Book Blitz for Lifestyle: Trust Fall by Kasey Fallon with a GIVEAWAY

 

Lifestyle: Trust Fall
Kasey Fallon
Publication date: January 27th 2026
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

She needs a Dom.
A stalker wants to own her.

And once you’re in it, the LifeStyle never lets go.

On the outskirts of Philadelphia, the LifeStyle Club caters to those with certain… tastes.

Grayson is a born Dominant – and owning LifeS is exactly where he belongs. With a new underground fight arena ready to launch, he’s missing only one thing: a fighter strong enough to survive it.

Lexi has survived worse.

Haunted by PTSD, Lexi trusts no one but herself. She runs her own gym, makes her own rules, and refuses to submit – to anyone. But beneath her iron control lies a perilous secret. One that threatens to consume her… unless she can find a Dom.

When Grayson and Lexi collide, desire isn’t the only thing at stake.

Someone is watching.
Someone wants Lexi.
And in the LifeStyle, submission can be salvation – or a deadly mistake.

Welcome to the LifeStyle.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

LEXI

She couldn’t seem to find the clasp, and her breath was coming in short bursts. Her shirt felt too tight, her scalp was tingling, and in some part of her brain she was dimly aware that she was having a panic attack.

The gentle ding of the door opening didn’t register with her until a tall shadow fell across her. Attempting to breathe in a four-count, Lexi glanced up for less than a heartbeat at the baritone hello. She grunted in return and went back to hyperventilating, wishing they would walk away.

GRAYSON

For a moment, he was confused why she was hunched over on the bench. She was struggling with something… a necklace? Her breathing was coming in quick, uneven pants, and her gaze went straight through him.

“Good morning,” he tried casually.

He still had in mind that perhaps something he’d done or said the other day had been too much and she’d run. He had to be a little more tame, he thought. Casually being stalked, even for just one morning, was bound to put anyone on edge. At least until she was one hundred percent in, and he figured out what to do with her. But his good morning went unanswered.

Lexi made a garbled sound in the back of her throat, and he wondered if she was the opposite of a morning person. Or maybe-

“Do you need help?”

Her only response was those quick panting breaths. Her movements got more frantic, and she went to stand. Grayson placed a hand as gently as he could on her shoulder.

“Alexis. What’s wrong?”

She knocked his hand away and took two running steps to get past him. Panic. Without thinking it through, he caught up to her in one step. Spinning her around by her shoulder, he ignored the elbow that skimmed his diaphragm as she flailed behind her.

Using his forward momentum, he walked her backward until her back was against the wall. The white concrete must have been cool on her back, but her breath continued in short pants and a red flush was spreading across her chest and up into her face. She brought her hands up in fists and he thought for a heartbeat he might have to hold them down or he’d get hit. But her fingers just curled themselves into the edges of his t-shirt, grabbing on to something unidentifiable inside him. He ignored it.

She was looking at him, but she wasn’t seeing him. Her dark eyes were wide and wouldn’t focus, looking everywhere but into his. Both of his hands pushed her back against the wall by her ribcage.

“Alexis. Breathe.”

He used a deeper voice, mindful of startling her. Of course, he mused, she couldn’t get much more worked up than she already was. Maybe there was no harm in using his Dom voice. Much deeper than his speaking voice and sharp, he tried to reserve it for situations that needed it. This qualified.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” he commanded.

Lexi jumped, but still didn’t look him in the eye. Her hands made their way to her throat, scratching at where her necklace lay. Grayson winced at the scratches. His voice whipped out.

“Stop.”

She stopped clawing at her own neck, but her breathing was still too fast.

“Breathe.”

It wasn’t working. He leaned forward, putting more of his weight against his arms. He slid his left forearm up between her breasts against her sternum, until his hand was splayed at the base of her throat, but he made sure to not actually touch her neck. She was having enough trouble breathing as it was.

One of her knees came up, and he pushed her thigh back with his knee against the wall, but it seemed like she didn’t even notice. Like the knee had been a reflex. He reached his right hand up to cup the side of her face and forced her face up to his.

