Monthly Archives: June 2020

Can’t Help Falling in Love by Erika Kelly-Review Tour

Posted on by
10

Can’t Help Falling in Love (Calamity Falls #5) by Erika Kelly-Review Tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play / Apple /

What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas…

The moment Beckett O’Neill retires from professional sports, he swears off schedules and commitments. His new gig has him hopping from one exotic location to the next. No strings, no responsibilities. Nothing that will tie him down.

At least not until a chance encounter with the woman who stole his heart for a night in Vegas delivers the shock of a lifetime. He’s got a five-year-old daughter, one who believes wholeheartedly she’s a fairy. What’s he supposed to do with that? It’s not like he even knows what being a good father looks like.

Life didn’t go exactly as Coco Cavanaugh planned. Her big dreams of launching a business are derailed when a one-night stand with a charming stranger results in a surprise pregnancy. As a single mom, she manages to find a happy balance raising her adorable and hilarious little girl, while mastering the art of chocolate-making. It’s a good, safe life. One she’s proud of.

When fate brings them together again, Coco remembers exactly why she fell into bed with the irresistible Beckett. But she’s not that free-spirited girl anymore. And his jet-setting lifestyle isn’t conducive to raising a child.

Is this a second chance at another one-night stand or is this the beginning of something real?

They’re everything he never wanted.
He’s everything she didn’t think they needed.

••••••••••

REVIEW: CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE is the fifth instalment in Erika Kelly’s contemporary, adult CALAMITY FALLS erotic romance series focusing on the people of Calamity Falls, Wyoming . This is chocolatier Colette ‘Coco’ Cavanaugh, and extreme sports athlete Beckett ‘Beck’ O’Neill’s story line. CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Coco and Beck) CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE follows the building relationship between twenty-seven year old, chocolatier Colette ‘Coco’ Cavanaugh, and extreme sports athlete Beckett ‘Beck’ O’Neill. Six years earlier, Coco was in Las Vegas, attending a concert for her rock star sister but a one-night stand left Coco pregnant and alone in Europe where she would work with a master chocolatier, starting our heroine on an adventure of a lifetime. Fast forward to present day, wherein Coco Cavanaugh has been asked to make the chocolate candies for an upcoming celebrity wedding at the Owl Hoot Resort and Spa but Coco never expected to come face to face with the man who had fathered her child. Enter Beckett ‘Beck’ O’Neill, the celebrity groom, and the man with whom Coco will fall in love. What ensues is the building friendship, relationship and romance between Coco and Beck, and the potential fall-out as Beck’s lifestyle and business are about to pull our hero back out of Coco and their daughter’s life.

Coco Cavanaugh never expected to ever find Posie’s father, a one-night stand wherein Coco ghosted the next morning. Never knowing Beck’s name or his business, Coco struggled to locate a man who was more of a stranger, than anything else but Coco never intended to keep Posie’s existence a secret, and with Beck’s reappearance, Coco struggles with introducing Beck to a five year old child, let alone introducing Beck as the child’s father. Beck’s lifestyle on the road did not make for a father who would remain in Posie’s life for very long.

Beck O’Neill and his business partners were doing well in the world of extreme sports and social media influencers, so much so that Beck’s girlfriend intended to make their relationship a focus of the business but Beck struggled with the idea of settling down, and in no way did Beck every want to start a family, let alone make a life-time commitment to a woman he didn’t love.

The relationship between Beck and Coco is one of immediate attraction; a palpable sexual hunger that ended with Coco’s disappearance the morning after. Six years would pass before out couple were reunited, five years of a little girl’s life that Beck would never have wanted to miss. The $ex scenes are intimate, passionate and intense, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Coco and Beck’s daughter Posie; Coco’s parents, Tyler and Joss, her rock star sister Gigi, executive chef Lulu; as well as the Bowie brothers (Fin, Will, and Gray Bowie) who own and operate Owl Hoot Resort and Spa.

CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE is a story of family, friendship, relationships and love; a story of secrets and revelations; of heart break and acceptance. The premise is emotional and imaginative ; the romance is spicy and flirty; the characters are inspiring and sassy.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

Award-winning author Erika Kelly has been spinning romantic tales all her life–she just didn’t know it. Raised on the classics, she didn’t discover romantic fiction until later in life. From that moment on, she’s been devouring the genre and has found her true voice as an author. Over three decades she’s written poems, screenplays, plays, short stories, and all kinds of women’s fiction novels. Married to the love of her life and raising four children, she’s lived in two countries and seven states, but give her pen and paper, a stack of good books, and a steaming mug of vanilla chai latte and she can make her home anywhere.

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Newsletter Signup ** Erika Kelly Goodreads

Share

The Graveyard Shift (Charley Davidson) by Darynda Jones-Review Tour

Posted on by
12

The Graveyard Shift (Charley Davidson 13.5 /1001 Dark Nights) by Darynda Jones-Review & Excerpt Tour

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

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 9, 2020

Guarding a precocious five-year-old who is half-human, half-god, and 100% destined to save the world is no easy feat.

Garrett Swopes was the ultimate skeptic until he met a certain hellion and her husband. They vanished after stopping a catastrophic event and left him, a mere mortal, in charge of protecting their gift to mankind. But when she disappears as well, he needs the help of another breed of hellion. One who can see past the veil of space and time. One who betrayed him.

She will get a truce in the deal, but she will never earn his forgiveness.

Marika Dubois’s son—a warrior in the coming war between heaven and hell—was foreseen long before his birth. But to create a child strong enough to endure the trials that lay ahead, she needed a descendant of powerful magics. She found that in Garrett Swopes and tricked him into fathering her son. A ploy he has never forgiven her for. But when he knocks on her door asking for her help, she sees the fierce attraction he tries to deny rise within him.

And Marika has to decide if she dares risk her heart a second time to help the only man she’s ever loved.

••••••••

REVIEW:THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT is the 13.5 instalment, and latest entry into the 1001 Dark Nights world, in Darynda Jones’ contemporary, adult CHARLEY DAVIDSON urban fantasy series focusing on part time private investigator, full-time grim reaper, and omnipotent god Charley Davidson. THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT changes the focus of the series to Charley and Reyes’ daughter- five year old, Elwyn Alexandra Loehr aka Beep.

Told from third person perspective (Garrett Swopes) THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT follows Garrett in the aftermath of Elwyn’s disappearance. Garrett had been assigned as protector of Charley and Reyes’ infant daughter but as Elwyn grew so too, did her supernatural powers, powers that were surpassing those of her mother and father’s. In an effort to locate said missing child, Garrett needs help from the woman who fathered his son, a woman with connections and powers in the world of Voodoo and magic. Enter Marika Dubois. What ensues is the rebuilding relationship between Marika and Garrett, as Garrett calls in the gang to help find a child-a god, actually- who is more than capable of looking after herself.

THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT is a welcome return to the world of Charley Davidson, and all of the characters we have come to know and love: Cookie and Uncle Bob, Angel, Donovan and the boys, Artemis, and the Hellhounds, and even a quick glimpse at the demon who has promised his love to an infant child. We are introduced to Marika Dubois and her son Zaire, both of whom are going to figure prominently in Elwyn’s life. THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT is a fast paced, astonishing and delightful story, one I am going to guess is the prequel to Beep’s series, and all of the gods and monsters who are aiming to take her down.

Reading Order and previous reviews
First Grave on the Right
Second Grave on the Left
Third Grave Straight Ahead
Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet
Fifth Grave Past The Light
Sixth Grave on the Edge
Seventh Grave and No Body
Eighth Grave After Dark
Brighter Than the Sun (novella)
The Dirt on Ninth Grave
The Curse on Tenth Grave
Eleventh Grave in Moonlight
Trouble with Twelfth Grave
Summoned to the Thirteenth Grave

