Thursday, April 23, 2020

Book Review - Black Hollow: April's Fool by Robbie Cox


Title:  Black Hollow:  April's Fool
Author:  Robbie Cox
Genre:  Paranormal Adult Romance
Release Date:  April 16, 2020

About the Book:

The time for clowning around is over as Professor Compton's Phantom Circus arrives in Black Hollow.

April McCray merely wants to enjoy spring break, avoiding the crowds of rambunctious children attending the circus. However, the Powers That Be yank her banshee from her peaceful evening, shoving her into the nightmare of a dark-haired stranger as she tries to warn him of a loved one's soon demise. Once she's safely back in her own home, April can't stop thinking about the man with the pale-red eyes.

Wyatt Compton refuses to be anyone's fool, especially whoever is murdering his family. He has to uncover the killer before he strikes again, this time killing Wyatt's grandfather, but how can he do that among a group of shapeshifters?

The circus comes to Black Hollow, bringing a killer along with it, thrusting April and Wyatt together in a race to save his grandfather. Can they stop whoever desires to kill the ringmaster, or has the circus finally met its end?

Buy Links: Amazon 

My Review:

This couldn't get any better!  A paranormal circus with phantoms, dwarfs, korrigans, grim reapers, banshees and more AND a murder mystery!  Ohmigosh!  This was such a creative read with a slight twist at the end that I didn't see coming.  And there was romance.  What more could I ask for?

I have to admit that this is the first book I've read in the Black Hollow series, but after reading this one I will definitely be reading more.  April's Fool was a quick read at only around 149 pages.  Thank you Robbie Cox for making this available as a free read on Kindle Unlimited.

My Rating:

About the Author:

For the latest news on Robbie's releases, upcoming events and appearances, and special giveaways, join his newsletter - http://bit.ly/23CFhQQ

Robbie started writing as a way to escape - escape his teachers, escape his fears, even to escape his insecurities and doubts. However, his stories of seduction and adventure, not only allowed him to hide in the lives of his characters, but also captivated those who wanted to escape with him. Now, he enjoys a full-time career as a storyteller and novelist, and invites readers to runaway with him- to escape, getting lost in the seduction of adventure.

When he is not writing, Robbie can be found on his back porch enjoying a cigar, a scotch, and a good story. He derives pleasure from his large family and his crazy group of friends who provide the inspiration for his blog The Mess that Is Me. 

He is the author of the Urban Fantasy series, The Warrior of the Way, along with the paranormal series, The Witches of Savannah. His Contemporary Romance series includes The Rutherford Series, The Harper Twins, and the Fangirls series. 

You can learn more about Robbie at his website - http://www.robbiecox.net


Monday, April 20, 2020

Book Review - HOT SEAL COLD BEER by Cynthia D'Alba

Title:  Hot Seal Cold Beer
Author:  Cynthia D'Alba
Genre:  Romance
Release Date:  October 9, 2018

About the Book:
An ex-Navy SEAL agrees to play fake lover for the Maid of Honor at a destination wedding only to discover that what happens on a Caribbean Island can sometimes follow you home.

Nicholas Falcone, aka Nikko, aka Falcon, is five months out from active SEAL duty, putting his pre-service accounting degree to use while going to law school at night. He’d love to take a vacation between semesters, but every buck is earmarked for his education. When a fellow accountant approaches him about his sister needing an escort for a destination wedding, Nikko jumps at the idea. With the wedding families footing the bill, what does he have to lose?

Surgeon Dr. Jennifer Pierce is still stinging from a broken engagement. Going to a destination wedding at the Sand Castle Resort in the Caribbean would be great if only her ex-fiancé and his new wife weren’t also attending. Her options are to find a date or not go, but not going isn’t really an option. That means letting her brother set her up with a guy from his accounting office…Heaven forbid. When did accountants start looking like this?

** Cold Beer ** is part of the Diamond Lakes, Texas Series and Sand Castle Resort series. Each book can be read as a stand-alone. They do not have cliffhanger endings.

