Wednesday, November 29, 2017

#BookReview - Not All Cowboys are Cruel by Angelica Hart

Title:  Not All Cowboys Are Cruel: A Baxter Homestead Romance
Author:  Angelica Hart
Genre:  Historical Romance, Western
Release Date:  August 17, 2017

About the Book:

When life has taken all you have, will there be enough left over to love?

Grace Isabella Lee is a woman on the run - from the past, from the lies, and from the ever-growing sense that she just ain't good enough to love. Matthew is a cowboy with a secret, who knows without doubt that anyone he loves will be taken from him, just as was his wife.

When Grace falls upon ruffians intent on defiling her, she all but gives up. But Matthew is her guardian angel, and soon becomes much more. Working together on the Baxter homestead, they will discover new truths - about themselves, about each other, and about the world itself.

Together, they reignite the fires of once-banked loves. Together, Grace and Matthew will find their way to safety, to happiness, and to love. 

Grace will teach him that he is more of a man than he ever thought, and Matthew will teach her that she CAN love again... because not all cowboys are cruel.

Buy Links: Amazon 

My Review:

Not All Cowboys are Cruel is a story about a young woman who has endured the worst of hardships. Desperate times call for desperate measures and Grace is forced to do whatever is necessary to allow her father and her to survive, even if that means working for the woman at the saloon. When her offer of work is rejected, Grace doesn't think her life could possibly get any harder. But it does. As she walked back to the handcart where she left her father, she is attacked by three ruffian's. That's when a lone stranger comes to her rescue. The story gets more intriguing as we discover more about the family Grace goes to work for, and as we discover who Matthew really is.

Angelica Hart tells an exciting story of hardships and hero's and how strong one young woman can be. The romance unfolded nicely but I had a difficult time connecting with some of the characters.  I couldn't quite grasp the personality of Matthew. He was frequently thinking about Grace, but was still so emotionally connected to his former wife that he actually shed tears, which made the romance with Grace slightly unbelievable. Then there was Clayton, one of those characters that you love to hate. He was just about as evil as a man could be and I could easily envision him. But I loved his mother! She was quite a character and what she had to say near the end of the story was terrific. Not All Cowboys are Cruel had a nice ending.

Disclosure:  A complimentary copy was provided by the author and Reader's Favorites in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts, opinions and ratings are my own.


My Rating:

About the Author:

Angelica Hart is the pen name of a fairly well-known author who reads a lot and writes even more. 

She lives with her family in her home in her city in her country in a world that belongs to us all.

Follow her through Twitter @AHartAuthor or on Facebook at facebook.com/AngelicaHartAuthor.

You can also sign up to be one of Angie's Friends (and get deals and free stuff!) at http://eepurl.com/cXYnXH.

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

New Release! - Not Broken Anymore by Tawdra Kandle

Title:  Not Broken Anymore
Author:  Tawdra Kandle
Genre:  New Adult Romance
Release Date:  November 28, 2017

Football is everything, but love is the only game that matters.

Tate Durham, the newest Philadelphia football hottie, has been in love with Gia Capri since the moment he laid eyes on her back in college. Unfortunately, that happened the same night her destructive and doomed relationship with the troubled Matt Lampert began. Tate didn’t stand a chance. 

In the year since Matt took his own life, Gia’s been sleep-walking through her days and just barely surviving her nights. She’s not sure that she’s capable of anything else . . . until Tate finds her sitting on the floor of a grocery store, crying over potato chips.

Tate’s patience and honesty begins to heal what’s broken in Gia’s soul. Still, no matter how hard he tries—or how much he loves her—making her whole again might take more than he can give.

But love never gives up. And neither will Tate.

Buy Links:

Tweets:
“You are killing me with this book.” NOT BROKEN ANYMORE @tawdra #ReleaseDay #NewAdultRomance #FootballRomance #KeepingScore http://tiny.cc/NBAiBooks

The real thing is always worth the wait. <3 NOT BROKEN ANYMORE @tawdra #ReleaseDay #NewAdultRomance #FootballRomance #KeepingScore http://tiny.cc/NBAiBooks

Find your new #BookBoyfriend right here. NOT BROKEN ANYMORE @tawdra #ReleaseDay #NewAdultRomance #FootballRomance #KeepingScore http://books2read.com/NotBrokenAnymore

Not Broken Anymore Excerpt 

“So . . . no pressure, either outright or implied, right?” I spoke slowly, feeling my way. “You won’t push me, and you won’t . . . I don’t know, look at me or touch me in ways that could be construed as pressure?”

