Monthly Archives: March 2014

Summer at Rye by Lucy Oliver – a Review

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Summer at Rye by Lucy Oliver – a Review

 

summer at RyeLinks to order Summer at Rye:  Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Description:
A tragedy brought Eva Brookwell and Samuel Shaw back into each other’s lives. But will lies from the past destroy their chances of a future?

Left penniless after the death of her philandering father, Eva Brookwell takes a job as a governess at Rye Hall, but didn’t expect to find her young charges scarred and blinded from smallpox. Rye Hall is an unhappy house with a tyrannical master and Eva is forced to turn to her pupils’ uncle, Samuel Shaw for help.

Eva and Samuel had once been engaged, until his lies drove them apart. Still in love with him, Eva knows she could never trust him again; however he is her only ally in the dark and disturbed household she now lives in

 

Review:

Summer in Rye by Lucy Oliver is a historical romance novella. This was a fast and very nice read.  It is different then what I have read before of Oliver.  The heroine of the story is Eva, who has to take a job as governess at Rye Hall, since her family is in dire need of funds.  Eva has no experience, as she never needed to work, coming from wealthy family.  But her father lost all the money with a bad investment, and then died leaving Eva, her mother and sister penniless.  When Eva meets the family, she knows the master is tyrant, with even his wife scared of him.  The two children are disfigured and one blind, due to small pox, which their father did not care or want to get them vaccinations that would have prevented this.   Eva does her best to help the children and avoid Shaw, who looks at her with evil eyes. 

The main part of the story though is Eva’s old flame Samuel Shaw, comes home to his brothers mansion and finds Eva. Both loved each other before, but due to unfortunate circumstances, Samuel broke off his engagement to Eva.  Eva ignores Samuel, but in time he tells her he still loves her, and explains why he left.  Can Eva understand Samuel’s predicament and forgive him?  Will she be able to keep her distance from the Head of the house, who thinks of all women as sluts?  Does this have a HEA?

Since this is a novella, saying too much more would be spoilers.  Summer in Rye was a nice simple love story of a couple that had quite a few odds against them, and the exciting ending was very good. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Author

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Unwound (Mastered #2) by Lorelei James-a review

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Unwound (Mastered #2) by Lorelei James-a review

Unwound

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

Unwound by Lorelei James
Mastered #2
About the book: Release Date March 25, 2014

When sensei Ronin Black first encounters Amery Hardwick, the fire in her eyes ignites a sexual spark a thousand times better than the primal rush he used to get from mixed martial arts matches. She accepts his darker edges and admits to him that her desires aren’t as wholesome as he believed. And before long Ronin is grappling with emotions he’s never felt before….

Yet despite demanding Amery bare her body and soul to him, Ronin holds a part of himself back. When she learns Ronin’s secret and walks out, his life begins to unravel. To regain her trust he must let go of his pride and prove to her that it’s more than passion binding them together. But after their private pleasures are made public, Ronin is unsure if he’s the right man for Amery. Can they face the consequences together? Or will their differences rip them apart?

Review:
Unwound picks up not long after Bound ends. Ronin and Amery are still apart, and miserable without each other. To deaden the pain, Ronin decides to step back into the MMA ring. Never mind that he’s older than he used to be, he just wants to feel something other than his breaking heart. And, boy, does he feel something. After being beaten half to death, he makes his way to Amery’s where he has to be rushed to the ER once she sees just how badly he’s injured.

Once he’s released from the hospital, they start to try and rebuild their relationship, but they have a lot of work ahead of them. They both have issues from their past that need to be dealt with. First and foremost, trust. Once Ronin finally starts to share with Amery, someone from his past shows up and wreaks havoc, not only for him, but for Amery as well. Amery and Ronin, for the most part, present a united front, until Ronin discovers that Amery has withheld something from him that makes him question her motives from the beginning. Even though he knows down to his toes that she had no malicious intent, can he really give not only his body, but his heart and soul over to her as well? Will they both take a chance on each other, or as the title insinuates, will their relationship be completely Unwound?

Love love loved this book! Once again, James has done a wonderful job of telling her characters’ stories. Bound was more from Amery’s point of view, but Unwound was more Ronin’s. We get to see what makes them both so insecure on the one hand, and what makes them so dynamic as a couple on the other. The supporting characters are AWESOME!! I can only hope that we get to hear more about Ronin’s sister and some of the others. This series, in my humble opinion, could easily support another book or two. If I had any complaint about this one, it would only be that it was a bit slower than the first in the series, but once it gets rolling……………..hang on!! Surely to goodness, she’ll write another?!?!?! I think I said before that this series is my first by Lorelei James, but it will NOT be my last. Very well done Lorelei James, very well done!!