**Hot SEAL, Cold Beer** is also in the “SEALs in Paradise” connected series. Each book in the multi-author branded SEALs in Paradise series can be read stand-alone, and individual books do not have to be read in any particular order.

Buy Links: Amazon 

My Review:
Hot Seal Cold Beer was exactly the kind of book I was looking for to distract me from the craziness going on in the world today.  Author Cynthia D'Alba creates characters that make you smile.  Loved them!  Even the jerk ex-fiance was a love-to-hate character!  This is the kind of romance that leaves you with tingles as you read.  You know what I'm talking about.  And yes, it is hot and steamy in some of it, but it is so much more than that.  Great story!  This was a quick read because once I started, I could not put it down.  Read it straight through in one sitting.

Although this book is part of the 'Seals in Paradise' connected series, it is written as a stand-alone.

My Rating: 

About the Author:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Cynthia D'Alba started writing on a challenge from her husband in 2006 and discovered having imaginary sex with lots of hunky men was fun. She was born and raised in a small Arkansas town. After being gone for a number of years, she's thrilled to be making her home back in Arkansas living in a vine-covered cottage on the banks of an eight-thousand acre lake. When she's not reading or writing or plotting, she's doorman for her border collie, cook, housekeeper and chief bottle washer for her husband and slave to a noisy, messy parrot. She loves to chat online with friends and fans. 

You can find her most days at one of the following online homes:

Website: cynthiadalba.com 
Facebook: Facebook/cynthiadalba 
Twitter: @cynthiadalba
Pinterest: Pinterest/CynthiaDAlba
Newsletter: Newsletter Sign-Up

Or drop her a line at cynthia@cynthiadalba.com

Or send snail mail to: Cynthia D'Alba PO Box 2116 Hot Springs, AR 71914

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Book Review - SUNRISE ON HALF MOON BAY by Robyn Carr

Title:  Sunrise on Half Moon Bay
Author:  Robyn Carr
Genre:  Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction
Publisher:  MIRA
Release Date:  April 14, 2020


About the Book:

Sometimes the happiness we’re looking for has been there all along…

Adele and Justine have never been close. Born twenty years apart, Justine was already an adult when Addie was born. The sisters love each other but they don’t really know each other.

When Addie dropped out of university to care for their ailing parents, Justine, a successful lawyer, covered the expenses. It was the best arrangement at the time but now that their parents are gone, the future has changed dramatically for both women.

Addie had great plans for her life but has been worn down by the pressures of being a caregiver and doesn’t know how to live for herself. And Justine’s success has come at a price. Her marriage is falling apart despite her best efforts.

Neither woman knows how to start life over but both realize they can and must support each other the way only sisters can. Together they find the strength to accept their failures and overcome their challenges. Happiness is within reach, if only they have the courage to fight for it.

Set in the stunning coastal town of Half Moon Bay, California, Robyn Carr’s new novel examines the joys of sisterhood and the importance of embracing change.

Buy Links: Amazon 

My Review:
Sunrise on Half Moon Bay looks like it may be the beginning of another heartwarming series by an author I have grown to love!  Two sisters, born twenty years apart and living totally different lives, grow closer during dramatic changes in their lives.  The younger sister, Addie, has put her life on hold in order to care for her elderly parents.  The older sister, Justine, lives a comfortable life as an attorney with a husband who stays home to care for the house and their girls.  When both girls find themselves in situations they hadn't planned on, they come together and grow as individuals. This is a book about second chances, finding ones inner strength, and dealing with what life has handed to you.  And it's a story about the bond between sisters, no matter how far apart their ages may be.

The beginning of the book dragged a bit, but once things started falling into place, I couldn't put it down.

*Disclosure:  I received a complimentary advance copy from NetGalley and the author in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts, comments and opinions are my own.

