW99I4bkQtHoXAbCvLp9b9d6qORfZSLz2MdYW54-gA9bIErk66rMjhuhgHB3z9DR_0YFqgqBLNasuZSGMy7GVjIgDV4rlfR/s1600/Combo++-+ears.png" /></font></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></b></div><div><font face="verdana"><font size="4"><b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">About The Author</b><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh883HnCscBZEh2K_mkHyzw4gEBhs551AJFZGMZh4Pj1RwLmDHO83OtW9SJyKfW6sRLag6zLgiz7B_TY4uoVBw062x5xhIh2RgATM36eWl3IVzfikhcBFbWwN7ZeQe9HgV0WGKnNDabTW6x//" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3946" data-original-width="2354" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh883HnCscBZEh2K_mkHyzw4gEBhs551AJFZGMZh4Pj1RwLmDHO83OtW9SJyKfW6sRLag6zLgiz7B_TY4uoVBw062x5xhIh2RgATM36eWl3IVzfikhcBFbWwN7ZeQe9HgV0WGKnNDabTW6x/s320/20190606_184809%255B1893%255D.jpg" /></a></div></font></font></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Catherine Hokin is a Glasgow-based author writing both long and short fiction. Her short stories have been placed in competition (including first prize in the 2019 Fiction 500 Short Story Competition) and published by iScot, Writers Forum and Myslexia. She blogs on the 22nd of each month as part of The History Girls collective. </span><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><a href="https://www.catherinehokin.com/" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">https://www.catherinehokin.com/ </a><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/cathokin/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">https://www.facebook.com/cathokin/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel</a><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /><a href="https://twitter.com/cathokin" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">https://twitter.com/cathokin</a><br style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;" /></div><div><font face="verdana"><font size="4"><br /></font></font></div><div><font face="verdana"><font size="4"><br /></font></font></div></div></div>DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-23457555020081872382020-05-29T07:42:00.000-10:002020-05-29T07:42:21.907-10:00Book Review: Love in Deed (Green Valley Library #6) by L.B. Dunbar <h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img alt="GVL06-BANNER-FB" class="size-full wp-image-479 aligncenter" height="237" src="https://brookeblogblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/gvl06-banner-fb.jpg" width="640" /></span></h1>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></span></h1><h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">Love in Deed, an all-new standalone contemporary romance from L.B. Dunbar, is now available in Kindle Unlimited! </font></span></h1><div><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></span></div>
<font face="verdana" size="4"><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="GVL06-DUNBAR-EBOOK" class="size-full wp-image-480 aligncenter" height="400" src="https://brookeblogblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/gvl06-dunbar-ebook-1.jpg" width="250" /></div></font><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">Sometimes it takes an outsider to force us to see who we are. The real struggle is accepting what we learn. For Beverly Townsen, nothing could be closer to the truth. Virtually a shut-in, Beverly has pulled back from Green Valley’s community, preferring the isolation of her farmhouse and her daily routine of viewing home improvement television shows. When the opportunity arises for her own home improvement and a personal re-assessment, she’s not so excited about the reality of real life versus DIY programs.</font></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">Jedd Flemming understands physical pain and personal loss, but it’s never stopped him from bucking forward in life. A former military man and rodeo star, his life as a nomad comes to an end with false accusations and a family matter back in the Valley. It’s been a long journey to find his way home and once there, there’s nothing he wants more than to reclaim what he’s lost…and maybe the elusive female reclusive who holds a sliver of his past.</font></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">With an unprecedented proposition, Beverly finds a stranger living in her barn, raising horses on borrowed pastures, and plowing his way into her vacant heart. Old hurts linger, but sometimes love in deed is louder than words.</font></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">‘Love in Deed’ is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #6 in the Green Valley Library series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.</font></span></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></span></i></p>
<font face="verdana" size="4"><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="GVL06-KU02" class="size-full wp-image-481 aligncenter" height="320" src="https://brookeblogblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/gvl06-ku02.jpg" width="400" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></font><h3 style="text-align: center;"><b><font face="verdana" size="4">Download your copy TODAY! Read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited!</font></b></h3><div><b><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></b></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">Amazon US: <a href="https://amzn.to/2Tz3gWz" target="_blank">https://amzn.to/2Tz3gWz</a></font></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4">Amazon UK: <a href="https://amzn.to/2G1lc45" target="_blank">https://amzn.to/2G1lc45</a></font></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon CA: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2TLz6PV"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/2TLz6PV</span></a></font></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon AU: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2tsEtZP"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/2tsEtZP</span></a></font></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Add to Goodreads: </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="http://bit.ly/2G7sxiu">http://bit.ly/2G7sxiu</a></span></font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><img alt="GVL06-TEASER02" class="size-full wp-image-482 aligncenter" height="320" src="https://brookeblogblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/gvl06-teaser02.jpg" width="400" /></font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></p><font face="verdana"><br /><font size="6"><span style="font-weight: bold;">My Rating:</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfHxz5ODQqRWVg8DgZwzfIHUxMPxocjS-PXtVjo9u54uyWpVAurFMPjao6VA0MkMtcvrigVp3bsBe2Us1a_kj37CaM90WVm6JKphjPOog1s6GDL7XNw21iZ5f32820rV1ovtOPYxIeuxj//" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="137" data-original-width="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfHxz5ODQqRWVg8DgZwzfIHUxMPxocjS-PXtVjo9u54uyWpVAurFMPjao6VA0MkMtcvrigVp3bsBe2Us1a_kj37CaM90WVm6JKphjPOog1s6GDL7XNw21iZ5f32820rV1ovtOPYxIeuxj/s320/4-gold-stars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Favorite Quotes:</span></font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><i><font size="4">This is the hashtag-me-too era, buddy… You can’t just reach out and touch someone.</font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">I’d believed all kinds of things about Howard. He’d love me forever. He’d make it good for me. He’d take care of us. An iron skillet of reality upside the head had finally made me see the light and realize Howard’s true nature. He loved women—all kinds of women—just not the one labeled his wife.</font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">I called her Bee as I was leaving because the name is fitting. Her tongue stings like the pesky pollinator.</font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">The glare I give my daughter could melt a candle without a wick.</font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">I think it’s about to get as ugly as starved cannibals finding prey…</font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">“Men are all hot air.” “Howard was hot air,” Jedd retorts. “I’m just hot.” Shaking my head, I can’t help the smile growing on my lips. He’s ridiculous but not wrong.</font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">Her laugh is a lyric calling to me like a siren to a sailor.</font><br /><br /></i> <br /> <br /><font size="4">My Review:</font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4"> More Smartypants Green Valley? Why yes, thank you - bring it on! I always cross my fingers with anticipation yet approach with trepidation when I read this author as while I have enjoyed most of her books, heavy angst is just not my jam and her writing tends to be chockablock full of interpersonal conflicts and inner turmoil. And while this book was no exception to that standard, it wasn’t as arduous to endure as the storylines and issues were highly relevant and the writing was engaging with well-crafted and enticing storylines laced with clever spikes of humor and a slow-burning attraction that occasional sizzled and seemed destined to spark into an inferno. </font><br /><br /> <br /><br /><font size="4">Although, I will confess that for the first half of the book I had an ongoing and valiant struggle with the bitter and waspish character of Beverly as I found her rather horrid. Beverly had been dealt a bad hand and had become ill-tempered, snappish, and was wallowing in self-pity yet made no effort for improvement and was too prickly and proud to accept assistance. She was blatantly rude, leeching off her daughter, and just patently unpleasant. Beverly annoyed me greatly and was the type of person most people, me included; go out of their way to avoid. While he also had hidden motives, the character of Jedd was a saint in comparison. Yet despite all that, I was reluctant to put my Kindle down, I seem to be terminally bewitched by all things Green Valley.</font></font><p style="text-align: center;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTzWAyktxw_9U_t58Ta48V8cB8r9PIEAwmPV7E_vvFbGhfK2nZoI3iO55GAYPpQyzgMdq9qkJMdx7_U-B4jGKxg5CWzv7Xs73kAErN7Uv5yU4gTvzJdH-ijwJhDfq-Iihpo7v7Qzy7V6ff//" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTzWAyktxw_9U_t58Ta48V8cB8r9PIEAwmPV7E_vvFbGhfK2nZoI3iO55GAYPpQyzgMdq9qkJMdx7_U-B4jGKxg5CWzv7Xs73kAErN7Uv5yU4gTvzJdH-ijwJhDfq-Iihpo7v7Qzy7V6ff//" /></a></div><p></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: center;"><b><font face="verdana" size="4">About L.B. Dunbar</font></b></h3><font face="verdana" size="4"><br />L.B. Dunbar has an overactive imagination. To her benefit, such creativity has led to over thirty romance novels, including those offering a second chance at love over 40. Her signature works include the #sexysilverfoxes collection of mature males and feisty vixens ready for romance in their prime years. She’s also written stories of small-town romance (Heart Collection), rockstar mayhem (The Legendary Rock Stars Series), and a twist on intrigue and redemption (Redemption Island Duet). She’s had several alter egos including elda lore, a writer of romantic magical realism through mythological retellings (Modern Descendants). In another life, she wanted to be an anthropologist and journalist. Instead, she was a middle school language arts teacher. The greatest story in her life is with the one and only, and their four grown children. Learn more about L.B. Dunbar by joining her reader group on Facebook (Loving L.B.) or subscribing to her newsletter (Love Notes).</font><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="2020AuthorImage" class="size-full wp-image-477 aligncenter" height="320" src="https://brookeblogblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/2020authorimage-1.jpg" width="292" /></font></p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><b><font face="verdana" size="4">Find L.B. Dunbar online</font></b></h3>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Facebook: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2kkGqTy"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2kkGqTy</span></a></font></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Twitter: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2lzEmHo"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2lzEmHo</span></a></font></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2kvIEiS"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/2kvIEiS</span></a></font></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instagram: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2k1Rk0d"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2k1Rk0d</span></a></font></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Website: </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.lbdunbar.com/">https://www.lbdunbar.com/</a></span></font></p><p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2lGdIMQ"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/2lGdIMQ</span></a></font></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Website: </span><a href="https://smartypantsromance.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://smartypantsromance.com/</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></font></p>
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DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-68154556204272885182020-05-27T11:34:00.001-10:002020-05-27T11:34:45.706-10:00Book Review: To Find Polaris by C. Elyana Brooke<div><br /></div><font face="verdana" size="6"><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhziAwnL8Ug9agPsB4DkXLDmD43Gr4wjejBCJL0lJL1dytstckS0a2BXAnzTdC3CKhEmG1nGur2M3wF34n2jOY2MWGHoKAQBPZkwl0Ksn-5sYfNnvD_ZomFdrHJlzVoeHzgF5QY-cUEPtCR//" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="297" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhziAwnL8Ug9agPsB4DkXLDmD43Gr4wjejBCJL0lJL1dytstckS0a2BXAnzTdC3CKhEmG1nGur2M3wF34n2jOY2MWGHoKAQBPZkwl0Ksn-5sYfNnvD_ZomFdrHJlzVoeHzgF5QY-cUEPtCR/w250-h400/49661888._SX318_SY475_.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>To Find Polaris</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by C. Elyana Brooke</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div></font><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49661888-to-find-polaris" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><font face="verdana" size="4"><img border="0" data-original-height="41" data-original-width="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDups4g6HQvpCYQmdaF_T6fP2TqoBmkWQuSs9lQvlH3aRPkKUl5Y71PXnPXllZTZmGECpOiKnc-nkCk_M2NttAn7EMWGBb-1gQjBUFQgWbfSqUlLzhQdqIP3EKI3bUXPqubuXS1k-jNNd/s1600/goodreads+add.png" /></font></a></div><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><font face="verdana" size="4">Amazon<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RHGHK7W/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i1"> US </a>/<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Find-Polaris-story-Elyana-Brooke/dp/0578439085/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=To+Find+Polaris+by+C.+Elyana+Brooke&qid=1590614385&quartzVehicle=5152-2115&replacementKeywords=to+find+by+c.+elyana+brooke&sr=8-1" target="_blank"> UK</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Find-Polaris-empowering-contemporary-Elyana-ebook/dp/B07RHGHK7W/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=To+Find+Polaris+by+C.+Elyana+Brooke&qid=1590614381&sr=8-1" target="_blank">AU </a>/ <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Find-Polaris-love-story/dp/0578439085/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=To+Find+Polaris+by+C.+Elyana+Brooke&qid=1590614378&sr=8-1" target="_blank">CA </a></font></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></b></div><font face="verdana" size="4"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>ONE OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL AND HEART-BREAKING LOVE STORIES PUBLISHED IN 2019.</b></div></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><font face="verdana" size="4">He has sky-high cheekbones and he sounds way better than Sinatra.