I expected Tate to agree readily, but he hesitated. “I don’t know if I can promise that. I’ll do my best not to gaze at you soulfully, and I’m not the kind of guy to mope around after anyone, but I can’t say you might not see what I’m feeling in my eyes. Can’t help that.”

I laughed a little. “You know, dude, if you were any other man, when I asked why you were here, you would’ve just fed me the friends-only line. I might not have bought it, but it would have given us both plausible deniability.”

Tate rested his chin on his hand and smiled serenely at me. “I’m not any other man.”

For a solid moment, I felt electricity crackle between us, and I couldn’t breathe. This was new, this hyper-awareness of another person, and I didn’t know quite what to do with it. I stared at Tate as my brain scrambled to figure out what to say or do next.

And then he sighed, breaking the spell.
“Ready for dessert?” He pushed back his chair and reached for my plate, carrying both his and mine to the sink. I cleared my throat and attempted to find normal again.

“Dessert? Need I remind you that we ate the cannoli several hours ago, when you claimed we hadn’t eaten lunch, and you were on the verge of starvation? Or did you buy a cake when I wasn’t looking? Or are you planning to whip something up in the next twenty minutes?”

Tate quirked his eyebrow at me over his shoulder. “Twenty minutes? Does that mean you’re tossing me out at nine?”

“No.” I shook my head and played with the spoon still in front of me. “It was just a figure of speech.”

“Good to know. But to answer your question, no, I didn’t buy any baked goods, and I’m not going to toss something together now. Nothing I have to bake, that is.” He rinsed off the scrubbed the plates with my new dish brush and set them into the drainer before turning to the fridge. “C’mon, woman. On your feet. This is something you can help me with.”

I stood up, watching as Tate withdrew the berries he’d bought. Dumping them into the colander, he washed them carefully before picking up the cutting board he’d used earlier to chop the potatoes.

“I’ll slice these if you’ll handle the whipped cream.” He reached for a knife.
I frowned. “We didn’t get any whipped cream.”

“Sure, we did.” Tate opened the refrigerator again, this time emerging with a small milk carton in his hand, which he set down on the counter in front of me. “Here you go.”

“Just what am I supposed to do with this?” I saw the words on the container. Heavy whipping cream clearly meant that whatever was inside the cardboard could somehow be transformed into the frothy goodness I loved, but I had no earthly idea how to go about making it happen.

“You’re going to whip it.” He winked at me. “Whip it good. I’ll get you started.”

I watched him moving around the kitchen, and I thought again how odd it was that such a large man could have such grace. I was willing to bet that it came from playing football, where I imagined his talent for maneuvering probably paid off.

Within a few moments, I had a small metal bowl, the brand-new electric hand mixer, a bag of powdered sugar and a bottle of vanilla laid out before me. I surveyed all of it with undisguised suspicion.

“Now pay attention, because this is tricky. Here’s the hardest part: dump the cream into the bowl.”
I rolled my eyes. “Ha, ha, ha, Mr. Smarty Pants Chef Guy. I think I can manage that.” I slid my thumb up the small crease and deftly opened the cardboard carton. The cream was thick and velvety as I poured it into the bowl. “Now what?”

“Plug in the mixer, submerge the beaters in the cream, and turn it on. Move it around a little now and then. And that’s pretty much it.” He turned back to his cutting board, slicing the tops of some luscious-looking red strawberries.

Gingerly, I dipped the shiny silver beaters into the liquid and used my thumb to move the switch to on. The small machine sprang to life, whirring in my hand. I held the bowl with my other fingers, staring into it, waiting for magic to happen.

A few minutes later, I was still waiting. “Tate, this isn’t working. It’s still just, like, cream.”
“Uh huh. Give it a little longer.” He didn’t even bother to look at me over his shoulder.