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Charley Davidson, a god with a penchant for maiming first and asking questions later, was going to kill Garrett. No, that wasn’t right. Charley’s husband, Reyes Farrow, also a god with a penchant for maiming first and asking questions later, would start the whole process by ripping him to shreds, then letting Charley finish him off. Gladly. And with much glee.
Garrett had one job. One. Fucking. Job. Watch his best friends’ daughter, Beep, aka Elwyn Alexandra Loehr, a kid who just happened to be destined to save the world from a catastrophic demon uprising. He was supposed to guard her with his life. To keep her safe. To protect her from all the ghosts and goblins—metaphorically speaking since he didn’t have a supernatural bone in his body—hell-bent on doing her harm before she could prevent said catastrophic demon uprising.
He failed.
Yesterday, at exactly 3:33 p.m., the precocious five-year-old was running across a sun-drenched field of sagebrush and wild grasses when she disappeared right before his eyes. One second she was tripping over, well, absolutely nothing—so much like her mother, it startled him—and the next, she was gone.
If he hadn’t been looking right at her, if his gaze hadn’t been laser-locked on the long, dark tangles cascading down her back, if she hadn’t disappeared between his strategically placed blinks, he would’ve questioned the entire event. But there was simply no doubt about it. She’d vanished into thin air.
The way she disappeared would suggest a supernatural influence, especially considering the fact that she was the daughter of two gods, but her celestial parents had placed a shield over the entire area. No supernatural entity could penetrate it. Was there some loophole they’d missed? Some escape clause they’d overlooked?
Garrett didn’t hesitate. He immediately called in his entire team, but even his most preternaturally enhanced members couldn’t figure out what had happened, and one of them was a bona fide angel. Well, former angel.
After thirty-six hours of scouring every inch of Santa Fe and the surrounding area for even a sign of the little hellion, a storm had rolled in, and the search had to be abandoned. Garrett left his team at the compound, as well as the Loehrs, Elwyn’s grandparents, panicked and scrambling to figure out what’d happened. In the meantime, he went in search of the only woman he knew who could see past the veil of not only space, but time as well.
He had one clue to go on. Elwyn’s last words before she took off across the rugged New Mexican terrain.
Surely, he’d heard her wrong. He prayed he’d heard her wrong as he fought the winds and icy pelts of the desert storm, then raised a fist and pounded on the door of his ex, Marika Dubois.

Follow: Website / Facebook / Twitter /Goodreads

NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious Golden Heart®, a Rebecca, two Hold Medallions, a RITA ®, and a Daphne du Maurier, and she has received stellar reviews from dozens of publications including starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and the Library Journal. As a born storyteller, Darynda grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike, and she is ever so grateful for the opportunity to carry on that tradition. She currently has two series with St. Martin’s Press: The Charley Davidson Series and the Darklight Trilogy. She lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband of almost 30 years and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys. She can be found at www.daryndajones.com.

Share

One Night Only by Lauren Blakely-Review Tour

Posted on by
12

One Night Only by Lauren Blakely-Review Tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N paper /  Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 7, 2020

I shouldn’t want my bodyguard the way I do. His job is to protect me. It’s not to fulfill all my filthy wishes.

And so I resist him, fighting the enticing pull of the strong, powerful man who watches over me.

Until the night we combust in my penthouse suite.

It won’t happen again, we say the next day.

Besides, my mission is singular — pull off the event of a lifetime — a one-night only concert with one of the world’s biggest rock stars.

A man my bodyguard happens to know.

And a good bodyguard knows all sorts of things about his client. Turns out he knows my secret desires, and he wants to make them come true. Including a VIP engagement so I can experience both men at the same time…

I want to say yes, but what if I fall even more in love with the man whose mission is to keep me safe?

••••••••

REVIEW:ONE NIGHT ONLY is a contemporary, adult novella in Lauren Blakely’s AFTER DARK erotic, romance series. This is bodyguard Callum Blackwell, and hotelier Ivy Carmichael’s story line.

Told from four first person perspectives (Callum, Ivy, Stone, Jackson) ONE NIGHT ONLY follows the building relationship between bodyguard Callum Blackwell, and hotelier Ivy Carmichael.Ivy Carmichael has a stalker and one year earlier said stalker broke through the casino security and threatened our heroine’s life. Firing her personal security, Ivy then hired the firm owned by Callum Blackwell, and one year together found Ivy and Callum acting on their attraction to one another, giving into carnal desires and acting out fantasies including a threesome with Callum’s best friend Stone. Stone is a musician Ivy then hires for a one-night only appearance at the Carmichael Casino, a one-night appearance that culminates in a three-some with our story line couple.

