Friday, June 28, 2024

Book Review for A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey

 A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Published June 25, 2024 by Gallery Books

Genre:  Southern Fiction

 


Taken from Goodreads:
  A tender and touching novel about a young woman who discovers the family she has always longed for when she spends a life-changing summer in North Carolina.

Present Keaton Smith is desperate for a fresh start. So when her mother needs someone to put her childhood home in Beaufort, North Carolina, on the market—the home that Keaton didn’t know existed until now—she jumps at the chance to head south. Keaton’s grandparents died in a tragic car accident before she was born, so she’s eager to learn more about the family she never met. But even though she has help from her charming next-door-neighbor, his precocious ten-year-old son, and a flock of endearingly feisty town busybodies, Keaton soon finds that she has more questions than answers.

1976: After meeting her adoring husband Townsend, Rebecca “Becks” Saint James abandoned the life she knew and never looked back. Forty years later, she’s made a name for herself as the best hostess North Carolina has ever seen. Her annual summer suppers have become the stuff of legend, and locals and out-of-towners alike clamor for an invitation to her stunning historic home. But she’s struggling behind the façade. Becks strives to make the lives of those around her as easy as possible, but this summer she is facing a dilemma that even she can’t solve. And as the end of the season looms, she is brought to a decision she never wanted to make.

As both Keaton and Becks face new challenges and chapters, they are connected through time by the house on Sunset Lane, which has protected the secrets, hopes, and dreams of the women in their family for generations. For fans of Summer of ‘69 and The Notebook , Last Summer on Sunset Lane explores the power of family, the bonds of friendship, and the boundless nature of love.

 

My Thoughts:   Southern Historical Fiction at its absolute best is how I would describe this book in one sentence. 

A Happier Life is a dual timeline book that tells of a life-long Beaufort, North Carolina family and the home they lived in.  I love that the history of the town plays such a huge part in this story.   The family is a big part of the history, and they are well respected.   Everyone who enters the story plays a part and has a story to tell to enrich the family’s story. 

 I love that there is a mystery of what happens to the grandparents in this book.   Along with all the family history that was revealed, there is a romance, an adorable neighbor boy, and so many wonderful friendships formed.   The setting

 This book is a great addition to my collection of KWH books and I love that I can add it to my book shelves.  

Thank you Kristy Woodson Harvey and Gallery Books 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


 

Meet Kristy WoodsonHarvey (taken from her website):  Kristy Woodson Harvey is the New York TimesUSA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of eleven novels including A Happier Life, The Summer of Songbirds, and The Peachtree Bluff Series. Many of her books have been optioned or are in development for television and film and have received numerous accolades, including Good Morning America’s Buzz Pick, Southern Living’s Most Anticipated Reads, Katie Couric’s Featured Books, and Joanna Garcia Swisher’s The Happy Place Read. Kristy is the winner of the Lucy Bramlette Patterson Award for Excellence in Creative Writing and a finalist for the Southern Book Prize.

A Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s school of journalism, her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Southern Living, Parade, Traditional Home, USA TODAY, and many more. She also holds a master’s in English, with a concentration in multicultural and transnational literature.

Kristy is the cocreator and cohost of the weekly web show and podcast Friends & Fiction with fellow New York Times Bestselling authors Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, and Patti Callahan Henry. She is also the co-founder of the interiors site Design Chic, with her mom, Beth Woodson.

She lives on the North Carolina coast with her husband, son, and dog, Salt, where she is (always!) working on her next novel.

 

 

 

 

Thursday, June 27, 2024

Release Blitz for Love You Truly by Stacy Travis

 


Best way to get rid of an evil ex? Snag a gorgeous heartbreaker, plan our wedding, and let the small-town gossip fly. What could possibly go wrong?

Just when I’m about to inherit my family’s winery, the one I’ve dreamed of bringing to life, my old-fashioned parents throw a wrench in my plans. Convinced I can’t succeed without a man’s business savvy, they make my ex my partner.