</font><br /><br /><font face="verdana" size="4">British bad boy and singer, Lord Mark Hartley has been spoiled by success -- too many women, too many private jets, too little love. Suffering from his dark past and perhaps an even darker future, he is looking for love without success and he has no idea how to navigate what lies ahead.</font><br /><br /><font face="verdana" size="4">Then he meets Julianne McNally, a beautiful, serious, and centered young American trial lawyer, who has sworn off romance,</font><br /><font face="verdana" size="4">having experienced the bitterness of a broken heart.</font><br /><br /><font face="verdana" size="4">He needs her skills, and she reluctantly takes his legal case. Despite Mark's best efforts, falling in love with a celebrity, whose press precedes him, is simply not part of Julianne's plan.</font><br /><br /><font face="verdana" size="4">But Cupid may have the way of shooting the heart of even the most hardened cynic and star-gazing can be a romantic adventure...</font><br /><br /><font face="verdana" size="4">Their sexual chemistry is combustible but their relationship almost explodes as their values conflict and emotional stakes rise. Will they find Polaris, the North Star, that stationary point of direction? Will they find their way home to each other?</font><br /><font face="verdana" size="4">This novel explores the emotional and psychological truths and challenges in forming a lasting relationship.</font><br /><br /><font face="verdana" size="4">Set in Devonshire, England, Los Angeles, and Paris, this smart, sexy, contemporary romance is also an emotionally charged and psychologically moving love story, an atypical, unpredictable, unconventional, and non-generic romance. Be prepared to experience something quite different as only can come from the pen of C. Elyana Brooke. Are you team-Mark or not? Read it and join the discussion!</font><br /><br /><font face="verdana" size="4">This is the debut novel in The World of C. Elyana Brooke. Please click on her author name under the book title Follow her on Author Central to track her upcoming releases! Below the Brilliant Stars has just been launched on Kindle and paperback is soon to follow!</font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"><b><font size="6"><br /></font></b></font></div></div><font face="verdana" size="6"><b>My Rating: </b></font><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"><b><font size="6"><br /></font></b></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2SFq5ImjL9F-Tw7vn5j6xeuuswvr53jtpKCdbFJ1Phf6DHcXZVdjQSdRjgf6bJ1jOIGYoQn2-X2SjLqNtishEJgiLc4glvMHJO4j9tjxWAfnVGQX9qVfWAxhs8_xEzPxoB-eI1ansG2C//" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="55" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2SFq5ImjL9F-Tw7vn5j6xeuuswvr53jtpKCdbFJ1Phf6DHcXZVdjQSdRjgf6bJ1jOIGYoQn2-X2SjLqNtishEJgiLc4glvMHJO4j9tjxWAfnVGQX9qVfWAxhs8_xEzPxoB-eI1ansG2C//" /></a></div></b></font></div></div></blockquote><br /><font face="verdana"><br /><font size="6"><b>Favorite Quotes:</b></font><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><i><font size="4">He is such a dichotomy, a sensitive artist in the clothing of an avowed wolf. <br /><br />I have been single handedly keeping psychiatrists in Mercedes and yachts for years. <br /><br />There are millions of people who have never known true happiness and they continue going about the business of leading their lives. I am proof positive that it’s possible and I’m still an incorrigible optimist in spite of it. <br /><br />“It’s not easy, Mark, fulfilling dreams and quelling fears.” “No, darling, no one will ever tell you that. Dreams never come easily.” <br /><br /></font></i><br /><font size="6"><b></b></font></font></blockquote><div> </div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b>My Review:</b></font></font></blockquote><div> </div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><font face="verdana"><br /><font size="4">I fell into this oddly and undeniable compelling tale and couldn’t seem to let it go, although it was not an easy read as it hit all the feels high and low and plummeted the depths quite thoroughly. The writing was slightly hypnotic, easy to follow, lavishly descriptive, and sucked me into a vortex that was hard to pull away from, even when I wanted to throw my beloved Kindle down and walk away in furious indignation.</font><br /><br /><br /><font size="4"> Mark Hartley was an English lord as well as a multi-talented and well-known actor, popular singer, beloved songwriter, successful businessman, cocky Casanova, total bastard, unrepentant cad, and possibly the most selfish and screwed up jackass on the planet. His behavior was loathsome, yet his family's had been even worse. I empathized with and despised him in equal measure. He was deeply damaged and his attitude and infidelities were deplorable and devastating for his wife, yet he was also beguiling, compelling, multi-layered, self-indulged, intelligent, wracked with anxieties and obsessions, and twisting himself in knots.</font><br /><br /><br /><font size="4"> This was a heart-wrenching tale that often had me gnashing my teeth and bristling with annoyance, yet I couldn’t put it down. I was hopelessly bewitched and lethally invested in these intriguing and complex characters as well as the twisted saga of their warped relationships. They nearly ruined me. I was stamping my little foot and wanting to give them both a good whack or ten with my Kindle, although I have to admit, they kept me deeply engrossed and out of trouble for quite some time as this book was 458 pages long with multiple storylines and a large cast of irregular and uniquely irresistible and fascinating characters. Elyana Brooke has mad skills and strong word voodoo.</font></font><br /><div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGEH6JyOFFxpQOD5Qjw4VNfEuqD4SOVGUVOZGyYcxKKEZEoW99I4bkQtHoXAbCvLp9b9d6qORfZSLz2MdYW54-gA9bIErk66rMjhuhgHB3z9DR_0YFqgqBLNasuZSGMy7GVjIgDV4rlfR/s1600/Combo++-+ears.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGEH6JyOFFxpQOD5Qjw4VNfEuqD4SOVGUVOZGyYcxKKEZEoW99I4bkQtHoXAbCvLp9b9d6qORfZSLz2MdYW54-gA9bIErk66rMjhuhgHB3z9DR_0YFqgqBLNasuZSGMy7GVjIgDV4rlfR/s1600/Combo++-+ears.png" /></font></a></div></div></div></blockquote><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"> </font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><font face="verdana" size="4"><b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">About The Author</b><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/C-Elyana-Brooke/e/B07T4HH2N2/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1" target="_blank"><br />Amazon</a><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19292987.C_Elyana_Brooke" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><br /></span></font></div></div><div><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111;"><font face="verdana" size="4">C. Elyanna Brooke lives with her family outside of Boston and has been writing books since "forever." Besides writing, her interests include gardening, music, and skiing. She has a great deal of familiarity with the law and music and likes to set her books in legal and musical environments. Elyanna prides herself on her versatility as an author so be prepared to see several titles in different genres in the future, including an espionage/romance.</font></span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br /></div>DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-56898397384919916352020-05-26T07:39:00.000-10:002020-05-26T07:39:12.466-10:00Book Review: Wine Hard, Baby (OHellNo #6) by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff<div class="separator"><b style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></b></div><p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-5805 size-large" height="275" src="http://www.mimijean.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/WHB-release-blitz-1024x536.png" width="525" /></strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong><br /></strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><font face="verdana" size="4">CAUTION: CONTAINS HOT COWBOY. Do not mix with wine. Avoid watching him do shirtless labor on hot days.</font></b><font face="verdana" size="4"><b style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"></b></font></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4982" height="400" src="http://www.mimijean.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/CoverFinalLG-WineHard-200x300.jpg" width="267" /></font></b></div><p style="text-align: center;"><strong><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong><font face="verdana" size="4">From <i>New York Times</i> Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff comes an Enemies-to-Lovers, Romantic Comedy.</font></strong></p>
<font face="verdana" size="4">
<b>SIDE EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE: Feeling of extreme temptation, excessive drooling over his abs, elevated heart rate, and loss of coherent thoughts when in his presence.</b> </font><div><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></div><div><font face="verdana" size="4"> My name is Camila Clark. And that sexy cowboy right there? The one with the devilish smile, twinkling brown eyes, and tattoos on his muscular arms? He’s Jed, the guy I turned down flat back in Texas. He just showed up here in Oregon at the winery where I work.
The question is why?
Not that it really matters. I have my reasons for staying away from all that manly temptation. Reasons he can’t possibly understand but seems determined to punish me for.
But the more I fight him, the more I learn about this mysterious, hot-as-hell cowboy. I just don’t know how much longer I can keep pretending to hate him.
The problem is, I’m technically engaged to a guy I’ve never met.</font></div><div><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font><h3 style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4">BUY LINKS</font></h3>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YN7VY7C/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=mimjearom-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07YN7VY7C&linkId=1cd8c2a948a1914646df658eb1323012">AMAZON US</a>| <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07YN7VY7C/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=mimijean-21&creative=6738&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07YN7VY7C&linkId=d09a0c8a1f9a6badd65bcf60edcc4e2a">AMAZON UK</a>| <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07YN7VY7C/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=mimijean-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07YN7VY7C&linkId=cb54fab3f1e188eb7e5dc91de1bd7838">AMAZON CA</a>| <a href="https://amzn.to/316WwPO">AMAZON AU</a></font></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/wine-hard-baby">KOBO</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wine-hard-baby-mimi-jean-pamfiloff/1133931059">NOOK</a> | <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/wine-hard-baby/id1482217454">APPLE BOOKS</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088BCJ77S/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=mimjearom-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B088BCJ77S&linkId=b5ef9cac656b0a98e52b8890269993da">PAPERBACK</a></font></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p>
<h2><br /></h2><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50848537-wine-hard-baby" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><font face="verdana" size="4"><img border="0" data-original-height="41" data-original-width="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDups4g6HQvpCYQmdaF_T6fP2TqoBmkWQuSs9lQvlH3aRPkKUl5Y71PXnPXllZTZmGECpOiKnc-nkCk_M2NttAn7EMWGBb-1gQjBUFQgWbfSqUlLzhQdqIP3EKI3bUXPqubuXS1k-jNNd/s1600/goodreads+add.png" /></font></a></div><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></div></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b>My Rating: </b></font></font></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font></font></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://i1.wp.com/booksandbindings.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/3.5-stars.png?resize=300%2C55&ssl=1" /></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b> </b></font></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b>Favorite Quotes: </b></font></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><br /></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><i><br /></i></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><i><br /></i></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><i><font size="4">I know a man like him doesn’t have that kind of swagger if he’s packing a ramen noodle. </font></i></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><i><br /></i></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><i><br /></i></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><i><br /></i></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><i><font size="4">Just because you’re a surgeon and smart and you’re super pretty, doesn’t mean you can walk around all “I’m so perfect.” Bet she farts in bed. A lot. I once read that doctors eat more takeout than any other profession because they’re too tired or too busy to cook, and everyone knows unhealthy food gives you the toots. </font></i></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><i><br /></i></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><i><br /></i></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><i><br /></i></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><i><font size="4">You have to look. Doesn’t even matter if you’re into someone else, that man is a snack. Like a walking, talking piece of gooey chocolate cake. The kind that even if you just ate twelve tacos and are exploding at the seams, you still can’t help appreciating how yummy it looks when it floats by on the dessert tray. </font></i></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><i><br /></i></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><i><br /></i></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><i><br /></i></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><i><font size="4">The detective eyes me suspiciously. “I’d give you a citation, but poor judgment on its own isn’t against the law.” “Thank goodness for that! Because I’d be behind bars for life.” I snort. </font></i></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><br /></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><br /></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b>My Review: </b></font></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><br /></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana"><font size="4"> I struggled with this one, it was funny and amusing with the main character of Cami having foot in mouth disease and swore like a sailor with Tourette’s Syndrome, but she wasn’t endearing or likable to me. Cami was immature, selfish, thoughtless, chronically dishonest, prone to game playing, and flippantly judgmental, even when she claimed she wasn’t. In many ways, she was as awful as her weirdly religious parents, and believe me, I know ALL about that! </font></font></div></div></blockquote><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGEH6JyOFFxpQOD5Qjw4VNfEuqD4SOVGUVOZGyYcxKKEZEoW99I4bkQtHoXAbCvLp9b9d6qORfZSLz2MdYW54-gA9bIErk66rMjhuhgHB3z9DR_0YFqgqBLNasuZSGMy7GVjIgDV4rlfR/s1600/Combo++-+ears.png" /></font></div></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><font face="verdana" size="6"><b><br /></b></font></div></div></blockquote><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><font size="6"><b>About the Author</b></font></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div><font face="verdana" size="4"><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" class="alignleft" height="266" src="https://tjlovestoread.