Duties and Dreams (Second Chance 3) by John A Heldt-review

Duties and Dreams (Second Chance 3) by John A Heldt-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 9, 2023

As World War I rages in Europe, the Carpenters and the Lees make a home in Southern California. Bill and Cassie add to their family. Andy and Annie start one of their own. Paul, a bachelor, enters the world of business. All find peace in a turbulent time. Then draft notices arrive, illness strikes a child, and life for two intertwined families takes a troubling turn.

Thirty years later, Emilie Perot, a beautiful resistance fighter, and Steve and Shannon Taylor, an American couple with ties to Paul Carpenter, conspire to escape Nazi occupation. Each seeks freedom and a new life in France’s Vosges Mountains, home of a legendary fountain of youth that can restore health and send visitors through time.

As events unfold in the different eras, the participants march on. All are unaware of the forces that seem determined to throw them together.

In DUTIES AND DREAMS, the epic conclusion of the Second Chance trilogy, several young adults find love, heartbreak, and redemption in a world of war, pandemics, and social unrest.

•••••

REVIEW:DUTIES AND DREAMS is the third and final instalment in John A Heldt’s adult SECOND CHANCE time-travel trilogy focusing on the Carpenter siblings-Paul, Bill and Annie.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

SOME BACKGROUND : The Second Chance series focuses on the search for the Fountain of Youth. In May of 2022, 81 year old William Carpenter is a retired professor of folklore, who learns the mythology about the Fountain of Youth may be the reality of which he and his siblings are looking. Having just buried his wife, William believes he has nothing more to lose, and convinces his siblings Paul 75, who has terminal cancer, and Annie 72, a paraplegic, to test the proverbial magic waters in La Paz, Mexico but the myth comes with the caveat of time travel, a caveat wherein the siblings have no idea where in the world or when they will land.

Told from numerous omniscient third person perspectives and several timelines (1918, 1944, 1961) DUTIES AND DREAMS, advances the series approximately seven years. The year is now 1918, and the siblings, now all in their twenties and thirties, two with their respective spouses and growing families, have travelled to an era wherein war and a pandemic are about to ravage the world’s population. When Paul, and his new brother in law Andy are conscripted into the US Army, they know their futures are no longer set in stone. Sent to Europe as marksmen, both men would come under fire: one would be injured, while the other is MIA.

Meanwhile back home in America, the pandemic aka Spanish Flu is gaining momentum but William’s small family is about to learn of the helplessness of medicine in the early 1900’s. Their only hope is to jump to the future, a future wherein one of the siblings may remain lost to the past.

DUTIES AND DREAMS is the culmination of three story lines, several real-world and fictionalized histories and historical events, and the reborn lives for the Carpenter siblings. Having lived through several timelines each sibling will find his or her new happily ever after, with new loves, new lives, new families and new friends. The premise is intriguing and captivating; the romances are subtle; the characters are determined and dynamic.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
The Fountain
Annie’s Apple

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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Annie’s Apple (Second Chance 2) by John A Heldt-a review

Annie’s Apple (Second Chance 2) by John A Heldt-a review

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 11, 2023

Six years after emerging from a fountain of youth, siblings Bill, Paul, and Annie Carpenter, time travelers from 2022, make their way in 1911.

In New York, Bill and wife Cassie finish a year as educators and struggle to start a family, while Annie tries her hand as a society reporter. In Arizona, Paul and Andy Lee, sergeants and brothers-in-law, attempt to keep the Mexican Revolution from spilling across the border.

For all, life marches on. Then the soldiers receive new orders, Paul and Annie meet alluring strangers, and the family’s fortunes take dramatic turns.

In ANNIE’S APPLE, the sweeping sequel to THE FOUNTAIN, five young adults find love, danger, and adventure in the age of factory fires, high society, and the sinking of the Titanic.

