Friday, July 29, 2016

Seaside Lovers by Melissa Foster & GIVEAWAY

SEASIDE SUMMERS

Voted Beck Valley Books Reviewers Favorite Mini Series from the Love in Bloom Series in 2014

Featuring a group of fun, sexy, and emotional friends who gather each summer at their Cape Cod cottages. They're funny, flawed, and will have you begging to enter their circle of friends. You met them in READ, WRITE, LOVE, (The Remingtons, Book 5), follow these friends on their search for forever love in the Seaside Summers series.

SEASIDE LOVERS 

After months of long-distance communication, actress Parker Collins and artist Grayson Lacroux finally plan to reconnect in the seaside town of Wellfleet, Massachusetts. But Parker never shows, and weeks pass without a word, leaving Grayson to believe he's misinterpreted their budding relationship.

Parker has been running on autopilot ever since she lost her friend, mentor, and the only family she's ever known, Bert Stein. Armed with junk food, tequila, and her big, lovable dog, she's prepared to hole up and mourn--and determined to mend a fence Bert had never been able to with his estranged and bitter brother. But Parker didn't count on the sinfully hot artist she's been fantasizing about for nearly a year walking in on her grief-induced drunken night.

When Grayson stumbles across Parker, he has no idea what to make of the gorgeous blonde who blew him off despite the heat sizzling between them. But that doesn't stop him from feeling protective of the woman who's consumed his thoughts for months, and when he learns of Parker's plans to confront an angry old man, he refuses to leave her side. As Parker's past unfolds, they're led on an unexpected journey of discovery. Their connection deepens, and late-night fantasies become passionate realities, until good intentions spark painful secrets, threatening the love they've found.

SEASIDE LOVERS is part of the SEASIDE SUMMERS series, and part of the "Love in Bloom" family. Each book may be read as a stand-alone novel, or as part of the series.

 My Thoughts…

I always talk about how amazing the characters are in Melissa Foster’s books and Parker and Grayson are no exception.   They are absolutely wonderful.   Not perfect, not fatally flawed, just normal and real people.     The kind of people you want to be friends with, the kind of people you see on the street, and the kind of people that deserve to find happiness.

In Seaside Lovers, as with the rest of the series, Melissa Foster does an amazing job describing the settings.    From the media room that Grayson finds Parker drowning her sorrows in to the elevator that they take to visit Abe every place is described in such clarity that I could truly picture where the book was taking place.   I could see the cliff where Grayson really kissed Parker for the first time.    My favorite type of book to read is one that sees to play like a movie while I read it.   Seaside Lovers does exactly that.  

This is part of the Love in Bloom series and the spin off series of Seaside Summers.   Yet it is truly a standalone book.     The characters appear in each other’s books but each book is its own story.   Melissa Foster does a magnificent job of letting the reader know just enough background of the other characters and who belongs to who that if you pick up a book out of order you can enjoy the story.   

I definitely recommend checking out Seaside Lovers right away. 




**CONTENT WARNING: Due to mature content, recommended for readers aged 18+**

Available to buy from...... 

melissa newsletter

"You can always rely on Melissa Foster to deliver a story that's fresh, emotional and entertaining. Make sure you have all night, because once you start you won't want to stop reading. Every book's a winner!" New York Times Bestselling Author Brenda Novak .

"Melissa Foster is synonymous with sexy, swoony, heartfelt romance!" New York Times Bestseller Lauren Blakely

Also available in the Seaside Summers Series
  
  
Coming soon.....
Seaside Whispers (Release 30th November) avail for pre-order

About Melissa Foster

Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author.  She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance, new adult romance and women's fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Readers adore Melissa's fun, flirty, and sinfully sexy, award-winning big family romance collection, LOVE IN BLOOM featuring the Snow Sisters, Bradens, Remingtons, Ryders, Seaside Summer, Harborside Nights, and the Wild Boys After Dark. Melissa's emotional journeys are lovingly erotic and always family oriented. She is the founder of the World Literary CafĂ©. When she's not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success. 

Melissa has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Her interests include her family, reading, writing, painting, friends, helping others see the positive side of life, and visiting Cape Cod. 