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/3975f-mimi-bio-pic.jpg?w=300" width="320" /></div></font></div><div><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></div><div><font face="verdana" size="4"> MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF is a New York Times bestselling author who’s sold over one million books around the world. Although she obtained her MBA and worked for more than fifteen years in the corporate world, she believes that it’s never too late to come out of the romance closet and follow your dreams. Mimi lives with her Latin lover hubby, two pirates-in-training (their boys), and their three spunky dragons (really, just very tiny dogs with big attitudes) Snowy, Mini, and Mack, in the vampire-unfriendly state of Arizona. She hopes to make you laugh when you need it most and continues to pray daily that leather pants will make a big comeback for men.</font><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><p style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana" size="4">Sign up for Mimi’s mailing list for giveaways and new release news!</font></p><p style="text-align: left;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><br /></font></p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><font face="verdana" size="4"><a href="http://www.mimijean.net/"><b>Website</b></a><b> | </b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MimiJeanPamfiloff"><b>Facebook</b></a><b> | </b><a href="https://twitter.com/MimiJeanRomance"><b>Twitter</b></a><b> | </b><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5618190.Mimi_Jean_Pamfiloff">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=0018NaU_-X0pzO4bOVekkO_v558hkRoBTd-5gZe2-tSNC6jCDlxWCmyFuwBRPrUvnMTqNX8fyhMicwNmCV9wa-6jkbGm4o9ofLBAwmC2Ndkg9F3RcGB5nDsCg%3D%3D">Newsletter</a></b></font></span></span></div></div></div>DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-90686216152681483602020-05-25T14:15:00.004-10:002020-05-25T14:15:37.408-10:00Book Review: Upsy Daisy by Chelsie Edwards<h3 style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">College, cookies, capers, Oh my!</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Upsy Daisy, an all-new first love college romance from debut author Chelsie Edwards, is now available in Kindle Unlimited! </span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Daisy Payton has everything.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">But perfection comes at a high cost, and Daisy is wilting. Determined to use college as her chance to bloom anew, she’s focused on only one thing, leaving the Payton name behind and forging her own path—even if she has to tell the teeniest of fibs to do it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Trevor Boone has nothing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Abandoned as a child.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Raised by distant relatives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Constantly reminded he’s a burden.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Trevor’s lived at the edges of opulence for years, having all he’s ever desired dangled just out of reach. But his ambition is finally about to pay off and nothing will distract him from his goal—finishing college top of his class and starting life, on his own terms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">When Daisy and Trevor meet it’s clear from the start that they’ll tempt each other to distraction, can they learn to put their ambitions aside and fall or will they lose it all?</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">‘Upsy Daisy’ is a full-length romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #1 in the Higher Learning series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.</span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Download your copy TODAY!</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Amazon US: <a href="https://amzn.to/2G2FwlO" target="_blank">https://amzn.to/2G2FwlO</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Amazon UK: <a href="https://amzn.to/2syOT9y" target="_blank">https://amzn.to/2syOT9y</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon CA: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/38ov97L"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/38ov97L</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon AU: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/30Dm34u"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/30Dm34u</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Add to Goodreads: </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="http://bit.ly/2RyfwUJ" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/2RyfwUJ</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">My Rating: </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9baXNLi_WK1e8zJEqgSM5WjUnK9ZCE6iX40zGx2YGqaUakT7vNutNIqUwb84fcZw46fXXiReJ7SUbnyMbGod1DHyS8g6h1Y5KDLtJ5hvWvOhM6dJg0DKujW83tmvHLZjOiSmN2zzl56Rz/s1600/5+big+stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="132" data-original-width="383" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9baXNLi_WK1e8zJEqgSM5WjUnK9ZCE6iX40zGx2YGqaUakT7vNutNIqUwb84fcZw46fXXiReJ7SUbnyMbGod1DHyS8g6h1Y5KDLtJ5hvWvOhM6dJg0DKujW83tmvHLZjOiSmN2zzl56Rz/s320/5+big+stars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Favorite Quotes</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">: </span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><i style="font-size: x-large;">They moved like a pair of homonyms—the same kind of fine, sounding two different ways, and it was patently unfair to every female in observation distance. <br /><br /><br />“I’d ask about you, Mr. Marshall, but I'm sure that tale would be short.” She looked down at his groin pointedly. “And unsatisfying.” <br /><br /><br />I noted from my place on the floor how utterly unfair it was that she looked like a magazine cover model even when she had just woken up. I was sure I looked like feral rats had performed a mating ritual in my hair as I slept. <br /><br /><br />We had this talk, Daisy, Mommy covered the birds and the bees, and I covered the teeth and the tongue… No sister of mine is going out into the world unprepared. Mommy just gave you the basics, I’m going to give you notes on the advanced study, including the DIY version. <br /><br /><br />Daisy, yours might be the first relationship to ever died because Cupid just gave up and decided to shoot himself in the face with an arrow. <br /><br /><br />Dolly was not known for her magnanimity, she was president, CEO, and lead talent recruiter for Grudge Holders, Inc. <br /><br /><br />My sister once told me that forgiving people is choosing the relationship you want over the relationship you have. </i><br /><br /><br /> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br />My Review: </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I was stunned and rather awestruck to notice after reading this well-crafted missive, that this was the author’s debut publication. She has struck gold with the first swing, as a well-seasoned author could not have done better. I had three pages of marked notes, which were rather painful to pare down. I adored the premise as well as the engaging and emotive storylines, insightful and perceptive observations and inner musings, intriguing and enticing characters, every perfectly chosen and well-honed word, and the conundrum of Daisy and Trevor. </span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Oh, Daisy – you foolish girl - I have been you! Of course, also having entered college the same year as Daisy may have biased my opinion, but I doubt it. The lavish praise and kudos Ms. Edwards has and will amass from this cleverly penned tale are well deserved. I reveled in her excellent item choices to elicit the nostalgia and flavor of the mid-’70s including hot pants; cassettes; 8-tracks; The Temptations, and The Stylistics; and even I had an afro in my blonde hair, although mine came from a bottle as I’m such a pale white girl I’m practically albino. Sigh, another amazing new author to add to my watch list, I’m eager to see what she does next but it will be hard to top this one.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">About Chelsie Edwards</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chelsie Edwards’ mother declared her a smarty-pants at 4 years old; now she gets to be one professionally. She manages project timelines by day and book timelines by night. She resides in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. and has no dogs, fish, or birds, but her neighbors cat “Buddy” keeps her company by sunbathing on her porch. Her debut novella is scheduled to be released Spring 2020 on Smartypants Romance and will chronicle Daisy and Trevor’s journey.</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Find Chelsie Edwards online</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Facebook: <a href="http://bit.ly/2VtjAJi">http://bit.ly/2VtjAJi</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Twitter: <a href="http://bit.ly/3813Cc1" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/3813Cc1 </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Instagram: <a href="https://bit.ly/2XTlcNK">https://bit.ly/2XTlcNK</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Goodreads: h<a href="ttps://bit.ly/2xQc81r">ttps://bit.ly/2xQc81r</a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Connect with Smartypants Romance</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Facebook: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2kvDnb4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2kvDnb4</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Twitter: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2lzyduO"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2lzyduO</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2lGdIMQ"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/2lGdIMQ</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instagram: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2kwKsYK"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2kwKsYK</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Website: </span><a href="https://smartypantsromance.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://smartypantsromance.com/</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></span></div>
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DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-76636304279282836172020-05-24T06:55:00.000-10:002020-05-24T06:55:08.728-10:00Book Review: JoJo's French Escape by Lorraine Wilson <div>
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<b>JoJo's French Escape</b></div>
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<b>by Lorraine Wilson</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49029370-jojo-s-french-escape" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="41" data-original-width="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDups4g6HQvpCYQmdaF_T6fP2TqoBmkWQuSs9lQvlH3aRPkKUl5Y71PXnPXllZTZmGECpOiKnc-nkCk_M2NttAn7EMWGBb-1gQjBUFQgWbfSqUlLzhQdqIP3EKI3bUXPqubuXS1k-jNNd/s1600/goodreads+add.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Amazon <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Jojos-French-Escape-perfect-escapism-ebook/dp/B07V9SK8BS" target="_blank">US</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jojos-French-Escape-perfect-escapism-ebook/dp/B07V9SK8BS" target="_blank">UK</a> /</b></span></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jojos-french-escape-lorraine-wilson/1132497860?ean=9780008363116" target="_blank">B&N</a> / <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Lorraine_Wilson_Jojo_s_French_Escape_A_French_Esca?id=KWeiDwAAQBAJ" target="_blank">GP</a> / <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/jojos-french-escape/id1475615160?_bbid=13010604&mt=11" target="_blank">Apple</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">‘She had me at Bonjour! Warm, funny, deliciously French…this lovely story filled my heart with sunshine’ Jane Linfoot</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /> Imagine yourself in beautiful France with the sun warm on your face and a glass of wine in your hand…Jojo’s French Escape is the perfect summer read!<br /><br /> Trapped in paradise…<br /><br /> For twelve months JoJo Grant has been hiding from a secret too shameful to share. And whilst her sanctuary might be the beautiful French countryside, JoJo has a horrible feeling that her peace is about to be shattered…because bursting into her life is the hottest celebrity chef around – Callum O’Connor.<br /><br /> Callum knows all about JoJo’s past, her time as a reality star, the scandal that has dogged her, but he isn’t sure why she’s still hiding? After spending time with Jojo, it’s obvious to him that she has nothing to be ashamed of – she just needs to be a little braver…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /> But as much as JoJo likes Callum, he thrives on the glare of the outside world. Can JoJo let go of her past…with Callum by her side?<br /></span></div>
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<i>The only love Aiden knows involves the use of a mirror or a TV camera. </i></div>
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<i>"You know if anyone ever gives you any grief we'll set the dogs on them, celebrity chef or not." I look down at the two tiny chihuahuas, one miniature Yorkie and the blind ex-hunting dog who happens to be a total softy. My mouth quirks involuntarily into a smile at the idea of them defending me, though I'm sure they'd all give it a good go. The chihuahuas in particular are utterly fearless. </i></div>
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<i>Who was it said that a life without passion is a slow way to freeze to death? </i></div>
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<i>I really am trying to wish them well but mostly I’m just wishing them well away from me.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">Holy smokes, this was not what I was expecting but an engaging and relatable tale nonetheless. The premise had a British reality TV star escaping unwanted notoriety to the south of France after she was “officially disgraced” when her then-boyfriend, a publicity, and fame-obsessed reprobate and scum bucket, leaked a sex tape she was unaware he had created. Oh, and he was also cheating on her with her best friend, ouch. It was no wonder she wanted nothing to do with social media or men in general, much less a well-known TV chef who happened to have escaped to the same French locale. Yet their chemistry overcame their misgivings and – gasp – their connections were so erotic I was gasping like a fish out of water. </span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The writing was easy to follow and predominately the inner musings and observations of JoJo as she navigated her transition from disgraced to empowered with the support of her new friends and heartthrob. I was quite taken with the cleverly chosen quotes used to start each chapter and also the timely and insightful inclusion of <i>The Power of Now</i>, which I confess requiring Googling to accurately recall.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">About The Author</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibkCzJyxQZbt5qaT3gi6cgzxmARE36uVPLAISLUGOUmfKI97NhtBcW2y2apC7w2ySPV9E-NbFxXfYx_6eNnSISLjIigo6_pfsmILVOZUGavcodOUhS4XWn_zq6sPBFSOEzoFzetWn-6XTV/s1600/Lorraine+with+dogs.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibkCzJyxQZbt5qaT3gi6cgzxmARE36uVPLAISLUGOUmfKI97NhtBcW2y2apC7w2ySPV9E-NbFxXfYx_6eNnSISLjIigo6_pfsmILVOZUGavcodOUhS4XWn_zq6sPBFSOEzoFzetWn-6XTV/s320/Lorraine+with+dogs.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lorraine Wilson writes flirty, feel-good fiction for One More Chapter - a Harper Collins imprint - and is unashamedly fond of happy endings. She loves hearing from readers and feels incredibly grateful to be doing the job she always dreamt of.</span></div>
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She splits her time between the South of France and Cambridgeshire and is usually either writing or reading while being sat on, walked over or barked at by one of her growing band of rescue dogs.</div>
