E-Reading After Midnight

Bourbon.
American Whiskey.

When the Barrel House heiress, Melody Quinn, comes face-to-face with single-dad, Brett Pearson, she finds the ex-Marine strikingly attractive, yet all too familiar for her liking, and she can’t figure out why.

Wherever Melody goes, Brett is there, and after each encounter, she starts to remember where she knows him from. The problem is, she can’t get rid of him because he’s now working in The Barrel House, the one place that is supposed to be hers and hers alone.

Brett loves the art of making bourbon, and nothing pleases him more than watching a customer take their first sip. When he goes to work at The Barrel House, he should be pleased, except he’s forced to work with Melody, who doesn’t know neat from on the rocks, and doesn’t understand why there’s corn everywhere.

Bourbon is spilled, drinks are shared, and passion is reignited between these star-crossed lovers.

Goodreads

Excerpt

How can Dad be thinking about so much when he doesn’t know if there will be a tomorrow? I can’t believe he already hired someone to run the business. I can’t pretend like I ever had intentions of taking over the shop, even knowing Dad wouldn’t be able to run it forever, but the thought hadn’t crossed my mind because Dad is supposed to live well past his retirement age. Nothing has gone as I have planned since I graduated college, and while I have traveled along with the bumps in the road, everything feels like it’s crashing down on me now.

Maybe I have no business being in The Barrel House, pretending like I know everything there is to know about running a bourbon distillery.

“Melody!” It’s Brett. He’s calling after me. Doesn’t he know when a woman runs out a door, it’s probably best not to follow her?

I turn back toward the firehouse, watching him walk toward me. My instinct forces me to take a step back, which causes me to trip off the curb. I catch myself on a car, thankfully, but the car’s alarm beeps at me just to add an extra dose of humiliation to this moment.

My heart is in my throat, or maybe it’s my stomach. My head is spinning and ... why did he have to come after me?

“I need to get back home. I should be with my dad,” I tell him, looking both ways to make sure I don’t get creamed by a car on top of it all. The coast is clear and I cross the street, finding my way to Mom’s car.

“Wait up for a second,” Brett continues, following me across the street. He places his hand on the door, preventing me from opening it and jumping inside. “Your dad wanted a bottle,” he says, handing me the bottle of Red Apple that Dad did, in fact, request.

“How did you—”

“He called to warn me that you were on your way down, flustered, upset, trying to be a hero, and you’d most likely forget that he requested a bottle of Red Apple.” Brett laughs sweetly, smiling benevolently. “I’m not trying to take over your family business, despite what you might be thinking. My dad has been a barrel supplier for your dad since before either of us were born. I was just asked to come help you guys out.”

“I know.” In truth, I don’t understand much of anything now. I’ve been going a mile a minute since I got that letter yesterday. I’ve been awake since five this morning, and I’m exhausted. “Thank you for coming to help,” I offer sincerely, wishing he would move his hand from my door.

“I’m sorry for what you’re going through. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.” The look in Brett’s eyes triggers more pain in my stomach. I’m losing my dad.

“I don’t know what else to do right now other than help him, and being in his shop feels like the only way I can help,” I explain.

The backs of my eyes burn. I’m supposed to be the strong one, but I’m falling apart. I stare up to the sky, waning away the threatening tears. Keep it together, Melody. My body doesn’t respond to my command. Tears trickle, one by one and I gasp for air as my lungs feel like they are deflating. I place my hands over my face, embarrassed to be crying in front of Brett Pearson of all people, but the pain has been building, and though I let a few tears escape this morning at the airport, it clearly wasn’t enough. “I’m sorry,” I mutter.

Arms envelop me and my head falls against his firm chest. His embrace is tight and though I don’t know the adult version of Brett well enough to feel comfort from a hug, the squeeze is alleviating some of the pressure in my chest.

The rate of my breaths slow and I’m able to stop the tears from falling. Brett must notice that I’ve calmed down because his arms release from around me and he takes a step back. I don’t know what else to say or do aside from searching his worry-filled eyes as if I’d find the answer there.