Melissa is available to chat with book clubs and welcomes comments and emails from her readers. Visit Melissa at The World Literary Cafe or her personal website.Never miss a brand new release, special promotions or inside gossip again by simply signing up to receive your newsletter from Melissa.
Find the author on the following sites...
Website   Facebook   Twitter   Google+   Pinterest   Goodreads   TSU   Amazon Author Page


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I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.
NOW FOR THE AUTHOR'S GIVEAWAY !!
Win Read, Write, Love (The Remingtons) ebook
Two Winners
Ending on Saturday 13th August at 11.59pm EST
Open Worldwide

Enter Below & Good Luck !!


Thursday, July 28, 2016

The Innocents by Quinn Colson PROMO POST



Hardcover, 384 pages
Expected publication: July 12th 2016 by G.P. Putnam's Sons

Quick Take: With his Quinn Colson novels, Atkins has established one of today’s most allegoric, atmospheric, and critically acclaimed literary series. “It’s a satisfying mix of modern Southern gothic atmosphere and thrilling action, salted with crackling humor,” according to the Tampa Bay Times.  “Atkins delves deeply into each character’s motives, making each a believable person,” wrote the Associated Press. And at the center of it all is “a flawed, valiant hero who’s impossible to dislike” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) on “a joy ride into the heart of darkness” (Washington Post). In THE INNOCENTS, Atkins, hailed as “the Deep South’s true detective” (Men’s Journal), deepens readers’ engagement with former Army Ranger Quinn Colson, Sheriff Lillie Virgil, and the people of the fictional north Mississippi county he has made his own as he takes part in heart-pounding action and investigates a particularly horrific crime: the murder of an eighteen-year-old former cheerleader who is found walking down the middle of a country road engulfed in flames.


Book Links
Amazon   |   Goodreads   |   Barnes and Noble

About the Author: Ace Atkins has developed into one of America’s most skillful and prolific novelists and not only does he write the Quinn Colson series, but he was also selected by the Robert B. Parker estate to continue the iconic Spenser series. Ace first gained attention on the football field, where he played defensive end for the undefeated 1993 football team (and landed himself on the cover of Sports Illustrated).  He then cut his writer’s teeth as a crime reporter in the newsroom of The Tampa Tribune, and earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination for a feature series based on his investigation into a forgotten murder of the 1950s.  He published his first novel, Crossroad Blues, at age 27, eventually becoming a full-time novelist at age 30. Ace now lives in Oxford, Mississippi – it’s a terrifically literary town, home to William Faulkner, Richard Ford and even John Grisham, as well as the inspiration for the down-trodden, God-fearing, hauntingly atmospheric fictional town of Jericho featured in the Colson series. Ace also writes essays and investigative pieces for several publications, including the Wall Street Journal,Garden & Gun, and Outside, and you can find out more about Ace and his novels on his official website: aceatkins.com, on Facebook Ace Atkins, and on Twitter @aceatkins.



Praise for Ace Atkins’ Quinn Colson series:

“Quinn Colson is my kind of guy. I would follow him anywhere.”
—Lee Child, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Make Me


“Ace Atkins’ Quinn Colson series began with The Ranger, a thriller set in contemporary Mississippi, with the feel of classic westerns like Shane and High Noon, and the series just shot off from there,
getting better and better with each book.  With terrific, inflected characters and a dark, subtle sense of place and history, these are exceptional novels.”
—John Sandford, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Extreme Prey

“In Quinn Colson, bestselling author Ace Atkins has created an American hero in a time when we need him. He displays the attributes we pine for and we hope still exist: honesty, humility, independence, integrity, and toughness when the situation calls for it. Imagine a tall and silent cowboy returning from the war to his native Mississippi to find it’s gone rotten and corrupt in his absence. His duty is to clean it up. That’s Quinn Colson.”
—C.J. Box, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Off the Grid

“Ace Atkins’ Quinn Colson series is, quite simply, the best in crime fiction today – and also so much more. With a rich cast of characters, and a hero we can count on, these are tales of morality and desperation, of shocking violence and the enduring resilience of family and community.
And the emotional places they take us make them unforgettable.”
—Megan Abbott, New York Times-bestselling author


Wednesday, July 27, 2016

The Fifth Avenue Artists Society by Joy Callaway

The Fifth Avenue Artists Society  is part of the SheReads Summer book selections.     SheReads is a community of bloggers that as a group help promote specific books.   We share reviews, thoughts, and our feelings after reading books suggested to us by the wonderful people who run
the SheReadsOrganization.  
Paperback, 384 pages
Published May 31st 2016 by Harper Paperbacks
An enthralling Edith Wharton-meets-Little Women debut about a family of four artistic sisters on the outskirts of Gilded Age New York high society that centers on the boldest—an aspiring writer caught between the boy next door and a mysterious novelist who inducts her into Manhattan’s most elite artistic salon.