Now there’s only one way out… get married—to anyone but him.

When Dash Corbett rescues me with a pretend kiss in a cowboy bar, we devise a one-year plan that will help us both. Makeover Dash’s reputation and fulfill my parent’s antiquated expectations. Win-win.

Falling for my fake fiancé? Not a chance.

Dash might have a distractingly hot exterior, but he’s a reputed playboy–and I’m done with men who don’t walk the talk. But then I do something stupid. And dangerous. I get to know him.

Beneath the surface, he has vineyard dreams and a cinnamon roll heart. He’s the first man to see beyond my social butterfly exterior. And when he touches me, I melt into a puddle of wine, a vintage that forgot it was supposed to be sophisticated.

Soon our pretend relationship feels like forever. Especially with the possessive way he says “my wife,” making me believe our lie.

Falling for Dash could ruin more than my wine country dreams. But what if I love him truly?

Love You Truly is a standalone, small-town romance in the Buttercup Hill series, where the wine is chilled and the men are hot.



  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited


Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Pr1qTF

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/LoveYouTruly


Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3VlG7H6



Meet Stacy


Stacy Travis writes spicy small-town romance about bookish, sassy women and the hot heroes who fall for them.

Writing makes her infinitely happy, but that might be the coffee talking. 

She's worked as a journalist, camp counselor, TV writer, SAT tutor, corporate finance researcher, education technology editor, and non-fiction author. When she's not on a deadline, she's in running shoes complaining that all roads seem to go uphill. Or on the couch with a margarita. Or fangirling at a soccer game.

She's never met a dog she didn't want to hug. And if you have no plans for Thanksgiving, she'll probably invite you to dinner.

Stacy lives in Los Angeles with her two sons and a poorly-trained rescue dog who hoards socks. And she's serious about the Thanksgiving thing.


Connect with Stacy

Website: https://www.stacytravis.com

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3t2hb64

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3bPwy8H

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

   Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2B1psS4fbgroup

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

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

Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/stacy-travis

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

Release Blitz for Rule Breakers Fall Hardest by Micalea Smeltzer

 




Rule Breakers Fall Hardest by Micalea Smeltzer is now live! 


Once upon a time, Daire Hendricks was my childhood crush. He was always there, saving me from his annoying brothers. He was my rock, my safe place from my overbearing family.

Until he wasn't.

Imagine my annoyance when we end up at the same university and I have to see his smug, too-handsome-for-his-own-good face all over campus.

Every time we cross paths, we spew hateful words at each other, so imagine my surprise when he seeks me out and utters the most surprising question.

"Marry me?"

He needs my help, and his solution is marriage. It's a pretty big ask, but somehow, I find myself saying yes. We might hate each other now, but the benefits of this arrangement are worth it.

But what neither of us expects, is when playing house starts to feel a little too real.

Falling for each other was never part of the plan, but you know what they say about the best laid plans?

They often go awry.


  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited


Amazon: https://amzn.to/4bN3VJG

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/TheBoys6


Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3OVA1cf



Meet Micalea




Micalea Smeltzer is a twenty-something author from Northern Virginia. She has four dogs, which is as crazy as it sounds. As a recent kidney transplant recipient she's dedicated to raising awareness around the effects of kidney disease, dialysis, and transplant as well as educating people on living donation.When she's not writing you can catch her with her nose buried in a book.

 

Connect with Micalea

 

Website: https://micaleasmeltzer.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5371025.Micalea_Smeltzer

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Micalea-Smeltzer/e/B0086Y9968/ 

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

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370997336425131 

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

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

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/micalea-smeltzer 

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

Release Blitz for Love, Utley by S.J. Tilly

 


Love, Utley by S.J. Tilly is now live! 


Hannah

Maddox Lovelace. The captivating football player I met in college. 

The one I only knew for a week. A week that was… life-changing.

Until my phone rang, and I had no choice but to go home.

I left Maddox a letter, putting my feelings on paper, giving him my number, hoping he’d call.