“But it isn’t changing. It’s just swirling around and around.” I raised my voice, in case he didn’t understand how serious this was. I was ruining the whipped cream.

“Yep, that’s how it works.” His voice remained serene and unconcerned.

I kept it up a little longer. “I think we must’ve gotten defective cream. It’s still all liquidy. Or maybe I messed it up.”

“The only way you can mess it up is if you whip the cream too long and it turns into butter. I don’t think you’re in danger of that yet.” He finished cutting up another berry, and drying his hands, stepped over to check out my work. “Okay, turn off the mixer for a minute, and then add some sugar and vanilla.”

I did as he instructed, resting the edge of the mixer against the side of the bowl. “How much?”

“Eh, two or three tablespoons of the powdered sugar and a couple of teaspoons of vanilla.”

I was troubled by his lack of precision in measurements. “Two or three? Which is it?” Tate sighed. “Start with two. We don’t want it too sweet, just sweet enough.”

“All right.” I flipped through the measuring spoons he’d bought today and found the right one before I carefully measured the sugar into the bowl. Next I poured two precise teaspoons of vanilla. “I did it. Now what?”

“Back to whipping.” Tate used a paper towel to gently dry the blueberries. “Just incorporate all of that into it.”

Setting my jaw, I got back to work, peering intensely at the whirling white that was threatening to hypnotize me. The cream made a pretty design as it ran through the beaters, and it reminded me a little of snow. As a matter of fact, it almost looked like . . .

“Tate!” I flicked off the mixer again. “It worked! It’s thickening. Look!” I stood back so that he could see into the bowl without moving away from his spot at the cutting board.

“Excellent. I knew you could do it. Now keep it up a little longer. It’s not quite ready yet. But watch it, because too long there and it really will turn into butter.”

“Huh.” I squinted down, nearly afraid to look away in case what was in the bowl might suddenly betray me. “Does it honestly happen that fast?”

“Nah. I mean, hypothetically speaking, if you had a stand mixer, and you were whipping cream, and you got distracted doing something else while it was mixing, and you forgot to check on it for a while . . . then yeah, it’s a possibility. But you’re on it.” He scooped all of the berries into a round glass bowl and moved over to stand closer to me. “I think you’re good now. See how it’s forming nice peaks?”

I did see, and I felt an unaccustomed surge of pride. “I did it. I can’t freaking believe it, but I made whipped cream.”

“Yes, you sure did.” He swiped one finger into the cream and stuck it into his mouth.

“Mmmmm, and you got the flavor right, too. Just sweet enough.” Before I could protest, he stuck that same finger back into my bowl again.

“Hey! Yuck! No double dipping. You’re going to ruin my masterpiece.” I scowled up at him.
“But I wanted you to have a taste, too.” So saying, he held up his whipped cream-covered finger a few inches from my lips. “Don’t you want to try it?”

My heart thudded a little. I hadn’t done anything like this . . . touched my tongue to any part of any man . . . for a long time. I swallowed and resisted the urge to fan myself. The kitchen was all of a sudden much warmer than it had been.

With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and lifted my mouth to his hand, closing around the creamy goodness. The second the flavor hit my tongue, I forgot all about how it got there.

“Oh . . . my . . . God.” I moaned the words. “That is amazing. So much better than the stuff I get in the can.”

“The real thing always is better.” Tate’s voice was hoarse, and he slid his finger out of my mouth. As I watched, he turned his back to me, busying himself with pulling out two small plates and a couple of forks. I wondered what I might have seen in his eyes if he hadn’t turned away. I wasn’t sure I’d have been able to deal with what whatever might have been there.

“Grab a spoon for your, uh, masterpiece, and let’s eat.” He lifted the berries on the cutting board and set the whole thing down on the table. “Serious conversations make me hungry.”

I rolled my eyes. “Is there anything that doesn’t make you hungry?”
Dragging out his chair, he shot me a wicked smile. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.  And lucky girl, you’ll get to find out, because as long as you’ll let me, I plan to spend as much of my free time with you as possible.”