“Look at me.”

It got through. Her breath was still heaving with shallow gasps, but she was looking straight up at him with wide eyes.

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

Lexi shuddered slightly.

“I can’t breathe. It’s too tight.”

His eyes flicked down to the thin silver chain at her neck. It was actually a very long chain, and held only a thin butterfly at the end. His lack of response seemed to agitate her, and she clawed at her neck again, this time not even hitting the chain. He raised his left hand a couple of inches to block her own hands.

“Stop moving.”

Her eyes were watery, but she stopped moving. For someone who might not be an actual submissive, she was certainly… responsive.

“I don’t want to die again.”

Her voice came out in a strangled whisper. Her eyes pleaded up at him. Shocked, Grayson could only stare at her for a moment.

“Breathe. I won’t hurt you. Stop moving.”

His voice had gotten slower with the commands, and she seemed mesmerized by his unblinking stare. She finally stopped pushing against his hands and relaxed against the wall, taking rapid, shallow breaths.

With his left forearm holding her still up against her sternum, he used his left hand to grab at the chain’s little clasp. He didn’t want to look away from her. It was working; he was completely in charge. She was breathing more steadily, and he didn’t want to break their eye contact.

Grayson finally got it to release, although he thought some part of it might have snapped. He slid it off her neck and held it loosely in his hand, but he didn’t move otherwise. He didn’t think she’d noticed that the necklace was gone.

“It’s gone. Breathe.”

Lexi inhaled deeply, and he was finding it difficult to back away. She had responded so perfectly; exactly as he’d wanted her to. Maybe she wasn’t a Domme? Could she really be submissive under all this fight? His body took that moment to recognize that he had her securely pinned against a wall, and she was staring up at him, waiting. He could see the exact moment when she fought it off as her eyes snapped with clarity. Grayson heard footsteps coming at them fast as she blinked rapidly.

“Lexi! What the fuck? Who the fuck is this? Are you okay?” Eddie jogged up, his short dreads bouncing.

Author Bio:

Kasey grew up on the East Coast, from Maine to North Carolina. She loves two things above all in nature: the water, and the forest. While she might not love her nightmares, they do inspire many of her works. A recipient of the Editor's Choice Award from the International Library of Poetry, she writes across several genres. She and her dog can be found investigating new hiking trails, or curled up on the couch as he pushes her computer off her lap to make room for himself.

Goodreads / Instagram / Facebook

GIVEAWAY!

Lifestyle: Trust Fall Blitz

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Book Amplifier Tour for THE RADICAL RADIANCE OF THE FISHING FLY by Lewis K. Schrager

THE RADICAL RADIANCE OF THE FISHING FLY by Lewis K. Schrager 

Published:  August 20, 2025 by LFEA Press

In The Radical Radiance of the Fishing Fly, Lewis K. Schrager introduces a protagonist defined by restraint rather than impulse. David Nichols approaches the world analytically, yet finds himself unmoored when confronted with experiences that resist explanation, challenging his understanding of control, connection, and responsibility.

Certainty gives way to unpredictability when illness reshapes the bond between two brothers. During cancer treatment, Larry Nichols finds refuge in tying elaborate fishing flies and imagining northern rivers filled with life. That act of imagination carries him through uncertainty and pain, and when he survives, he invites his brother David to join him on a demanding fishing expedition.

For David, whose life is defined by logic and structure, the experience proves disorienting. Surrounded by anglers united by obsession and passion, he struggles to belong. Long-standing conflicts between the brothers surface, revealing emotional fractures shaped long before illness entered their lives. David also forms a tentative connection with Kathy Sands, another member of the fishing party marked by personal tragedy, whose quiet presence challenges his guarded emotional boundaries.

As tensions mount, the journey takes an unexpected turn with a secret nighttime venture driven by vengeance. David is forced to navigate fear, loyalty, and desire, confronting the fragile line between reason and emotional allegiance.

