Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Release Blitz for Shifting Gears by Melanie Moreland

 

Shifting Gears by Melanie Moreland is now live!

Brett - The quiet loner. Content with life in his small town and a job he loves—except for the one thorn in his side.

Kelly—the world traveler that pops in and out of his life, taking a small piece of his heart with him every time.

Until the day she comes back, broken and adrift.

Can he show her there is more to life than bright lights and endless wandering?

Could his heart be enough to finally tame the restless need to run?

Or will she break his heart all over again and leave.

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: http://getbook.at/ShiftingGears

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/GRShiftingGears

Binge the series here!

mybook.to/ReynoldsRestorations

Meet Melanie


New York Times/USA Today bestselling author Melanie Moreland, lives a happy and content life in a quiet area of Ontario with her beloved husband of thirty-plus years and their rescue cat, Amber. Nothing means more to her than her friends and family, and she cherishes every moment spent with them.

While seriously addicted to coffee, and highly challenged with all things computer-related and technical, she relishes baking, cooking, and trying new recipes for people to sample. She loves to throw dinner parties, and also enjoys traveling, here and abroad, but finds coming home is always the best part of any trip.

Melanie loves stories, especially paired with a good wine, and enjoys skydiving (free falling over a fleck of dust) extreme snowboarding (falling down stairs) and piloting her own helicopter (tripping over her own feet.) She's learned happily ever afters, even bumpy ones, are all in how you tell the story.

Connect with Melanie

Website: https://www.melaniemoreland.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7355350.Melanie_Moreland

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Melanie-Moreland/e/B00GV6LB00

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormoreland

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MelaniesMinions

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morelandmelanie/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MorelandMelanie

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@melaniemoreland

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/melanie-moreland

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/melanie_moreland/

Other: https://bingebooks.com/author/melanie-moreland

Verve: https://ververomance.com/app/melaniemoreland

Book Blitz for The Burly-Que Girls: The 6 by Linda Hughes with a GIVEAWAY

 

The Burly-Que Girls: The 6
Linda Hughes
Publication date: December 26th 2021
Genres: Historical, Romance, Women’s Fiction

Get a front-row seat to classic striptease during the heyday of burlesque.

When former burlesque dancers Dolly O’Dare and her friends discover that their manager, Ballard “Balls” Benedict, has skipped town with their retirement funds, there’s no stopping the irate troupe from converging on Las Vegas to track down the scoundrel. But to rack up enough dough to hire a private dick, the six dames must sell their life stories in a steamy, hilarious, and – yes – sweet tell-all book.

They’ll do whatever it takes to find Balls and get their money back. After all, at this point in their lives, they’ve got nothing to lose. But along the way they discover that the real treasures are in zany old friendships, quirky new acquaintances, and maybe even a second-chance romance or two.

Join the fun and fall in love with these wildly wonderful women in this first book in the Burly-Q Girls series. You may end up doing a little hoochie-coochie dance to become a Burly-Q Girl yourself.

This work of fiction was inspired by real-life stories told to the author by her burly-que friends.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

Suddenly, an impatient knock from outside assaulted the apartment door like a mobster’s Tommy gun. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat.

“Who in hell …?” Ginger got up and opened the door.

Annie Fannie stood there in all her hoity-toity glory.

Ginger glared up at the tall, svelte woman, her shock evident. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Dressed in a designer outfit that no doubt cost more than Ginger’s entire wardrobe, hell, probably her entire apartment, the uninvited guest pressed the back of her hand to Ginger’s shoulder to nudge her aside. “Let me in. The heat out here is insufferable.” She came to an abrupt halt just inside the door, leaving Ginger stuck in the open threshold to deal with the heat. “Well, well, well. Look … at … this,” Annie snarled as she sauntered into the room and stood like a queen looking down her nose at her peons. “The whole gang is here. Hello, girls. It’s been a long time.”

Dolly huffed. “Not long enough.”

“Aren’t you going to invite me to sit down?”

“No, Annie, we’re not,” Ginger stated flatly.