Author Bio:

Tawdra Kandle writes romance, in just about all its forms. She loves unlikely pairings, strong women, sexy guys, hot love scenes and just enough conflict to make it interesting. Her books include young adult and new adult paranormal romance, new adult and adult contemporary romance and adult paramystery romance. She lives in central Florida with a husband, kids, sweet pup and too many cats. And yeah, she rocks purple hair. 



Author Social Media Follows:


Thursday, November 23, 2017

What's your favorite Thanksgiving recipe? Tell us and you might win a surprise!



Today is the big day... A day we all find things to be thankful for! Except for the turkey.  He is generally not very thankful for this day.  

Of course there are those of us that will be thankful tomorrow knowing that this day of cooking will be over for another year. 

Even so, it's wonderful when family and friends can gather around for a special meal, full of holiday traditions.  We all have our family favorites! In my family, the highlight of the Thanksgiving Day dinner is the turkey stuffed with oyster stuffing. Now, I must admit that we have a few of our newer family members who do not care for oyster stuffing (if you can imagine that!) so we always have a side stuffing for them. My own children, however, will fight to the death over the last spoonful of oyster stuffing!

So for the sake of sharing, and for those who have not tried oyster stuffing and want something different on their table, here is my family recipe.

Turkey with Oyster Stuffing

        1 large turkey, thawed                                            2 loaves stale white bread                  
        4 stalks celery, chopped                                         1 medium onion, chopped
        1 stick butter                                                           4 cans oysters
        Bell's Seasoning                                                     Salt & Pepper
        Wine, any kind of wine, whatever you like.

Gently remove the crust from each slice of bread. In a large bowl, tear the bread into small pieces being careful not to crush the bread. (Yes, I know this seems silly and it's easier to buy the stuff in the bag, but this is the way my mother made it, so just suck it up and do it!)  We usually sit around the evening before Thanksgiving to do this... and that's where the wine comes in.  Have a glass or two while tearing bread.

Add approximately 2 tablespoons Bell's Seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.  In a skillet, saute celery and onion in butter until soft and slightly transparent (not browned).  Drain oysters but save the juice.  Slightly saute the oysters and add all of this (except reserved oyster juice) to the bread in that big bowl I told you to use. Toss gently and add enough juice until stuffing is the right consistency... not soggy!

Wash and pat dry the turkey. Rub the turkey with salt, pepper and a light sprinkle of Bell's Seasoning.


Now here comes the part my daughter hates. I can hear her now saying "You want me to put my hand up WHERE?"  Yes, stuff the stuffing up the turkey's rear end and into the neck cavity and anywhere else in the bird it will fit.

Baste that turkey with more melted butter, cover and roast according to directions.

Now go read a good book, drink more wine and wait until it's time to baste... or better yet... tell us your favorite family recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and you might find a surprise in your mailbox!  Just post it here in the "Comments" section!

One lucky winner will be picked!  I'll give you a bit of time.  Post your recipe by December 18th.





Wednesday, November 22, 2017

The Novel Lady Interviews Author Tawdra Kandle


We are so excited to be here with one of our favorite authors, Tawdra Kandle.  Tawdra writes romance, in just about all its forms. She loves unlikely pairings, strong women, sexy guys, hot love scenes and just enough conflict to make it interesting. Her books include young adult and new adult paranormal romance, new adult and adult contemporary romance and adult para-mystery romance. She lives in central Florida with a husband, kids, sweet pup and too many cats. And yeah, she rocks purple hair. 

Scherry:  Welcome Tawdra!  Thanks for joining us here at The Novel Lady.  Tell us a little about yourself and your background? 
Tawdra:  Thanks for having me! I’m an author, clearly . . . I’ve been published for six years, and I have over 56 books in release currently. I’ve been married for over thirty years, and I have four children, plus one son-in-law. I was both an Army brat and an Army wife, so I’ve lived all over the country.


Scherry:  You have a beautiful family!  Do you still have the purple streaks in your hair?  I loved hearing about the reason for the purple hair.  Can you tell our readers your story? 
Tawdra:  I do have purple in my hair. I’ve had it this way for over eight years. My amazing hair stylist was adding pink to my daughter’s hair one day, and she mentioned that many people liked pink for breast cancer awareness. Since my parents both died of blood cancers within less than a year of each other, and their signature color is purple, I elected to go that direction.