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3YJofq0

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/239710220-the-radical-radiance-of-the-fishing-fly

EXCERPT:  From Chapter One

 I pulled out of the underground garage onto Wisconsin Avenue, then down the ramp heading east on the Washington Beltway. Rays of the rising sun glowed orange in a far-off bank of clouds. Gray banks of night fog, exhaled from dying creeks and streams entrapped within the urban sprawl, drifted over the roadway bridges before dissipating as rising haze over the slim remains of vestigial marshland. I turned onto I-95 North, speeding past countless semis parked close along the shoulders of the highway, red running lights blinking crazy in the half-light. I imagined the truckers awakening in their dark, coffin-like spaces, yawning and stretching and rubbing their eyes as they plan for another day bringing who-knows-what to who-knows-where.

 Wondering where I was going.

 Wondering why.

 In fact, I knew. My destination on that steamy August morning was the Philadelphia airport, a rendezvous with my older brother Larry. In less than three hours I would be meeting him there. We would board our plane to Seattle, and then another to Anchorage, and then a third and a fourth, our destination somewhere in the Alaskan wilderness for a week of fly fishing.

The first rays of the freshly risen sun flared above the distant cloudbank. I squinted against the blinding glare, lowered my sun visor, fumbled with my sunglasses, and slipped them on.

This was a bad idea.

 I was nervous about spending this much time with Larry. Growing up, he was brash and loud, determined to be the center of attention. I was quiet, more than happy to disappear into the background, unnoticed and undisturbed. This worked out fine when we were apart. On the few occasions where we found ourselves thrown together, like at an occasional high school party, he’d notice my subtle signals of embarrassment at his behavior and would talk more loudly, act more wildly, dance more crazily, until I shrunk away into a kind of nothingness and headed home on my own. I could never even think of taking him on physically when he pushed me past my breaking point as he was taller and far stronger than I, and a champion wrestler as well.

 I tried to convince myself that this fishing trip would work out fine. So much had changed since our high school days. Larry had become a successful businessman, having grown Leather and More, our father’s store in South Philly to three times its original size. He’d expanded the business, establishing a second store in the Mall at Short Hills, a prime shopping destination in the tony New Jersey suburbs just west of New York City. He’d married Tina Simons, a wonderful woman who gave him a couple of lovely daughters. He’d mellowed.

 Besides, I realized that all this cogitation was irrelevant. Mellowed or not, I never would have agreed to go on this trip if not for Larry’s cancer

Lewis K. Schrager is an author and playwright whose short fiction has twice been honored in the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Contest and has appeared in numerous literary journals, including South Carolina Review, Cottonwood, and Bryant Literary Review. His plays have been produced in Baltimore and St. Paul, and The Radical Radiance of the Fishing Fly is his first published novel. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Schrager has also spent much of his professional career in global health, serving as an HIV/AIDS researcher at the National Institutes of Health and as a vaccine developer focused on tuberculosis prevention. Visit Lewis at his website.

Book Mail

A Lake Club by Lina Patton

Publishing:  June 16, 2026 by William Morrow Paperbacks 

A sizzling, soapy summer debut, in which two women in a wealthy lakeside suburb clash over a cute male nanny, pulling the town’s darker secrets to the surface.

The Final Target by Nora Roberts

Publishing:  May 26, 2026 by St. Martin's Press

A young author becomes the object of a fan’s desire―and rage―in the gripping new thriller by the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Hidden Nature.

The Witching Hours by Heather Graham

Published:  January 27, 2026 by Kensington

A haunting murder and kidnapping on the outskirts of Salem, MA sends two people with unique talents hunting for answers from both the past and present in internationally bestselling author Heather Graham’s electrifying new Krewe of Hunters spin off for fans of Stephen King, Jayne Ann Krentz, Riley Sager, and Simone St. James.

Conform by Ariel Sullivan                                  Published:  October 14, 2025 by Ballantine Books

In the far future, one young woman finds herself torn between two loves—and two sides of a rebellion boiling under the surface—in the first novel of a sweeping dystopian romance trilogy.