“I haven’t gone by Annie since I quit performing. It’s Anastasia now.” She patted her dyed blond hair, making certain they noticed she had a chichi coif.

“I’m guessing you’ve never quit performing, one way or another.” Dolly stood up to face the interloper mano a mano.

Merry hopped up to join the line of defense.

“My, my. What hostility. What did I ever do to make you all so rudely hostile toward me?”

“Gee, Annie, I’m surprised you ask, because we know you don’t give a rat’s ass what we think.” Dolly balled up her fists and ground them into her hips, at the ready.

“As for the hostility,” Ginger seethed, thirty years of hot anger boiling up unexpectedly, “how about the fact that you lied to my boyfriend about me and stole him away? Huh? How about that?”

“Pfft. Please. He wasn’t worth having. I only dated him a few times. You could have had him back. Oh wait. I remember now. He went on to Pussy Willow after me. I guess he liked her … willow.” She smirked, amused at her supposed wit.

“You treated us like shit,” Dolly growled. “You insulted our costumes and our acts and even our bodies. Like you thought you were so much better than us.”

“Well …” Annie made the mistake of throwing her arms out wide and looking around the room. “I’ve certainly never lived in a hovel like this.”

That did it. Ginger flung herself at their tormenter, clawing at the viper’s haute couture dress and tearing it down to her waist.

“You little bitch!” Annie Fannie, once the most elegant of exotic dancers, turned out to be a formidable foe. She grabbed a handful of Ginger’s hair and with that they hit the floor, rolling around and throwing punches as best they could. Arms and legs flailed about at random, like a game of Whack-a-mole gone bad.

Dolly and Merry jumped into action, each snatching a brawler and yanking her away. Everybody got roughed up in the process. The Women’s Wrestling Association had nothing on them.

“Girls! Girls!” Dolly hollered. “This isn’t going to change anything.”

“Stop! Stop!” Merry yelled at the same time. “You’re both acting like Neanderthals.”

Once separated and on opposite sides of the room, the brutal enemies tried to kill each other with laser stares.

“Look at what you did to my dress. It’s ruined.” Annie slung the comment across the room. Her pink, embroidered, lacy, padded, underwire bra poked out at them.

“Yeah. Well, that’s nothing compared to what you did to my life. I loved Harold!” Ginger’s lower lip quivered as she shook a quaking finger at her nemesis.

Annie frowned, paused, then said, “His name was Howard.”

“No, it wasn’t! He was my Harold.”

“Ah, Ginger, honey.” Dolly’s gentle tone caused Ginger to look at her friend. “I remember him.”

They watched as awareness clicked in on Ginger’s face.

“As much as I hate to admit that Annie is right, his name was Howard,” Dolly reminded her.

Ginger looked to Merry for support, but all Merry could offer was a helpless shrug.

“Oh. Oh. Well. Yeah, sure. Now I remember.” Ginger straightened herself, patted her mussed up hair, casually sat down at the table, and calmly clasped her hands. “I knew that.”

“Now that we’ve done a brawling bump and grind down memory lane,” Annie chided, stuffing the torn edge of her dress up into her bra straps, “I’d like to get to the reason for my visit and then get out of this dump as quickly as possible.”

“Do tell,” Dolly said. “Why in hell are you here?”


Author Bio:

Happy endings and new beginnings - but not as you expect. Even better. That's what Linda Hughes' books are all about, whether historical romantic suspense, mystery, or second chance romance.

When Linda was 12 years old she wrote in her diary that she would be a "writter" when she grew up. With 20 books and a passel of writing awards, her dream has come true. She is a #1 bestselling co-author.

So browse around on her page. Find something that's just right for you. That 12-year-old with big dreams, who still lives within Linda, is delighted.

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub


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Monday, May 30, 2022

Cover Reveal for Revel in You by Scarlett Se Leva

 

Revel In You
Scarlett Se Leva
(Determined, #3)
Publication date: June 30th 2022
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Simone Goodman.
The only girl I’ve loved.
Until she ripped my heart out.

It’s been five years since I’ve laid eyes on her.
Five years since she was mine.

