Thursday, February 25, 2021

My Saving Grace ~ Melanie Moreland ~ New Release & Review

Title: My Saving Grace
Series: Vested Interest - ABC Corp Series
Author: Melanie Moreland
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: February 25, 2021


Grace VanRyan has her life mapped out.

Law school, a career with ABC, and a bright future ahead of her.

Until Jaxson Richards steps into the picture. He’s everything she hasn't planned for.

Older, sexy, off-limits.

And her new boss.

When the passion between them explodes, will her life blow up along with it?









"What is your problem?" I repeated my earlier question.

He didn't waste any time getting to the point. "Did you want to go for a drink with him, Grace?"

"No!"

"He was standing awfully close."

"And I was trying to step back when you showed up. In fact, I would have told him off before you rushed into save the day."

"He kept looking at you during the meeting."

I hadn't noticed. All my attention was on Jaxson. "He can look all he wants. I'm not interested."

He drummed his long fingers on the desk. I tried not to stare at them.

"It's your outfit," he announced.

"What the hell is wrong with my outfit?"

"It's too damn sexy."

I gaped at him. "It's pants. I'm wearing pants, for god sake."

"Your blouse. It's indecent."

I glanced down. Nothing was showing, my collarbone barely visible. The neckline was modest, the sleeves long, and I was wearing a shawl.

"You are being ridiculous. The lawyer, that Sabrina woman who came in here this morning, was showing more skin than I am."

"Do not compare yourself to her."

An irrational flash of jealousy hit me. "I'm out her league is what you're saying?"

He glared. "Don't push it."

I threw up my hands. "I give up. Why don't you write me a list of what I can wear, who I can talk to, and what I should think, Jaxson?"

"Don't be stupid."

"Stupid? This from the man who thinks wearing pants is overtly sexy."

"They are," he insisted.

"Don't be an ass," I hissed before I could stop myself. "You're acting like an idiot."

"You're pushing my buttons."

"Your buttons? You're the one with the over the top reaction here. You're being a jackass—again."

"Fond of that word, are you?"

"It suits you."

"Shrew," he replied.

"What did you call me?"

"You heard me. You're a shrew. I was trying to help you earlier."

I was done with this insanity. The man was clearly deranged.

I stood. "For the record, he came over to me. I said no—twice. If you hadn't shown up, I would have walked away or if I had to, pushed him away. I can take care of myself, Jaxson. My father taught me how to throw a punch if required, so I don't need you to rescue me and I don't appreciate your over reactions. My outfit is perfectly acceptable, and you are, in fact, a jackass."

"Is that so?"

"Yes." I drew in a deep breath. "In fact, if this is your way of talking, you can stuff it, Mr. Richards."

I turned and headed to the door.

The next thing I knew, Jaxson was behind me, spinning me around and crowding me against the wall, his body hot and unyielding.

"Jesus," he spat. "Gracie, you drive me crazy."

"What?" I asked confused.

"I keep fucking this up." He hung his head. "You get close and I lose all common sense. I do things I would never do—say things I shouldn't."

I stayed silent letting him ramble. I liked the way it felt with him pressed up against me. I could feel his strength and his anger. Both were addictive somehow and I wasn't afraid of either. The irritation I had been feeling started to be replaced with a different sort of buzz. One of longing.

"Jesus," he uttered. "I keep doing this. Last week spending time with you outside the office. Yesterday—kissing you in the car. Holding your hand. As your boss, I shouldn't do any of that. Or pass judgment on your life. I didn't intend that to happen. And today." He groaned. "Seeing him beside you, chatting you up. I wanted to punch him in the face. What is it about you that messes up my head?"

I frowned. "I don't understand."

His intense blue eyes met mine. "I didn't mean to start an argument, Grace—yesterday or today. You're right, there is nothing wrong with your outfit. You're beautiful. And yesterday my words were born of hating to think of you living in fear—of anything. I wanted to help. But I know it didn't come across that way."