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross                                                  Published:  April 4, 2023 by Wednesday Books

An epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.

The Route 9 Killer by Kelli A. Wilkins                             Published:  January 14, 2026 by Kelli A. Wilkins

It started with a body in the woods — and turned into a hunt for a deranged stalker.

The Last Time We Saw Her by Jacyln Goldis

Published:  June 16, 2026 by Atria/Emily Bestler Books

A long-buried disappearance and a long-lost treasure both reemerge over a summer in Portugal’s remote Azores in the new thriller from the critically acclaimed author of The Chateau.

Blog Tour for The Colletta Cassettes by Bruno Noble

 

The Colletta Cassettes by Bruno Noble

Liguria, Italy. Summer 1978.

The Kentish family are on holiday in idyllic medieval village of Colletta. Sixteen-year-old Sebastian is smitten with Rosetta, the hotel cleaner and waitress, much to his snobbish mother's dismay, while his younger brother and their fellow hotel guests are obsessed by the World Cup, hosted by the murderous military junta in Argentina.

 The boys' father, Peter Kentish, has very different motivations for the trip. An investigative journalist, he spends much of his time interviewing a mysterious American, a disillusioned ex-CIA agent.

 As Kentish uncovers the shocking extent of Operation Gladio, he delves into some of Italy's darkest secrets. Darker still is the involvement of the USA. Those complicit will do anything to ensure that the truth is buried. For good.

Purchase Link - https://amzn.to/4oO4JUj

Operation Gladio

Many people had forgotten – if they’d ever known – about American illegal interference in other countries’ politics in the 1970s.  When I told people what I’d discovered when researching The Colletta Cassettes – about the role of the C.I.A. in destabilising democratically elected left-wing governments in Europe – I was told that I was making it up, or must be mistaken.  The Americans are our friends – they’re the good guys!  They’d never do anything underhand.  And, of course, neither would we…

            After the second world war, NATO, the C.I.A. and some European countries’ intelligence agencies established ‘stay behind’ paramilitary organisations to combat what they feared would be a Soviet invasion.  The U.K.’s Special Operations Executive, formed to undertake espionage, reconnaissance and sabotage activities during the war, assisted the allies in recruiting and training fighters, establishing escape routes and maintaining arms caches.  Operation Gladio was the name given to the Italian branch of this endeavour, publicly recognised only in 1990 by Italy’s then prime minister.  Denmark’s was code-named Absalon, France’s was Plan Bleu, and Greece’s was Operation Sheepskin.  Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey and others had their secret armies; Austria established the Austrian Association of Hiking, Sports and Society with the help of C.I.A. and M.I.6.  Portugal had Aginter Press, supposedly an international press agency but really a mercenary organisation devoted to anti-communist covert actions.

            After the war, the fear was that the Soviets would invade via the Gorizia ‘gap’, Gorizia being an Italian town on the border with Slovenia in the Julian Alps at an elevation of only 100 metres.  It’s a pleasant enough town but without the elegance and grandeur of Trieste, some 40 kilometres to the south.  It’s not hard to imagine Red Army tanks trundling through the town and hundreds of Gladio cells of a dozen or so ex-soldiers each disinterring the arms dumps in the province of Friuli-Venezia Giulia to defend the border.  Of the 140 or so arms dumps in Italy, roughly 100 were in the north east.  Typically, they contained small arms, rifles, ammunition, explosives and communications equipment, hidden in churches, cemeteries and ruins or buried in woodland and fields.

            Initially, the C.I.A. sought to influence voters in post-war elections by publishing books and pamphlets and by having the Italian diaspora in the U.S. write home warning against a communist victory. 

However, controversially, Operation Gladio grew to become entangled with domestic politics and terrorism in Italy – after all, the weapons were there and might as well be used, right?  The 1960s through to the 1980s came to be known as the ‘years of lead’, a period in which far left and far right organisations embarked on campaigns of bombing, kidnapping and assassination.  While the far left sought to destabilise the state and inspire a people’s revolution, the far right pursued a ‘strategy of tension’ designed to fuel people’s fear of the left.