I told myself never again.
But truth be told I still yearn to indulge in her.
To get lost in her touch.

I plan to own the one thing she’s denied me.
Her heart.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

Pre-order for only 99 cents!


Author Bio:

Scarlett Se Leva writes unexpected, steamy, suspenseful romance.

When Scar isn’t busy penning her next book, you can find her with her family watching movies, drinking wine, curled up in a corner with a book or running after her three daughters.

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Friday, May 27, 2022

Book Blitz for Love, Not War A Charity Anthology for Ukraine

 

Love, Not War: A Charity Anthology for Ukraine
Publication date: May 24th 2022
Genres: Adult, Romance

LOVE, NOT WAR — A charity Anthology for the Ukraine Crisis Fund

17 authors have come together to write 16 different romance stories of all sub-genres and tropes.

LOVE, NOT WAR releases 05.24.22

All proceeds will go to benefit affected communities in Ukraine, with a focus on the most vulnerable, including children, who need access to food, medical services, and psychosocial support. It also supports humanitarian assistance in impacted communities in Ukraine and surrounding regions where Ukrainian refugees have fled.

PARTICIPATING AUTHORS:

A.R. HALL

CASSIA BRIAR

DEE GARCIA

EMERY LEEANN & ELIZABETH ST. JOHN

HAZEL GRACE

JEN STEVENS

JENSEN REED

KATHERINE MOORE

M. JAMESON

M.R. LEAHY

N.M. BLACK

SARA A. MOSIER

SAVANNAH SLOAN

SUKI WILLIAMS

SUMMER O’TOOLE

YOLANDA OLSON

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Book Review for A Letter in the Wall by Eileen Brill

 A Letter in the Wall by Eileen Brill 

Paperback, 384 pages

Publication: May 24th 2022 by SparkPress

Genre: Historical Fiction, Coming of Age

 


Taken from Goodreads:
  It’s 1971, and Joan Dumann fears her former business partner wants her dead—but her anxiety is less about dying than it is about feeling disrespected and invalidated. As she constructs a letter about her predicament, she revisits her past.


Born into a prominent Philadelphia Quaker family in 1915 and raised with privilege and opportunity, Joan wrestles with her turbulent thoughts and unfulfilled desires—an internal battle that often results in self-destructive tendencies. When she attempts to push against the norms for women of her time in order to forge her own identity, she is met with resistance. Yet she might also be her own worst enemy, often alienating those who care deeply for her. Both manipulative and vulnerable, naive and conniving, Joan is, like many people, complex and misunderstood.


Inspired by a letter written by the real Joan, found hidden in the wall of a Pennsylvania home more than half a century later, this story is a fictionalized imagining of who she was and what motivated her. Moving through several decades and events—from the 1918 influenza pandemic to Prohibition to the Great Depression to Vietnam—A Letter in the Wall examines the internal and external factors that influence one woman’s journey toward independence and empowerment.

 

My Thoughts:  I was intrigued at the idea that this book would span such a large timeframe.   I wanted to learn about the history that Joan lives through and learn what life was like during all that time.  The book did not share as much history as I would have liked but I was in awe of the strength that Joan showed in having to keep moving forward for the good of her family.    She has hiccup after hiccup in her life.  It seems that just as life starts going her way something would happen to throw her off and she would have to find her way back to the path of happiness.   I enjoyed that she never gave up, she worked hard, she kept her kids as a priority, and did what she had to. 

Joan was not a likable character, but she was a character that I was hoping the best for.   From a young age she always felt like she lacked something, that she was always in the shadows of someone else, and I feel like she never got over that.  She was always looking for the next best thing, the next thing to make her be someone, and that always led her to trouble.   She was a schemer, and those schemes did not work the way that she hoped. 

I love that it was based on a real letter found in the wall of a house.  The events that happen in this story were what Joan lived through. 