His confession disarmed me.

"I apologize for both—my rudeness and my inappropriateness in the car yesterday."

We were so close, I could feel every solid inch of him. His scent filled my head—citrusy, musky—heady. He was tense, his muscles bunching, his jaw working as our eyes locked and held.

"I liked the car," I whispered, the words torn from me before I could stop them.

He rested his forehead to mine with a low groan. "Don't tell me that, Gracie."

His breath washed over me. Mint and coffee. I could taste it. Taste him. I wanted to taste more.

"I liked the way you told him off today. You made me feel protected."

"Fuck," he mumbled, his eyes locked on my mouth.

"I like how you feel this close to me."

He groaned again, the sound low and desperate.

Exactly the way I was feeling.

"Jaxson," I murmured.

"What are you doing to me?" he replied, sliding his hand along my shoulder and up my neck, cupping my cheek. "You make me want things I can't have."

"Like what?"

"Like feeling your lips underneath mine. Tasting your mouth. Knowing if the heat of it is as addictive as I think it would be."

"Find out then."

He crashed his lips to mine.

And I was lost.





New York Times/USA Today bestselling author Melanie Moreland, lives a happy and content life in a quiet area of Ontario with her beloved husband of twenty-seven-plus years and their rescue cat, Amber. Nothing means more to her than her friends and family, and she cherishes every moment spent with them.

While seriously addicted to coffee, and highly challenged with all things computer-related and technical, she relishes baking, cooking, and trying new recipes for people to sample. She loves to throw dinner parties, and also enjoys traveling, here and abroad, but finds coming home is always the best part of any trip.

Melanie loves stories, especially paired with a good wine, and enjoys skydiving (free falling over a fleck of dust) extreme snowboarding (falling down stairs) and piloting her own helicopter (tripping over her own feet.) She's learned happily ever afters, even bumpy ones, are all in how you tell the story.

Melanie is represented by Flavia Viotti at Bookcase Literary Agency. For any questions regarding subsidiary or translation rights please contact her at  flavia@bookcaseagency.com



HOSTED BY:

Elizabeth's Review

My rating: 4 of 5 stars - Would Recommend to a Friend


Review Copy Provided by Author


Did you love Richard and Katy in The Contract? What about the boys of BAM? Well, in My Saving Grace Ms Moreland introduces us to the next generation from these two great series starting with Grace Van Ryan (oldest child of Richard and Katy).

Grace is a promising law intern who finds herself with a mutual atraction to her supervisior, Jaxson. For those of who have read The Contract the situation between Grace and Jaxson has echos of Richard and Katy, but this is definitely a different, unique story.

The first half of My Saving Grace is told almost competly from Grace's point of view. I enjoyed getting to meet the characters through her. I rooted for her and I worried about her. The relationship between Grace and Jaxon at this point was fraught with peril and Ms Moreland did an excellent job of keeping us guessing about where things were going, especially as Jaxson definitely had "lion with a thorn in his paw moments."

In the second half of the book, we get to see things from both Grace and Jaxson's point of view. I continued to like and root for Grace, but discovered that I also really liked Jaxson too. Learning more about his background explained so much about him that I found myself hoping these two could find a way to talk and move out of their own way.

The seconday cast here is slightly large as you have the Van Ryan and BAM families intermingling, but the key players that a reader needs to keep track of are realatively few. While technically a stand alone read and the beginning of a new series, I would recommend that readers read at least some of the previous series books first as there are references to the older stories.

View all my reviews

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Southern Sinner ~ Jessica Peterson ~ Cover Reveal

Jessica Peterson has revealed the cover for Southern Sinner!

Releasing: April 22, 2021

Cover Design: Najla Qamber

Photography: Wong Sim

Model: Charley Santos

 

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Until I brought my fake girlfriend home.