            Just two examples of this: in 1969, Ordine Nuovo, a neo-fascist terrorist group, exploded a bomb in a bank in Milan, killing 17 people, and, five years later, exploded another bomb in the main square in Brescia, killing 8 people.  Hundreds were injured.  These were ‘false flag’ attacks, insofar as the left-wing Red Brigades terrorist group were blamed.  In 2000, a parliamentary report declared that the C.I.A. had been informed about the bombings but had failed to alert the Italian authorities or try to stop the attacks from taking place.

            Here’s the ultimate irony to my mind.  It’s the West, that represents freedom, the liberty of the individual against the tyrannical utilitarianism of communism, justifying to itself the murder of a small number of individuals for ‘our’ greater good, ‘our’ greater good being a democratic society in which the individual reigns supreme, one in which individual freedoms are held up as the ultimate prize.  We were blind to the irony of this, this violent, bloody elimination of some lives so that others might prosper.  We failed to see that no-one’s rights can be secured by the violation of the rights of others. 

            Operation Gladio was disbanded not long after the Bologna station bombing in 1980 in which 85 people were killed and over 200 wounded.  The Italian courts effectively delivered the verdict that the bombing was executed by Italy’s secret intelligence services with the assistance of their associates in the criminal underworld of Italian neo-fascism that Gladio, created over thirty years earlier by American and European intelligence services to repel Soviet invasion, had become.   

Author Bio – Bruno Noble study Philosophy and French literature at Southampton University.  A circuitous route selling advertising space in financial magazines took him to the City where, amongst other things, he wrote markets and investment reports while impatient to write a novel.  His first, ‘A Thing of the Moment’, was published by Unbound in 2018, and his second, ‘The Colletta Cassettes’, was published by Indie Novella in 2022 before being re-published by Inkspot Publishing in 2025.  

Having enjoyed working collaboratively with other writers when he joined the Collier Street Fiction Group in 2021, Bruno started a part-time (two-year) Creative Writing M.A. at Birkbeck University in 2024.

Social Media Links – Insta: @inkspotpub FB: Inkspotpublishing

 

Giveaway to Win 3 x Stacks of 5 Inkspot Publishing books (UK Only)

Win 3 x Stacks of 5 Inkspot Publishing books (UK Only)

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

Book Review for Sincerely, Mr. Braden: Seth Braden by Melissa Foster

 

Love in Bloom #85

Sincerely, Mr. Braden: Seth Braden by Melissa Foster

Published:  January 28, 2026 by World Literary Press

 

Taken from Goodreads:  Come along for the fun, sexy ride as this business-savvy, pleasure-oriented billionaire gets the shock of his lifetime and finds out his ever-efficient virtual assistant is not the man he thinks he is but a beautiful businesswoman who knows many of his secrets and has some of her own in Sincerely, Mr. Braden.

I run a multibillion-dollar retail conglomerate and pull strings most CEOs can only dream of. Winning is second nature. Chasing more is in my blood. My secret weapon? My virtual assistant of several years, Taylor Mitchell. He keeps my life in perfect order, and I trust him implicitly, which is why I gifted him a lavish weekend at my house on Saint Aurelle Island.

I didn’t plan on dropping by unannounced, but when the chance to finally meet him arises, I jump on it. Imagine my surprise when I find Taylor’s beautiful sister, Eleanor, in his place.

The moment I meet Ellie Mitchell, my world shifts.

What was supposed to be a brief hello with my buddy T turns into an unforgettable weekend with an incredible woman. I’ve spent a lifetime keeping people at arm’s length and walking away unscathed, but Ellie obliterates every wall I’ve ever built.

What I learn next shatters my world.

I don’t know which betrayal cuts deeper: The lie she told me or the truth that I still want her.

