Sunday, May 14, 2017

Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop!


http://bookhounds.net

I've been loving all the spring flowers this year! We got an extraordinary amount of rainfall this winter in Southern California so we're experiencing a "superbloom" and it's amazing! 

What are your favorite flowers? I love so many, but here are my top picks...

For appearance- Hydrangeas

http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/mopheads.html

For scent- Freesias and Sweet Peas
 
http://www.floretflowers.com/shop/sweet-pea-maloy/

  For sentimentality- Johnny-jump-ups

https://auntiedogmasgardenspot.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/how-to-grow-johnny-jump-up-flowers-plant-care-guide/

I'll be giving away a print copy of Flirtation Walk by Siri Mitchell for the Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop! Enter in the Giveaway Tools widget below.


http://www.amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.comhttp://www.barnesandnoble.comhttp://www.bookdepository.comhttp://www.goodreads.com

Synopsis

West Point History Comes Alive in this Warmhearted Romance

Trying to escape the shambles her con-man father has made of their reputation, Lucinda Curtis arrives in West Point, New York, determined to land a husband from the military academy. Campbell Conklin is first in his class and preparing to embark upon a storied career in the U.S. Army. Lucinda thinks Campbell will make the perfect husband . . . as long as he does not find out about her father.

Seth Westcott also has taken a liking to Lucinda. He's kind, smart . . . and working extremely hard to graduate last. Tradition states that the worst cadets are assigned to the cavalry out west. And west is where Seth must head to track the swindler who stole all of Seth's mother's money. Seth is smart enough to vie for the top spot, but life isn't fair and this is his chance to catch the man who ruined his family. It's too bad Campbell is all shine and no substance, but Lucinda will surely see through all of that, won't she?




Friday, May 12, 2017

Book Tour Grand Finale: The Fireman's Son by Tara Taylor Quinn

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Book Tour Grand Finale for
THE FIREMAN'S SON
By Tara Taylor Quinn

We hope you enjoyed the tour and getting a look at this author's 80th release with Harlequin! If you missed any of the stops, go check them out...

Launch - Note from the Author

The Fireman’s Son is a story particularly close to my heart. I can tell you from firsthand knowledge that women suffer as Faye did more often than you’d ever expect. I can also say, unequivocally, that with love, kindness, and the right man, women like Faye do find pure joy again. Abuse is horrible. But that doesn’t mean the other side of abuse has to be. The world is filled with survivors. Women who know and value their strengths. Who reach out to other women who’ve been where they’ve been and are struggling to get where they are. Women who care.

Please, come on in to The Lemonade Stand. Join us. As a collective group, we’re going to make the world a beautiful, safe place. One heart at a time.


CHAPTER ONE, Part 1

REESE BRISTOW WOULD not normally race to the scene of a small fire on the beach in the middle of the night. He was the newly appointed Santa Raquel Fire Chief. One truck of junior firefighters could handle the call half asleep.

Still, there he was, in jeans and a T-shirt, racing up the beach behind men in full gear carrying hoses he hoped they wouldn’t need to use.

deal sharing aunt - Guest Post

In The Fireman’s Son, one particular part came from a very particular place. Faye Walker is a paramedic. I’ve never been a paramedic. I couldn’t just become one. So I married one. Ha, ha, not really. I mean, I really did marry one, but not to write Faye’s story.


"Emotionally raw and gut wrenching! You feel sorry for the child for what he’s been through, and as secrets and questions unravel, you find yourself feeling so sad that such little things caused such a monumental life change for all of them. Really connectible characters who we hope can find the peace they all need."

Brooke Blogs - Guest Post

Love is the most powerful force. I’ve always known this. I believe it still. Love will be the final victor – no matter what. It’s the best part of us. The deepest and strongest part of us. If we could all just let love work its magic, trust that which we can’t see, and be able to mute the world’s interferences and cerebral messages, mute the greed and jealousy and insecurities, love would deliver us to the happiness we all crave.


"This story was far by more the most intriguing story I have read, it deals with so much of what is going on in our society then normaly does in a book.Reese Bristow is in a conundrum now, the woman who broke his heart in college is now back and is his new EMT. There are more surprises in the book that, leave you speculating how this will unfold..."