When I took a seat next to the gorgeous brunette at the blackjack table, I had no idea it would be the start of the hottest weekend of my life. By day, Stevie and I dominate the casinos of Sin City.

By night, I dominate her in my penthouse suite.

Then my brother Samuel ruins it by asking me to come home for his engagement party.

Because he’s not just getting married. This isn’t a normal celebration for me. His future bride is my ‘one who got away.’ The girl I may or may not still be in love with.

The catch? He wants me to prove I’m over his fiancée before they set a date. So I ask Stevie to double down on our chemistry and pretend to be my girlfriend.

We set our ground rules: lots of sex, plenty of pretend smiles, and no strings.

But we’re not only gambling with the truth. We’re gambling with our hearts.

They say every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. But Stevie’s past may force us to fold on our future before it’s even begun.

SOUTHERN SINNER is a full-length, standalone novel in the North Carolina Highlands Series. Coming April 22 to KindleUnlimited!



Pre-order your copy today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3bNr5Dl

Amazon Worldwide: mybook.to/SouthernSinnerJP

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3oI6eVk

Meet Jessica


Jessica Peterson writes smokin' hot romance set in her favorite cities around the world. She grew up on a steady diet of Mr. Darcy, Edward Cullen, and Jamie Frasier, and it wasn't long before she started writing swoon-worthy heroes of her own. She loves strong coffee, stronger heroines, and heroes with hot accents.


She lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband Ben and her smelly Goldendoodle, Martha Bean. Her most recent release, SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN, is a steamy accidental pregnancy romance. She's hard at work on SOUTHERN HEARTBREAKER, coming in fall 2019. Check out all her books at www.jessicapeterson.com!

Connect with Jessica

Website: https://www.jessicapeterson.com/

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/JessicaPetersonGR

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2KoS0sb

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessicapetersonauthor/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PetersonsPupils/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicapauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaPAuthor

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jessica-peterson

Book+Main: https://bit.ly/3g0UtVJ

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Bet the Farm ~ Staci Hart ~ New Release & Review

Bet the Farm is LIVE and available from your favorite online book retailer! This heartfelt, flirty story of opposites attract from Staci Hart is just what you need. Happy reading! 💕

Amazon | AppleBooks | Kobo | B&N | Goodreads

Olivia Brent has one summer to save the dairy farm she just inherited.

But there’s one problem, and it’s not her lactose intolerance.

Jake Milovic.

The brooding farmhand has inherited exactly fifty percent of Brent Farm, and he’s so convinced the city girl can’t work the land, he bets she can’t save it in a summer. 

Determined to prove him wrong, Olivia accepts what might be the dumbest wager of her life.

His strategy to win seems simple: follow her around, shirtlessly distracting her between bouts of relentless taunting. And it’s effective—if his dark eyes and rare smiles aren’t enough to sidetrack her, the sweaty, rolling topography of the manbeast’s body would do the trick.

What they don’t know: they’ll have to weather more than each other. 

Mysterious circumstances throw the farm into disarray, and with the dairy farm in danger, Olivia and Jake have to work together. But when they do, there’s more to fear than either of them imagined.

Because now their hearts are on the line, and the farm won’t be the only casualty if they fail.

Staci has been a lot of things up to this point in her life -- a graphic designer, an entrepreneur, a seamstress, a clothing and handbag designer, a waitress. Can't forget that. She's also been a mom, with three little girls who are sure to grow up to break a number of hearts. She's been a wife, though she's certainly not the cleanest, or the best cook. She's also super, duper fun at a party, especially if she's been drinking whiskey. When she's not writing, she's reading, sleeping, gaming, or designing graphics.

Amazon | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Website | Newsletter


Elizabeth's Review

My rating: 4 of 5 stars - Would Recommend to a Friend


Review Copy Provided by Author


If you are looking for a feel good, against all odds read them Bet the Farm is it!