Reading Order
1. Bound
2. Unwound

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

Reviewed by Vickie M.

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Cover Reveal & Giveaway-Darkness Bound (Night Prowler #5) by JT Geissinger

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Cover Reveal & Giveaway-Darkness Bound (Night Prowler #5) by JT Geissinger

TOUR BANNER - DARKNESS BOUND_CoverReveal_JTGeissinger

DARKNESS BOUND
Night Prowler, #5
Publication Date: June 24, 2014
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Available Formats: Paperback/e-book/CD/Audible.com

DARKNESS BOUND Cover

Pre Order Links: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository

Tough, smart, and seriously ambitious, reporter Jacqueline “Jack” Dolan despises the secretive clan of shape-shifters known as the Ikati—and has become determined to destroy them. After she writes an editorial arguing for their extermination and turns public opinion against them, the Ikati vow to fight back. They plot to send one of their own to seduce the reporter, then blackmail her into writing a retraction.

Women practically fall at the feet of hulking, handsome Hawk Luna, and Hawk relishes the idea of conquering and destroying the fiery redhead who’s caused so much trouble for his kind. The last thing he expects is to develop real feelings for her, but their liaison awakens a hunger in him that he cannot deny. He kidnaps Jack and brings her to his Amazon jungle colony, but the two lovers are soon embroiled in deadly colony politics and threatened by a looming global species war.

As the danger around them grows closer, Jack and Hawk’s forbidden passion may build a bridge between two ancient enemies—or cost them both their lives.

Night Prowler Series 1-5

About the Author Black and Green

JT Geissinger PIcJ.T. Geissinger’s debut novel, Shadow’s Edge, was published in 2012 and was a #1 Amazon US and UK bestseller in fantasy romance and romance series. She has been nominated for the prestigious RITA® award from the Romance Writers of America for best paranormal romance for her second book in the Night Prowler series, Edge of Oblivion.

A life-long lover of reading and a self-professed “book addict,” she didn’t realize her dream of writing a novel until a milestone birthday forced her to take stock of her goals in life. Always believing the right time to commit to putting pen to paper would magically announce itself, it took waking up one cold January morning with a shiny new zero as the second number in her age to kick start her determination.

Starting on that very day, she wrote what would become Shadow’s Edge in a little over four months and submitted it to several literary agents. Nothing happened. Thinking that was the end of that but by no means willing to give up on her dreams of being published, she began work on a second manuscript.

Then, during a trip to Italy in honor of their 10th wedding anniversary and the honeymoon she and her husband never took, she received an email that would change her life. It was from an agent, Marlene Stringer of Stringer Literary, and it contained the three words every aspiring author longs to hear: “I loved it.”

Marlene sold the manuscript to Montlake Romance who published it six months later. Hitting the #1 Amazon bestseller lists within weeks of publication, Shadow’s Edge was book one of the Night Prowler novels. Book two, Edge of Oblivion, was published in October 2012 and will be followed by Rapture’s Edge in June 2013, and Edge of Darkness in fall 2013. There are six books total planned for the series.

Connect with J.T.:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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NOTE: The Reading Cafe is NOT responsible for the rafflecopter giveaway. If you have any questions, please contact the tour promoter.

GRAND PRIZE: signed copy of book 4 in the series, Edge of Darkness (US only)

2 RUNNERS-UP: will EACH receive an eBook of Shadow’s Edge, book 1 in the series. (International)

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Cover Reveal-Make It A Double by Sawyer Bennett

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Cover Reveal-Make It A Double by Sawyer Bennett

COVER REVEAL

MAKE IT A DOUBLE

BY USA Today Best-selling Author Sawyer Bennett

 

Sensual couple

Last Call, #2

Adult Contemporary Romance

Releasing April 21, 2014

Cover designed by Vitalink

 

Brody Markham has endured a nightmare, spending the last five years in prison and losing everything that was dear to him. Now he’s back home, trying to survive in a world he doesn’t recognize anymore. While his family and friends desperately try to reach through to him, he shelters himself further and further away from their love.

Alyssa Myers has worked her entire life to distance herself from the luxurious and privileged lifestyle in which she was raised. Running her non-profit agency, The Haven, she is content to spend her days helping abused animals find sanctuary, which fulfills her in a way that money just can’t buy.

Maybe it’s that she recognizes in Brody some of the same characteristics she sees in her homeless wards, but Alyssa is powerless to stop her personal quest to make Brody whole again.

While Brody struggles to surface from the darkness, Alyssa tries to protect her heart in case he’s not willing to accept the light that she offers him.