Nicole's Book Musings - Guest Post

Faye and Reese have to stay in shape to do their jobs. They have to pass physical fitness tests. And when they’re at the station, on call, they can’t get what they need by skating around the trucks. With them, I had to go back to the treadmill, the weights – the dreaded gym. It’s at the firehouse. So…I did what I had to do…I mentioned that they went there – and I left them at the door – skating off and coming back to get them when we were both done. That’s why you won’t find any scenes in this book written inside that gym. I apologize ahead of time…


CHAPTER ONE, Part 2

“I thought you’d at least call,” she was saying. Making no sense at all. “I wouldn’t take the job until Brandt assured me that you’d seen my file and approved the employment...”

Last he’d heard, Faye Browning had been in her second year of a four-year nursing program at UC Berkeley.

He’d been at Southern Cal in LA.

“You did know, didn’t you?” Her voice trailed off.

His horror must have been showing.

Celticlady's Reviews - Guest Post

We just passed tax time and my preparer once told me, everything in my life is deductible because it all goes into my books. She reads my books. And while I don’t deduct even close to ‘everything’, her statement stuck with me because she’s right. My life goes into my books.

Becky on Books - Review

"All three of the main characters here–Faye, Reese, and Elliott, Faye’s eight-year-old son–have been through so much before the story even begins. Watching them deal with the implications of the past, not to mention the new tension and drama that their present brings them, makes for a truly engrossing read. I literally couldn’t put this one down until I’d seen them get to their HEA!"


Book Excerpt - CHAPTER ONE, Part 3

SO...THAT WENT WELL. Faye’s sarcasm rang loud and clear in her mind as she trekked across the beach with her brand-new coworkers.

She was on a mission. Had a very clear plan. She’d considered every step in-depth prior to implementation. She’d allowed for every eventuality. Taken measures to ensure that nothing went wrong.

Kindle and Me - Review

"This story just breaks my heart! And I wanted a happily ever after for all of them! If you like real stories of families with abuse issues and children of those abused, shelters, fires, firemen, great counselors, second chances then this might be for you!"

Book Lover in Florida - Guest Post

In The Fireman’s Son, in a particularly difficult scene, Reese can’t take Faye inside. He has to head out to his own little paradise in his backyard. His piece of nature includes the beach and the ocean, but the physical effects to him are the same. It could be that as the author of the book, I took him out there because it was where I’d need to be. One could be a practical thinker and insist that that was the case. One might even be right. I don’t believe it, though. I think that nature is a natural healer, purposely there for all of us to draw upon.

Harlie's Books - Review

"Overall, Ms. Quinn tackles a hard subject and hits it head on. She doesn’t sugarcoat it with her characters but let’s her characters speak for themselves. This series is fast becoming one of my all time favorites. Her stories in this series just keep getting better and better. I can’t wait to see in future books how Elliot is doing and how the Lemonade Stand is and the characters that surround it. Bravo, Ms. Quinn. You did it again."

Don't forget to enter the giveaways below, if you haven't already...


Her Secret Life
(Where Secrets Are Safe #11)

by Tara Taylor Quinn
Adult Contemporary Romance
Mass Market Paperback & ebook, 384 pages
May 1st 2017 by Harlequin Superromance

Secrets are burning out of control

After she broke his heart in college, Faye Walker is the last person fire chief Reese Bristow ever expected to see again, especially as his new EMT. But that's not Reese's only surprise. Faye has an eight-year-old son, Elliott, whose counseling at The Lemonade Stand shelter is her first priority.

It's nearly impossible to accept that she had a child with another man—and married that man—right after their breakup. Trusting Faye won't be easy. Especially when she reveals a secret about the boy that might tear them apart for good.


Other Books in the Where Secrets Are Safe Series
(Books released as of March 2017. Each can be read as a standalone.)

  
  
   

About the Author


The author of more than 70 original novels, in twenty languages, Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA Today bestseller with over six million copies sold. A 2015 RITA finalist Tara appears frequently on bestseller lists, including #1 placement on Amazon lists, and multiple showings on the Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller list. She has appeared on national and local TV across the country, including CBS Sunday Morning.

Tara is a supporter of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. If you or someone you know might be a victim of domestic violence in the United States, please contact 1-800-799-7233.

Domestic Violence Shelter Drive


As Tara supports speaking out against domestic violence and supporting those who have been abused, both through her books and in her community, she would love for you to join her in donating items to a shelter in your area. Find out more here.