ONE NIGHT ONLY is a story of eroticism and one-woman’s desire for a three-some. A sexy, seductive and provocative novella that quickly pulls the reader into a sensual and imaginative fantasy world of lust and longing.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

A #1 New York Times Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s hot, sweet and sexy. She lives in California with her family and has plotted entire novels while walking her dogs. With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than eighty times, and she’s sold more than 2 million books. In October she’ll release HARD WOOD, a sexy, standalone romantic comedy. To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter! laurenblakely.com/newsletter

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Newsletter ** Goodreads

Share

Dragon Unleashed by Grace Draven – a Review

Posted on by
11

Dragon Unleashed by Grace Draven – a Review

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / Apple / BAM / Book Depository

 

Description:
Magic is outlawed in the Krael Empire and punishable by death. Born with the gift of earth magic, the free trader Halani keeps her dangerous secret closely guarded. When her uncle buys a mysterious artifact, a piece of bone belonging to a long-dead draga, Halani knows it’s far more than what it seems.

Dragas haven’t been seen for more than a century, and most believe them extinct. They’re wrong. Dragas still walk among the denizens of the Empire, disguised as humans. Malachus is a draga living on borrowed time. The magic that has protected him will soon turn on him–unless he finds a key part of his heritage. He has tracked it to a group of free traders, among them a grave-robbing earth witch who fascinates him as much as she frustrates him with her many secrets.

Unbeknownst to both, the Empire’s twisted empress searches for a draga of her own, to capture and kill as a trophy. As Malachus the hunter becomes the hunted, Halani must risk herself and all she loves to save him from the Empire’s machinations and his own lethal birthright.

 

 

Review:

Dragon Unleashed by Grace Draven is the second book in her Fallen Empire series.  In Dragon Unleashed, the heroes of this story are different than the first book, though in the same world; though we did meet our heroine, Halani, in the first book.  Halani is a healer, as well as having earth magic, which she needs to keep secret, as magic is forbidden.  Halani lives in a trading camp, with her mother, uncle and others she has been with for many years. 

Malachus, our hero, is a draga, desperate to find a mother bone that will allow him to shift to his dragon; if he cannot find the bone, he will die.  Malachus has been hunting for this bone for a long time, and when he arrives by the trading camp, he senses the artifact is close.  He has a vision of Halani and when he sees her by the caravan, he also meets her mother, befriending and charming both of them.  But later that evening, he is attacked by those who have stolen the bone, and it is Halini who will come to his rescue and nurse him back to health. 

Malachus stays in their camp while he recuperates, and in a short time, both Halini and Malachus feel a strong attraction to each other.   They both try to just to be friends, as there is no future, since he will leave as soon as he is better.   Malachus feelings continue to grow, but he discovers the group steals from graves to help make ends meet, and at first, he is very angry, knowing that Halani kept this secret.   But before he could leave, word comes that Asil, Halani’s mother has been kidnapped, and together Malachus and Halani will head to Krael, where the evil Empress Dalvila resides.  It is here that Malachus will come close to his mother bone; will he survive the evil Empress?

The first 1/3 or so of the book was a bit slow, but it picked up and the last 2/3 was a wild, action-packed, exciting adventure.  Malachus was a great hero, not only strong, tough, but very tender with Halani, and made friends with the other men in the camp.  I loved Halani, as she made a great heroine, being a healer, and her earth magic made her great.  I really loved them both together.   Will Malachus leave or find a way to stay with Halani?