My Rating:

About the Author:
Robyn Carr is a RITA® Award-winning, eleven-time #1 New York Times bestselling author of almost sixty novels, including the critically acclaimed Virgin River series. The third novel (THE FAMILY GATHERING) in her fan-favorite new series, Sullivan's Crossing, will be released in April 2018. Robyn is a recipient of the Romance Writers of America Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award 2016 and in 2017, VIRGIN RIVER was named one of the HarperCollins 200 Iconic Books of the past 200 years. Robyn and her husband live in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can visit Robyn Carr's website at www.RobynCarr.com



Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Book Blitz & Giveaway - REVEREND OF SILENCE by Pamela Sparkman


Reverend of Silence
Pamela Sparkman
Publication date: January 14th 2020
Genres: Coming of Age, Historical, Young Adult
A coming of age story about faith, love, and overcoming society’s prejudices during the American Antebellum period.
In 1810, Lucy Hallison suffered from a severe illness at the age of three, and later recovered, a deaf-mute. Unable to relate to the world in which she lives, she’s often ignored and sometimes treated with cruelty. Until a boy, Samuel Burke, steps into her life at the tender age of seven, coloring her world and showing her what it means to be seen, to not be invisible, to be understood.
The two become inseparable childhood friends, and as they grow and mature, there is the promise and hope of something more that also grows between them. But the hope of something more is put on hold so she can attend The American Asylum at Hartford for the Deaf and Dumb, the first of its kind, requiring her to leave the only home she’s ever known and the only boy she’s ever loved.
But while she is away, tragedy strikes, and Samuel is now the one unable to relate to the world in which he lives, unable to find his own voice, and withdrawing from everyone and everything he’s ever known.
When Lucy returns home from school, she has one goal in mind—to put color back into his world the way he had once put color into hers.
Because Samuel Burke had been her voice when she had needed him most.
Now, she is determined to be his.
Note: Inspired by real people and true historical accounts.
EXCERPT:
“He ordered me out?”
Papa Burke removed his spectacles, then rubbed a hand down his face. He looked like he had aged ten years in the last ten days. He pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and gestured for me to sit across from him as he put his spectacles back on.
I sat and waited for him to answer my question, the one I hadn’t asked him. Why? Why had Sam ordered me from his room? My hand came to rest over my heart. It ached from his rejection.
Days. I had spent days at his bedside, waiting for him to wake up, hoping that he would, caring not only for him but for his parents every second of those days. Never in my wildest imaginings did I think he would toss me out the moment he did. If he had kicked me in the teeth, I don’t think it would have hurt this badly. It took everything in me not to cry right here at this table.
Papa Burke leaned forward, his eyes searching mine. “I’m sorry,” he signed. “You didn’t deserve that.”
My eyes burned. I knew that. I wanted him to tell me something I didn’t know. I leaned forward as well and asked, “Why was I tossed out?”
He tapped his fingers on the table, a silent beat I couldn’t hear. He looked like a man trying to gather thoughts to put into words. I waited, watching his fingers as they moved up, down, up, down. Until his fingers went still. Then they formed the words, “Sam doesn’t want you to see him like this. He feels weak.”
I frowned, signing my response. “I don’t fault him for being weak. He’s injured!” I stood, feeling agitated. “He’s had a fever! He almost died! I know he’s weak!”
Papa Burke also stood and came to stand before me. “Not that kind of weak.”
I blinked, trying to understand his meaning.
“He doesn’t feel like a man.” Papa Burke eyed me pointedly. “He has no pride. He doesn’t want you to see him like that,” he emphasized, pointing above our heads to the second floor.
Oh.
I reclaimed my seat and shut my eyes. Stupid, stupid man. Yet, at the same time, my heart broke all over again. For Sam. I knew from watching my father how hard men could be on themselves. I’d just never thought Sam would.
Papa Burke put his hand on my shoulder. I glanced up.
“Go home, Lucy.”
My breath caught. That was the first time I’d been issued that command. Everyone was tossing me out? No one needed me anymore? Noah had left without saying goodbye, and now the Burkes were telling me to leave?
“I don’t want to go home,” I signed with a trembling hand.
Papa Burke’s face was sad. He lifted me up to stand. His hug was sympathetic. He released me and said, “Then go back to school. Sam needs some time.”
My nose tingled. My jaw ached. My eyes stung. My chest felt like it was being cut from the inside. Sam needed time. He just didn’t need me. Message received.
I glanced around the room, taking in all the details and all the memories. I packed them all away, but I didn’t know where to place them. My heart felt too fragile. My mind too burdened.
So I left them right where they were and walked out the door.