*MAKE IT A DOUBLE can be read as a stand-alone*

 

series spotlight

On The Rocks
Last Call #1
by Sawyer Bennett
Release Date: February 17, 2014

Order:  Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble

On the Rocks

He left to travel the world for fame and glory, but only after spurning Gabby Ward and crushing her young heart. Now Hunter Markham has come back home to the sand and salty breeze of the North Carolina Outer Banks so he can open up Last Call, a beach bar nestled among the dunes of the Atlantic.

Gabby Ward is not happy that Hunter has returned. Bitter over his rebuff years before, she’s content to stay far away from him and his dangerously charming ways.

Gabby’s well-schemed plans to ignore Hunter go up in flames when he presents an offer to her that she simply can’t refuse, throwing them together in a common quest to each reach their goals. Working together day in and day out proves to be problematic for Gabby, who soon realizes that the feelings she had for him are still very much alive. Hunter struggles to reach through to Gabby’s cold heart, all while starting a new career away from his life as a top ranked, professional surfer.

What starts out as a mutual business arrangement soon turns into a passion that neither of them can continue to deny.

Hard choices lay ahead for both of them when Hunter is offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to return to the pro surfing tour.

Choices that could destroy what they have built or take them further than they ever had dared to hope.

About the Author Black and Orange

Sawyer BennettUSA Today Best-Selling author, Sawyer Bennett, is a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. She is married to a mobster (well, a market researcher) and they have two big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn’t have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

AToMRTours_mdm

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Tempted by the Soldier by Nicolette Day-a review

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Tempted by the Soldier by Nicolette Day-a review

Tempted by the Soldier

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO /

TEMPTED BY THE SOLDIER (Falling for You #2) by Nicolette Day

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date Feb 24, 2014

When one touch isn’t enough, why resist?

Road trips are supposed to be fun. Or, at least, full of hot sex. For photographer Lilly Grayson, the fifteen-hour drive to her friend’s wedding with Nate Jennings will be neither. Not that Nate isn’t sexy—the man is six-foot-three-inches of mouth-watering Marine. But Lilly’s been there, done that…and he walked away. Now it’s time for a little payback. The kind that’ll make a man desperate for a taste of what he can’t have.

And Nate wants a taste—so badly that he can barely keep his hands on the wheel. But the scars and ghosts of his last tour still haunt him. He can’t give into temptation, not this time. Lilly deserves a whole man—one who can love her the way she deserves to be loved, even if she doesn’t believe it can happen. And that can’t be Nate. Not when he’s leaving again in two weeks, and this time, he’s not sure he’ll return…

REVIEW: TEMPTED BY THE SOLDIER is the second storyline in Nicolette Day’s contemporary, adult, Falling For You romance series. This is Lily and Nate’s storyline. Lily and Nate met one year earlier. Following a night of wild sex and passion, Nate walked away leaving Lily humiliated and not knowing what went wrong. With Nate’s brother’s wedding only a few days away, Lily finds herself partnered for a fifteen hour car ride with the man who broke her heart. Lily is the bride’s friend and official photographer and Nate is the groom’s best man.

The storyline follows Lily and Nate as they struggle with their mutual feelings for one another but feelings that are overridden by Lily’s anger and hurt. Nate is military helicopter pilot whose demons ride him hard. Suffering from PTSD and survivor’s guilt, Nate pushes Lily away at every opportunity until he finally pushes too far.

The relationship between Lily and Nate begins as barely tolerable. With their heartbreaking history with one another, Nate knows not to pursue a relationship with Lily-he is about to be deployed again and doesn’t know if he will return. But the heart only knows that it wants Lily but convincing Nate is another matter all together.

Nicolette Day pulls the reader into a story of heartbreak and mistrust; letting go and moving on; forgiveness and learning to love. We watch as a damaged hero believes he is not worthy of love or forgiveness because of something that was out of his control. Nate will find love when he least expects and his heart will have a place to come home. Day writes a story that will tug at everyone’s heart.

Reading Order
No Strings Attached
Tempted by the Soldier

Copy supplied by the publisher.

Reviewed by Sandy

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If You Need Me by Cassi Carver-Review, Guest Post and Giveaway

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If You Need Me by Cassi Carver-Review, Guest Post and Giveaway

If You Need Me Banner

If You Need Me
The Ashford Legacy #1
by Cassi Carver
Release Date: March 18,2014

If You Need Me

IF YOU NEED ME (The Ashford Legacy #1) by Cassi Carver

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 18, 2014

How far will she go for love?