I loved how when things were bleak, and the Empress was set on destroying both of them, Halani utilized her powers to try and save Malachus; she really was amazing.  Malachus was also a great hero, as he suffered horrible cruelty as a captive of the Empire. Dragon  Unleashed was an  excellently written fantasy that  had  a bit of everything from wonderful heroes, romance, danger, cruelty, great characters and an exciting adventure all the way through; especially the last 1/3 of the book; not to mention the delightful end.  If you enjoy fantasy, I suggest you start with Dragon Unleashed.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

Share

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth – a Review

Posted on by
11

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / Apple / BAM / Book Depository

 

Description:
A decade ago near Chicago, five teenagers defeated the otherworldly enemy known as the Dark One, whose reign of terror brought widespread destruction and death. The seemingly un-extraordinary teens—Sloane, Matt, Ines, Albie, and Esther—had been brought together by a clandestine government agency because one of them was fated to be the “Chosen One,” prophesized to save the world. With the goal achieved, humankind celebrated the victors and began to mourn their lost loved ones.

Ten years later, though the champions remain celebrities, the world has moved forward and a whole, younger generation doesn’t seem to recall the days of endless fear. But Sloane remembers. It’s impossible for her to forget when the paparazzi haunt her every step just as the Dark One still haunts her dreams. Unlike everyone else, she hasn’t moved on; she’s adrift—no direction, no goals, no purpose. On the eve of the Ten Year Celebration of Peace, a new trauma hits the Chosen: the death of one of their own. And when they gather for the funeral at the enshrined site of their triumph, they discover to their horror that the Dark One’s reign never really ended.

 

 

Review:

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth is the first book in her The Chosen Ones series.  Having just finished reading the book, I was happy about how it all ended; thinking it read very well as a standalone; however now I see it is a series, which I will be reading, but I am curious how Roth will continue.

We meet our 5 heroes, who 10 years earlier, were the Chosen Ones who as teenagers, defeated an evil enemy called the ‘Dark One’,  terrorizing the world with death and destruction.  They were idolized by the world, and now they gather for the 10th anniversary celebration of when they saved the world.  Matt was always considered the leader, with Sloane, Albie, Esther and Ines as part of the team. Part 1 of the book revolves around how all 5 are coping, with each reacting differently.  Matt and Esther enjoy the accolades and are happy in the social media world.  Albie has PSTD and has a hard time, and Ines tries to keep her life private. The story centers mostly on Sloane, as she still suffers from panic attacks from when she had been captured by the Dark One, but though she comes across as angry and sarcastic, she is a tough, smart and independent badass. 

Before the celebration, they government calls them in to review a possible new weapon, which will cause one of the 5 to kill himself.  At the funeral ceremony, everything changes, as Matt, Esther and Sloane are pulled into another parallel universe, which is the start of Part 2.  The three of them learn that they have been chosen to help this universe fight off another evil villain, and unless they find a way to kill him, they will never return home to their own universe.  In this world, which is a little similar to their own, but filled with magic.  The leaders of this new universe are desperate for help, and work on training them on using magical siphons to enhance their powers, to enable them to be ready when they need to fight the new Dark One.

Part 2 ups the ante, with more excitement, new characters, parallel dimension and a different enemy, who has built an army of walking dead.  Whereas, Matt and Esther relish learning how to use the magic, Sloane tends to be on her own, learning everything about this world; she has never been happy, and comes across as secretive and impulsive. But when push comes to shove, she will be the one who will do anything to protect her friends, and she makes a horrifying discovery that totally changes the game.  I really did like Mox, someone she meets at a museum and a bar, as well as his friend, Ziva.  

In Part 3, Sloane will step up to discover the truth, and use her own unused powers to stop and fight the Dark One, as we raced to the wild climax in the last 1/3 of the book.  Roth does pull a few surprise twists. Extremely exciting, intense, action filled, with us holding our breaths, as we discover who the real culprit is.   I cannot tell too much more, as it would be spoilers and ruin it for you. 

Chosen Ones was very well written by Veronica Roth, which had a satisfying ending. The world building in this multidimensional world was very good; as well as exciting and actually a fun read. Now that I know there is going to be another book, I look forward to see what Roth has in store for us. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

Share

A Date for Good Luck by Heidi McLaughlin & LP Dover-Review Tour

Posted on by
12

A Date for Good Luck by Heidi McLaughlin & LP Dover-Review Tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au / B&N paper /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 9, 2020

Kiss the Blarney Stone, Hope Dunn is going to need some good ole fashion Irish luck! In the chaos of tax season the Arizona accountant is pulled away to stand in her cousin’s wedding. All it takes is one step back in the Big Apple, and she regrets making the trip. True to character, her mother uses their time together to hound Hope about getting married and settling down.