**Thank you Ann-Marie at GetRedPR 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 or Barnes and Noble



Meet Eileen Grace Brill (Taken from her website):
 Eileen Grace Brill is a painter, writer, and Sign Language Interpreter who grew up outside of Philadelphia and graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a B.S. in Economics. She has written professionally for the restaurant, hotel, and commercial real estate industries. A Letter in the Wall is her first novel, though she has been a writer all her life, beginning at age four when she wrote a poem (filled with spelling errors!) for her babysitter. Eileen’s short story “Christmas Angel” appeared in the international literary magazine Beyond Words in 2021. She and her husband Eli raised their sons in her hometown of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, where they still live, along with their two adopted mutts, Athena and Gaia.

 

 


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Thursday, May 26, 2022

Release Blitz for Camp Crim by Bella Jewel

 

 

Gorgeous ranchers meet ex-crims, what could possibly go wrong?

Camp Crim by Bella Jewel is now live!

 

I don't know whose wise idea it was to send us on this retreat.
I don't need rehabilitation.
I don't need a bunch of hot cowboys telling me what to do.
I don't need anyone trying to be my friend.
I just want to go home and put this nightmare behind me.
I just spent a year in prison for something I didn't do, now I have to endure this?
I can't deny that the ranchers are gorgeous, and Lake is unlike any man I've ever met.
Even though they made him my own personal guard.
They don't trust me.
He doesn't trust me.
I'm trouble, according to them.
He hates it about as much as I do, and I make a vow to keep him on his toes.
I'm not one to follow rules. I'll do what I want at this stupid retreat.
There is one, small, problem though....
A stablehand goes missing. Vanishes.
When you've got a camp full of ex-criminals, you can only assume we have something to do with it.
Determined not to end up in prison again, I make it my mission to find out what happened to him.
I'll clear my name because I'm not going back to that hell hole.
If only I could ditch the gorgeous cowboy who insists on coming everywhere with me.
He's making it hard.
Perhaps the only way for me to get rid of him is to make his life a living hell.
Oh, yes, by the end of it, he'll wish he never met me.

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3K7dwfa

Amazon Universal: mybook.to/campcrim

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/37EFMsI

Meet Bella Jewel

Bella Jewel is a self published, USA Today bestselling author. She's been publishing since 2013. Her first release was a contemporary romance, Hell's Knights which topped the charts upon release. Since that time, she has published over twenty-five novels, gaining a bestseller status on numerous platforms. She lives in North Queensland with her fiancé and four beautiful kids. Bella has been writing since she was just shy of fifteen years old. In Summer 2013 she was offered an ebook deal through Montlake Romance for her bestselling modern day pirate series, Enslaved By The Ocean. In 2016 she signed a three book deal with St Martin's Press, and another three just a year later. She plans to expand her writing career, planning many new releases for the future.

Connect with Bella Jewel

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7178194.Bella_Jewel

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Bella-Jewel/e/B00ENFN352

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBellaJewel

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/193768845264562

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorbellajewel

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BellaJewel73

Release Blitz for A Callahan Wedding by Monica Murphy

 

 

A Callahan Wedding by Monica Murphy is now live!

From New York Times bestselling author Monica Murphy comes the conclusion to the Callahan series...


There is nothing quite like your first love. And no one knows this better than NFL quarterback Jake Callahan. After being with his high school sweetheart for years, he is finally going to make Hannah his wife.


Their wedding plans start out small. Intimate. A special ceremony with just their family and closest friends. Soon enough though, things get out of control. The guest list is huge. The planned reception, flashy. Jake is miserable. Hannah is overwhelmed. So they send an exclusive invitation to the ones that matter to them the most: pack your bags.


You're invited to our destination wedding.


Catch up with the Callahan family and their friends from the College Years series in this sexy, fun novella!

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3I3Jzfa

Amazon Worldwide: mybook.to/CallahanWedding

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3tYHvQm

Meet Monica

Monica Murphy is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling romance author. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. Both a traditionally published and independently published author, she writes young adult, new adult and contemporary romance.

A native Californian, she lives on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere with her husband, son, their goofy dog, and three cats. When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about writing. Or reading. Or binge watching something.