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Social Media Links –<span> </span><br /><br />Amazon author page:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span> </span><a href="http://bit.ly/lorrainewilsonamazon">http://bit.ly/lorrainewilsonamazon</a><br /><br />Facebook:<span> </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/LorraineWilsonWriter">https://www.facebook.com/LorraineWilsonWriter</a><br /><br />Twitter:<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/Romanceminx">https://twitter.com/Romanceminx</a></span></div>
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<br />DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-47867922314658287032020-05-22T13:01:00.000-10:002020-05-22T13:01:17.539-10:00Book Review: Fight For Me (Arrowood Brothers #2) by Corinne Michaels<!-- wp:image {"align":"center"} -->
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>New York Times</strong><strong><em> Bestselling author, Corinne Michaels, brings a new breathtaking and emotional love story to life in the second STANDALONE in the Arrowood Brothers series. </em></strong></span></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Fight for Me is live!</span></em></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I fell in love with Sydney Hastings when I was ten years old.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At sixteen, we whispered promises of forever. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When I was twenty-two I broke them all. I left her and promised never to return.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After my father's death, I’m forced to go home to Sugarloaf for six months. She'll be everywhere, no longer just in my memories and regrets. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When we’re together, it’s as though time never stopped. She’s still the one I want, but I don’t deserve her. Instead of apologizing, I take that beautiful, broken woman in my arms. But after that, it’s her turn to leave me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Now I have to fight. For her. For us. For the life we both want …</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZKFxKH52lSklQt8V4WndrdSZpbYbM3O04lwdzKCmJls1v03IL7_Mr4wH7yUduC-zlY6pOHlBpvODoU1Nd4dnAE8hjBCfvLoTZXNkbpmDQBlkgT8TbT3CfB4v9iesZ6D9vc1sr64lGB41e/s1600/4+stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="136" data-original-width="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZKFxKH52lSklQt8V4WndrdSZpbYbM3O04lwdzKCmJls1v03IL7_Mr4wH7yUduC-zlY6pOHlBpvODoU1Nd4dnAE8hjBCfvLoTZXNkbpmDQBlkgT8TbT3CfB4v9iesZ6D9vc1sr64lGB41e/s1600/4+stars.jpg" /></a></div>
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Favorite Quote:</span></b><br /><br /> <br /> <i><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Yeah, I’m a walking episode of Jerry Springer.</span></i><br /> <br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>My Review:</b></span></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span> <br /><span style="font-size: large;">This tale was laden with blindly stubborn characters in conflict with each other and angst, oh, the angst. Despite a heavy dose of my least favorite things, Ms. Michaels still managed to hold my attention with an enticing and interesting premise, complex and alluring characters, and heart-squeezing and sizzling plot lines. I’m already primed for the next brother’s installment. </span></span><div class="has-text-align-center" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Apple Books: <a href="https://apple.co/32b8YA0" target="_blank">https://apple.co/32b8YA0</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nook: <a href="http://bit.ly/3284ZEw" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/3284ZEw</a></span></div>
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<figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/XpApi2hpwsBBWmRhSlsnYjPW3jpEl2jcW0vhA3q9WIna0LL4LwiOHkdsqWCArF74L_2JnXuCXB5_QHzixVhxKq_XqIGxcKjXieO1md_2ZGH3KSTEge13c9x7UjSqcA" width="160" /></span></figure></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Corinne Michaels is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller author. She’s an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun-loving mom of two beautiful children. Corinne is happily married to the man of her dreams and is a former Navy wife.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After spending months away from her husband while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness. She enjoys putting her characters through intense heartbreak and finding a way to heal them through their struggles. Her stories are chock full of emotion, humor, and unrelenting love.</span></div>
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DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-84985889449666553652020-05-21T13:08:00.001-10:002020-05-21T13:08:51.312-10:00Book Review: Sing Me A Secret by Julie Houston<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbn89gotO_wOusTGM2sg8iXpGCwTIHy66HuHFIZUn3_u4yXtndstQ3HwvcTpw_lf6ycw2zMOU4aEUEJbU1R6xt-WiDZiHuG1oMTkF1-4xafRr11pYo6P-sjNRW-c7FBZWUQdWPrFWA5um-/s1600/Book+cover+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbn89gotO_wOusTGM2sg8iXpGCwTIHy66HuHFIZUn3_u4yXtndstQ3HwvcTpw_lf6ycw2zMOU4aEUEJbU1R6xt-WiDZiHuG1oMTkF1-4xafRr11pYo6P-sjNRW-c7FBZWUQdWPrFWA5um-/s640/Book+cover+%25282%2529.jpg" width="416" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Sing Me A Secret</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>by Julie Houston</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49007447-sing-me-a-secret" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="41" data-original-width="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDups4g6HQvpCYQmdaF_T6fP2TqoBmkWQuSs9lQvlH3aRPkKUl5Y71PXnPXllZTZmGECpOiKnc-nkCk_M2NttAn7EMWGBb-1gQjBUFQgWbfSqUlLzhQdqIP3EKI3bUXPqubuXS1k-jNNd/s1600/goodreads+add.png" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Amazon <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sing-Me-Secret-bestselling-Village-ebook/dp/B08246F19L/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8">US</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sing-Me-Secret-Julie-Houston-ebook/dp/B08246F19L/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sing+me+a+secret&qid=1580747827&s=digital-skills&sr=8-1">UK</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Sing-Me-Secret-bestselling-Village-ebook/dp/B08246F19L/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sing+me+a+secret&qid=1590101397&sr=8-1">AU </a>/ <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Sing-Me-Secret-bestselling-Village-ebook/dp/B08246F19L/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sing+me+a+secret&qid=1590101417&sr=8-1">CA</a> /</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sing-me-a-secret-julie-houston/1136650167?ean=9781789546644">B&N</a> / <a href="https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/sing-me-a-secret">Kobo</a> / <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/sing-me-a-secret/id1489627212?_bbid=15909869&mt=11">Apple</a> / <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Julie_Houston_Sing_Me_a_Secret?id=PNfADwAAQBAJ&hl=en">GP</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /> The four Sutherland sisters have all had very different paths in life, but one secret and a slightly tense production of Jesus Christ Superstar are about to bring them all back together again…<br /><br /> When the news that pop-superstar Lexia Sutherland is returning to Westenbury, not everyone is thrilled by the news – including Lexia. There are too many memories she doesn’t need to face – or need re-surfacing. Meanwhile, Juno Sutherland just wants a little peace and quiet. <br /><br />As the local village doctor, she’s got her priorities in order; kids, job, husband, tenacious pony, a role in the village musical… So when the sexy new locum turns up – and steals her office – the last thing she needed was to be hit with rising temperatures and an over-active imagination. <br /><br /> Will these sisters be able to uncover the past, deal with the future and put on the performance of a lifetime? <br /><br />Return to Westenbury this spring and find out. <br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMa9Py9gDZkpH166IC6FtY-tGmSgBrUxiq7vjRwXKfQrWJSLyuV4PCz7i-ITueiYloQgNo4QUABMPD4CuY_qtmltwIqBaTRrv1eCvCWfJFxxkRgSgYAt3kep24vsJxhWCeXVejAfVZhOn/s1600/5+big+stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="132" data-original-width="383" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMa9Py9gDZkpH166IC6FtY-tGmSgBrUxiq7vjRwXKfQrWJSLyuV4PCz7i-ITueiYloQgNo4QUABMPD4CuY_qtmltwIqBaTRrv1eCvCWfJFxxkRgSgYAt3kep24vsJxhWCeXVejAfVZhOn/s320/5+big+stars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Favorite Quotes:</b></span></span></div>
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‘I’m claustrophobic,’ she lied. ‘Put me in that coffin of a storeroom and I’ll end up hyperventilating just as I’m ordering some innocent man out of his undercrackers. I’ll be breathing heavily like some dirty old man in a raincoat and then the whole surgery will be on the front page of the News of the World…’<br /><br /> <br />The bloody gerbil was always going AWOL, reappearing when she least expected it. She’d been lying half-asleep in the bath the other day when the damned thing had run along its edge, stopped and eyeballed her and she’d had to grab the flannel to cover herself, feeling strangely embarrassed and at a disadvantage under Lady Gaga’s haughty, critical stare.<br /><br /><br />Patrick, the flamboyant, adored, but often absent father of their childhood was – here, Juno frowned at the memory – too busy shagging his students and being made to leave his lecturing positions – lechering positions, Ariadne had renamed them – to be remotely interested in his daughters’ musical ambitions.<br /><br /><br />‘What’s Rosemary Braithwaite got that I haven’t? Well, I’ll tell you: haemorrhoids, that’s what.’ ‘Isn’t that breaking the Hippocratic oath, Izzy?’ Ariadne ventured. ‘Yes, sorry, you didn’t hear that from me. As far as I’m aware, Mary Magdalene doesn’t have, and never has had, bum grapes.’ She paused. ‘Honest.’</i><br /> <br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>My Review:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">This was my first Julie Houston experience and I was an instant convert and quickly became a rabid fan. I adored her wry wit and clever levity and wore a near-constant smirk throughout my perusal of this deftly crafted and amusing tale of high achieving members of a dysfunctional family, one that would give new meaning to the term. The writing was engaging, observant, and easy to fall into and inhabited by oddly enticing characters who entertained even when they were annoying, and that takes mad skills. I relished each page and added every book on her listing to my TBR. </span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">In addition to a cleverly amusing read Ms. Houston provided me with 3 new additions to my Brit Words and Phrases List with swinging a leg - being idle or avoiding work; locum - a person who temporarily takes the place for someone else of the same profession; and fit as a butcher’s dog – extremely healthy.</span></span><br /></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">About The Author</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Julie Houston is the author of </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">THE ONE SAVING GRACE, GOODNESS, GRACE AND ME </b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">and</span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> LOOKING FOR LUCY, </b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">a Kindle top 100 general bestseller and a Kindle #1 bestseller. She is married, with two teenage children and a mad cockerpoo and, like her heroine, lives in a West Yorkshire village. She is also a teacher and a magistrate.</span><br />
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DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-72768758145061363732020-05-19T19:45:00.000-10:002020-05-19T19:52:39.829-10:00Book Review: A Wedding in the Olive Garden by Leah Fleming <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwl47H_8r5uXgvCO4Cgl-N4WcTeg5YAfUR2qjeM7K_ug6i70LZ3Tz_Vk4W27OdsDNrjyDzDiGsQFQAV1-KEuyDnJFpTPyaMBAU_YtJDhjo0-wiqk0GJGL6525HmddGUo1iGKVYcWu1o6P8/s1600/87023988_2975671625810672_285262987541872640_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwl47H_8r5uXgvCO4Cgl-N4WcTeg5YAfUR2qjeM7K_ug6i70LZ3Tz_Vk4W27OdsDNrjyDzDiGsQFQAV1-KEuyDnJFpTPyaMBAU_YtJDhjo0-wiqk0GJGL6525HmddGUo1iGKVYcWu1o6P8/s640/87023988_2975671625810672_285262987541872640_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<b>A Wedding in the Olive Garden </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>by Leah Fleming </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52375685-a-wedding-in-the-olive-garden" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="41" data-original-width="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDups4g6HQvpCYQmdaF_T6fP2TqoBmkWQuSs9lQvlH3aRPkKUl5Y71PXnPXllZTZmGECpOiKnc-nkCk_M2NttAn7EMWGBb-1gQjBUFQgWbfSqUlLzhQdqIP3EKI3bUXPqubuXS1k-jNNd/s1600/goodreads+add.png" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wedding-Olive-Garden-Leah-Fleming-ebook/dp/B07RM8FYV5/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=A+Wedding+in+the+Olive+Garden&qid=1589953848&s=digital-text&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Amazon</a> / <a href="https://bit.ly/2XjeKzk" target="_blank">Google Play</a> /<a href="https://bit.ly/2xcTP6h" target="_blank"> Kobo</a> / <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-wedding-in-the-olive-garden-leah-fleming/1133693879?ean=9781788548694" target="_blank">B&N</a></span></b><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Can an island in the sun provide the second chance Sara needs? </span><br /> <br /><span style="font-size: large;">A warm and uplifting novel about love, friendship and new beginnings on the beautiful Greek island of Santaniki. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> Sara Loveday flees home and crisis to the beautiful island of Santaniki. Here, amid olive groves and whitewashed stone villas, where dark cypress trees step down to a cobalt blue sea, Sara vows to change her life. Spotting a gap in the local tourist market, she sets up a wedding plan business, specialising in 'second time around' couples. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> For her first big wedding, she borrows the olive garden of a local artists' retreat, but almost at once, things begin to go wrong. To make matters worse, a stranger from Sara's past arrives on the island, spreading vicious lies. Can her business survive? And what will happen with the gorgeous new man who she's begun to love? </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> This is a gorgeous, warm-hearted and uplifting novel conjuring the local color, traditions, and close bonds of island life.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><i>“I thought it was the man who did the proposing, you brazen hussy,’ he laughed… ‘Then you’d better get down on your knee and ask me proper. My knees aren’t up to it. If I get down I’ll not get up again. I suppose I’ll have to fork out for a wedding ring then,’ he laughed. </i></span><br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> I’ve never been to Greece but I feel like I’ve just returned as Ms. Fleming’s writing was so descriptive I felt like I was inhabiting the small Greek village right along with the characters, and I enjoyed getting to know their customs and foods without ever having to set foot in the airport – oh happy day. This was an active but slowly developing plot with multiple intersecting storylines while populated with a large international cast of uniquely quirky and fractious characters. Being an animal lover I particularly appreciated the message of responsibility and rescue and rehoming of strays. I also picked up a new phrase for my Brit Word List with spoilt for choice – which means having lots of options. </span></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">About The Author</b><br />