 

My Thoughts:  Hello Mr. Seth Braden.    The man with a heart so big that he protects it with all that he has.   That is until he meets Ellie.  Everything changes from the very first time that he sees her.   The sparks flew and the attraction between them is undeniable.  

 

The relationships, the families, and the friendships in Sincerely, Mr. Braden are so strong, so real, and so relatable.   The relationships are all flawed but full of love and respect.   They have hiccups, they have ups and downs, but they come out the other side happily ever after.  The families are so supportive and loving.   They lift each other up, protect each other, and stick their noses in each other’s lives without apologies.  The friendships are strong and true.  I love that many of the friendships span many books in the Love in Bloom Series so it is fun to catch up with the secondary characters.

 

Thank you to the author for a copy of the book via BookFunnel in exchange for my honest review.

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon

 

Meet theAuthor (taken from her website):  

Kindle Readers: FOLLOW Melissa on Amazon

Melissa Foster is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of more than 100 novels. She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance and women’s fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Melissa’s emotional journeys are lovingly erotic, always family oriented, and feature fiercely loyal heroes, smart, sassy heroines, and complex relatable issues.

Melissa also writes sweet romance under the pen name,  Addison Cole.

Melissa enjoys chatting with readers and book clubs. Send her an email invitation to your next event!

Find Melissa’s Books on:
Melissa’s Bookstore
Amazon
Audible
Apple Books
Barnes and Noble
Booksamillion
GPlay Books
Kobo

 

 

Book Review for The Fair Weather Friend by Jessie Garcia

 

The Fair Weather Friend by Jessie Garcia

Published: January 20, 2026 by St. Martin's Press

Genre:  Mystery Thriller, Suspense

Taken from Goodreads:  The next gripping domestic suspense novel from Jessie Garcia.

It's always sunny in Detroit for Faith Richards. The popular TV meteorologist, endearingly referred to as "The Fair Weather Friend" by her viewers, has the world by the tail. But one night, Faith leaves work on a dinner break and never returns. Her body is found the next morning.

The town is reeling, suspects emerge, and long-buried secrets are uncovered. While her allies rally, her list of adversaries also grows. Little does anyone know that only the deepest secrets will expose the truth.

In this riveting thriller from the author of THE BUSINESS TRIP, Jessie Garcia's signature multi-POV, rapid-fire style will propel you into the heart of a mystery no one could have forecasted.

My Thoughts:  This is the second book I have read by Jessie Garcia.   The first book, The Business Trip, I gave 5 stars to.   This book, The Fair Weather Friends, I will give 5 stars to also.    Jessie Garcia is putting herself in the must-read author column and I cannot wait to see what she is writing next.

The characters in this book are not necessarily likeable characters.   Other than Olivia, the intern, and her Aunt and Uncle, I did not really like any characters.   I believe this was done on purpose by the author.    The characters all had secrets and reasons to not like Faith.  I enjoyed watching them try to figure out what had happened to Faith and who was involved.  

The Fair Weather Friend is a great thriller that had me sneaking chapters, staying up late, and needing to know what would happen next.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon

 

Meet theAuthor (taken from her website):  Jessie Garcia is an award-winning sports journalist who has risen the ranks in television news, first as an anchor/reporter, then to newsroom management.

She is the News Director at the CBS affiliate in Milwaukee. Her non-fiction books, “My Life with the Green and Gold: Tales from 20 Years of Sportscasting” and “Going for Wisconsin Gold: Stories of our State Olympians” won Midwest Book Awards, and her documentary “Leaps and Bounds: The Men Who Changed Track and Field” was featured in over a dozen film festivals. She also taught journalism at four universities. A native of Madison, WI, Jessie has two adult sons and resides in Milwaukee with her husband, dog and cat.

 

See my thoughts on The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia HERE

 

Book Blitz for Had Me At Howdy by Mary Karlik with a GIVEAWAY

 

Had Me At Howdy
Mary Karlik
(A Hillside * Spring Creek Novel)
Publication date: November 22nd 2025
Genres: Comedy, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Platinum credit card? Deactivated. New car? Sold. Best life ever? Canceled.