Connect with Monica

Website: http://monicamurphyauthor.com

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyGR

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1YUl0Vm

Facebook: http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyFB

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/monicamurphyreadergroup/

Instagram: http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyIG

Twitter: http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyTW

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2ZAthV1

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/msmonicamurphy/

Verve Romance: https://ververomance.com/app/monicamurphy

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@monicamurphyauthor

Book Review for Crazy To Leave You by Marilyn Simon Rothstein

 Crazy To Leave You by Marilyn Simon Rothstein 

Paperback, 304 pages

Publication: May 24th 2022 by Lake Union Publishing

 

 


Taken from Goodreads:  From the author of Husbands and Other Sharp Objects comes a witty, bighearted novel about the happy accidents that lead to love and second chances.


Forty-one years old, the last of her friends to marry, and down to a size 12, Lauren Leo is in her gown and about to tie the knot. There’s just one thing missing: the groom. With one blindsiding text, Lauren is unceremoniously dumped at the altar.

In the aftermath, her mother is an endless well of unsolicited advice (Stay on your diet and freeze your eggs). Her sisters only add to the Great Humiliation: one is planted on Lauren’s couch while the other is too perfect.

Picking her heart up off the floor, Lauren turns to her work in advertising as she gathers courage to move on and plan her next step. She should know by now that nothing in life goes according to plan. What lies ahead is the road to self-acceptance and at long last feeling worthy. With a new way to measure love and success, Lauren chucks her scale—and finds a second chance in the most unexpected place.

My Thoughts:  I needed this book.  Crazy to Leave You is fun, flirty, and just what I was looking for.  The storyline was easy to follow and the characters were fun.  I enjoyed the pace of the story.  The story had just enough detail to bring it to life. 

Lauren lived a life that many women can relate to.   She had a high-power job in a man’s world, she had a weight issue, her biological clock was ticking, and she had family that she both love and hated.  Lauren is a character that is so relatable.  It was interesting to see how she would maneuver life to find her happy ever after.  I liked that she had struggles but is also strong and sure of what she wants in life.   She just had to work to trust herself and let herself be happy again.   

Crazy to Leave You is a fun and witty story.  I read the book quickly and looked for more time to read when I should have been doing other things.  

**Thank you Ann-Marie at GetRedPR 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 or Barnes and Noble



Meet Marilyn Simon Rothstein  (
taken from Goodreads):  Marilyn Simon Rothstein is the author of Lift and Separate, winner of the Star Award presented by the Women’s Fiction Writers Association for Outstanding Debut. Husbands And Other Sharp Objects is her second novel.

Marilyn grew up in New York City, earned a degree in journalism from New York University, began her writing career at Seventeen magazine, married a man she met in an elevator, and owned an advertising agency for more than twenty-five years. Marilyn received an MA in liberal studies from Wesleyan University and an MA in Judaic studies from the University of Connecticut. She enjoys speaking at book festivals and community events.

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Book Blitz for All-Star Love by Stephanie J. Scott with a GIVEAWAY

 

All-Star Love
Stephanie J. Scott
(A Six Lakes Tennis Academy Novel)
Publication date: May 24th 2022
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Sports, Young Adult

An enemies-to-more fake dating romance set in the world of competitive tennis
Maisie Maxwell planned for a senior year of dazzling college scouts by playing her best tennis. Instead, her beloved tennis training academy is thrown into scandal when the academy founder and head coach, who happens to be her uncle, takes off to Tahiti with the school’s tuition money. Her classmates label her a traitor, but she commits to graduate from the school she loves.

Only her aim to lay low is thwarted by the school’s last-ditch hope to stay open, a new partnership with reality show The Academy.

Also not helping her stay-under-the-radar plan? A wayward forehand shot that nails transfer student Shane Wagner in the face on day one. Shane, obnoxiously gorgeous for starters, is the current number one nationally seeded player in junior boys’ tennis. Oops.

Everyone at school sees Shane as an outsider and fame-seeker. He’s just as much an outcast as Maisie. While reality show producers push for chaos, Shane and Maisie band together with their own idea: pretend to be together and control the narrative.