••••

REVIEW: ANNIE’S APPLE is the second instalment in John A Heldt’s adult SECOND CHANCE historical, time travel series focusing on the Carpenter siblings-Paul, Bill and Annie.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise including attempted suicide, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

SOME BACKGROUND :The Second Chance series focuses on the search for the Fountain of Youth. In May of 2022, 81 year old William Carpenter is a retired professor of folklore, learns the mythology about the Fountain of Youth may be the reality he and his siblings are looking for. Having just buried his wife, William believes he has nothing more to lose, and convinces his siblings Paul 75, who has terminal cancer, and Annie 72, a paraplegic, to test the proverbial magic waters in La Paz, Mexico but the myth comes with the caveat of time travel, a caveat wherein the siblings have no idea where in the world or when they will land.

Told from several omniscient third person perspectives ANNIE’S APPLE advances the series approximately five years. The year is now 1911, and the Carpenter siblings, all in their twenties and thirties, are about to face and experience some of the most painful and heart breaking events in history from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Manhattan, to the sinking of the HMS Titanic. The Carpenter siblings are witness to, and unwitting participants in historical happenings and developments of 1911-1912 but the Carpenter’s are not the only time travellers to arrive in Manhattan in 1911, and Paul will find himself flirting with another broken heart from the future. As the Carpenter family grows, and the next generation is born, the siblings must come to terms with the past, a past that is now a part of their present. Annie will have loved and lost, not once but twice; and Bill, having never had children in his previous life, will learn the meaning of true love and acceptance.

John A Heldt, once again, blends a little fact with fiction, taking literary license with events from the past. The reader is up close and personal with the what ifs and whys of yesterday, as the sibling bear witness without interfering in the history of the past. The premise is engaging and captivating; the romances are passionate but ill-fated; the characters are impassioned and struggling.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one THE FOUNTAIN

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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Second Chance Mine (Second Chance 6) by M. Robinson-review tour

?Second Chance Mine (Second Chance 6) by M. Robinson-review tour?

 

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 1, 2022

You never forget your first love…

And I hadn’t.

Not her kiss.
Not her taste.
Not her touch.

Every stolen moment we had between us was forbidden.
She was off limits.

Especially to me.

I wish I could say I followed my own rules.
I didn’t.
I couldn’t.
I lost her trying to make her mine.
Because in the end…

She was always my brother’s best friend.

••••••

REVIEW: SECOND CHANCE MINE is the sixth and final instalment in M.Robinson’s contemporary adult SECOND CHANCE erotic, romance series. This is thirty-three year old businessman Adrian Drake, and thirty year old, executive assistant Paige Summer’s story line. SECOND CHANCE MINE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Adrian and Paige) using present day and memories from the past, SECOND CHANCE MINE follows the rebuilding relationship and friendship between thirty-three year old businessman Adrian Drake, and thirty year old, executive assistant Paige Summers. For most of her life Paige had been in love with her childhood neighbor Adrian Drake but her best friend was Adrian’s brother Cade, and Cade and Adrian had vowed never to take advantage of the girl/woman they both loved.Ten years earlier, Adrian and Paige embarked on a one year affair, an affair that would destroy two brothers, pushing Paige out of their lives. Fast forward to present day wherein Adrian needs a an executive assistant, and Paige is the perfect person for the job but Paige has a stalker, and Adrian is determined to uncover the who, how and why but not before struggling to rekindle his relationship with the woman he loves.

Paige lost everything the day Cade discovered the truth about her relationship with his brother Adrian. Still reeling about the past, Paige struggles to forgive Adrian, battling between head and heart remembering the heart break and sorrow that destroyed her life. Adrian has never stopped loving Paige but fearing for his relationship with his brother, Adrian made a choice, ten years earlier, pushing Paige out of his life, and out of the life of his brother, as well.

The relationship between Paige and Adrian is one of second chances; a rekindling romance and friendship that struggles in the face of lies, betrayal, heart break and loss. Paige continues to battle with the pain of heart break, memories of the hurt and humiliation, humiliation at the cost of friendships and love .The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate but I struggle with the use of a certain four-letter word in my romance story lines.