Author Bio:
Pamela Sparkman grew up in Alabama. She became an avid reader at a young age. The written word has always fascinated her and she wrote her first short story while still in elementary school. Inspiration for her stories always begins with a song. She believes music is the pulse of life and books are the heart of it.
When she isn't writing, however, she's spending time with her family and taking one day at a time.

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Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Book Blitz & Giveaway - VOICES & VISIONS by Lashell Collins


Voices & Visions
Lashell Collins
(Touched, #1)
Publication date: March 27th 2020
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense
A psychic so powerful his abilities come at a cost. A woman so special she alone has the power to touch him.
Detective Isaac Taylor is a broken man. Isolated by his strange abilities and what others perceive as weird behavior, he keeps his head down and excels at his job. But he hears the whispers of his colleagues and family members, and he feels like a freak among them. Then one wrong number phone call changes everything.
Sidney Fairchild is no stranger to danger. She’s a woman on the run, in hiding and existing below the radar. Despite her efforts to stay invisible, she witnesses a crime she knows could get her killed. Then she answers a wrong number phone call that changes her life.
Bound by their undeniable connection, Isaac and Sidney forge a bond stronger than anything either has ever known. But will his psychic abilities save her or lead to their mutual destruction?
Voices & Visions is book 1 in Touched, a new romantic suspense series. If you like compelling characters, realistic dialogue, and heartwarming bromances, then you’ll love this new thought-provoking series from Lashell Collins.
EXCERPT:
“Can we talk about what happened back at the safe house?” she asked, finally breaking the awkward silence.
“I’m not sure rehashing that shootout is such a good idea, Sid. It’s only going to make you feel lower than you already do.”
“No, I don’t mean that.”
“Oh.” He glanced at her again and knew immediately what she wanted to talk about.
“You said that when you touch someone, you can see things about their life somehow? Things about their past or what’s going on with them.”
“That’s right.”
“When we met at the restaurant and you shook my hand… you saw something then, didn’t you? That’s why you looked at me the way you did.”
The intrigue in her light brown eyes held his attention captive for a moment, but the certainty in her voice told him there was no point in trying to sidestep her question. He pulled his gaze away from hers and swallowed.
“Yeah, I did.” His reply was quiet, resigned to the notion that their earlier conversation on this subject wasn’t quite finished.
“What did you see?”
The images came back to him in technicolor, every detail crisp and fresh in his mind. But he knew he couldn’t tell her about them. Not until he’d had a chance to sort them out. He couldn’t tell her that the flashes he’d seen involved him. Involved them. Together. Scenes from their future presumably.
But what was it they always said in those science fiction shows he and Adam loved to watch as kids? That the future wasn’t set in stone, and any glimpse of it was just one possible outcome.
Of course, that was science fiction. This?
He had no clue what the hell this was.


Author Bio:
Lashell Collins is an American author of romantic suspense, paranormal romance and rockstar romance. She walks to the beat of her own drum, but that's okay 'cause she's got a pretty good sense of rhythm. Basically, she's a geeky, quirky, laid-back, rocker-loving kinda girl who's married to a retired cop, motorcycle-riding, bad-boy alpha all her own, and she likes to write about sexy police officers, werewolves and rockstars, or some inventive combination of the three!
When she's not busy tapping away on her laptop and living vicariously through her characters, she can usually be found watching Grimm, rocking out to Slash, stuffing her face full of Chinese food, or riding on the back of her husband's Harley-Davidson. Between her book characters and the ones she knows in real life, her plate stays pretty full. But she loves to hear from readers, so give her a shout sometime!