He presses the pad of his thumb beneath my eye and sweeps away a remaining tear. “Take some time to process it all,” Brett says, sounding wise beyond his years. “I don’t know how long you’ve known about your Dad becoming sick again, but I doubt there’s any length of time that’s long enough to accept or adjust to that kind of news.”

“I’m going to—” I point to the car.

Brett backs away, slipping his hands into his back pockets. I close myself into the car, rest my head back, and close my eyes for a minute before starting the engine.

A knock on the window startles my eyes to reopen. Brett is standing outside of the car holding up the bottle of Red Apple. I roll the window down and retrieve the bottle. “Thank you,” I tell him. “For everything.”

Giveaway

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About the Author

International Bestselling Author, Shari J. Ryan is a writer of Women's Fiction, Contemporary Romance, and Romantic Comedy. Throughout the last seven years of her writing journey, Shari has written more than twenty emotionally charged novels ranging from Rockstar Romances and Medical Romances to Historical Fiction.

Shari is happily married to her own superhero--a former Marine who has inspired many of her stories. Together, they have two beautiful little boys.

Shari's active imagination allows her to create characters with depth and raw emotion as they journey their ways to a happily ever after.

Connect with Shari

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Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Regretting You ~ Colleen Hoover ~ Blog Tour

From #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Ends with Us comes a poignant novel about family, first love, grief, and betrayal that will touch the hearts of both mothers and daughters.

Regretting You, an all-new beautiful and touching novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, is available now!

Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.

Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.

With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.

While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/RegrettingYou

Amazon Audible: https://amzn.to/324A4by

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Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/31WHWeU

Excerpt

“What’s your favorite movie?” “Of all time?” he asks. “Pick one from the past ten years.” “I can’t,” he says. “There are so many great ones, and I love them all for different reasons. I love the technical aspect of Birdman. I love the performances in Call Me by Your Name. Fantastic Mr. Fox is my favorite cartoon because Wes Anderson is a goddamn genius.” He glances at me. “What about you?” “I don’t think Fantastic Mr. Fox counts. It seems older than ten years.” I lean my head back and stare up at the ceiling. It’s a tough question. “I’m like you. I don’t know that I have a favorite movie. I tend to judge more on the talent than the story line. I think Emma Stone is probably my favorite actress. And Adam Driver is the best actor of our time, but I don’t think he’s landed the role of his lifetime yet. He was great in BlacKkKlansman, but I’m not crazy about some of the other movies he’s been in.” “But did you see the Kylo Ren skit?” “Yes!” I say, sitting up. “On SNL? Oh my God, it was so funny.” I’m smiling, but I hate that I’m smiling. It feels weird to smile when I’m so full of sadness, but this is how Miller makes me feel every time I’m around him. He’s the only thing that seems to be able to take my mind off everything, yet he’s the one person I can’t really hang out with. Thanks for that, Shelby. It sucks. I don’t like thinking about it, even though we’re together right now. But tomorrow at school, things will go back to how they always are. Miller will keep his distance. He’ll respect his relationship with Shelby, which will only serve to make me respect him even more. And I’ll just continue to be in a depressing funk. “I should go,” I say. Miller hesitates before moving. “Yeah, I think my break was over ten minutes ago.” We both stand up, but I can’t get out of the aisle because he’s blocking my way, facing me, not making an effort to walk away. He’s just staring down at me as if he wants to say something else. Or do something else. “I’m really sorry about what happened,” he says. At first, I’m not sure what he’s talking about, but then it hits me. I press my lips together and nod, but I don’t say anything because it’s the last thing I want to talk or think about. “I should have said that the other day. At the funeral.” “It’s fine,” I say. “I’m fine. Or at least I’ll be fine. Eventually.” I sigh. “Hopefully.” He’s staring at me like he wants to pull me in for a hug, and I really wish he would. But instead, he turns and walks out of the aisle, toward the exit. I stop at the restroom on our way out. He grabs a trash can and starts to pull it toward the theater we just came out of. “See you tomorrow, Clara.” I don’t tell him goodbye. I walk into the restroom and don’t even bother pretending things will be the same at school tomorrow as they were tonight. He’ll avoid me while being all faithful and shit, and whatever. That’s okay. I need to stop interacting with him anyway, because as good as it feels when I’m around him, it’s starting to hurt when I’m not. And I don’t need another painful thing added to my already existing pile of excruciating feelings.

About Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times and International bestselling author of thirteen novels and multiple novellas. She lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. She is the founder of The Bookworm Box, a non-profit book subscription service and bookstore in Sulphur Springs, Texas.

Connect with Colleen

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Join her reader group: http://bit.ly/2OZM7mo

https://www.colleenhoover.com

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Regretting you ~ Colleen Hoover ~ New Release

“This is Hoover at her very best.” —Publishers Weekly

Regretting You, an all-new poignant and moving novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, is available now!

Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/RegrettingYou

Amazon Audible: https://amzn.to/324A4by

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2MogTTo

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/31WHWeU

About Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times and International bestselling author of thirteen novels and multiple novellas. She lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. She is the founder of The Bookworm Box, a non-profit book subscription service and bookstore in Sulphur Springs, Texas.

Connect with Colleen

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2FZ7GAI

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2L1LuoI

BookBub: http://bit.ly/2PlDNfG

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2PlDTE4

Twitter: http://bit.ly/38cMjGt

SnapChat: http://bit.ly/36amqoK

Join her reader group: http://bit.ly/2OZM7mo

https://www.colleenhoover.com

Monday, December 9, 2019

Review Round Up ~ December 9

New Releases

Mistletoe Over Manhattan by Jeannine Colette

3.5 Stars - Worth a Reader's Time

Review Copy Provided by Author

This was an enjoyable anthology filled with short stories. My favorites were the entries from Stephanie Rose and Kat T Masen. Please keep reading for my reviews.

Strangers in the city- ja low
3.5 stars
This was a fun insta lust/love read with a bit of vengeful ex thrown in. I liked Callie and Rhys and would enjoy seeing a more fleshed out version of the story.

Santa’s Slayings - Andrea Bills
3 stars
This was interesting, but I didn’t really get the romance between the main characters. I think this is one that needs the full book treatment to explore the complexities of the plot.

Rockefeller Romance - Jeannine Cole
3.5 stars
I have to admit to wanting to shake the heroine of this one a bit for being oblivious, but it all worked out in the end. This is another read that I would like to see fleshed out a bit more.

Pining - Stephanie Rose
4 stars
Of the pieces I’ve read so far, this feels the most complete to me. Some of that may come from being a huge Stephanie Rose fan and knowing Victoria’s back story. I liked her and Anthony as characters and enjoyed getting to see her interact with parents and siblings.

A very merry ex-Mas by Kat T Masen
4 stars
This is a super quick read. I loved the idea of a group of friends finding their way back together and a romance blossoming from the reconciliation.

Believe and it will happen
3 stars
Cute, insta love/fate story, but also a bit trite in the story telling. Everything felt stiff to me, but i did enjoy it.

The gift of Forgiveness- CD Bradley
3 stars
Good, but characters and plot needed to be more fleshed out.

Santa, is it you? M C Decker
3.5 stars
Cute story about how the right person can come from the most unexpected places. I would love to see the full length version of this one.

Amazon

Instacrush by Kate Meader

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

Review Copy Provided by Author

Ms Meader continues her excellent hockey franchise with Instacrush, the second book in the Rookie Rebel series. Theo and Elle, our main characters, played supporting roles in the first book of the series, but we get to know them much better in this stand alone novel.

Both Theo and Elle are characters that have a lot more going on than you notice at first glance. It was a pleasure to get to know them better and see them go through the emotional growth necessary to have a chance at happy ever after.

As expected from Ms Meader, this is a well written book with a strong cast of supporting characters. There is significant overlap with the original Rebels series, but this is handled in such a way that it would be easy for a new reader to join the series. Readers who have been following the series will appreciate getting to catch up with previous favorites.

I enjoyed getting to know Theo and Elle better in Instacrush. They had a good mix of sweet, funny, and touching moments both individually and as a couple. I am hoping we get to see more of them in the future!