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After careers in teaching, catering, running a market stall, stress management courses in the NHS as well as being a mother of four, Leah Fleming found her true calling as a storyteller. She lives in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales but spends part of the year marinating her next tale from an olive grove on her favorite island of Crete. <br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
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DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-19829501726181605602020-05-18T19:35:00.001-10:002020-05-18T19:36:52.762-10:00Book Review: The Ingredients of You and Me by Nina Bocci<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Ingredients of You and Me</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>by Nina Bocci</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Amazon <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TGF9KTN/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0" target="_blank">US</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ingredients-You-Me-Hopeless-Romantics/dp/150117889X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1589866051&sr=8-1" target="_blank">UK</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Ingredients-You-Me-3/dp/150117889X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1589865921&sr=8-1" target="_blank">CA</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Ingredients-You-Me-Novel/dp/150117889X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1589865918&sr=8-1" target="_blank">AU</a> / </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ingredients-of-you-and-me-nina-bocci/1132189195?ean=9781501178894#/" target="_blank">B&N</a> / <a href="https://draft.blogger.com/Favorite%20Quotes:%20%20%E2%80%9CMancini,%20you%E2%80%99re%20the%20only%20person%20I%20know%20who%20answers%20a%20question%20without%20giving%20a%20lot%20of%20answers.%E2%80%9D%20She%20shrugged.%20%E2%80%9CIt%E2%80%99s%20a%20gift.%E2%80%9D%20%20I%E2%80%99m%20not%20even%20sure%20the%20wildlife%20outside%20my%20lake%20house%20would%20eat%20the%20stuff%20I%E2%80%99ve%20been%20baking%20lately%E2%80%A6%20you%20wouldn%E2%80%99t%20want%20it%20even%20if%20you%20were%20starving.%20I%20tried%20tossing%20a%20couple%20scones%20that%20I%20had%20made%20this%20morning%20out%20to%20the%20squirrels.%20I%20think%20I%20might%20have%20concussed%20one%20of%20them.%20%20What,%20is%20there%20some%20sort%20of%20sophisticated%20spy%20network%20around%20town%20that%20reports%20through%20a%20switchboard?%20My%20God,%20you%20guys%20are%20quick%20on%20the%20gossip%E2%80%A6%20%20%E2%80%9CI%20mean,%20I%E2%80%99m%20a%20bit%20old%20for%20the%20YouTubes,%20right?%20I%E2%80%99m%20almost%20seventy.%E2%80%9D%20I%20leveled%20her%20with%20a%20disbelievingly%20look.%20%E2%80%9COkay,%20seventy%20plus%20twelve,%E2%80%9D%20she%20sighed.%20%20You%20did%20something%20stupid.%20We%20don%E2%80%99t%20give%20up%20on%20people%20for%20doing%20that.%20We%20wouldn%E2%80%99t%20have%20anyone%20left%20if%20it%20was%20a%20one-strike%20system.%20%20%20My%20Review:%20%20This%20was%20my%20third%20time%20indulging%20myself%20in%20the%20clever%20levity%20of%20Nina%20Bocci%20and%20I%20am%20enamored%20with%20her%20sharp%20wit%20and%20uniquely%20quirky%20and%20dynamic%20characters%20with%20my%20pet%20being%20the%20indomitable%20Mrs.%20Mancini,%20my%20favorite%20octogenarian.%20%20I%20want%20to%20be%20Mrs.%20Mancini%20when%20I%20grow%20up.%20%20The%20storylines%20were%20entertaining%20yet%20realistic%20and%20relatable,%20the%20characters%20were%20infuriating%20at%20times%20yet%20likable%20and%20well-meaning,%20and%20the%20writing%20was%20crisp,%20witty,%20and%20divinely%20amusing.%20%20Creating%20a%20snarky%20message%20delivery%20system%20through%20baked%20goods%20and%20naming%20the%20bakery%20Delicious%20and%20Vicious%20was%20nothing%20short%20of%20ingenious.%20%20I%20declare%20myself%20one%20of%20Nina%20Bocci%E2%80%99s%20most%20devoted%20acolytes." target="_blank">GP</a> / <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-ingredients-of-you-and-me/id1470010472?_bbid=12541610&mt=11" target="_blank">Apple</a> / <a href="https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Ingredients/Nina-Bocci/9781501178894?id=7480008876356" target="_blank">BAM</a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Paperback: 320 pages</span></div>
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Publisher: Gallery Books (April 28, 2020)</div>
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From the USA TODAY bestselling author of the “heartwarming and refreshingly sweet” (Lauren Layne, New York Times bestselling author) On the Corner of Love and Hate comes a story about a baker who takes her chances on a new town…and an old love.<br /><br />After selling her famous bakery back in New York, Parker Adams visits Hope Lake, Pennsylvania, to figure out her next steps. And soon she’s wondering why she ever loved city life in the first place. Between the Golden Girls—the senior women who hold court—and Nick Arthur, her equally infuriating and charming former flame, Parker finds a community eager to help her get her mojo back.<br /><br />But even though Hope Lake gives her the fresh start she’s been looking for, Parker discovers that it’s not so easy to start over again with Nick. Their chemistry is undeniable, but since Nick is a freshly taken man, Parker is determined to keep things platonic. With a recipe for disaster looming, Parker must cook up a new scheme, figuring out how to keep everything she’s come to love before she loses it all.<br /><br />Perfect for fans of Amy E. Reichert and Jenny Colgan, The Ingredients of You and Me is a scrumptious romantic comedy that lets you have your cake and eat it too.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMa9Py9gDZkpH166IC6FtY-tGmSgBrUxiq7vjRwXKfQrWJSLyuV4PCz7i-ITueiYloQgNo4QUABMPD4CuY_qtmltwIqBaTRrv1eCvCWfJFxxkRgSgYAt3kep24vsJxhWCeXVejAfVZhOn/s1600/5+big+stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="132" data-original-width="383" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMa9Py9gDZkpH166IC6FtY-tGmSgBrUxiq7vjRwXKfQrWJSLyuV4PCz7i-ITueiYloQgNo4QUABMPD4CuY_qtmltwIqBaTRrv1eCvCWfJFxxkRgSgYAt3kep24vsJxhWCeXVejAfVZhOn/s320/5+big+stars.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Favorite Quotes:</span></b></div>
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<i style="font-size: x-large;">“Mancini, you’re the only person I know who answers a question without giving a lot of answers.” She shrugged. “It’s a gift.”<br /><br />I’m not even sure the wildlife outside my lake house would eat the stuff I’ve been baking lately… you wouldn’t want it even if you were starving. I tried tossing a couple scones that I had made this morning out to the squirrels. I think I might have concussed one of them.<br /><br />What, is there some sort of sophisticated spy network around town that reports through a switchboard? My God, you guys are quick on the gossip…<br /><br />“I mean, I’m a bit old for the YouTubes, right? I’m almost seventy.” I leveled her with a disbelievingly look. “Okay, seventy plus twelve,” she sighed.<br /><br />You did something stupid. We don’t give up on people for doing that. We wouldn’t have anyone left if it was a one-strike system.</i><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>My Review:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">This was my third time indulging myself in the clever levity of Nina Bocci and I am enamored with her sharp wit and uniquely quirky and dynamic characters with my pet being the indomitable Mrs. Mancini, my favorite octogenarian. I want to be Mrs. Mancini when I grow up. The storylines were entertaining yet realistic and relatable, the characters were infuriating at times yet likable and well-meaning, and the writing was crisp, witty, and divinely amusing. Creating a snarky message delivery system through baked goods and naming the bakery Delicious and Vicious was nothing short of ingenious. I declare myself one of Nina Bocci’s most devoted acolytes. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZIwqJ8ScjET1itZfs9TSHnz-lZzLHP8vYGmKbEVKcHfn0_okdpsi3VyY06U3e8-VUkrCv79CT7cHEWOyJ1O17zaX58g3wRPY_VI01acZ-oDRvcFDPx7qG3Yu2s9VyBXKm0lg54486SDrj/s1600/Combo++-+ears.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZIwqJ8ScjET1itZfs9TSHnz-lZzLHP8vYGmKbEVKcHfn0_okdpsi3VyY06U3e8-VUkrCv79CT7cHEWOyJ1O17zaX58g3wRPY_VI01acZ-oDRvcFDPx7qG3Yu2s9VyBXKm0lg54486SDrj/s1600/Combo++-+ears.png" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">About The Author</b><br />
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<a href="https://tlcbooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/13179321_518041085050754_3862031520703429361_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img height="320" src="https://tlcbooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/13179321_518041085050754_3862031520703429361_n-219x300.jpg" width="233" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Nina Bocci is a USA TODAY bestselling novelist who loves reading and writing about swoony, relatable heroes and smart, witty heroines. If it’s set in a small town, even better. You can always find her chatting on social media about her massive, crazy Italian family, and her favorite person in the world, her son.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Connect with Nina</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" /><a href="http://ninabocci.com/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Website</a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> | </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ninabocci" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> | </span><a href="https://twitter.com/ninabocci" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter</a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> | </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/ninapolitan/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Instagram</a></span><br />
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DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-68450215242642037282020-05-17T20:36:00.001-10:002020-05-17T20:36:25.768-10:00Book Review: Family For Beginners by Sarah Morgan<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitO1aIq_ZNIX3sKvTfNSmQqA2KgTy_5bIecK5hinTROe4LfxCefVWA7ekrJWQHBjpKWdgtIg6XnxSc2F44LiB0dJQa32V8vQDwmwS4FX7fiSFO6aIRvjyU3BYdRWxcojZXhm2wJzGxgKzF/s1600/32-FAMILY-FOR-BEGINNERS-Blog-Tour-Banner-640x247.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitO1aIq_ZNIX3sKvTfNSmQqA2KgTy_5bIecK5hinTROe4LfxCefVWA7ekrJWQHBjpKWdgtIg6XnxSc2F44LiB0dJQa32V8vQDwmwS4FX7fiSFO6aIRvjyU3BYdRWxcojZXhm2wJzGxgKzF/s640/32-FAMILY-FOR-BEGINNERS-Blog-Tour-Banner-640x247.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;">Family For Beginners</b></div>
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<b>by Sarah Morgan</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49584986-family-for-beginners" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="41" data-original-width="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDups4g6HQvpCYQmdaF_T6fP2TqoBmkWQuSs9lQvlH3aRPkKUl5Y71PXnPXllZTZmGECpOiKnc-nkCk_M2NttAn7EMWGBb-1gQjBUFQgWbfSqUlLzhQdqIP3EKI3bUXPqubuXS1k-jNNd/s1600/goodreads+add.png" /></a></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1335141634?tag=hqnweb-20">Amazon</a> / <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/family-for-beginners-sarah-morgan/1133420588?ean=9781335014931">B&N</a> / <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335141637">Indiebound</a> / <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/family-for-beginners-sarah-morgan/1133420588;jsessionid=30DBAD63FDE3385E66662D7CB1C313CE.prodny_store01-atgap05?ean=9781488056666&st=AFF&2sid=HarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC_7651142_NA&sourceId=AFFHarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC">Books-A-Million</a> / <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Sarah_Morgan_Family_for_Beginners?id=kG-jDwAAQBAJ">Google</a> / <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/family-for-beginners/id1473291471?ign-mpt=uo%3D4">iBooks</a> / <a href="https://www.kobo.com/?utm_source=walmarthybrid&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=HarperCollins.com&utm_term=hqnweb&ranMID=37217&ranEAID=MdXm68JZJz8&ranSiteID=MdXm68JZJz8-rSlESOoVuviEysNLQaTA3Q&siteID=MdXm68JZJz8-rSlESOoVuviEysNLQaTA3Q">Kobo</a></b></div>
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ISBN: 9781335014931</div>
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Publication Date: 5/5/2020</div>
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Publisher: HQN Books</div>
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USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan returns with a life-affirming exploration of love, loss, and how families come in all shapes and sizes…<br /> <br /> New York florist Flora Donovan is living the dream, but her bubbly optimism hides a secret. She’s lonely. Orphaned as a child, she’s never felt like she’s belonged anywhere…until she meets Jack Parker. He’s the first man to ever really see her, and it’s life changing.<br /> <br /> Teenager Izzy Parker is holding it together by her fingertips. Since her mother passed away a year ago, looking after her dad and little sister is the only thing that makes Izzy feel safe. Discovering her father has a new girlfriend is her worst nightmare—she is not in the market for a replacement mom. Then her father invites Flora on their summer vacation…<br /> <br /> Flora’s heart aches for Izzy, but she badly wants her relationship with Jack to work. As the summer unfolds, Flora must push her own boundaries to discover parts of herself she never knew existed—and to find the family she’s always wanted.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Favorite Quotes:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /> <i><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Clare was so far out of her comfort zone she couldn’t have found her way back with a compass or SatNav.<br /><br /> <br />Her mother had always emphasized that life was what you made of it, but Flora couldn’t help thinking that what you made depended on the raw ingredients you were given. Even the best chef couldn’t do much with moldy vegetables.<br /><br /><br />A teenager is a unique and unpredictable animal. They adapt to their surroundings… Which, now that I think about it, is probably the definition of a virus, too. Go figure. Even after they leave home you feel the aftereffects.<br /><br /><br />“We’ve kissed. And it is always amazing, and stop looking at me like that because frankly kissing him was better than any sex I ever had.” “You must have had terrible sex.”<br /><br /><br />Life is too short to fill it with friends who don’t care about you or bring you joy… But bad friends are like the old clothes in your closet. They’re the stained shirt, the sweater with the hole in it, the dress that no longer fits. They have no place and should be cleared out.”</span></i><br /> <br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>My Review:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> I’ve read several of her books now and have decided that Sarah Morgan is one of my favorite authors of all time. I simply adore her. She writes with astounding agility from multiple POVs and covers relevant and relatable issues with a lively and uncanny level of skill yet her tales are well-balanced with humor, angst, tragedy, perceptive awareness, and observant insights on all sides. Family For Beginners was a slowly evolving and well-nuanced tale that was heavy on family drama while a new romance was blossoming for a widower with children and a timid yet sensitive and eager to please florist. The storylines were multifaceted with complex yet endearing characters who were struggling to find their place and establish their own roles within their newly formed dynamic. </span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">About The Author</span></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-uCkT44HI5DFg2i0VuBLtqo5mYutOonDt518jDajZ97Ywmq0irCLDNIGzeTiaxJFpiSvFabYNco5VuWs5Zcv4B3HAqn0HBUaLoGdnbwLWvr-lChmg3cZ6dcLIbVQS2QzzKdse6-6-la7z/s1600/74155_2019-05-29_1665.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-uCkT44HI5DFg2i0VuBLtqo5mYutOonDt518jDajZ97Ywmq0irCLDNIGzeTiaxJFpiSvFabYNco5VuWs5Zcv4B3HAqn0HBUaLoGdnbwLWvr-lChmg3cZ6dcLIbVQS2QzzKdse6-6-la7z/s320/74155_2019-05-29_1665.jpeg" width="210" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><a href="http://sarahmorgan.com/">Author Website</a><br /><br />Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/SarahMorgan_?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@SarahMorgan_</a><br /><br />Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSarahMorgan/">@AuthorSarahMorgan</a><br /><br />Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sarahmorganwrites/">@SarahMorganWrites</a><br /><br /><br />Author Bio: USA Today bestselling author Sarah Morgan writes lively, sexy contemporary stories for Harlequin.<br /><br />Romantic Times has described her as 'a magician with words' and nominated her books for their Reviewer's Choice Awards and their 'Top Pick' slot. In 2012 Sarah received the prestigious RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America. She lives near London with her family. Find out more at <a href="http://www.sararahmorgan.com/">www.sararahmorgan.com</a>.<br /></span><br />