Scherry:  That’s beautiful, and quite a tribute to your parents.  What do you do when you’re not writing?  Do you have any hobbies or guilty pleasures? 
Tawdra:  When am I NOT writing?? Ah, I love to cook, I love to listen to music, to read and to travel. I enjoy spending time with my family.


Scherry:  What were you like at school? 
Tawdra:  I did not like school at all . . . but I did quite well. I wasn’t fond of the social aspect of it, which was partly because I changed schools frequently. I loved to learn and to read, but I didn’t care for how it was accomplished within the system.


Scherry:  When and why did you begin writing? 
Tawdra:  I began writing very early. When we moved to South Jersey, which was where my parents were from, it was hard for me to make friends, so I coped by creating stories and characters in order to get through. By the time I was in eighth grade, I had published my first short story in a children’s magazine.


Scherry:  Which writers inspire you? 
Tawdra:  Anne Rice, who is not only talented and passionate about her work but just lovely and generous and kind . . . Stephen King, who understands more about today’s fiction than just about anyone else . . . Diana Gabaldon, who is also open and compassionate as she is gifted . . . and Jasinda Wilder, who has helped propel the indie movement beyond anything we could have imagined!


Scherry:  How would you describe your latest novel? 
Tawdra:  Not Broken Anymore is the fourth book in the Keeping Score series. The main characters were introduced in the first book and mentioned here and there throughout, but here, we find out what happened behind the scenes—and then afterwards.
Tate is a football player who met Gia through friends in their freshman year of college. Unfortunately, they met the same night Gia fell into a destructive and tumultuous relationship with a man who made her life hell for four years. Even now, she’s broken and hurting.
But Tate thinks if she gives him—gives them—a chance, everything could change. He sees hope where Gia fears despair. He sees love where she expects pain. He sees a future where she can’t get over the past.
How they find their way to a second chance is the heart of this story. It’s about healing and patience and love that doesn’t give up.


Scherry:  I’m anxious to read it!  What inspired you to write it? 
Tawdra:  I never intended to write more than three books in the Keeping Score series. Gia wasn’t even supposed to be more than a temporary friend for Quinn in high school. But she began to talk about herself and develop more than I’d expected, and then Tate just came about, too. I didn’t think they made a good match, but Tate felt differently. I knew what was going to happen between Gia and Matt—mostly—and I knew Gia was going to suffer. But that was too big a story to be a side note to the main books.


Scherry:  If you had to write this one all over again, go through the whole editing and publishing process from the beginning again, is there anything you would do differently? 
Tawdra:  I can honestly say no. It was a painful, messy and ripping process, but I’m very pleased with the final product.


Scherry:  Are you a plotter and know what’s going to happen or are you a pantser that lets your characters lead the way? 
Tawdra:  HA! No. I never know until I begin writing, and even then, sometimes they take me by surprise.


Scherry:  How much research did you do for your latest novel? 
Tawdra:  Lots of watching football games, eating good food . . . and remembering my own haunts in Philadelphia.


Scherry:  Sounds like my kind of research!  What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever researched for one of your books? 
Tawdra:  I did a lot of research into the Summer of Love, the commune movement, and San Francisco in the late 1960’s for Age of Aquarius—not sure if that’s strange, but it was interesting!


Scherry:  How long does it normally take you to write a book? 
Tawdra:  Anywhere from four weeks to two months.


Scherry:  Thinking about the characters in your books…  Do you have a favorite?  Which one would you most like to go have a beer or glass of wine with… or wake up next to? 
Tawdra:  I love them all. No favorites! I’d love to sit at a bar and have a beer with Rafe from the Save Tomorrow world. And if I were single, I wouldn’t say no to waking up with Tate or Liam or Sam!


Scherry:  Have you ever based your book or characters on actual events or people from your own life? 
Tawdra:  Yes. All the time. The most recent example is my book Fifty Frogs. All of the hilarious things between Vivian and her ‘frogs’ actually happened to my daughters!