Still, Hope fulfills her bridesmaid obligations by joining the bridal party for a shamrock wearing, pint chugging St. Paddy’s day blow out. There she runs into best man—and smokin’ hot ginger—Kellan Townsend. Far too much green beer later, she finds out exactly what that fine Irish lad keeps under his kilt.

Afterwards, Hope wants nothing more than to walk of shame her way into a dark room and nurse her hangover. Unfortunately, wedding demands won’t allow it. As if facing Kellan isn’t awkward enough, her mother picks that moment to launch into a fresh guilt-trip over her lack of grandbabies. Like a lucky little Leprechaun, Kellan cuts in with a magical offer.

A pretend romance to get her mother off her back seems like a wish granted. But Kellan has an agenda all his own. Can he use this opportunity to jig his way straight into Hope’s heart? Or will he need a four-leaf clover to get past this workaholic’s defenses?

•••••••

REVIEW:A DATE FOR GOOD LUCK is the third instalment in the contemporary, adult, romance DATING SERIES co-authored by Heidi McLaughlin and LP Dover. This is twenty-eight year old, hedge fund investor Kellan Townsend, and Hope Dunn’s story line. A DATE FOR GOOD LUCK can be read as a stand alone. All of the instalments are not currently connected.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Kellan and Hope) A DATE FOR GOOD LUCK follows twenty eight year old Hope Dunn, as she travels to New York to attend her cousin’s wedding. Working for the University of Arizona, Hope rarely has time to return to New York but standing up with her cousin means having to face her mother and the guilt of remaining single when everyone else is getting married. All is not lost as best man Kellan Townsend finds himself in a similar predicament every time he visits his family back home. To avoid another confrontation with her mother, Kellan surprises everyone by announcing that he and Hope are currently a couple. As the weekend draws to a close, Hope finds herself struggling to return to Phoenix, leaving a heart broken Kellan in her wake. What ensues is the long distance relationship between Kellan and Hope, as our couple make their fake relationship real.

The secondary and supporting characters include Hope’s mother; her cousins Hannah, and bride Hallie; and the groom Stewart,

A DATE FOR GOOD LUCK is another quick read: a fast paced, flirty and fun story about family and friendships, relationships and love.

Release Order and Previous reviews
A Date for Midnight
A Date with an Admirer

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Heidi McLaughlin: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Newsletter /Instagram /Pinterest

Originally from Portland, Oregon and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an over-hyper Beagle/Jack Russell, Buttercup and a Highland Westie/Mini Schnauzer, JiLL and her brother, Racicot.

When she isn’t writing one of the many stories planned for release, you’ll find her sitting courtside during either daughter’s basketball games.

Heidi’s first novel, Forever My Girl, is currently in production for a major motion picture.

••••••••

LP Dover: Website/ Facebook/ Twitter/ Google+ / Amazon / Goodreads / Newsletter

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author L. P. Dover is a southern belle living in North Carolina with her husband and two beautiful girls. Before she began her literary journey she worked in periodontics, enjoying the wonderment of dental surgeries.

She loves to write, but she also loves to play tennis, go on mountain hikes and white water rafting, and has a passion for singing. Her two youngest fans expect a concert each and every night before bedtime, usually Christmas carols.

Dover has written countless novels, including her Forever Fae series, the Second Chances series, the Gloves Off series, the Armed & Dangerous series, the Royal Shifters series, the Society X series, the Circle of Justice series, and her standalone novel Love, Lies, and Deception. Her favorite genre to read and write is romantic suspense, but if she got to choose a setting in which to live, it would be with her faeries in the Land of the Fae.

L.P. Dover is represented by Marisa Corvisiero of Corvisiero Literary Agency and Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo Helin & Fountain Literary Management for dramatic rights.