Thanks to my dad losing his job, we’ve ditched Chicago for Fumbuck, Texas—population: redneck. Now I’m living on a rundown farm, scrubbing dishes, and driving a rusty pickup. Worst of all? I’m stuck working alongside a cowboy.

But this Cinderella isn’t giving up. I’ll claw my way back to the luxe life I left behind—and no one, not even infuriatingly chill, stupidly handsome Austin McCoy is going to stop me. Even if he does make feeding the chickens weirdly… enjoyable.

She thinks she’s just passing through. I’m hoping she stays.
I kind of feel for the Quinn sisters. City girls don’t belong in Spring Creek—but Kelsey? There’s more to her than designer labels and eye rolls. When she forgets to be angry, I see it—like the way her eyes light up when she feeds the chickens.

Now all I have to do is convince her the guy she really wants is me, not some rich dude taking her to a ball in Chicago.

Content Warning: This work contains a subplot involving death, grief, and an off-page instance of date rape. While these events are not depicted directly, they are referenced and may be distressing to some readers.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

The universe had completely crapped on Kelsey Quinn’s life.

She dabbed at her eyes, blew her nose, and wadded up the tissue before dropping it to the pile on the seat next to her. Pressing her forehead against the car window, she watched the scenery fly by at seventy miles per hour. They passed Bob’s Stay and Go combination gas station—fast food restaurant—hotel, followed by some weird concrete starship-shaped pizza parlor. Next, three-foot fluorescent letters screamed about redemption across a junkyard fence surrounding rusted pieces of mangled metal. The few words of scripture painted there weren’t going change her fate. Her dad was in the driver’s seat and they were heading straight for the armpit of Texas.

With a sigh she slumped against the seat and tried not to think about the boyfriend who’d been ripped from her life, or the best friend she’d been forced to leave behind. But it wasn’t just her forced exile from Drew and Zoe. She’d lost her identity. At St. Monica’s, she knew who she was and where she fit in. It was her senior year, the year she’d looked forward to for as long as she was in school. They had taken it away with less thought than the car they’d sold one afternoon while she and Zoe were shopping. None of it was her fault. She was a victim of her dad’s incompetence on one hand and her sister’s immorality on the other.

Her dad exited onto a two-lane highway where they were greeted by a faded, Welcome to Hillside Texas, Population 5000, sign. They slowed to a crawl as they entered the town. At a four-way stop her mom screeched, “Oh my God Tom, look at the cute little diner. We’re all starving, let’s stop before we go to the house.”

“Sounds good to me. Jack’s not expecting us for another couple of hours anyway.” Dad angled the Infinity between two pickup trucks and turned off the engine.

The diner was nestled in the center of a row of dilapidated two story buildings. Early Bird Café was painted in bright blue letters across the glass. Kelsey pulled her compact mirror from her purse and studied her reflection. She’d been crying for two days, no amount of makeup magic would fix her swollen red eyes. It didn’t matter. She didn’t care about this place or these people. She sure as heck didn’t care what they thought about her. She shoved the mirror back into her purse.

Her younger sister, Ryan, looked all wide-eyed and curious. And worse, she actually looked excited to investigate this hick little town. Why not? It was her fault they were in this mess in the first place. Her parents would have been justified to ship Ryan off to some kind of school for troubled kids. But no—Quinns don’t give up on their own. Everybody had to suffer because Ryan couldn’t say no to drugs or boys.

Mackenzie, Kelsey’s youngest sister, flipped her compact gymnast’s body from the third seat to the back seat nailing Ryan in the shoulder with her foot.

“Watch it!” Ryan drew her fist back, but before she could get the hit off Mackenzie flashed a cherub smile and released a powder sugar apology. Yeah. That wasn’t an accident. Kelsey almost smiled when she saw foot impact with shoulder. Mackenzie had been fairly silent about the ruin Ryan’s exploits had done to her life. Apparently, she had her limits too.