Erotica author Rayna Sommers wears a daring smile in her publicity photos, but the truth would shock her legions of fans. The woman whose stories take readers on wild sexual adventures to exotic locales is terrified of the world outside her front door.

Isolation may be safe, but it’s also quite lonely until Rayna meets a charming fan online. Kyle is sexy, funny, everything Rayna desires, and soon their daily emails flare into sizzling-hot video chats. Too bad Kyle lives on the East Coast and Rayna on the West. For a woman who can’t even cross the street, much less the country, her dream of a life with Kyle is just too far out of reach.

Kyle has an even bigger problem than getting Rayna Sommers to step outside her comfort zone. He’s head over heels in love with her, but he hasn’t told her the truth. He’s really Kyle Ashford, billionaire heir to the Ashford empire. The owner of the company that’s about to shut her publisher—and her livelihood—down for good.

Product Warning

This book contains a sexy billionaire who knows what he wants, a housebound author who’d love to give it to him, and a special-needs pet hen that just might steal your heart.

•••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: IF YOU NEED ME is the first storyline in Cassi Carver’s new contemporary, adult, romance, erotic novella series. This is billionaire Kyle Ashford and erotica author Rayna Sommers’s storyline. Rayna suffers horribly from agoraphobia and Kyle is the man with whom she has fallen in love. One problem-their relationship is long distance and they have never met each other in person.

The premise follows Rayna as her attempts to enter the outside world are fueled by Kyle’s promises of nightly forays into the world of online sexual seduction. As Rayna’s fears continue to hold her hostage it will be Kyle who is willing to cross the country in order to make their relationship more permanent. But Kyle is withholding some important information about his personal and private life and when Rayna discovers the truth, their relationship will be destroyed by betrayal and heartbreak.

Cassi Carver has ventured into the fast paced world of the young heir to a billion dollar enterprise who needs something more in his life and an intriguing storyline about one woman’s inability to overcome the past. The characters are colorful, relatable and you feel the emotional pain and embarrassment for a woman who is lost in a world of phobias and fears. The majority of the storyline focuses on the building relationship between Rayna and Kyle, albeit, a relationship that begins under the guise of online anonymity.

What started as acquaintances to friends will quickly develop into lovers who believe that each other is the one. The reader is pulled into the heart pounding fear of a phobia that is little understood while a man sets into motion everything that he hopes will bring the woman he loves into the world outside.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy

Guest Post

Good Books and Fuzzy Buddies
By Cassi Carver

Hello, my friends! Thank you for visiting me today on The Reading Café! I’m so excited to tell you about my new release, “If You Need Me,” the first book in The Ashford Legacy, and give you the opportunity to win one of three digital copies—so stay tuned for how to enter to win below!

BrattyFirst, let me just say, I am a huge animal lover! I was born into a home with pets, and I’ve never been without one (or ten) since. So when I was writing my spicy contemporary romance novella “If You Need Me,” it should have been no surprise when a special-needs Silkie hen named Bratty suddenly popped onto the page—especially when I had my own Bratty right here at home.

I’ll admit it: I love books with animal sidekicks whether I’m reading historical, paranormal, or contemporary romance! I had read books with animals before, of course, but I remember the first time I clued into the fact that this was a “thing.” I saw “Animal Magnetism” by Jill Shalvis on the bookstore shelf, and it struck me that here was a cover not with a hero and a heroine embracing, but with a hero embracing a puppy! If there’s anything that can make my heart melt, it’s a hot guy holding a sweet dog. What woman can resist?

Even so, Bratty wasn’t planned as a character—she just happened. And once she strutted into the story, she was there to stay. My own Bratty was a cross-beak Silkie hen, and cross-beak birds don’t generally live longer than two years. I made her special wet food every day, and because she had to rely on humans to eat, she was the sweetest of all my birdy babies and definitely the one with the most plucky personality!

Maybe I should be embarrassed, but I actually dedicated “If You Need Me” to Bratty. The dedication reads, “For Bratty. Now you’ll live forever baby.” And when I wrote that, I knew she didn’t have forever, but I had no clue that we would lose her the day after Christmas 2013. But when I reread “If You Need Me,” I smile at getting to spend a little more time with a very sweet and sassy girl.

Books two and three of The Ashford Legacy, coming out in June and September 2014, also have some fun animals making special appearances—a naughty skunk and a border collie up to no good—but unlike Bratty, those animals came straight from my imagination.

So now it’s time to comment and be entered to win one of three digital copies of “If You Need Me”! I would love to know, if you could pick one animal from your past or present to put in a novel, which would it be? And if you want extra bonus points in my heart, I’d love to know what was special about that pet!