But the savvy head producer has her own agenda, and it’s not collegiate tennis scholarships. Shane and Maisie need to play hard to save the school before they’re outmatched.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

EXCERPT:

I put all my strength into my next forehand. The ball torpedoed over the net, not even bothering to bounce within the court. Nope, that sucker was headed for the fences. If this was baseball, it’d be time to break out the peanuts and Cracker Jack.

Too bad this wasn’t baseball.

“Ahh!”

A figure in the distance went down, knees to the court. A crowd of students suddenly appeared, gasping and rushing over.

“You hit him!” someone shrieked.

My breath lodged in my throat. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I jogged over, terrified to breathe until I knew my accidental victim was okay.

Caleb directed a dirty scowl at me. “You really are the worst, Maxwell.”

I angled to see the fallen student. “I’m so sorry!”

“Oh, Maisie.” Nia mumbled, now beside me.

“I’m okay,” the guy on the ground said, attempting to stand despite the crowd. His head emerged, sun-bleached brown hair unkempt and curling over a tanned forehead. That perfectly shaggy hair some guys could get away with. He wasn’t a returning student. The face turning toward me could easily belong on a clothing website, the kind with ninety-dollar T-shirts with holes in them for a distressed look. Basically, he was very attractive.

A swath of blood streaked across that very attractive face.

That part was definitely my fault.

Sorry floated across my tongue, but my lips couldn’t form the word under the pressure of so many glaring classmates. Any hope of being an admired senior this year shriveled and burned like a tissue set aflame.

He accepted a clean towel and pressed it to his nose. “I expected I might not be welcome here, but your forehand really confirmed it.”

“Way to go, Maxwell,” Caleb said with a sneer. “You just nailed Shane Wagner in the face.”

Oh. Wait, what? “You’re … you’re—”

“Shane Wagner,” the bloody-faced model boy said through the towel.

Shane Wagner. The Shane Wagner. I just nailed the face of the number one-seeded player in junior boys’ tennis.

Author Bio:

Stephanie J. Scott writes young adult and romance about characters who put their passions first. Her debut ALTERATIONS about a fashion-obsessed loner who reinvents herself was a Romance Writers of America RITA® award finalist. She enjoys dance fitness, everything cats, and has a slight obsession with Instagram. A Midwest girl at heart, she resides outside of Chicago with her tech-of-all-trades husband and fuzzy furbabies.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Newsletter / Instagram / TikTok / Bookbub


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Book Review for Our Last Days in Barcelona by Chanel Cleeton

 Our Last Days in Barcelona by Chanel Cleeton 

Paperback, 320 pages

Publication: May 24th 2022 by Berkley Books

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Spain, Romance

 


Taken from Goodreads:
  When Isabel Perez travels to Barcelona to save her sister Beatriz, she discovers a shocking family secret in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s new novel.

Barcelona, 1964. Exiled from Cuba after the revolution, Isabel Perez has learned to guard her heart and protect her family at all costs. After Isabel’s sister Beatriz disappears in Barcelona, Isabel goes to Spain in search of her. Joining forces with an unlikely ally thrusts Isabel into her sister’s dangerous world of espionage, but it’s an unearthed piece of family history that transforms Isabel’s life.

Barcelona, 1936. Alicia Perez arrives in Barcelona after a difficult voyage from Cuba, her marriage in jeopardy and her young daughter Isabel in tow. Violence brews in Spain, the country on the brink of civil war, the rise of fascism threatening the world. When Cubans journey to Spain to join the International Brigades, Alicia’s past comes back to haunt her as she is unexpectedly reunited with the man who once held her heart.

Alicia and Isabel’s lives intertwine, and the past and present collide, as a mother and daughter are forced to choose between their family’s expectations and following their hearts. 


My Thoughts:  I am going to start with the end, Chanel Cleeton wrote the perfect ending for Isabel’s story.   The story came a full circle and I love it!  There is no doubt of a mother’s love and the Perez family bond.  I am hopeful that there is more of there story to tell but if this is the last book featuring the Perez family, I will be happy with that.  