We are introduced to Adrian’s brother Cade, and his wife Hayley, as well as Adrian’s security specialist Charlie.

SECOND CHANCE MINE is a story of family , friendships, relationships and love; of betrayal and vengeance, obsession and determination, forgiveness and acceptance. The premise is captivating; the romance is seductive; the characters struggle with what was and what they lost .

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Second Chance Contract
Second Chance Vow
Second Chance Scandal
Second Chance Love
Second Chance Rival

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

Wall Street Journal & USA Bestselling Author M. Robinson loves to read. She favors anything that has angst, romance, triangles, cheating, love, and of course sex! She has been reading since the Babysitters Club and R.L. Stein.

She was born in New Jersey but was raised in Tampa Fl. She was pursuing her Ph.D in psychology, with two years left. However, she dropped out of school and became a fulltime writer.

She is married to an amazing man who she loves to pieces. They have two German Shepherd mixes, Kobe and trooper, a Wheaten Terrier, Teddy and a Tabby cat, Gio.

She feels blessed to be living her dream.

Website:www.authormrobinson.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authormrobinson
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormrobi…
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/AuthorMRobinson
Snapchat: AuthorMRobinson
Reader Group: www.facebook.com/groups/M.RobinsonVIP/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authormrobinson

 

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The Fountain (Second Chance 1) by John A Heldt -a review

The Fountain (Second Chance 1) by John A Heldt -a review

 

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 August 14, 2022

Portland, Oregon. In May 2022, the Carpenters are a sad lot. Bill, 81, has just buried his beloved wife. Paul, 75, has terminal lung cancer. Annie, 72, is a paraplegic with broken dreams. Childless and directionless, the siblings face an uncertain future in their childhood home.

Then Bill, a retired folklore professor, learns from a dying man that the legendary Fountain of Youth, his obsession for decades, may be more than a myth. He races to Mexico to find the truth.

Within weeks, the Carpenters, with nothing to lose, enter a mysterious cave and exit in July 1905 as healthy young adults. They begin new lives in Oakland, California, only vaguely aware of a devastating earthquake that will rock the San Francisco Bay Area on April 18, 1906.

In THE FOUNTAIN, the first book in the Second Chance trilogy, three siblings find opportunity, romance, and heartbreak as they make the most of a new lease on life.

Readers’ Advisory: The Fountain is the first novel in a family saga that spans several years. While some storylines are resolved, others are not. They are addressed in subsequent books.

•••••

REVIEW: THE FOUNTAIN is the first instalment in John A Heldt’s adult, SECOND CHANCE time travel romance series focusing on the Carpenter siblings: William, Paul and Annie.

Told from several third person perspectives THE FOUNTAIN focuses on the search for the Fountain of Youth. In May of 2022, 81 year old William Carpenter is a retired professor of folklore, and learns the mythology about the Fountain of Youth may be the reality he and his siblings are looking for. Having just buried his wife, William believes he has nothing more to lose, and convinces his siblings Paul 75, who has terminal cancer, and Annie 72 a paraplegic, to test the proverbial magic waters in La Paz, Mexico but the myth comes with the caveat of time travel, a caveat wherein the siblings have no idea where in the world or when they will land. Arriving in 1905, William now 23, Paul 17, and Annie 14 will find love and experience loss when history repeats itself with the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.

John A Heldt weaves a little bit of fact with fiction in each of his time travel series, and The Fountain is no different. We are introduced to author Jack London, US General Frederick Funston, as well as a look at the early Suffragettes, and the losses and devastation of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The premise is interesting and intriguing; the romances are sweet; the characters are charismatic and passionate.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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Second Chance Rival (Second Chance 5) by M. Robinson-Review Tour

??Second Chance Rival (Second Chance 5) by M. Robinson-Review Tour??

 

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 23, 2022.

The only thing I was looking forward to more than marrying my enemy…

Was seeing her pregnant with my baby.

But I guess that’s why I’m the bad boy of my family—but she’s always played the good girl.

