The Valentine Wager by Nan Reinhardt – Review & Guest Post

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Description:
He’s a notorious flirt, so she lays down a challenge she’s sure she’ll win.

When playboy police lieutenant Ryker Lange stops Kitt Boynton for driving on the wrong side of the road, his attraction to the feisty Irish lass is immediate. Yet, despite the sizzling chemistry between them, Kitt quickly turns him down.

Kitt has moved to River’s Edge for a fresh start and is ready to focus on her new marketing job at her cousins’ winery. She’s done with players, and vows she won’t let the local sexy cop distract her, but Kitt, a flirt herself, is definitely tempted. To keep her sanity as she prepares for several Valentine-themed winery events, she and Ryker make a bet: for the next three weeks, neither of them can flirt with the other.

The game starts out lighthearted, but when the town takes sides, Ryker and Kitt must choose between winning a wager or finding lasting love.

Review:

The Valentine Wager by Nan Reinhardt is the first book in her The Lange Brothers series.  This is a spinoff from The Four Irish Brothers Winery series.  Kitt Boynton, our heroine, has recently moved to River’s Edge from Ireland, to be the marketing manager for her cousins at their winery. Kitt had a bad experience with her ex-boyfriend, who was married, and she has sworn off men.

Ryker Lange, our hero, is a police lieutenant, and when he sees Kitt driving on the wrong side of the road (she still is used to driving on the other side), he pulls her over.  Ryker, who is a playboy, is immediately attracted to the beautiful Kitt, but she brushes him off.  Ryker, despite his family and friends warning him to stay away from Kitt, as he has never allowed himself to get serious, thereby hurting many women along the way; but he is determined to win Kitt over. 

They both feel their sizzling chemistry, but Kitt recognizes that Ryker is a player, and constantly ignores his attempts.  As she helps prepare for the winery Valentine events, Kitt is fun to be with, and most of the townsfolk love her friendliness; though they both like to flirt, they make a bet. For the next three weeks, neither of them can flirt with each other, and just become friends. Who will win that bet?  Now the town has begun to place bets as to who will win. 

Kitt having been badly hurt previously, tries to convince Ryker to be friends, and hang around together with their friends; even though she does feel the attraction to him.  Ryker plays the friendship card, but finds himself falling hard for Kitt; and when his family and friends tell him how he breaks other women’s hearts, he tries to change.

This was my first book by Reinhardt, and I really did enjoy meeting all the wonderful secondary characters that were part of the previous series (Sam, Conor, Sean, Mac, Tierney, Brendan, just to name a few).  What follows is a sweet wonderful romance between a great couple in Kitt and Ryker.  Will they remain friends or open their hearts to love? Who will win the Valentine Wager?  You will have to read this book to find out.

The Valentine Wager was very well written by Nan Reinhardt, and I look forward to reading the next book in this fun series.  If you enjoy pure romances, wonderful couple, and great secondary characters, then you need to read The Valentine Wager.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for Review

Building and Maintaining a Setting Through a Series of Stories

Awkward title, I know, but that really is what I want to talk about—how we keep a setting and secondary characters fresh and fun through more than one series. There are lots of great examples of authors creating a place and using that setting for several series of books. Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series; Tule Publishing’s multi-author Marietta, Montana books; Marie Force’s Gansett Island series; Cheryl Brooks’s Cat Star Chronicles—ten books that all happen on other worlds, but are connected by characters who travel to those worlds; Jan Karon’s Mitford series… and, of course, my own River’s Edge stories, which will be 10 stories strong by the end of 2023.

The Four Irish Brothers Winery series took place in the same type of small town, but in those books, the setting itself has nearly become a secondary character. The little town of River’s Edge, Indiana, is inspired by the Ohio River town of Madison, Indiana, and I’ve had the time of my life populating it with quirky and fun characters.

Most of them are purely from my imagination, but friends/family may see a little of themselves in Mac Mackenzie, the Cordon Bleu-trained chef who owns the local diner and cooks amazing dishes or in Dot Higgins and her sister Mary who own the quilt shop. Guitar-playing Duane is the local sheriff and Paula Meadows owns the Bread & Butter bakery, happily keeping all the townsfolk in bread, doughnuts, and pies. Janet at the yarn shop and her sweet kitty, Fiona, were inspired by a dear friend at my church, as was Noah Barker, who owns the hardware store.

In River’s Edge, the River Walk is the place to meet-and-greet during any season. You might run into any one of the Flaherty brothers and their families on a warm summer evening or see Harley Cole, the nursery school teacher, rowing her kayak down on the river. Chances are good that Mateo Santos and his stepdad Aidan Flaherty are up on the deck of the River Queen showboat, singing lustily as they put on a new coat of white paint, scrub the decks, or wash windows in preparation for the new Showboat Summer season.

You could have a craft beer at Hutchins House, the oldest still-operating tavern on the river and have you stopped by the restaurant at the new Cotton Mill Inn? The hotel just opened in the newly renovated nineteenth-century cotton mill that overlooks the river. They’ve got a fabulous menu.

If you’re looking for a hike or a picnic among the cliffs and waterfalls of southern Indiana, the state park is just up the hill, and on the way up, you’ll pass Four Irish Brothers Winery and Vineyards. Stop in, taste some wine, and enjoy a snack on the deck overlooking the vineyards. There are several department stores and chain restaurants up on the highway, but if you looking for authentic pizza, head to Mario’s—his is the best—and check out all the great shops in town, you’re sure to find the perfect gift for that special someone. 

You get the idea—when you invent a setting in a romance novel, make it a place you’d love to be, a place where you could find your HEA (happily-ever-after). River’s Edge is a town I’d love to live in.

Craft background characters who fit in with the ambiance of your town and who are likeable. Every character is inspired by someone I know or someone I would like to know. It’s okay if they’re quirky, but remember, don’t let them take over the story. Mac Mackenzie appears in each Four Irish Brothers Winery novels and readers love him, even though he is window dressing for the real story. Giving handsome Mac a love interest in Book 2 was fun and worked so well that we’re all following along to see what will eventually happen with him and super-sophisticated Carly Hayes, who starts out as sort of a not-nice person in Book 1, but grows and evolves in Books 2, 3, and 4. The same thing is happening with a little romance that has developed between Noah and Dot. Having their own stories brings background characters to life, and you can do it with just a moment or two of interaction with your main characters.

Setting and background characters are what bring your story to life as it flows along behind the romance between your hero and heroine. It’s where you can break out of the expected storyline or personalities of your main characters and really have some fun. So don’t be afraid to let them evolve and to build on your setting and background characters as you write a series. Readers become invested and will be back for more!

Nan Reinhardt is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic fiction for Tule Publishing. Her day job is working as a freelance copyeditor and proofreader, however, writing is Nan’s first and most enduring passion. She can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t writing—she wrote her first romance novel at the age of ten and is still writing, but now from the viewpoint of a wiser, slightly rumpled, woman in her prime. Nan lives in the Midwest with her husband of 48 years, where they split their time between a house in the city and a cottage on a lake.

Talk to Nan at: nan@nanreinhardt.com

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