But he didn’t call. 

He never called.

He got drafted into the professional league and lived like a king while I stayed home and struggled to stay afloat. 

I may have followed his career, but now that he’s retired from football, I’ve forced myself to stop thinking about him. 

And it’s okay that I won’t ever see him again. That week in college was fifteen years ago.

I’m not in love with Maddox anymore. 

I might even hate him.


Maddox

Hannah Utley. The name that’s haunted me since my senior year of college. 

The girl who caught my attention with her wide eyes and freckled nose. 

Who spent one week twisting up my insides until she stole a piece of my heart the night we got locked inside the campus library.

The girl who disappeared without a word.

It’s the name of the girl I’ve been trying to forget for fifteen years. 

And it’s the name looking up at me from the résumé in my hand. 

Because Hannah Utley works for the company I just purchased. 

And that makes her mine. Whether she likes it or not.



  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited


Amazon: https://amzn.to/3we9IrK

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/LoveUtley


Audible: https://adbl.co/3KaPBy9

Narrated by: Andi Arndt & Jacob Morgan


Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/44nWpSm




Meet S.J. Tilly



Like all her books, S.J. Tilly resides in the glorious state of Minnesota, where she was born and raised. To avoid the freezing cold winters, S.J. enjoys burying her head in books, whether to read them or write them or listen to them.

When she's not busy writing her contemporary smut, she can be found lounging with her husband and their herd of rescue boxers. And when the weather permits she loves putting her compost to use in the garden, pretending to know what she's doing. The neighbors may not like the flowery mayhem of her yard, but the bees sure do. And really, that's more important.

 

Connect with S.J. Tilly


Website: https://www.sjtilly.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21212705.S_J_Tilly

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/S.J.-Tilly/author/B08WPK79SN

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

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SJTillyAuthor

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@s.j.tilly.author

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/s-j-tilly

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

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Cover Reveal for Fall for Me by Lexi Kingston

 


Lexi Kingston has revealed the alternate cover for Fall For Me!



Releasing August 13, 2024


Beckett Harlow is a player. He's incapable of keeping a girl longer than a week. A commitment phobe.

He's my best friend.

I've known him forever and a day, so when an innocent joke leads people to believe we're engaged, Beckett wants to use the opportunity to get my mom off my back and prove to his exes that he's capable of being in a serious relationship.

Everything goes according to plan until faking it unearths feelings I thought I'd buried years ago, and the longer we pretend, the harder they are to hide.

Telling him the truth could ruin our friendship.

Because if there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that Beckett would chase every random girl to the ends of the Earth and back again, but never me.

He'd never fall for me.



Cover Designer: Kari March Designs  


Preorder your copy today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3RqWBuD    

Apple Books: https://apple.co/3wp3pBW  

Nook: https://bit.ly/4ayYtrT  

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3Khrpu3 

Google Play: https://bit.ly/3Vh39ya   


Goodreads: https://tinyurl.com/Fall-For-Me 


Meet Lexi Kingston



Contemporary romance author Lexi Kingston started writing when she was fifteen years old solely because she was obsessed with the idea of creating fictional worlds like the ones she lived through growing up. There was this thrilling allure to writing characters that you can relate to and find pieces of yourself within that she couldn't shake, and this eventually drew her to fiction writing. She wanted to create a world people could get lost in--a fictional safe haven, if you will. A place filled with endless possibilities, where you can lose yourself, yet find yourself within the pages. 

 

Connect with Lexi

Website | http://www.lkingstonbooks.com   

Goodreads | http://goodreads.com/lkingstonbooks   

Amazon | amazon.com/author/lexikingston    

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/l.kingston.books      

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/l.kingston.books/  

TikTok |  https://www.tiktok.com/@l.kingston.books    

Twitter |  https://twitter.com/Lkingston_books     

Bookbub |  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lexi-kingston       

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

Newsletter |  https://www.lkingstonbooks.com/newsletter-page