The Bronx, 1891. Virginia Loftin knows what she wants most: to become a celebrated novelist despite her gender, and to marry Charlie, her best friend, neighbor and first love. Yet when Charlie proposes to another woman, Ginny is devastated; shutting out her family, she holes up and obsessively rewrites how their story should have gone.

Though Ginny works with newfound intensity, success eludes her—until she attends a salon hosted in her brother’s handsome author friend John’s Fifth Avenue mansion. Amongst painters, musicians, actors, and writers, Ginny returns to herself, even blooming under John’s increasingly romantic attentions. Just as she has begun to forget Charlie, however, he throws himself back into her path, and Ginny finds herself torn between a lifetime’s worth of complicated feelings and a budding relationship with a man who seems almost too good to be true.

The brightest lights cast the darkest shadows, and as Ginny tentatively navigates the Society’s world, she begins to suspect all is not as it seems in New York’s dazzling “Gay Nineties” scene. When a close friend is found dead in John’s mansion, Ginny must delve into her beloved salon’s secrets to discover her true feelings about art, family, and love.
 

My Thoughts…

Have you ever read a book and thought YES!  This is it.   This is the book that I will absolutely love forever and can’t wait to share my thoughts with everyone.       That is exactly my thoughts about The Fifth Avenue Artists Society.    I started Joy Callaways’s book and could not put it down.   

Ginny pulled at my heart.    The love of her life marries someone else leaving her heartbroken.    She decides to write her story in a novel.     In the 1890’s it is unheard of for a woman to have anything published.   Yet, her determination never wavers and she keeps working on it.    When she goes with Franklin, her brother, to The Fifth Avenue Artists Society she is introduced to an entire world on artists, musicians, writers, and so many others.     Most importantly she meets John.   John manages to shake her world up, introduce her to a new world, and make her feel again.      I found it interesting that in a time when women stayed home, kept house, and took care of their families Ginny was living life.   With her heart broke she was sure she would never marry, especially when she was worried about losing the time and ability to write.

I am struggling in writing this review only because I don’t want to give up any spoilers.     There is so much in this book that I love and can’t wait to share.     My only small issue is how stuck Ginny was on Charlie.    Over and over and over again she whined about him marrying someone else.  
 
Book Links



Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Candidate for Murder SPOTLIGHT & GIVEAWAY



Book Description:

It’s election time in Spencer, Maryland, and the race for mayor is not a pretty one. In recent years, the small resort town has become divided between the local year-round residents who have enjoyed their rural way of life and the city dwellers moving into their mansions, taking over the town council, and proceeding to turn Deep Creek Lake into a closed gate community—complete with a host of regulations for everything from speed limits to clothes lines.

When the political parties force-feed two unsavory mayoral nominees on the town residents, Police Chief David O’Callaghan decides to make a statement—by nominating Gnarly, Mac Faraday’s German shepherd, to run as mayor of Spencer!

What starts out as a joke turns into a disaster when overnight Gnarly becomes the front runner—at which point his political enemies take a page straight out of Politics 101. What do you do when you’re behind in a race? Dig up dirt on the front runner, of course.

Seemingly, someone is not content to rest with simply embarrassing the front runner by publicizing his dishonorable discharge from the United States Army, but to throw in a murder for good measure. With murder on the ballot, Mac Faraday and the gang—including old friends from past cases—dive in to clear Gnarly’s name, catch a killer, and save Spencer!




Author's Bio:

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries. The twelfth installment in the Mac Faraday Mystery series, Candidate for Murder will be released June 2016.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, son, and four dogs (including the real Gnarly) on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Connect with Lauren: Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook





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Monday, July 25, 2016

The Light of Paris by Eleanor Brown

 Hardcover, 320 pages
Expected publication: July 12th 2016 by G.P. Putnam's Sons
The miraculous new novel from New York Times–bestselling author Eleanor Brown, whose debut, The Weird Sisters, was a sensation beloved by critics and readers alike.
 
Madeleine is trapped—by her family's expectations, by her controlling husband, and by her own fears—in an unhappy marriage and a life she never wanted. From the outside, it looks like she has everything, but on the inside, she fears she has nothing that matters.