Tour Giveaways

1ST RAFFLECOPTER:
1 winner will receive ebooks of Where Secrets are Safe series books 1 - 13 (open internationally)
1 winner (per the four tour segments) will receive a $10 Amazon eGift Card (open internationally)

2ND RAFFLECOPTER:

1 winner will receive 25,000 Harelquin My Rewards Points, equivalent to 5 books (US and CAN only)
1 winner will receive 5,000 Harelquin My Rewards Points, equivalent to 1 book (US and CAN only)

Both Rafflecopter giveaways end November 30th, 2017






Thursday, May 11, 2017

Review: Life After by Katie Ganshert


Heidi Reads... Life After by Katie Ganshert

My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

http://www.amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.comhttp://www.barnesandnoble.comhttps://www.bookdepository.com/The-Elusive-Miss-Ellison/9780825444500http://www.goodreads.com

Synopsis

It could have been me.

Snow whirls around an elevated train platform in Chicago. A distracted woman boards the train, takes her seat, and moments later a fiery explosion rips through the frigid air, tearing the car apart in a horrific attack on the city’s transit system. One life is spared. Twenty-two are lost.

A year later, Autumn Manning can’t remember the day of the bombing and she is tormented by grief—by guilt. Twelve months of the question constantly echoing. Why? Why? Why? Searching for answers, she haunts the lives of the victims, unable to rest.

Paul Elliott lost his wife in the train bombing and wants to let the dead rest in peace, undisturbed and unable to cause more pain for his loved ones. He wants normalcy for his twelve-year-old daughter and young son, to see them move beyond the heartbreak. But when the Elliotts and Autumn are unexpectedly forced together, he fears she’ll bring more wreckage in her wake.

In Life After, Katie Ganshert’s most complex and unforgettable novel yet, the stirring prose and authentic characters pose questions of truth, goodness, and ultimate purpose in this emotionally resonant tale.



My Review

Wow. There are so many things I thought about while I read this book. Surprisingly, I didn't cry (which I tend to do with books dealing with grief), but felt very introspective. I think that's due to Autumn's detached observations, her coping mechanisms, and the deep questions she and other characters wrestled with. The book started a bit slow for me as things began to unfold and be revealed, but the pace steadily picked up and I appreciated the time I was able to take with each level of Autumn's reemergence into a functioning life. The part that hit home to me personally was when Paul was reflecting on how his children had grown. It made me think of my relationship with my own 10 year old daughter and how I can preserve our bond and sense of unity that seems to come so naturally when they are younger.

"There were moments when Reese still seemed so young and innocent, but even more moments like the one he experienced with Tate as he carried him up the stairs, only instead of her weight or height catching him off guard, it was her... apartness. There were more and more pieces of his daughter that were becoming a mystery to him. It filled Paul with the same sense of alarm that it had with Tate. The same sense that if he didn't grab something quick, this monumentally important thing would slip away."

The book explores many angles of the timeless question of why bad things happen, or why God allows bad things to happen. The thoughts and processes of the characters were natural and realistic, and I loved the profound conclusions they came to as they interacted with each other and learned from the insights shared. Autumn's developing relationship with the Elliot family brought light and hope to her, them, and to the overall story. I especially enjoyed 6 year old Tate and his mannerisms- he practically jumped off the page! I didn't expect a romance to come out of the circumstances, so it was a pleasant surprise, especially when I wasn't sure if I should be rooting for Seth, Autumn's former fiancee, or Paul, who was dealing with more baggage than he could handle. The extended family of Autumn and Paul play important roles that illustrate the variety of family situations, the imperfections, and the love and loyalty we share in spite of it. The way the author wove so many aspects and themes together is beautiful and I highly recommend this novel!

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)


Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Road to Paradise by Karen Barnett


http://www.wishfulendings.com/2017/05/i-cant-wait-for-with-you-always-by-jody.html

I love visiting national parks, so this book looks right up my alley! I adore the cover- I collect the vintage-style postcards from every place I travel and have them on my living room wall. I'm excited to be on the street team for The Road to Paradise, so you'll definitely be hearing more about it from me! The release date is June 6, 2017, and it's available for pre-order! There's even a pre-order special from the publisher with some cool extras, scroll down for details...

http://amzn.to/2qUoq3t

http://www.amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.comhttp://www.barnesandnoble.comhttp://www.bookdepository.comhttp://www.goodreads.com

Synopsis

In 1927, Margie Lane, an avid naturalist, convinces her Senator father to procure her a position at the fledgling Mount Rainier National Park. Since Ranger Ford Brannon lost his father in a climbing accident, he doubts his ability to protect the park and its many visitors. He certainly doesn't relish the job of watching over an idealistic and privileged young woman with no practical survival skills.
 