Share

Daddy’s Girls by Danielle Steel – a Review

Posted on by
13

Daddy’s Girls by Danielle Steel – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N /  Kobo / Google Play / Apple / BAM / Book Depository

 

Description:
Decades ago, after the death of his wife, Texas ranch hand JT Tucker took his three small daughters to California to start a new life. With almost no money, a will of iron, and hard work, he eventually built the biggest ranch in California. But when he dies suddenly at the age of sixty-four, the ranch is inherited by his three daughters—each of them finding it impossible to believe that this larger-than-life figure is gone from their lives.
 
JT’s relationship with each daughter was entirely different. Caroline, the youngest and most reserved, was overlooked by her father for her entire life and fled to become a wife, mother, and writer in Marin County. Gemma, his declared favorite, sought out Hollywood glamour and success and became a major television star. Kate, the eldest, stayed at home with her father to do his bidding as a ranch hand, without thanks or praise, forsaking marriage and a family of her own for the love of him.
 
Now, upon JT’s death, the paper trail he leaves behind begins to reveal much more than the three sisters ever guessed about who he really was. It will turn their world upside down, and each of them must grapple with a new reality, strengthening their relationships with one another, and discovering who they are now as grown women, in spite of him.
 
Set against the magnificent backdrop of the West and the drama of a family in turmoil, Daddy’s Girls is the story of three remarkable women and their unique bond to each other—the daughters of a complex, many-faceted, domineering father who left his mark on each of them.

 

 

Review:

Daddy’s Girls by Danielle Steel is another one of her wonderful standalone novels focusing on family. This story centers on three sisters, who though close, do not see each other much; but that changes when their father dies of a massive heart attack.   JT Tucker brought up his three young daughters after his wife died, and moved to California and years later owned one of the biggest ranches.   Only one daughter, Kate stayed on the ranch and helped her father run everything, but it was always his way or no way.

The other two sisters come home to help Kate pick up the pieces, plan the funeral, and learn that the three of them now share equally the ranch, but they each know that everything in their life will change.

Kate loved the ranch, and planned to continue to run it and also make improvements that she thought would make things easier and better.  The foreman, Thad, secretly has always had a crush on Kate.  He has told her if the other two sisters want to sell their share, he would love to buy one of them out and work with Kate.  Kate is the strong dedicated sister, who kept things organized and always took care of everyone.

Gemma, the middle sister, is a successful actress, who has a fun, bubbly personality, as she lives a lifestyle of a star.  Gemma was considered her father’s favorite daughter, mainly because he enjoyed her being famous.  When her television show is cancelled, Gemma is unable to keep up with her high living style, and has problems financially.   She talks to Kate about selling her share of the ranch, even if she has enjoyed staying there, but it will give her the money to pay off some debts.  She spends a lot of time at the ranch, planning to sell her mansion and hoping in time she will get another job offer. 

Carolyn, the younger sister, is happily married with two children, and is a successful writer. Caro left the ranch soon after graduation, and rarely came back.  She brings her two children to stay a bit at the ranch and they all enjoyed themselves.  When Carol returns home, she accidently discovers that her husband is having an affair; unable to cope with this, she kicks him out, and decides to take the children back to the ranch for the summer.

It was nice watch the three sisters spend more time together and their close bond brought them back to the days when they were children.  Now as adults, they planned to be there for each other.  The one major thing changed their opinion of their father was revealed pretty early on.  Kate found documents that their mother was not dead; their father divorced her.  This shocked all the sisters, and they set out to find out if she was still alive, and if so, why a divorce and why he did lie?  I loved how they find their mother all these years later, and she explains her mistake, and that over the years she tried to see them, but their father would not allow it.  But most of all I was crazy about how all three sisters came to terms, and opened their heart to their newly found mother.  Great addition to this story.  Very well done.