Scherry:  So, say you got arrested.  What’s the most likely reason the cops are carting you off to jail? 
Tawdra:  Oh, gosh, I hope that wouldn’t happen! If it did, it would probably be for standing up for one of my friends or family, regardless of the legal repercussions!

Scherry:  What is next for you?  Do you have any scheduled upcoming releases or works in progress?
Tawdra:  Not Broken Anymore releases November 28th, and then The Anti-Cinderella will come out in February. I have at least two more books in the Keeping Score series, then a new six books in the Career Soldier series. Always something in the works!


How can fans contact you/learn more about you?

Email: tjkandle@gmail.com              
Website:  http://tawdrakandle.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTawdraKandle/?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tawdra

Tawdra, thank you so much for joining us here at The Novel Lady!  
I’m looking forward to seeing you at Coastal Magic in February!


If you would like to meet Tawdra Kandle in person, stop by the Coastal Magic 
Convention in Daytona Beach in February 2018.  Tawdra is one of our favorite Featured Authors.  We love her so much that this is her 6th year at Coastal Magic!  For more information about #CMCon2018, check out the web page at www.coastalmagicconvention.com.

Monday, November 20, 2017

#BookReview - Fearless: Book One of the King Series by Tawdra Kandle

Title:  Fearless:  Book One of the King Series
Author:  Tawdra Kandle
Genre:  Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal, Occult
Release Date:  December 6, 2011

About the Book:

Every gift has consequences . . .

From USA Today bestselling author Tawdra Kandle comes the first book in an intriguing series filled with magic and suspense. Readers of the Twilight books and the Black Mage series will fall in love with the secrets of this small town and its mystical inhabitants . . .

Tasmyn Vaughn didn't expect much when her dad's job moved them to a small town in Florida; it was just another new school. But King is a town founded by magic and steeped in mystery, and soon Tasmyn's ability to hear others' thoughts is the least of her worries. 

There's Ms. Lacusta, the science teacher who just might be teaching more than chemistry, and then there's Nell Massler, the ultimate mean girl whose extracurricular activities include blood rituals. And she wants Tasmyn's blood next.

Entangled in a web of first love, quirky and secretive townsfolk, magic and blood spells, she discovers the town's secrets aren't just bizarre, they're deadly. 

Save Tomorrow is a series of paranormal romances that begins in the small town of King, Florida, winds through the Serendipity and Recipe for Death books, and finally culminates in Age of Aquarius, the inevitable showdown that ties all the characters together in a fight to stop the ultimate evil.

Buy Links: Amazon 

My Review:

I'm a little late posting this review, but back in October as I was getting ready for Halloween, I was ready to read about witches and all that occult stuff!  I really like Tawdra Kandle's writing, so when I saw that I had missed this King series, I was ready to dig in!  Tawdra creates memorable characters with multi-faceted personalities.

The whole occult thing was not overwhelming to the story.  I mean that in a very good way.  There was sweet romance between Tasmyn and Michael that gave me tingles and warmed my heart.

Tasmyn is a 17-year-old high school junior who has moved more times than she can count, making it very difficult to make friends.  Add in the fact that she has the ability to read minds, a secret that her parents have warned her must remain secret, and Tasmyn had one more reason why it was difficult to make friends.  Then along comes Michael, a high school senior, who instantly falls in love with Tasmyn and opens her world to more happiness than Tasmyn had ever experienced.  Yes, sweet, sweet romance!

Although Tasmyn tries her best to block out hearing other peoples thoughts, she is shocked to accidently hear something about a blood sacrifice from someone in her new chemistry class.  A girl named Nell in that class brings the term "mean girl" to a whole new height!  There is something very strange about the old family residents of this town.

The storyline was great in this book and the characters were remarkable.  Quite frankly, if I were a teenager I would be swooning over Michael.  The story dragged just a bit with some excessive dialogue and teenage stuff (after all, this is YA so that's to be expected), but it all came together to be the start of an interesting series.

Oh!  Let me add one more thing.  Right now the Kindle version of this Book #1 is free on Amazon.  So if this series sounds interesting to you, grab your copy now while it's still free.