In Madeleine’s memories, her grandmother Margie is the kind of woman she should have been—elegant, reserved, perfect. But when Madeleine finds a diary detailing Margie’s bold, romantic trip to Jazz Age Paris, she meets the grandmother she never knew: a dreamer who defied her strict, staid family and spent an exhilarating summer writing in cafĂ©s, living on her own, and falling for a charismatic artist.

Despite her unhappiness, when Madeleine’s marriage is threatened, she panics, escaping to her hometown and staying with her critical, disapproving mother. In that unlikely place, shaken by the revelation of a long-hidden family secret and inspired by her grandmother’s bravery, Madeleine creates her own Parisian summer—reconnecting to her love of painting, cultivating a vibrant circle of creative friends, and finding a kindred spirit in a down-to-earth chef who reminds her to feed both her body and her heart.

Margie and Madeleine’s stories intertwine to explore the joys and risks of living life on our own terms, of defying the rules that hold us back from our dreams, and of becoming the people we are meant to be.

My Thoughts…

What can be more empowering to a woman than doing what they want when the world is against them?     Both Madeleine and Margie didn’t belong in the life they were born into.   They wanted more. 
Madeleine visits Paris as a chaperone and soon her cousin leaves her behind doing her own thing.   The people she meets, the places she visits, and the experiences she have forever change her view on life.   I loved seeing the ins and outs of Paris through her eyes.     The clubs, the Libe, and the cafĂ©’s that Madeleine visited came alive to me while reading The Light of Paris.  I could hear the jazz music, I could see the couples dancing, I could envision the art she was seeing, and I could hear the French language being spoken as she made her way around Paris.  Eleanor Brown did an amazing job bring the city to life by using words.     I am still on the fence about how I feel about the rest of her story.  Was she destined to live that type of life?    I had hope that things would be different for her but I suppose it was what had to happen.   It wasn’t a horrible life she lived it was just so different from what she and I had hoped for her.   

Margie… she had different problems.    Her husband was horrible to her.   There were times I felt like he was abusing her verbally.    Her self esteem was so low.    Then she went home to her mother.   Her mother was not much better.    I cannot imagine not having a mother who doesn’t support and protect you.   Margie finds the support she needs in unlikely people.    The friends don’t push her to make decisions or tell her what to do; they listen and just spend time with her.    I loved her sharing of her grandmother’s, Madeleine, journals and how they lifted her up and showed her that there was more to life than what she was currently life she was living.   I feel like those journals really pushed her to do more.  Her ending was wonderful and perfect.    I was hoping for an ending similar to that for her.   

I finished reading The Light of Paris and just sat and thinking about how wonderful the story and characters were.   There is so much more that I would like to share about this book but it would contain spoilers and I don’t share spoilers.   Absolutely go get a copy. 

Book Links



About Eleanor Brown
Eleanor Brown is the New York Times and international bestselling author of The Weird Sisters and The Light of Paris. Her debut novel,The Weird Sisters, was an Indie Next pick, an Amazon Best Book of the Month, and a Barnes & Noble Book of the Month and a Discover selection. Eleanor’s writing has also appeared in newspapers, magazines, anthologies, and journals, including The Washington Post,CrossFit JournalCrab Orchard Review, and Publishers Weekly. She lives in Colorado and teaches and presents on writing at conferences and writing centers nationwide.


Saturday, July 23, 2016

Lost Wolf (Curse of the Moon Book 1) by Stacy Claflin

 Kindle Edition
Published July 17th 2016

iShe’s hiding a dark secret. It already killed her once. 

Victoria can’t wait to start college, but there’s a hitch—she can’t remember anything before arriving on campus. Her memories finally spark when she sees her ruggedly handsome math professor, but she senses something terrible happened. The shock on his face affirms her fears.
 

Toby is an alpha wolf who never thought he’d see his true love again—not after she died in his arms. Nothing could have prepared him for her walking into his class. But to his dismay, not only has she forgotten the past, she doesn’t even know who she is.
 

He’s determined to do whatever it takes to restore what they’ve lost. Can Toby help Victoria recover her memories, or will he lose her forever?
 

USA Today bestselling author, Stacy Claflin, brings you Lost Wolf, the first book in the Curse of the Moon series. It’s a paranormal romantic suspense saga that features gripping supernatural drama, surprising twists, dynamic characters, and heart-pounding romance.
 

Read Lost Wolf today to satisfy your craving for a fast-paced paranormal tale.
 

My Thoughts…

I have been looking forward to the start of this series by Stacy Claflin.     She is a go-to author for me.    This is the first paranormal book of hers that I have read and I can’t wait for more.   