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DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-38826652956007920442020-05-17T19:41:00.003-10:002020-05-17T19:41:50.127-10:00Book Review: Dead to Her by Sarah Pinborough<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: xx-large;">Dead to Her</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: start;"><b>by Sarah Pinborough</b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45730132-dead-to-her" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: start;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhJS0ePY4wfCM3tmCD6UsSzNHUoaZy37iGsmYox1k2125U2rO1biqSdYekcddUw1sG0JxI5S7Wefu6CJsA6kJFPPT9xIGz4iU1clmxjKWGHg4dtWo2m3G02rbXVraRJqiNwXuiiGddXwe1FmgQrDoW2WGg0x2kwMWCHhZRfxt75dUsnAS9E3l6cU92Swf_4=s0-d-e1-ft" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062856821/dead-to-her/" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: start;" target="_blank">HarperCollins</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: start;"> | </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Her-Novel-Sarah-Pinborough/dp/0062856820/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=9780062856821&qid=1581368718&sr=8-1" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: start;" target="_blank">Amazon</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: start;"> | </span><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dead-to-her-sarah-pinborough/1132004591?ean=9780062856821#/" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: start;" target="_blank">B & N</a></span></b></div>
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400 pages</div>
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William Morrow (February 11, 2020)</div>
<br /><span style="font-size: large;">For fans of Liane Moriarty, Liv Constantine and Lisa Jewell, a twisty psychological thriller about a savvy second wife who will do almost anything to come out on top from the New York Times bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Marriage can be murder…</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">SOMETHING OLD</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Marcie’s affair with Jason Maddox catapulted her into the world of the elite.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Old money, old ties, old secrets. Marcie may have married into this world—</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">but she’ll never be part of it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">SOMETHING NEW</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Then Jason’s boss brings back a new wife from his trip to London.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Young, attractive, reckless—nobody can take their eyes off Keisha.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Including Marcie’s husband.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">SOMETHING YOU CAN NEVER, EVER UNDO…</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Some people would kill for the life Marcie has—what will she do to keep it?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>My Rating:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Favorite Quotes:</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Be her friend,
Jason had said. Like it was that
easy. Men knew nothing about the tricky
waters of mutual mistrust women swam in.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It was a shark
pool, and the women were the worst.
Bored and half-drunk most of the time.
What else was there to do but bitch, judge, and gossip about one another
between charity events?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> I don’t think badly of you for it, because I
totally get why you did it, but if you marry a man for his money, sweetheart,
you will always end up earning it.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What was it
Mama used to say? Her pearls of wisdom
on the world? Money, sex, and power are
the father, the son, and the holy ghost of life, honey. Just remember that. And women can get all three if they’re not
stupid. So don’t be stupid.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And as if there
are no gays in the army… I mean seriously
They all work out, and they all wear uniforms. The army is basically the goddamn Village People.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My Review:<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Sarah Pinborough
is ingeniously clever and divinely gifted with the word voodoo. I lost myself in her riveting storytelling
and hissed my resentment at any interruption to my perusal. I was enthralled and so absorbed I found
myself more than a bit disoriented when I looked up from my book and realized I
wasn’t actually living in the sweltering Georgia heat and having drinks with or
experiencing the stink-eye from with the elite Southern blue blood society of
Savannah. The narrative was so
flawlessly transportive I heard their drawling accents, creaking floorboards,
the revving of their engines, and the clinking ice cubes - surely that wasn't
all in my head! This was a twisty,
unpredictable and monstrously compelling tale that oozed intrigue and was taut
with tension that seemed to be continually and miraculously ratcheting up to an
exponential level while cast with a bevy of quirky yet thoroughly vile
characters.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">About The Author</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwtZfm56j7CU8cVgrwm_aRr2u2vR8mNYo3zssZBPixVydSw-wyd7XALKkqNbsIKdwOowImPGhbon8tUzxw4GSu-SbbM2KUTs-6Og9sH1AH-rbKjJhRsSJyDPkV-X7hEVLP9ajlxg7HOpVq/s1600/Sarah-Pinborough-AP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwtZfm56j7CU8cVgrwm_aRr2u2vR8mNYo3zssZBPixVydSw-wyd7XALKkqNbsIKdwOowImPGhbon8tUzxw4GSu-SbbM2KUTs-6Og9sH1AH-rbKjJhRsSJyDPkV-X7hEVLP9ajlxg7HOpVq/s200/Sarah-Pinborough-AP.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Sarah Pinborough is the number one Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of the psychological thriller Behind Her Eyes, and more than twenty other novels and novellas, including The Death House and a young adult thriller, 13 Minutes. She has also written for the BBC. She lives in England.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;" /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Find out more about Sarah at her </span><a href="https://sarahpinborough.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">website</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, and connect with her on </span><a href="https://twitter.com/SarahPinborough" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Twitter</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> and </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/sarahpinboroughbooks/" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Instagram</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">.</span></span><br />
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DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-16203398268585620162020-05-16T15:11:00.000-10:002020-05-16T15:11:20.248-10:00Book Review: Carpentry and Cocktails by Nora Everly<h1 style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Carpentry and Cocktails, an all-new heartwarming small-town romance from Nora Everly, is now available in Kindle Unlimited! </span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Everett Monroe can’t keep his eyes off his gorgeous tenant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">He’d like to put his hands on her too, but she’s prickly, closed-off, and gives new meaning to the word disgruntled. In other words, she’s his perfect match and he’ll do anything to make her see it too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Willa Hill has finally left her teen runaway past behind and wants a fresh start—alone. Men are nothing but trouble and she’s had enough man-trouble to last a lifetime.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Too bad her irresistibly sexy, nerdy-hot landlord doesn’t agree.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">When their mutual yearning becomes a white-hot fling and passion crosses carefully drawn, albeit one-sided boundaries, Everett finds himself in love and Willa finds herself in a pickle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Because, unfortunately, when she returned to Green Valley, her problems came too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">When the past she escaped crashes into the future she finds herself wanting more than anything, will Willa stay in Green Valley?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Or will she run away again?</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">‘Carpentry and Cocktails’ is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #5 in the Green Valley Library series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.</span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Download your copy TODAY!</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2Tz7hu5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/38fxQsm</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon CA: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2TIn2iz"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/2TIn2iz</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon AU: </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://amzn.to/2NLs363">https://amzn.to/2NLs363</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><i><span style="font-size: large;">“Okay, boys, this is where I take my leave. I have no interest in unloading, building, assembling, or anything other than a nice hot cup of tea and the Downton Abbey marathon tonight on the television. Kiss your mother goodbye.” I exchanged a look with Garrett. We knew she would really watch The Real Housewives of somewhere and fix herself a huge martini, but we were both too smart to mention it.</span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I braced because every southern girl knows when a middle name gets dropped, shit’s about to become serious.</span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">“Sometimes the best part of building something new is tearing down what stood in its place.” I held out the sledgehammer as an offering.</span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Oh my god, Willa! Sharing a Netflix password is the new pre-engagement, everyone knows that.</span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">If a man’s any kind of man at all he knows the difference between love and lust. Lust is in a hurry, but love is already there.</span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">My heart was a wild thing in my chest and my eyes grew hot with emotion.</span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">“We took vows in front of God, Willa. You will always be my wife.” … “We were in Las Vegas, Tommy. God had nothing to do with it. We took our vows in front of Elvis, and he’d probably agree with me that you’re an asshole,”</span></i><br /> <br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">This was my second exposure to the clever wordcraft of Nora Everly and I as was well entertained and pleasantly immersed in her amusing storytelling during both, I have become a devoted fangirl. Her beguiling and witty writing was well-paced, engaging, easy to follow, and conjured crisp visuals in my gray matter while her irreverent humor kept a smirk close at hand. The well-drawn characters were endearing and accessible while realistically flawed. I adored this couple and was totally smitten with Everett as he is the perfect man: handsome, sexy, sweet, protective, thoughtful, and every inch of him well assembled. Everett had tools and knew what to do with them - in every room of the house. But he only had eyes for Willa and called her sweetness and frequently told her she was beautiful and could have or do anything she wanted – oh swoon! Of course, all that perfection could only be found on my Kindle. </span></span><div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">About Nora Everly</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Nora Everly is a lifelong bookworm. She started reading the good stuff once she grew tall enough to sneak the romance novels off the top of her mother’s bookshelf and it has been non-stop ever since.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Once upon a time she was a substitute teacher and an educational assistant. Now she’s a writer and stay at home mom to two small humans and one fat cat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Nora lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family and her overactive imagination.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Find Nora Everly online</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Facebook: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2kuJmwL"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2kuJmwL</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Twitter: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2kxjtwa"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2kxjtwa</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2kx2f21"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/2kx2f21</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instagram: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2kuLMeI"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2kuLMeI</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Website: </span><a href="https://www.noraeverly.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://www.noraeverly.com/</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="20200225-SPR logo FINAL" class=" size-full wp-image-431 aligncenter" height="141" src="https://brookeblogblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/20200225-spr-logo-final-1.png" width="400" /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Connect with Smartypants Romance</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2lGdIMQ"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/2lGdIMQ</span></a></span></div>