Isabel went to Barcelona to find her sister but instead found herself.   She found a life that she craved and that she deserved.  The support of Beatrix and Diego gave her the courage to work for her dreams.  The dreams that Isabel have put her at odds with what her parents expected of her, it is hard for her to go against their wishes.  Isabel deserves all the happiness that she can get and I was excited to see her find her own way.

Alicia, Isabel’s mother, is the other part of the story.   There is a part of her life that she did not share with her children, she denies it when she is asked about it.  Beatrix stumbles on part of that life and questions her own life.  Alicia’s timeline told of her time away from her husband with young Isabel during the start of their civil war in Spain.  

I love the Perez family.  Their family is one of strength, love, and support.   The Perez daughters have each other and can take on the world. 

**Thank you Daniela Riedlová at Berkley for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

 

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon or Barnes and Noble



Meet Chaneel Cleeton
(Taken from her website):  Chanel Cleeton is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick Next Year in Havana, When We Left Cuba, The Last Train to Key West, and The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba

Originally from Florida, Chanel grew up on stories of her family's exodus from Cuba following the events of the Cuban Revolution. Her passion for politics and history continued during her years spent studying in England where she earned a bachelor's degree in International Relations from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master's degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics & Political Science. Chanel also received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

 

 

 

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Book Blitz for Myracles in the Void by Wes Dyson with a GIVEAWAY

 

Myracles in the Void
Wes Dyson
(Myraverse)
Publication date: April 12th 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

There once were two children,
a girl and a boy.
One could create,
the other, destroy.

Within every heart lies the power to bond or break.

On an isolated port of floating garbage called Hop, Gaiel Izz and his sister, Lynd, never imagined they’d be able to change anything…

Not their nasty neighbors, not their hungry bellies, and especially not their missing father.

That will change when they discover the power of myracles — magic that either creates or destroys.

As the brother and sister set across Esa to bring their family back together, this power will either unite them or shatter their entire world to pieces.

It will all come down to what truly lies within their hearts…

Create or destroy?

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EXCERPT:

Chapter One – Unforgiving Hop

THE RED TIDE is COMING!

Water Level Low.

SPRYT SightingsHighly Expected.

Un-luck + Disaster ToAllWho Encounter.

BLOCK EVERYOPENING.

— Mayor Tanning

What a delightful sign to have hanging in front of one’s home — a mix of “watch out” with “you’re on your own.” But that’s living in Hop for ya, a’kay?

As a floating port in the middle of the sea, there weren’t any roads to or from Hop. On their own, indeed. But it wasn’t always so lonely. Fifty years ago, Hop was a bustling pitstop for the hundreds of trade ships sailing across the Domus Gulf every year. A place to “hop” from one side of the gulf to the other. Being a travel hub made it bursting with exotic goods and fresh ideas. But the wild waters of the gulf were hard to predict, and they only seemed to grow more dangerous over time. One shipwreck was enough to send thoughts and prayers, but after ten and twenty ships washed back blown to bits, it started to nip at the profits. Soon traders found alternate land routes that may have taken longer, but at least weren’t so death-y.

Practically overnight, Hop and its people were forgotten like a used hanky in a puddle. Trapped on a floating port amid the unfor‐ giving sea, a stagnant idea stuck to them — anything made would just be unmade. What was to stop anything they worked hard to build from falling to pieces like Hop did? Nothin’ lasts butsalt in yer ass became the most graffitied words on the splintering streets, a series of long planks called “Boards.” Was there any point in shining your shoes, doing your hair, brushing your teeth? They would all end up dirty, tasseled, and yellow. Undone, eventually. Was there any point in building relationships, then? Nothing lasts but the salt in their asses, indeed.

Just behind that friendly “red tide” warning sign on Boulie Board, a skinny wreck of a home rose from the battered planks. Its number, 76, was drawn large and wide on the front and side in “Hopper White,” a local specialty paint whose main ingredient was seagull poop. Nothing could be wasted in Hop, not even waste. The pieces that made up the home had a kind of widely used look about them, like maybe that wall had once been the barnacled belly of a rowboat, and before that, it was a sign that said HOP: POPULATION 600. Its door was a full fourteen shades of a should-I-touch-that sort of green and was cracked at the bottom up to the knob. Its two sea-weathered windows were small and narrow like suspicious eyes squinting at the neighbors. By Hopper standards, the Izz family actually had quite a fine little nest.