Author Bio:

Join Mary's newsletter: https://maryjwilson.com/contact/

Mary Karlik (also writing as Mary J. Wilson) combines her Texas roots with her Scottish heritage to write happily-ever-afters from Texas to Scotland.

Mary has five indie-published contemporary young adult romance novels and two fantasy novels.

Mary earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, has a B.S. degree from Texas A&M University, and is currently studying Scottish Gaelic at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Skye, Scotland. She is also a certified, professional ski instructor and a Registered Nurse.

Mary is an active member of Contemporary Romance Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Dallas Area Romance Authors. Married to a Scott, Mary lives in both and Scotland and Texas.

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Book Review for With Love from Harlem: A Novel of Hazel Scott by ReShonda Tate

 

With Love from Harlem: A Novel of Hazel Scott by ReShonda Tate

Published:  January 27, 2026 by William Morrow Paperbacks

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Taken from Goodreads:  From The Queen of Sugar Hill author ReShonda Tate—a new novel inspired by beloved Harlem jazz performer Hazel Scott and the equal parts exhilarating and tumultuous relationship that changed the course of her life.

Harlem, 1943. At just twenty-three, Hazel Scott is a woman on fire. A jazz prodigy, a glamorous film star, and a fierce advocate for civil rights, she’s breaking barriers and refusing to play by the rules. Then Adam Clayton Powell Jr. walks into her life. Harlem’s most electrifying preacher-turned-politician, Adam is as bold and unyielding as Hazel—charismatic, powerful…and married.

This kicks off a decades-long relationship that propels them into the center of a political and cultural revolution. As Hazel’s star rises, Adam takes the national stage in Congress and the couple becomes the toast of the country. But when their affair turns into a marriage, behind the glamorous façade is a battlefield of ego, ambition, and sacrifice. Forced to choose between her music and her family, Hazel must decide what she’s willing to lose—and what she refuses to give up.

Set against the pulsing backdrop of twentieth-century Harlem and featuring icons like Billie Holiday, Langston Hughes, and James Baldwin, With Love from Harlem is a sweeping, emotionally charged romantic drama, rich with historical detail. ReShonda Tate delivers a powerful portrait of love, art, and the price of being unforgettable.

 

My Thoughts:  I finished this book and thought WOW what did I just read?  I was with Hazel Scott as she performed.  I could hear her music. I could see the crowd.   I was beside her as she lived her life.   I was entirely invested in the book and Hazel’s story. 

I am sad to say that I did not know who Hazel Scott was before reading this book, but that is also why I picked up this book.  I love reading history, especially American history, books about people I am not familiar with.  I learned so much not only about Hazel but about the civil right movements happening in the 1940’s in New York. 

With Love from Harlem is a phenomenal historical fiction.   The story will stick with me for a long time.  I will be recommending it over and over again.

Thank you William Morrow for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

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Meet the Author(taken from her website):  As the national bestselling author of more than 53 books, ReShonda Tate has the credentials, and the passion, to bring stories to life.

ReShonda writes both adult and teen fiction, as well as nonfiction. Her sophomore novel, Let the Church Say Amen, was made into a film directed by actress Regina King, and produced by TD Jakes and Queen Latifah.

ReShonda made her on-screen movie debut in the film, which was one of BET’s highest-rated programs. Her book, The Secret She Kept, was also made into a movie and aired on TV One. ReShonda made a cameo in that movie as well. 

A highly sought-after motivational speaker and award-winning poet, ReShonda is the recipient of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature for her book Say Amen, Again and was also nominated for her books Mama’s Boy and The Secret She Kept. She has received a plethora of distinguished awards and honors for her journalism, fiction, and poetry writing skills, including an induction into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame and a Texas Top Author honor. Considered one of the top African-American authors in the country, her books remain a staple on Bestseller’s lists and have been featured in USA Today, The Washington Post, Jet, People, Essence, and Ebony Magazines.