When Margie's former fiance sets his mind on developing the Paradise Inn and its surroundings into a tourist playground, Margie and Ford will have to work together to preserve the beauty and simplicity of this mountain hideaway, but the developer's plans might put more than just the park in danger.

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/pre-order-karen-barnetts-the-road-to-paradise-for-exclusive-extras/




Monday, May 8, 2017

Review & Giveaway: Sense & Second Chances by Britttany Larsen


Heidi Reads... Sense & Second Chances by Britttany Larsen

My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

http://www.amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.comhttp://www.barnesandnoble.comhttps://deseretbook.com/p/sense-and-second-chances?autocomplete=true&variant_id=150573-paperbackhttp://www.bookdepository.comhttp://www.goodreads.com

Synopsis

Emily Carter is on the fast track to success when the unthinkable happens: a tragic accident claims the lives of her parents. Now Emily must set aside her dreams and raise her two younger siblings, Annie and Bryce. Emily and Annie are sisters, but that doesn’t mean they are anything alike.

Whereas Emily reacts to the tragedy with her characteristic stoic calm, passionate Annie spirals into depression. Just when things seem like they can’t get any more difficult, Emily’s older half-brother and his fiancée arrive not to help, but to claim the family home he’s inherited from their parents.

Without a place to call their own, Emily must take action—and fast. When an exciting employment opportunity arises in Utah, the displaced Carters decide to build a new life in a new home. But it soon becomes clear that their future prospects will go far beyond professional, as each sister is faced with an unexpected romance. Yet love is never simple, and in matters of the heart, one sister must proceed with caution while the other needs to take a leap of faith . . .

My Review

I enjoy Jane Austen adaptations for the most part, except when it follows the original story and dialogue too closely and just changes the setting. Fortunately, that was not the case here, and the details of the story felt new and original while giving a nod to the plot it was based on. Instead of wealth and social class being a hindrance to the romantic relationships of Emily and Annie, it is a difference in religion that prevents Emily from pursuing Joel, while Annie is dealing with the dynamic of having high moral standards and a spotlight on her acting career when Drew sweeps her off her feet. I liked that the ranch Emily inherited provided a way for her to be self-sufficient, even though she had to leave L.A., and it was the renovation projects there that kept her interacting with Joel. The grief Emily and her siblings are still dealing with brings a depth and poignancy to the emotion of the story, and I connected with the feelings of the characters as they navigate the new circumstances they find themselves in. The special friendship Emily shares with Joel is complicated by their chemistry and attraction for each other, and even though I was frustrated with her choices about their relationship, I was glued to the pages to see how everything would come together in the end.

This is an LDS fiction novel, and it was definitely written with a Mormon readership in mind. Readers who appreciate clean romance may also enjoy it, but might not understand the significance behind Emily's conflict over starting a long-term relationship with a man of a different faith.

Friday, May 5, 2017

Review: Another Day Another Dali by Sandra Orchard



My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

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Synopsis

A Fast-Paced, Keep-You-Guessing Whodunit with a Dash of Romance 

When a valuable Salvador Dali painting belonging to her grandmother's friend is mysteriously replaced by a forgery, FBI Special Agent Serena Jones is called in to investigate. Serena hopes finding the thief will also mean finally measuring up to Nana's expectations. But when the evidence points to members of the owner's own household, it becomes increasingly clear that Serena won't be winning any popularity contests. 


The Dali isn't the only painting that's fallen prey to the forgery-replacing thief, raising the specter of a sophisticated theft ring--one with links to dirty cops, an aspiring young artist, and the unsolved murder of Serena's grandfather. 


With plenty of edge-of-your-seat moments, "Another Day, Another Dali" gives the plucky Serena Jones--and readers--a new high-stakes case to crack.


My Review

I just like Serena Jones. She's such a great main character, even if she drives me a little crazy sometimes! She's a study of contrasts- tenacious yet tender, keeps her romantic interests at "friends status" but has a secret hope to marry one day and raise a family. The mystery plot is set at a quick pace throughout the novel as Serena works the clues of two cases that overlap. Tanner, Nate, and Aunt Martha all help in various ways and provide an interesting dynamic. I can't wait for the next Serena Jones mystery!

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)