My Rating:

About the Author:


Tawdra Kandle writes romance, in just about all its forms. She loves unlikely pairings, strong women, sexy guys, hot love scenes and just enough conflict to make it interesting. Her books include young adult and new adult paranormal romance, new adult and adult contemporary romance and adult paramystery romance. She lives in central Florida with a husband, kids, sweet pup and too many cats. And yeah, she rocks purple hair. 



You can FOLLOW Tawdra on Amazon to receive updates on her releases. You can also visit her website at http://tawdrakandle.com for more information, and subscribe to her newsletter http://tiny.cc/TawdraNewsletter for sales announcement, special exclusive content and promotions!

And if you would like to meet Tawdra in person, she will be a featured author at the Coastal Magic Convention #CMCON2018 in Daytona Beach in February 2018.

Saturday, November 18, 2017

#BookReview - An Engagement in Seattle by Debbie Macomber

Title:  An Engagement in Seattle
Author:  Debbie Macomber
Genre:  Romance
Release Date:  December 26, 2017

About the Book:

Beginning marriage in unexpected ways…

An Unusual Beginning

A billboard on the side of a Seattle road is common enough—but one advertising for a bride? It’s Chase Goodwin’s solution to the problem of finding a wife quickly, a wife to bring home to Alaska. Lesley Campbell has her own reasons for responding…and in no time she’s the Bride Wanted in Chase’s life!



My Review:

Let me start off by saying that this appears to be the second story in this "An Engagement in Seattle" book collection.  I don't want to call it a series, because it appears to be a totally seperate story.  The book currently (as of the date of this posting) on Amazon is for a different story.  That's why I did  not post a buy link to Amazon.  The story that I read and reviewed was about Leslie and Chase and the book will be released in December 2017.

Debbie Macomber is one of my favorite authors.  Her stories are always heartwarming and sweet with characters you can't help but adore.  This book was no exception!  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Leslie is left stunned and heartbroken after her fiance breaks off their engagement and marries someone else.  Then on the day her wedding was supposed to take place, her purse is snatched in a store parking lot.  Desperate to retrieve her belongings, she runs after the thief but is unable to catch him.  An unknown hero rushes in to save the day.  That hero is none other than Chase Goodman.  Chase had come to Seattle from his home in Alaska to find a wife.  He had such a short time to do just that, so he advertised on a billboard "Bride Wanted". 

Although she didn't know at first that Chase was the man behind the billboard, Leslie soon became interested in this man and a warm relationship soon developed.  Things did not go smoothly however!  Tony, Leslie's ex-fiance created problems and Leslie's mother wasn't all too keen on this relationship either.  But a HEA prevailed!

I have to say that the romance in this book gave me tingles, and oh how I love those tingles!  There was enough steam to let you know what was happening without having it thrown in your face (if you know what I mean).  It definitely gives you a good dose of romance!

Disclosure:  A complimentary ARC was provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts, opinions and ratings are my own.


My Rating:

About the Author:

Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide. In her novels, Macomber brings to life compelling relationships that embrace family and enduring friendships, uplifting her readers with stories of connection and hope. Macomber’s novels have spent over 1,000 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Thirteen of these novels hit the number one spot.

In 2017, Macomber’s all-new hardcover publications include If Not for You (March), Any Dream Will Do (August), and Merry and Bright (October). In addition to fiction, Macomber has also published two bestselling cookbooks, an adult coloring book, numerous inspirational and nonfiction works, and two acclaimed children’s books.

Celebrated as “the official storyteller of Christmas”, Macomber’s annual Christmas books are beloved and five have been crafted into original Hallmark Channel movies. Macomber is also the author of the bestselling Cedar Cove Series which the Hallmark Channel chose as the basis for its first dramatic scripted television series. Debuting in 2013, Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove was a ratings favorite for three seasons.

Macomber owns The Grey House CafĂ©, which also features a gift shop and a Hallmark Gold Crown store inside. It is located in the Village Square campus, which also serves as Debbie’s corporate headquarters.

She serves on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, is a YFC National Ambassador, and is World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative. A devoted grandmother, Debbie and Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington, the town which inspired the Cedar Cove series.
 

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