The only reason the Izz house somewhat outshined its raggedy neighbors was because of the family’s firstborn, Gaiel Izz. Gai liked to fix things when they broke. Something about broken objects made him queasy, compulsive even; a roar in the belly yapping at him to make it better. As for the things he couldn’t fix, he’d at least insist on putting a sheet of soggy newspaper over it or something. In fact, he patched so many holes in his clothes with newspaper that it became the dominant fabric. It crinkled as he walked.

One special night, this industrious fifteen-year-old was lying motionless on the floor in one of the home’s damp upstairs bedrooms. His right ear was practically suctioned to the floorboards as he listened carefully for any signs of movement downstairs. He’d been listening so long his ear had become a bright, throbbing mushroom. This night, he’d embark on his most ambitious fixing project yet — his twelve-year-old sister, Lynd.

While Gai may have been on the floor, he wasn’t out of bed. The floor was both of the Izz children’s bed. Many, many things floated by Hop in the strong currents, like sunken ship junk or garbage from far off Electri City on the mainland. But few were “cozy” materials for them to scoop out and use to make bedding. Since nothing came in or out of Hop, if a Hopper wanted something new, they’d best grab a scoop and pray to Zeea that whatever they needed happened to be floating by that day. Gai once scooped an armful of braided anchor rope and wove it into a nice blanket. He looked over at Lynd sleeping on it, snoring like a ship headed out to sea

Twaahhh! Peaceful as she seemed, her little hands kept pulling at the fraying edges of the rope-blanket, almost like tearing it apart soothed her as a babe suckling their thumb would. She was definitely not a fixer like her brother. Truly, she was quite the opposite.

Author Bio:

Wes Dyson is a creative marketer and dog-daddy of four Pomskies living in Western MA. He loves classical music and earthy, grass-tasting tea.

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Book Review for Verity by Colleen Hoover

 Verity by Colleen Hoover 

Paperback, 336 pages

Published October 26th 2021 by Grand Central Publishing

Genre:  Mystery Thriller

 


Taken from Goodreads:
  Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.

Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity's recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died.

Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen's feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife's words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her. 

My Thoughts:  If I was not a HUGE Colleen Hoover fan before reading Verity I am now.   This book had so many twists, turns, ups and downs that my head was spinning.  I craved this book, I could not stop reading, I needed to read more of this book.   When I read the last page I could not wait to talk about it, luckily my book club is reading this right now and we meet soon. 

Lowen, an unknown author, gets the chance of a lifetime.  As she stepped into this role she read things she could not unread, she saw things she never wanted to see, and she learned things that made her question everything.   I questioned everything I read and still went back for more.  

Verity is a phenomenal thriller, published in 2021 but I read in 2022, it will be on my best of 2022 list.   If anyone ever asks me what they should read this will be one of the first books that I recommend. 

 

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

 



About Colleen Hoover
(Taken from her website) Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty two novels and novellas. Hoover’s novels fall into the New Adult and Young Adult contemporary romance categories, as well as psychological thriller. 

Colleen Hoover is published by Montlake Romance, Grand Central Publishing and Atria Books. Colleen also has several indie titles, including Heart Bones.

In 2015, Colleen’s novel CONFESS won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance. That was followed up in 2016 with her latest title, It Ends With Us, also winning the Choice Award for Best Romance. In 2017, her title WITHOUT MERIT won best romance.

Her novel CONFESS has been filmed as a series by Awestruck and is available on Prime Video via Amazon and iTunes. Katie Leclerc and Ryan Cooper star in the series.

Colleen founded The Bookworm Box, a charity subscription service and bookstore, with her family in 2015. The Bookworm Box is a subscription service that provides readers with an exciting opportunity to receive signed novels in the mail each month from authors all over the world. All profits from the subscription service are donated to various charities each month. To date, The Bookworm Box has donated over $1,000,000 to help those in need.