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DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-19624832145396372202020-05-14T10:10:00.000-10:002020-05-14T10:10:30.332-10:00Book Review: This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is How I Lied </span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Heather Gudenkauf</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49078870-this-is-how-i-lied" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="41" data-original-width="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDups4g6HQvpCYQmdaF_T6fP2TqoBmkWQuSs9lQvlH3aRPkKUl5Y71PXnPXllZTZmGECpOiKnc-nkCk_M2NttAn7EMWGBb-1gQjBUFQgWbfSqUlLzhQdqIP3EKI3bUXPqubuXS1k-jNNd/s1600/goodreads+add.png" /></span></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-How-I-Lied-Novel/dp/0778309703/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=this+is+how+i+lied&qid=1585942754&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Amazon</a> / </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/this-is-how-i-lied-heather-gudenkauf/1132169646?ean=9780778309703" target="_blank">B&N</a> / <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/this-is-how-i-lied/id1469682312?_bbid=12538089&mt=11" target="_blank">Apple</a>/ <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Heather_Gudenkauf_This_Is_How_I_Lied?id=i3aeDwAAQBAJ" target="_blank">GP</a> / <a href="https://www.booksamillion.com/p/This-How-Lied/Heather-Gudenkauf/9780778309703?id=7670068459528" target="_blank">BAM</a> / </span><a href="https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9780778309703_this-is-how-i-lied.html" target="_blank">Harlequin</a> </b></div>
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ISBN: 9780778309703</div>
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Publication Date: May 12, 2020</div>
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Publisher: Park Row Books</div>
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With the eccentricity of Fargo and the intensity of Sadie, <b>THIS IS HOW I LIED</b> by Heather Gudenkauf (Park Row Books; May 12, 2020; $17.99) is a timely and gripping thriller about careless violence we can inflict on those we love, and the lengths we will go to make it right, even 25 years later.</div>
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Tough as nails and seven months pregnant, Detective Maggie Kennedy-O’Keefe of Grotto PD, is dreading going on desk duty before having the baby her and her husband so badly want. But when new evidence is found in the 25-year-old cold case of her best friend’s murder that requires the work of a desk jockey, Maggie jumps at the opportunity to be the one who finally puts Eve Knox’s case to rest.</div>
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Everyone close to Eve is a suspect. There’s Nola, Eve’s little sister who’s always been a little... off; Nick, Eve’s ex-boyfriend with a vicious temper; a Schwinn riding drifter who blew in and out of Grotto; even Maggie’s husband Sean, who may have known more about Eve’s last day than he’s letting on. As Maggie continues to investigate, the case comes closer and closer to home, forcing her to confront her own demons before she can find justice for Eve. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMa9Py9gDZkpH166IC6FtY-tGmSgBrUxiq7vjRwXKfQrWJSLyuV4PCz7i-ITueiYloQgNo4QUABMPD4CuY_qtmltwIqBaTRrv1eCvCWfJFxxkRgSgYAt3kep24vsJxhWCeXVejAfVZhOn/s1600/5+big+stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="132" data-original-width="383" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMa9Py9gDZkpH166IC6FtY-tGmSgBrUxiq7vjRwXKfQrWJSLyuV4PCz7i-ITueiYloQgNo4QUABMPD4CuY_qtmltwIqBaTRrv1eCvCWfJFxxkRgSgYAt3kep24vsJxhWCeXVejAfVZhOn/s320/5+big+stars.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><i><span style="font-size: large;">Dex Stroope is in his midsixties, big-bellied with a face that always looks like it could use a good nap.</span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I found Nola standing there looking up at me with those big glasses and green eyes like some kind of click beetle… Right away I was concerned, but by the casual look on Nola Knox’s face, you would have thought she was selling Girl Scout cookies or popcorn for her basketball team or something. But instead of asking me if I want a box of Thin Mints or Do-Si-Dos, she says, My sister is dead. She was so matter-of-fact I thought I heard her wrong.</span></i><br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>My Review:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Cunningly penned from multiple POVs, this diabolical tale kept me taut with tension and my shoulders in my ears while it funneled me in so many directions the little pea in my brain was swirling with theories. I was so sure I had it solved and was feeling rather smug, but NO, this sneaky scribe had me bamboozled as I never saw this ending coming. </span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> My cold heart was squeezed for the character of Eve, the murder victim. Poor Eve couldn’t catch a break, even from her best friend and least of all her immature mess of a mother or younger sister, who was brilliant yet also a deeply disturbed young sociopath. Their small Iowa town appeared rife with social issues and devious characters. This was my second time reading the wily and treacherous wordcraft of Heather Gudenkauf and I am hooked. I want all her words, ALL of them!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://heathergudenkauf.com/">Author Website</a><br /><br />Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/hgudenkauf?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@hgudenkauf</a><br /><br />Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/heathergudenkauf/">@heathergudenkauf</a><br /><br />Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HeatherGudenkaufAuthor/">@HeatherGudenkaufAuthor</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2875124.Heather_Gudenkauf">Goodreads</a><br /><br /><br /> Heather Gudenkauf is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many books, including <b>The Weight of Silence </b>and<b> These Things Hidden</b>. Heather graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in elementary education, has spent her career working with students of all ages. She lives in Iowa with her husband, three children, and a very spoiled German Shorthaired Pointer named Lolo. In her free time, Heather enjoys spending time with her family, reading, hiking, and running.</span><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-87408122394389763782020-05-11T21:36:00.001-10:002020-05-11T21:36:29.627-10:00Book Review: Death of a Mermaid by Lesley Thomson<div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50918144-death-of-a-mermaid" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="41" data-original-width="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDups4g6HQvpCYQmdaF_T6fP2TqoBmkWQuSs9lQvlH3aRPkKUl5Y71PXnPXllZTZmGECpOiKnc-nkCk_M2NttAn7EMWGBb-1gQjBUFQgWbfSqUlLzhQdqIP3EKI3bUXPqubuXS1k-jNNd/s1600/goodreads+add.png" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Amazon <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RM6R4WL/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0" target="_blank">US</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Mermaid-Lesley-Thomson/dp/1788549732/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1589267554&sr=8-1" target="_blank">UK</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Death-of-a-Mermaid/dp/1788549716/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1589267511&sr=8-1" target="_blank">CA</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Death-Mermaid-Lesley-Thomson/dp/1788549716/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1589267138&sr=8-1" target="_blank">AU</a> / </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/death-of-a-mermaid-lesley-thomson/1136219349?ean=9781788549707" target="_blank">B&N</a> / <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details?_bbid=12351681&_bbreg=us&_bbtype=blog&id=3lKYDwAAQBAJ" target="_blank">GP </a>/ <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/death-of-a-mermaid/id1462924600?_bbid=15924178&mt=11" target="_blank">Apple</a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />Freddy left her childhood home in Newhaven twenty-two years ago and swore never to return. But now her parents are dead, and she's back in her hometown to help her brothers manage the family fishmonger. Nothing here has changed: the stink of fish coming up from the marshes; the shopping trolleys half-buried by muddy tides; the neighbours sniffing for a new piece of gossip.<br /><br /> It's not what Freddy would have chosen, but at least while she's here she'll get to see her childhood best friends, Toni and Pauline. At school, the three of them were inseparable. The teachers called them the Mermaids for their obsession with the sea, and with each other.<br /><br /> Then Pauline goes missing, and Freddy must decide. Go back to her new life, or stay and find her friend?<br /></span><b style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: xx-large;"><br /></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtED8-JuomEixP8eYZjPnZFioI4cyO9wZvpAo4rCcIB6Fbx7nAcEgGeK17v1Xg42Yc_6oyHyuZAfcEVd-E9rjWcYrWupBGo-SiyaPR2E6cGJUclYl4V0E6M3XeBzq8GI2eYsQq5w6bXuAm/s1600/4.5+stars.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtED8-JuomEixP8eYZjPnZFioI4cyO9wZvpAo4rCcIB6Fbx7nAcEgGeK17v1Xg42Yc_6oyHyuZAfcEVd-E9rjWcYrWupBGo-SiyaPR2E6cGJUclYl4V0E6M3XeBzq8GI2eYsQq5w6bXuAm/s1600/4.5+stars.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><i><span style="font-size: large;">A hush fell over the pews. Girls scented trouble. Fights in the convent were supposed to be out of the sight, if not from God, at least from the nuns.</span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Toni Kemp was watching her. With the twisted perception of a thwarted adolescent, Karen was convinced Toni had engineered her tragedy to worm her way into Mags’s Mermaids.</span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">But the fun of the hidden wore off and hindsight had shown Freddy it was toxic. A love kept secret feels barely true.</span></i><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">This was my first exposure to the devious nuanced plotting of Lesley Thomson and I am wondering why I have not noticed her work before as I’ve been missing out. Her word skills are vast with storylines that tangle, mesh, and unravel with cunning and guile. The plot was rather complex and contained several relevant and major social issues from domestic abuse, bullying on several levels, friendship, coming of age, homophobia, dysfunctional family dynamics, mean girls, religious practices and fanaticism, murder, and greed. All the characters, primary, secondary, and even those just briefly passing through, were an interesting mix with unique quirks and odd yet interestingly detailed traits that at times were unexpected and somewhat incongruent while they tickled my gray cells and taunted my curiosity. Such as the detective who had retained the agile shoplifting skills she had honed as a teen for the risky five-finger discount when it came to purchasing chocolates. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The tale was observantly written from multiple POVs with keenly perceptive and insightful glimpses into each prickly character as the story threads slowly built toward a dark and cohesive core. I was holding myself tighter and tighter and nibbling on my cuticles as the tautly written tale built to a climax. And while I had guessed whom the murderer was early on, the rest of my theories and hypothesized motives were incorrect. </span><br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-size: large;">In addition to assisting in solving a series of tragic murders, I also gleaned two new additions to my Brit Word List with Roundheads – who were supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War and distinguished by a close-cropped hairstyle; and cottaging – men cruising for or engaging in sexual activity in a public lavatory.</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">About The Author</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtwGNvjBK-T1dXjzks4ieLk8AqSVOP6XUtw36_oCRr6bHzWybujnhTbcehXkC7NsyCweizLsCLd2o0U7e2w2Af4pUH-BAdEA48zsUlxTBVlqk816DE5_NCgFKX1Satu68PtiuScJQBA84/s1600/Author+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtwGNvjBK-T1dXjzks4ieLk8AqSVOP6XUtw36_oCRr6bHzWybujnhTbcehXkC7NsyCweizLsCLd2o0U7e2w2Af4pUH-BAdEA48zsUlxTBVlqk816DE5_NCgFKX1Satu68PtiuScJQBA84/s320/Author+photo.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lesley-Thomson/e/B001KDLZ3W/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1" target="_blank">Amazon</a><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1263938.Lesley_Thomson" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.lesleythomson.com/" target="_blank">Website</a></span><br style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/LesleyjmThomson?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span><br style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/LesleyThomsonNovelist/" target="_blank">Facebook</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Lesley Thomson grew up in west London. Her first novel, A Kind of Vanishing, won the People's Book Prize in 2010. Her second novel, The Detective's Daughter, was a number 1 bestseller and sold over 500,000 copies. </span></span><br />
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DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-38950325057035715952020-05-09T12:05:00.000-10:002020-05-09T12:06:27.010-10:00Book Review: Batter of Wits by Karla Sorensen<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>“Heartfelt, hilarious, with a dash of angst...Karla Sorensen shines with the perfect feel-good read!” --Author Catherine Cowles</b>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Batter of Wits, an all-new funny and heartwarming romance from Karla Sorensen, is now available in Kindle Unlimited! </span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Hate at first sight couldn’t possibly exist, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">That’s what Grace Buchanan thought, before her useless car stranded her on the side of a deserted road just inside the Green Valley city limits.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">When Tucker Haywood—tall and handsome and full of southern charm— shows up to help, her reaction to him is the strongest thing she’s ever felt in her life, and it makes no freaking sense.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">It doesn’t make much sense to Tucker either. Not why she hates him, or why he finds her so intriguing. He knows well enough that Grace is moving to Green Valley for a fresh start, not to distract him when he’s got no room for something like her in his life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">The complications between them are endless, but that doesn’t stop her definitely not love-at-first-sight feelings from changing into something else entirely.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Grace and Tucker are about to learn the hard way that in Green Valley, hating someone has never tasted so sweet.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">‘Batter of Wits’ is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #5 in the Donner Bakery series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.</span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Download your copy TODAY or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Amazon US: https://amzn.to/30wAA1J</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2NDSL0j</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon CA: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/37cWWrV"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/37cWWrV</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon AU: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2vab3Qz"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/2vab3Qz</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Audio on Author's Direct: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/2KlA2V8"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://bit.ly/2KlA2V8</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Audio on iTunes: </span><a href="https://apple.co/2KjwF14"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://apple.co/2KjwF14</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Audio on Google Play: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/3cALuZb"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://bit.ly/3cALuZb</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Audio on Kobo: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/3btKxlc"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://bit.ly/3btKxlc</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Add to Goodreads: </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="http://bit.ly/2ueXOh5">http://bit.ly/2ueXOh5</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMa9Py9gDZkpH166IC6FtY-tGmSgBrUxiq7vjRwXKfQrWJSLyuV4PCz7i-ITueiYloQgNo4QUABMPD4CuY_qtmltwIqBaTRrv1eCvCWfJFxxkRgSgYAt3kep24vsJxhWCeXVejAfVZhOn/s1600/5+big+stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="132" data-original-width="383" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMa9Py9gDZkpH166IC6FtY-tGmSgBrUxiq7vjRwXKfQrWJSLyuV4PCz7i-ITueiYloQgNo4QUABMPD4CuY_qtmltwIqBaTRrv1eCvCWfJFxxkRgSgYAt3kep24vsJxhWCeXVejAfVZhOn/s320/5+big+stars.