Thank you for visiting and commenting, my friends! I hope you get to cuddle up with a good book and a furry or feathery buddy today! I know for me, I couldn’t do without them!

Cassi

 

 

About the Author

Follow Cassi: Goodreads / Website/ Facebook / Twitter

Cassi CarverCassi Carver lives in sunny Southern California with two dogs, four kids, five chickens, and one very patient husband. She explores beautiful San Diego County for research (okay, for fun and relaxation) as often as possible. She’s never saved the world, but she keeps sexy boots on hand just in case the opportunity arises.

When Cassi isn’t busy plotting, writing, or exploring, she enjoys reading, spending time with family and friends, caring for pets, visiting the local animal shelters, drinking copious amounts of Diet Dr. Pepper, and watching sappy movies that deliver reliably happy endings.

 

Giveaway

Cassi is giving away an ecopy of IF YOU NEED ME to three (3) lucky commenters at The Reading Cafe.

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

4. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

5. Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY

6. Giveaway runs from March 24 to March 28, 2014

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Cover Reveal-I Belong To You (Inside Out Series #5) by Lisa Renee Jones

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Cover Reveal-I Belong To You (Inside Out Series #5) by Lisa Renee Jones

I Belong To You Cover Reveal

I Belong To You
Inside Out Series #5
by Lisa Renee Jones
Release Date: November 18, 2014
Genre: erotica, romance, contemporary, adult

I Belong To You

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/

I Belong to You – Inside Out Series – Book 5

Master…

Being that person, that man, is how I define myself, how I allow the rest of the world to define me as well. And now, with a terrible loss shredding me inside out and someone trying to destroy my family to punish me, control is more important than ever. It is everything. It is what I need. It is all I need. Or maybe I just need…her.

About the Author Black and Green

Now optioned to STARZ for cable TV — read about it HERE

Jones_Lisa_Renee-1ABOUT LISA RENEE JONES

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT TRILOGY which has sold to more than ten countries for translation with negotiations in process for more, and has now been optioned by STARZ Network for a cable television show, to be produced by Suzanne Todd (Alice in Wonderland).

Since beginning her publishing career in 2007, Lisa has published more than 30 books with publishers such as Simon and Schuster, Avon, Kensington, Harlequin, NAL, Berkley and Elloras Cave, as well as crafting a successful indie career. Booklist says that Jones suspense truly sizzles with an energy similar to FBI tales with a paranormal twist by Julie Garwood or Suzanne Brockmann.

Prior to publishing, Lisa owned multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by Dallas Women Magazine. In 1998 LRJ was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.

Lisa loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her through her website and she is active on twitter and facebook daily.

Inside Out Series Reading Order 2

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Grand Slam by Misty Matthews-a review

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Grand Slam by Misty Matthews-a review

Grand Slam

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble /

About The Book: Release Date January 29, 2014

Seven days under the Louisiana stars with major league catcher Justin Harris left Brittney James broken hearted and pregnant. Ten years later, her son has baseball in his blood and idolizes the last man Britt ever wants to see again. When she reluctantly agrees to take her son to a game, the worst possible thing happens . . . he catches his hero’s grand slam ball. Justin asks for a meet and greet, but Brittney is terrified. How can she face him knowing the secret she’s kept from him all these years?

Justin Harris’s first grand slam is one for the record books, but his biggest shock comes from seeing the woman he loved and lost ten years ago up on the stadium screen. The fact that her son caught the ball gives him an opportunity to renew an old friendship. How will he react when he learns Brittney’s secret?

•••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: Grand Slam is a wonderful quick read about delayed true love and HEA! This is a novella/short story about a girl who I like to think made the right decision for the wrong reasons. I know that’s a bit cryptic, but read the story and you’ll fully understand.

“Misty Matthews” has done a terrific job of writing a wonderful, although too short – since I didn’t want it to go so fast – love story with wonderful characters. This marvelous tale centers around a young girl Brittany, just out of college, and working for Social Services. While on vacation, after graduation, she spent a week with a new and perfectly gorgeous baseball player. It was bittersweet as she thought she just couldn’t tie him down (mostly due to her father leaving her mom to follow his dream when she was a small girl).

The story picks up 10 years or so later when she has to take her son to a baseball game…his favorite team (and hers). Ok, that’s the setup…you really must read the rest for yourselves. It’s short and won’t take long, about two glasses of wine (or your fav beverage). I’d love to have seen this marvelous story worked into a full novel, I loved the characters and I’m a sucker for a HEA! Give yourself a treat and grab this one up and give it a read. Enjoy, I did!

Reviewed by Georgianna

Copy supplied by the author.

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