If they only knew the things she begged me to do all those years ago, when I was sneaking in through her bedroom window.

Before I left.
Before I broke her heart.
Before she hated me.

She doesn’t have to love me.
Hell, she doesn’t even have to like me. She just has to marry me to merge our feuding families…

Best part of our contract is we have to produce a bloodline heir.

My reasons for agreeing to an arranged marriage have nothing to do with claiming our inheritance…

And everything to do with claiming the woman I love.
.

••••••

REVIEW:SECOND CHANCE RIVAL is the fifth instalment in M. Robinson’s contemporary, adult SECOND CHANCES erotic, romance series. This is the second chance relationship between thirty-seven year olds, Belle Montgomery and Tristian Hawkins. SECOND CHANCE RIVAL can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Belle and Tristian) using present day and memories from the past, SECOND CHANCE RIVAL follows the rebuilding romance and relationship between Belle Montgomery and Tristian Hawkins. Close to twenty years earlier Belle and Tristian’s lives imploded. All of their life both Tristian and Belle never knew why the Montgomerys and the Hawkins were bitter enemies. Warned to stay clear of one another, attending a private school for the uber rich and famous brought our couple together but as heirs to their respective family fortunes and businesses, the people in charge pulled our couple apart. Fast forward to present day wherein Tristian and Belle are handed an ultimatum, marry one another and produce an heir, or find themselves on the outside looking in. What ensues is the acrimonious rekindling relationship between Belle and Tristian, and the potential fall out as Belle struggles with the memories of past heart break, and issues of trust as it pertains to our story line hero.

Both Belle and Tristian have excelled in the world of business and high finance, and as such are in line to inherit their families fortunes and power but behind the scenes, old patriarchal values continue to control their world, and our couple are forced to unite together for the future of their families. Belle Montgomery is the current COO (Chief Operating Officer of Montgomery Enterprises) but has yet to forgive Tristian Hawkins for the years of heart break and emotional abuse; Tristian Hawkins helped build Hawkins Industries into a multi-billion dollar business but has never forgotten about the woman from who he was forced to walk away.

The relationship between Tristian and Belle is one of second chances; a rekindling romance predicated upon outside power and control, the merging of two powerful families in business and finance. Neither one is happy with the new direction in life but Tristian is willing to try, in an effort to reclaim the heart of the woman he has never stopped loving. The $ex scenes are intimate, passionate and intense without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are introduced to Belle and Tristian’s respective grandfathers-the men who are currently controlling their lives. Belle’s executive assistant Paige, and his friend Adrian Drake. Paige and Adrian’s story is next in SECOND CHANCE MINE.

SECOND CHANCE RIVAL is a story of power and control, family and relationships, acceptance and love. The premise is dramatic and captivating; the romance is seductive and provocative the characters are determined, charismatic and stubborn.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Second Chance Contract
Second Chance Vow
Second Chance Scandal
Second Chance Love

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Wall Street Journal & USA Bestselling Author M. Robinson loves to read. She favors anything that has angst, romance, triangles, cheating, love, and of course sex! She has been reading since the Babysitters Club and R.L. Stein.

She was born in New Jersey but was raised in Tampa Fl. She was pursuing her Ph.D in psychology, with two years left. However, she dropped out of school and became a fulltime writer.

She is married to an amazing man who she loves to pieces. They have two German Shepherd mixes, Kobe and trooper, a Wheaten Terrier, Teddy and a Tabby cat, Gio.

She feels blessed to be living her dream.

Website:www.authormrobinson.com
Facebookwww.facebook.com/authormrobinson
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormrobi…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorMRobinson
Snapchat: AuthorMRobinson
Reader Group: www.facebook.com/groups/M.RobinsonVIP/

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Second Chance Love (Second Chance 4) by M. Robinson-review Tour

Second Chance Love (Second Chance 4) by M. Robinson-review Tour

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

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 14, 2022.

Falling for my brother’s best friend didn’t just break the rules.
It also broke my heart.

For years I saw the way he looked at me—conflicted. Like he wanted me, but taking me was forbidden.