What follows is a wonderful story, as the three sisters become even closer, especially after finding the mother they never had.  I loved seeing each of them learning to lean on their sisters, as well as making decisions to better their lives.  It was a wonderful, emotional, heartwarming and satisfying story of a family and their journey to happiness, forgiveness and togetherness.  I really enjoyed Daddy’s Girls very much.  Danielle Steel once again gives us another winner that you need to read.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

Share

Always the Last to Know by Kristan Higgins – a Review

Posted on by
12

Always the Last to Know by Kristan Higgins – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / Apple / BAM / Book Depository

 

Description:
The Frosts are a typical American family. Barb and John, married almost fifty years, are testy and bored with each other…who could blame them after all this time? At least they have their daughters– Barb’s favorite, the perfect, brilliant Juliet; and John’s darling, the free-spirited Sadie. The girls themselves couldn’t be more different, but at least they got along, more or less. It was fine. It was enough.

Until the day John had a stroke, and their house of cards came tumbling down.

Now Sadie has to put her career as a teacher and struggling artist in New York on hold to come back and care for her beloved dad–and face the love of her life, whose heart she broke, and who broke hers. Now Juliet has to wonder if people will notice that despite her perfect career as a successful architect, her perfect marriage to a charming Brit, and her two perfect daughters, she’s spending an increasing amount of time in the closet having panic attacks.

And now Barb and John will finally have to face what’s been going on in their marriage all along.

 

 

Review:

Always the Last to Know by Kristan Higgins is another one of her wonderful family standalone novels.  Always the Last to Know revolves around three women in the Frost Family in a time of crisis that changes their lives.  Barb is the matriarch, who is not happy in her marriage.  Just when she is about to ask her husband, John, for a divorce, he has a stroke that will disable him drastically.   We meet their two daughters, Juliet, a brilliant successful architect, who is very close to her mother;  and Sadie, a struggling artist and teacher, who lives in New York.  Sadie is her father’s favorite, and when she is told about her father’s illness, she drops everything to head home and help her him.  The focus of the story is their struggle during this difficult time, as each has their own life issues.

The story is told by POV’s of the three women, and occasionally that of the father, who cannot speak, as well as having difficulty in remembering who the women constantly visiting him are. 

Barb has been considering divorce for a while, as they are like strangers with nothing in common.  When she rushes to the hospital, she accidently sees messages on his phone that prove he was having an affair.  Despite her resentment, Barb knows she needs to hide this from her daughters, and to make matters even more difficult, John will eventually come home needing round the clock care.  The prognosis is not good, but the family will continue to help him.  John’s POV shows how frustrated he is, and he cannot even find how to say words, or remember things.

Juliet has a successful career, with a wonderful husband and two children.  With all the pressure of the job and being there for the children, she finds herself suffering from anxiety attacks.   To top it off, the young girl she hired to be her assistant at their firm, is slowly making moves to push ahead of her, causing her panics to rise more.  In her busy life, she does her best to be there for her mother, and sister.

Sadie is the youngest child, who loves her life in New York, dreaming of being a successful artist.  She rushes home to be there for her father, and despite her mother and sister trying to put him in a home where he can get constant care, she will not allow it and makes it her business to take care of her father.  Where Juliet was her mother’s favorite, Sadie only wanted to be with her father.  Once she returns home, she will begin to see her mother in a new light, trying to cope with what is happening.  When things get stressful, it is Sadie who will force Barb and Juliet to take a weekend at a spa to rejuvenate.  Sadie left town after she graduated to move to New York, and in so doing, she left her boyfriend, Noah, who did not want to move to New York.  Slowly, Sadie and Noah begin to realize that they still love each other, but will either of them be able to move forward?

What follows is an emotional, heartbreaking story of a family in crisis, and how they find a way to come together. I loved the dynamics between Barb, Juliet and Sadie, especially watching them change their lives for the better.  Barb to rise above her husband’s betrayal; Juliet to find the confidence in her ability and fight for her rights; Sadie to accept her dreams and challenges, as well to recognize her love for Noah.  Though we see John improve a little, the prognosis is still dire, with no hope.  

Always the Last to Know is a wonderful heartwarming story, filled with remembrances, lies, tragedy, hope, happiness, sadness and love.  Kristan Higgins once again give us a beautiful family driven story that you need to read.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

Share