Victoria is the main character and I could not get enough of her.    She is strong, self reliant, and brave.    Walking into the unknown with no memory of her past she does not hesitate to try to make something of herself.     I was concerned that she let Carter into her life so quickly without many questions but I suppose that is being in college.   The falling in “love” so quickly especially when someone like Carter gives you attention.      When her memories made appearances I was glad when she questioned them and kept hoping she would figure out what she had to remember.    

Toby was also amazing.   Imagine finding out that the love of your life is not dead as you had thought and that she had no memory of who you were.     He was patient, understanding, and persistent when it came to helping Victoria.    The jealousy was realistic, the love was real, and their relationship was amazing.   I would like to know more about his pack and am hoping that in future books we will get glimpses into the other relationships.  

Stacy Claflin did a great job with book one.    If you enjoy a good paranormal as much as I do then I definitely recommend picking up a copy.  

Book Links
Amazon    |   Goodreads


Friday, July 22, 2016

Ryan's Love by C.A. Harms

Title: Ryan's Love
Series: Sawyer Brothers #1
Author: C.A. Harms
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: August 11, 2015 Publisher: Limitless Publishing
One of the hardest things I have ever had to do was bury my wife. 
The second hardest thing would be watching my 12 year old daughter fall to her knees as they lowered her mother into the ground to rest. 
A heart wrenching vision that will forever be etched in my mind.
Claire was my best friend, she had been since we were barely old enough to talk. I always knew, one day, I would marry her. I think I may have even told her that a few times while we were growing up. 
Never did I think I would lose her so suddenly.
I knew at that moment…
Our life would never be the same again…

My Thoughts…

C.A. Harm has a way with words.    Her characters are real, relatable, and so lovable.  I immediately became invested in the lives and the love that every character in this book had to share.  The feelings were true and not just instant feelings.    They were developed over time, taken into consideration of the surrounding and other people in their lives, and real.   

Ryan and Amber had an instant attraction.   Their steamy looks and sly smiles were true to a romance waiting to happen.    I loved that it was not an instant relationship.   It moved quickly, but not so quick as to make it unbelievable.   It was also nice to see them consider Olivia, Ryan’s daughter, before jumping into the relationship headfirst.    They took into consideration how their relationship would affect Olivia and included her in their lives.   Amber is the only type of girlfriend that would work in Ryan’s life.   Her consideration, understanding, and love are exactly what both Ryan and Olivia needed after the loss of their wife/mother.   

If you are looking for an emotional romantic story.   C.A. Harms has one for you.  Ryan’s Love is perfect.  


Make sure you check out the sexy cowboy on the farmer.  He is exactly what I picture as Ryan.


“Climb up,” I said from behind her as she stood staring up at the horse only a few feet from her with a look of panic on her face. I was more than positive this was the closest this city girl had ever been to one. 
She peered back over her shoulder, and I almost laughed at how overwhelmed she looked. 
“I’m from the city,” she said with wide eyes, emphasizing her loss at what to do. “Ryan, you do understand that we have subways and taxis, right? We do not have horses that are the size of SUVs. I’m going to need a little help if you expect me—” She pointed toward her chest, then spun around to point at the horse. “—to get up on that thing.” 
Now I did chuckle. It was impossible not to. She was damn near panicking at the thought of how she would mount and then ride the horse. 
I stepped up behind her, my chest fitting flush against her back. Gripping her hips, I leaned my head closer and grazed my lips over her ear. Her body relaxed against mine, and she tilted her head to the side, opening up her neck to me. 
As I placed a kiss at the base of her neck, she shuddered in my arms. “You have to put your foot in the stirrups,” I whispered before kissing just below her ear. “I’ll lift as you pull yourself up.” 
She nodded with her eyes closed as her chest moved up and down in small pants. 
“Go on,” I urged. 
I lifted her as she gripped the saddle, and she yelped when I firmly placed her atop Storm, my father’s Oldenburg stallion. Jackson held him steady as I pulled myself up and took my spot behind Amber. Our bodies were so close together I could feel her ragged breaths as she shifted against me with each one.



C.A. Harms is like any other addicted reader. She enjoys happy endings and HEA love stories. She hasn't always been a lover of Romance and had once been addicted to a good Mystery. Just recently she has taken on a new liking and now is a full blown Romance novel addict.
She lives in Illinois and enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. You will always find her with her kindle or paperback in hand as it is her favorite pass time.


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