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Monday, April 6, 2020

Book Blitz & Giveaway - KIND OF FAMOUS by Mary Ann Marlowe



Kind of Famous
Mary Ann Marlowe
Publication date: April 7th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Layla Beckett has a secret. For the past ten years, she’s run the most trafficked fan site on the Internet for her favorite band—under an alias, naturally. When she lands a job at the prestigious New York City music magazine The Rock Paper, she’s suddenly thrust into the world she’s only observed from the cheap seats. Now that she’s brushing elbows with sexy guitarists and hot frontmen, she wants to play it cool and keep her superfan status on the down low. Although she’s dying to gush on her forum, posting her insider adventures online could expose her real-life identity and blow her cover.
And that’s all before one of those sexy musicians becomes a fan of her.
From the minute he meets Layla, Shane Morgan’s heart beats a heavy metal rhythm, but his head is full of doubt. Since only the most hardcore fans could pick the drummer out of a lineup, he’s resigned to groupies using him to get closer to the more famous guitarists. But he doesn’t want to be Layla’s passthrough.
As Layla gets to know the real people behind the music, she’s drawn to the less-than-flashy drummer’s sweet charms, fascinating mind, and banging hot body, but she worries about his insecurities. She needs to convince Shane she’s moved beyond fandom before he discovers her online history and loses all faith in her intentions.
But the Internet is forever, and secrets have a way of getting out.
EXCERPT:
The moon shone bright, but Shane’s eyes remained dark as the deepest ocean. He blinked twice and ran his thumb down my cheek to my chin. I confess that I’d had some illicit fantasies about the guys in the band, but I’d never felt the one-two punch to the gut that I got when his hand slid around the back of my neck and he pulled me forward to press his lips against mine.
He drew back, slowly enough that his lips continued to touch mine for a lingering moment, and I opened my eyes before he did. He looked like he’d tasted ice cream for the first time and wanted to savor it. My mind reeled with questions, and I had this crazy thought that I wished he were more famous so I’d have read something about him on the Internet before, so I’d know who he was and what I might be getting myself into.
If he were like Adam, I’d know to grab hold of him and never let go. If he were like Noah, I wouldn’t want to give him the time of day.
But those lips.
A tiny smile lit his face. “Should I apologize again?”
With that, I threw caution to the wind and twisted both hands into his T-shirt. He laughed when I pulled him back into a less hesitant kiss, but his laughter stopped when my tongue brushed his, and he spun us around so he could press me up against the metal door behind us.
It had been a long time since I’d been physical with a man. Way too long.
Shane’s lips teased mine, and I felt like I’d lived in a desert my whole life, never knowing that water existed. Suddenly I’d fallen into a deep pool. It might turn out to be an oasis, or I might drown, and I didn’t care. My fingers traced his cheek, then brushed his neck, and his body responded in shivers. He lifted the edge of my shirt and explored my lower back, creeping up my spine until he reached my bra.
I’d lost track of where we were. Everything was him. His mouth on mine. His hands on me. His skin. His . . . I gasped. He pressed harder into me, and I ground back, need flaring inside me.
He took the first step away. “Layla.” The fact that his voice came out ragged and breathless only made me want to tear his shirt off and spend the next ten hours licking every inch of him while he said my name.


Author Bio:
Some Kind of Magic is Mary Ann Marlowe's first novel. When not writing, she works by day as a computer programmer/DBA. She spent ten years as a university-level French professor, and her resume includes stints as an au pair in Calais, a hotel intern in Paris, a German tutor, a college radio disc jockey, and a webmaster for several online musician fandoms, plus she has a second-degree black belt. She has lived in twelve states and three countries and loves to travel. She now lives in central Virginia where she is hard at work on her second novel. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.maryannmarlowe.com, on Facebook, www.facebook.com/marlowemaryann/, and at twitter.com/maryannmarlowe.

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