Until one night, we got drunk and broke all the rules. Here I thought this was finally our time to be together. Never did I think he wouldn’t remember.

Now there I was, sitting in the back of the church. Watching the man I love…

Marry someone he didn’t.

Little did I know, I’d end up his nanny. Having to look at his handsome face every day was the worst kind of torture. This time, he was off-limits, and I was trying to decide if I still loved him…

Or hated him.

For making me feel this way.

••••••

REVIEW:SECOND CHANCE LOVE is the fourth instalment in M. Robinson’s contemporary adult SECOND CHANCES erotic, romance series. This is thirty-seven year old sports agent Caleb Hawkins and thirty year old Evie Monroe’s story line. SECOND CHANCE LOVE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary. Evie is Jax Colton’s half sister: Caleb is Jax’s sports agent (Second Chance Scandal).

Told from dual first person perspectives (Caleb and Evie) following several timelines SECOND CHANCE LOVE focuses on the acrimonious and secret relationship between thirty-seven year old sports agent Caleb Hawkins and thirty year old Evie Monroe. At eighteen years old Evie Monroe fell in love with her half-brother’s best friend and agent Caleb Hawkins. Four years and a secret affair ended when Caleb announced his engagement to someone else, someone Evie trusted and knew. Eight years would pass, and Evie, now the thirty year old owner of a recruiting agency finds herself face to face with the past when Caleb needs a live in nanny for his two growing children. With no acceptable candidates available, Evie offers up her services as the children’s nanny, a position that places our couple in one another’s orbit. Three months in Spain, a return to the States, followed by an anonymous threat targeting our couple forces a confrontation with the one person they were trying to avoid. What ensues it the building romance and secret relationship between Caleb and Evie, and the potential fall-out as the past targets our story line couple.

Caleb Hawkins fell in love with his best friend’s half-sister the day that they met but Caleb knew to get involved with his best friend’s sister would be crossing the line into forbidden territory. Caleb Hawkins promised Jax Colton he would protect his sister never expecting to fall in love with Evie Monroe. Evie Monroe ‘s love-hate relationship with Caleb crosses so many invisible lines but Caleb’s marriage to someone else broken her heart and destroyed any chance at a reconciliation. Working for/with Caleb pulled the couple closer together, like the family Evie had always wanted.

The relationship between Caleb and Evie is one of immediate attraction but the back and forth, love/hate, acrimonious friendship nearly destroyed our story line heroine but secrets will reveal a heart breaking realization that forces Evie to look at Caleb in a whole new light. The $ex scenes are erotic, seductive and intense with some scenes of spanking.

We are reintroduced to Evie’s half brother Jax and his wife Sophie, as well as Caleb’s children Ariel and Ethan, his brothers Joseph and Tristian, their mother Gale, as well as Caleb’s wife Tessa. Tristian’s story is next.

SECOND CHANCE LOVE is a story of lies and betrayal, vengeance and vindication, heart break, anguish and forgiveness, acceptance and love. The premise is entertaining and captivating; the romance is passionate and fated; the characters are broken, determined and trying to heal.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Second Chance Contract (aka Alpha CEO)
Second Chance Vow
Second Chance Scandal

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Wall Street Journal & USA Bestselling Author M. Robinson loves to read. She favors anything that has angst, romance, triangles, cheating, love, and of course sex! She has been reading since the Babysitters Club and R.L. Stein.

She was born in New Jersey but was raised in Tampa Fl. She was pursuing her Ph.D in psychology, with two years left. However, she dropped out of school and became a fulltime writer.

She is married to an amazing man who she loves to pieces. They have two German Shepherd mixes, Kobe and trooper, a Wheaten Terrier, Teddy and a Tabby cat, Gio.

She feels blessed to be living her dream.

Website:www.authormrobinson.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authormrobinson
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormrobi…
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/AuthorMRobinson
Snapchat: AuthorMRobinson
Reader Group: www.facebook.com/groups/M.RobinsonVIP/

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