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Favorite Quotes: </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span> <br /><i><span style="font-size: large;">He could talk a snake into crutches, if he put his mind to it. </span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Don't you get all high and mighty, Francine. If I had legs like hers, I'd work the pole too. </span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">My brother smiled wide, and if his thick skull had a window in it, I would've seen the wheels spinning. </span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">It was as if her brain was built with subtitles, because her facial expressions were so clear, so obvious, everything she was thinking played across that face as if someone was typing them in all-capped, bold letters. </span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">This man would need a lobotomy to get over his anger with me. </span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">She snatched the book from Maxine’s hand. “Ladies,” she said with a smile. “This one is mine.” The cover caught the light, a half-naked man clutching a scantily clad woman to his brawny chest. Maxine rolled her eyes. “Who do you think is fighting you over it, Ruby?” “You’d want it too if you read the last one. There was a scene in a ship that had me in hot flashes for a solid week.”… Ruby looked down at her book, and I snapped another picture, the rapturous expression on her gently wrinkled face had me grinning. </span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Shame didn’t go down easily when you tried to swallow it… </span><br /><br /> </i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>My Review: </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> Oh, happy, day! Another cleverly penned and sassy Smartypants Romance book to savor, smirk, and giggle-snort over. I am a new disciple of Ms. Sorensen having only read her previous contribution to this witty series with <i>Baking Me Crazy</i>, and I am totally enamored with her after reading this snarky yet sweet and deliciously entertaining tale. I adore her highly amusing and seamless style of snappy banter, indomitable biddies, quirky characters, and shrewdly irreverent insights. My burgeoning TBR now includes her entire backlist and I can’t wait to see what she does next. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZD7iJGoutXVkUMY1r3d5KsZDMERwvmaFFbH2c51A5HqdpqlBjFMHgDJTO5WI2i5q6IYg3z7Vx1EMX4CLAMiCUoUP6FY3WJBb1TC5kUVogTJ94dGwXEFuCS8wdmoqhdiWP-adGN_Hh3rOk/s1600/Combo+-+arms.png" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZD7iJGoutXVkUMY1r3d5KsZDMERwvmaFFbH2c51A5HqdpqlBjFMHgDJTO5WI2i5q6IYg3z7Vx1EMX4CLAMiCUoUP6FY3WJBb1TC5kUVogTJ94dGwXEFuCS8wdmoqhdiWP-adGN_Hh3rOk/s1600/Combo+-+arms.png" /></span></a></h3>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">About Karla Sorensen</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">Karla Sorensen has been an avid reader her entire life, preferring stories with a happily-ever-after over just about any other kind. And considering she has an entire line item in her budget for books, she realized it might just be cheaper to write her own stories. It doesn’t take much to keep her happy…a book, a really big glass of wine, and at least thirty minutes of complete silence every day. She still keeps her toes in the world of health care marketing, where she made her living pre-babies. Now she stays home, writing and mommy-ing full time (this translates to almost every day being a ‘pajama day’ at the Sorensen household…don’t judge). She lives in West Michigan with her husband, two exceptionally adorable sons and big, shaggy rescue dog.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Find Karla Sorensen online</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Facebook: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2lU6xAS"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2lU6xAS</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Twitter: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2khRSPL"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2khRSPL</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2k0Yp0T"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/2k0Yp0T</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instagram: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2lBNuez"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2lBNuez</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Website: </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="http://www.karlasorensen.com/">http://www.karlasorensen.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Connect with Smartypants Romance</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Facebook: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2kvDnb4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2kvDnb4</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Twitter: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2lzyduO"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2lzyduO</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon: </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2lGdIMQ"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://amzn.to/2lGdIMQ</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instagram: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2kwKsYK"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://bit.ly/2kwKsYK</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Website: </span><a href="https://smartypantsromance.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://smartypantsromance.com/</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Newsletter: </span><a href="https://smartypantsromance.com/newsletter/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://smartypantsromance.com/newsletter/</span></a></span></div>
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DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108356536461206509.post-63287527524967729702020-05-05T23:12:00.000-10:002020-05-05T23:15:04.846-10:00Book Review: THE SUMMER VILLA by Melissa Hill <div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">THE SUMMER VILLA</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Melissa Hill </span></b></span></div>
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<b><a href="http://amazon/">Amazon</a> / <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-summer-villa-melissa-hill/1130707329?ean=9780778359982">B&N</a> / <a href="https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9780778359982_the-summer-villa.html">Harlequin</a> / </b></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780778359982">Indiebound</a> / <a href="https://www.target.com/p/the-summer-villa-by-melissa-hill-paperback/-/A-76954316?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&CPNG=PLA_Entertainment%2BShopping_Brand_Competitor&adgroup=SC_Entertainment&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9067609&ds_rl=1246978&gclid=CjwKCAjwmKLzBRBeEiwACCVihjndeq9-VSDXxc2N_K7HB1eS9jFdT829GW7ukCeBvXJM-MTTeKGodhoCUMcQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds">Target</a> / <a href="https://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Summer-Villa-Audiobook/588226000">Walmart</a> </b></div>
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<a href="http://amazon/"><b></b></a><b><a href="http://amazon/">/ </a><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=IuZBDwAAQBAJ&dq=the+summer+villa+melissa+hill&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNtdH_mpPoAhVdl3IEHTtSBeQQ6AEwAHoECAAQAg">Google</a> / <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-summer-villa/id1321861627?_bbid=8664257&mt=11">Apple</a> / <a href="https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/the-summer-villa-1">Kobo</a></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">ISBN: 9780778359982</span></div>
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Publication Date: April 28, 2020 </div>
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Publisher: MIRA Books</div>
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</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>BOOK SUMMARY: </b><br /><br />When a little white lie becomes the story of your life, what if the truth comes out?<br /><br />For three women, it's a life-changing trip: one finds the man of her dreams, another discovers inspiration amidst Italian food and culture, while a chance encounter with a handsome local ushers in the ultimate life change for the third. But most importantly, it's the beginning of a deep and lasting friendship between all three.<br /><br />Now years later, Kim Weston - entrepreneur and owner of internationally successful Italian food and lifestyle business, The Sweet Life - has bought and restored the tumble-down villa to its former glory -- and plans to reopen Villa Dolce Vita as a wellness/cultural retreat - a fitting honor to the root of her business inspiration.<br /><br />To celebrate the villa's grand opening, she and her Italian business partners are throwing a huge three-day party; flying a group of family, business and media contacts to the Amalfi Coast to join in the celebrations. And most importantly, the (still) close friends who started the journey with her: Annie and husband Nate, whose love story began at the villa, and single mum Eva, whose son was the result of an ill-advised Italian fling.<br /><br />But in the run-up to the planned weekend in Italy, it becomes clear that not everyone is happy about the party, nor are they on board with such ambitious plans for the location. And, as Villa Dolce Vita's grand relaunch draws closer, old memories and past secrets come to light, and the three old friends are forced to question if anything that happened on that first fateful trip to the villa is at all what it seemed.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY5SwTo4TAVEJH1yoQadbt-C0AsJPCCxyDm3HOLIs5_oIHC0HRP635u3Gy2UKfABq_M3Iru3DBCPvqhZOMUpm51S0YnYZBcqcJNhPkvFi8YV0xB_supfzbcBWl9mzZOKKwrwZjnQJX4p0L/s1600/4+stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="136" data-original-width="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY5SwTo4TAVEJH1yoQadbt-C0AsJPCCxyDm3HOLIs5_oIHC0HRP635u3Gy2UKfABq_M3Iru3DBCPvqhZOMUpm51S0YnYZBcqcJNhPkvFi8YV0xB_supfzbcBWl9mzZOKKwrwZjnQJX4p0L/s1600/4+stars.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">Favorite Quotes:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><i style="font-size: x-large;"><br />Abandoned in the toilets at Connolly train station in the center of Dublin almost thirty years ago, she’d barely been breathing when she was found by a curious Irish Rail cleaner, who heard a noise from inside the ladies. There he found an infant, scarcely a few hours old, and had called for an ambulance. Even before she had a name, Annie was making headlines for all the wrong reasons.<br /><br /><br />She sighed inwardly. You could get lost in the guy’s accent, never mind his arms. It was like condensed milk— thick and sweet.<br /><br /><br />She smiled to herself in the darkness. This was obviously what people were talking about when they joked about Italian men… She’d had no idea what she’d been missing.<br /></i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br />My Review:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">This book had a bit of everything - women’s fiction, romance, family drama, and several mysteries. The premise and storylines were interesting and well nuanced with plenty of red herrings and misdirections to keep me guessing. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The characters were international and an odd lot of personalities, rich and poor, all attempting to run away from or avoid what their lives had become. And while a few of them were too good to be true, most were guilty of being selfish, less than honorable, hiding several uncomfortable or juicy secrets, and being more than a bit annoying and unlikable – in other words – like most people I know. Except for Colette who was a sweetie pie, her only flaw was being overly gullible, a problem I was once plagued with before I knew better and blossomed into the lovely shade of jaded cynic. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The featured locale was one of the most lovely places on earth, the Amalfi coast of Italy, and as the only safe and screaming baby-free mode of travel currently seems to be digitally provided or on the pages of a book, I was eager to utilize my Kindle as my passport.</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGEH6JyOFFxpQOD5Qjw4VNfEuqD4SOVGUVOZGyYcxKKEZEoW99I4bkQtHoXAbCvLp9b9d6qORfZSLz2MdYW54-gA9bIErk66rMjhuhgHB3z9DR_0YFqgqBLNasuZSGMy7GVjIgDV4rlfR/s1600/Combo++-+ears.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGEH6JyOFFxpQOD5Qjw4VNfEuqD4SOVGUVOZGyYcxKKEZEoW99I4bkQtHoXAbCvLp9b9d6qORfZSLz2MdYW54-gA9bIErk66rMjhuhgHB3z9DR_0YFqgqBLNasuZSGMy7GVjIgDV4rlfR/s1600/Combo++-+ears.png" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">About The Author</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgEQXoAjo2MP8IlnqA2bO-0kwMWfoxPU3_SHHKljUdGs8Sz7sOfMceIcaslbmMme45OGZM9EsVZlcM4L3uRzvk7rbTMoS-3lt4yV0Hyc7AkBEayfUCtvj_VOiNYjYY9NY6Jj38p4-OKrd/s1600/Melissa+Hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgEQXoAjo2MP8IlnqA2bO-0kwMWfoxPU3_SHHKljUdGs8Sz7sOfMceIcaslbmMme45OGZM9EsVZlcM4L3uRzvk7rbTMoS-3lt4yV0Hyc7AkBEayfUCtvj_VOiNYjYY9NY6Jj38p4-OKrd/s320/Melissa+Hill.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">MELISSA HILL lives in south Dublin with her husband and daughter. A USA TODAY and international #1 bestseller, she is the author of 13 novels, including The Gift of a Charm and A Gift From Tiffany's. The Gift of a Charm was a USA TODAY bestseller. Hailed "the queen of the big plot twist," she combines all the warmth and humor of contemporary women's fiction with plots that keep readers guessing from page to page. Melissa also co-writes forensic thrillers with her husband, Kevin, under the pseudonym Casey Hill, featuring crime scene investigator Reilly Steel. For more information, visit </span><a href="http://www.caseyhillbooks.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">www.caseyhillbooks.com</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>SOCIAL:</b></span><br style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;" /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Author Website: </span><a href="http://www.melissahill.ie/" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.melissahill.ie/</a><br style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;" /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">TWITTER: </span><a href="https://twitter.com/melissahillbks" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">@melissahillbks</a><br style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;" /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">FB: </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/melissahillbooks" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">@melissahillbooks</a><br style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;" /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Goodreads: </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/334579.Melissa_Hill" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/334579.Melissa_Hill</a></span></div>
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<br />DJ Sakatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327930599141067779noreply@blogger.com0