Olivia and Jake are fantastic characters and the situation they find themselves in leads to several humorous moments along with episodes of head butting. All of the bickering and fighting also hid a strong current of sexual/romantic tension.

Add in an element of intrigue and you have a well written book that I didn’t want to put down. As fun as this book is, there are also several important themes too. We see Jake struggle with change, both characters struggle with trust, and understanding what home really means.

Overall, this is an entertaining read that hit the feel good buttons for me. The secondary cast was small, but played key roles too. I am hoping this book launches at least one more.... I want to know what may happen to those secondary characters.

View all my reviews

The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros ~ New Release & Review

  THE THINGS WE LEAVE UNFINISHED by Rebecca Yarros 
Release Date: February 23rd   
    
  AVAILABLE NOW!! 

    
  Blurb: Told in alternating timelines, THE THINGS WE LEAVE UNFINISHED examines the risks we take for love, the scars too deep to heal, and the endings we can’t bring ourselves to see coming. Twenty-eight-year-old Georgia Stanton has to start over after she gave up almost everything in a brutal divorce—the New York house, the friends, and her pride. Now back home at her late great-grandmother’s estate in Colorado, she finds herself face-to-face with Noah Harrison, the bestselling author of a million books where the cover is always people nearly kissing. He’s just as arrogant in person as in interviews, and she’ll be damned if the good-looking writer of love stories thinks he’s the one to finish her grandmother’s final novel…even if the publisher swears he’s the perfect fit. Noah is at the pinnacle of his career. With book and movie deals galore, there isn’t much the “golden boy” of modern fiction hasn’t accomplished. But he can’t walk away from what might be the best book of the century—the one his idol, Scarlett Stanton, left unfinished. Coming up with a fitting ending for the legendary author is one thing, but dealing with her beautiful, stubborn, cynical great-granddaughter, Georgia, is quite another. But as they read Scarlett’s words in both the manuscript and her box of letters, they start to realize why Scarlett never finished the book—it’s based on her real-life romance with a World War II pilot, and the ending isn’t a happy one. Georgia knows all too well that love never works out, and while the chemistry and connection between her and Noah is undeniable, she’s as determined as ever to learn from her great-grandmother’s mistakes—even if it means destroying Noah’s career.     
  About the Author: Rebecca Yarros is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of over fifteen novels, including Great and Precious Things and The Last Letter. “A gifted storyteller” (Kirkus), she is also the recipient of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence for Eyes Turned Skyward from her Flight and Glory series. Rebecca loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for almost twenty years. She’s the mother of six children, ranging from kindergarten to law school, and is currently surviving the teenage years with three of her four hockey-playing sons. When she’s not writing, you can find her at the hockey rink or sneaking in some guitar time while guzzling coffee. She and her family live in Colorado with their stubborn English bulldogs, two feisty chinchillas, and a Maine Coon kitten named Artemis, who rules them all. Having fostered then adopted their youngest daughter who is nonverbal and on the autism spectrum, Rebecca is passionate about helping children in the foster system through her nonprofit, One October, which she co-founded with her husband in 2019. To learn more about their mission to better the lives of kids in foster care, visit www.oneoctober.org. To catch up on Rebecca’s latest releases and upcoming novels, including The Things We Leave Unfinished, which just received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, visit www.RebeccaYarros.com. 
     
  Connect w/Rebecca: Website: http://www.rebeccayarros.com 
Amazon: https://amzn.to/39ZKtZ6

Elizabeth's Review

My rating: 5 of 5 stars - One of the Absolute Best


Review Copy Provided by Publisher 


Things you need to have handy before reading Things We Leave Unfinished:
1) a comfy chair
2) beverage of choice
3) snack
Why do you need all these.... because once you get started reading this heart strings tugging book, you won’t want to put it down until the very end!

Ms Yarros took two stories that would have been interesting on their own and wove them together to create a phenomenal read that spans generations. We see Scarlett and Jameson fall in love during the tension fraught days of WWII and we also see the healing and love story of their great granddaughter, Georgia.

Told via letters and switching between past and present, the feelings of both featured couples radiate off the page. You are with Scarlett when Jameson deploys and she anxiously awaits his return. You are standing beside Georgia when the person who should support her most breaks her heart - again. There are also surprises tucked in this story!

I am not going to say more, because it’s a book that really needs to be experienced by each person for themselves. The one thing I will say - read Things We Leave Unfinished when you have time to spend with it - it will be worth it!

View all my reviews

Return to Us by Corinne Michaels ~ New Release & Review

 

Return to Us by Corinne Michaels is now live!

 

From New York Times Bestselling author Corinne Michaels comes a new second chance standalone love story.

At eighteen, I walked away from Willow Creek Valley for good.

I was young, scared, and stupid, and it cost me the love of my life—Grayson Parkerson.

Fourteen years later, a crash sends me back home to recover.

Back to where we met, fell in love, and planned a future.

The one he’s now living as a single dad to his daughter.

Working at The Park Inn together gives us a chance to reconnect, and seeing him with his little girl makes me long for the days when he was mine. One look in his gorgeous blue-green eyes, and it’s like I never left. One kiss, and my world is upside down. One night together, and I know without a doubt, in his arms is where I belong.

I’m not the girl I was—intimidated by his wealthy family and desperate to escape our small town. I can imagine a new life for us here.

But he’s learned to guard his heart, and trust won’t come easily.

How can I convince him to give first love a second chance?

 

Download today on Amazon, Apple Books, Audible, Google Play, Kobo, Barnes & Noble!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3uaYe2q

Apple Books: http://apple.co/2ZwV5ff

Nook: https://bit.ly/3jNQZHb

Kobo: http://bit.ly/3ds1OiS

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2NCgYHd

Audible: https://amzn.to/3pCzdJL

Narrated by Andi Arndt & Sebastian York

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2M4jkyj

Elizabeth's Review

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Review Copy Provided by Author


Ms Michaels is one of the best at creating wonderful worlds surrounding small towns and siblings. We’ve had the Henningtons, the Arrowwoods, and now we meet the Parkersons.

This series starts with Grayson as he reconnects with Jessica when she returns to their small town after 14 years and a plane crash. (Yes, that plane crash if you are caught up in the Arrowwood brother books).

I enjoyed watching Grayson and Jessica reconnect. She has physical healing to do and these two have history and plenty of baggage to unpack. One of the pieces of this story I appreciated most was that Ms Michaels didn’t make Jessica and Grayson rehash the past repeatedly. She let them address it and move on so that story related conflicts while influenced by the past were current issues.

As the first book in a new series, Return to Us also had the challenge of creating the world that the Parkerson siblings will inhabit as their stories unfold. This was gone well, the sibling interactions were organic to the story so the reader is able to meet everyone while still being focused on the main story. I am looking forward to seeing where the next installment will take us.

Meet Corinne

Corinne Michaels is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of romance novels. Her stories are chock full of emotion, humor, and unrelenting love, and she enjoys putting her characters through intense heartbreak before finding a way to heal them through their struggles.

Corinne is a former Navy wife and happily married to the man of her dreams. She began her writing career after spending months away from her husband while he was deployed--reading and writing were her escapes from the loneliness. Corinne now lives in Virginia with her husband and is the emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun-loving mom of two beautiful children.

Connect with Corinne

Website: http://corinnemichaels.com

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2N1H2Gb

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1NVZmhv

Facebook: https://bit.ly/1iwLh6y

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/corinnemichaelsbooks/

Instagram: https://bit.ly/2L1Vzo6

Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jcp29z

Bookbub: https://bit.ly/2yc6rss

Pinterest: https://bit.ly/2m7MkEL

Book+Main: https://bit.ly/2EibEEn

CMBOOKS TO 77948