Book Tour, Excerpt & Giveaway: Christmas at Cade Ranch by Karen Rock


On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

Christmas at Cade Ranch

(Rocky Mountain Cowboys #1)
by Karen Rock
Contemporary Romance

Paperback & ebook, 384 pages
November 7th 2017 by Harlequin

The Christmas they never had.

James Cade has one priority: keep the family ranch running smoothly in the wake of his younger brother's death. With Jesse's ex, Sofia Gallardo, and her young son, Javi, stranded at Cade Ranch over Christmas, this task just got a lot harder. The longer Sofia and Javi stay, the harder it is to imagine the ranch without them. James couldn't save his brother from his inner demons, but he can give his nephew a secure future. Maybe more—if he can figure out how to trust Sofia, and stop feeling like he's betraying Jesse. Because trying to stop thinking about beautiful, determined Sofia is impossible.

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Excerpt

Sofia’s glossy black mane swung back from her face as she tilted it to study James. “No. I feel guilty because I’m glad you’re here and not—not—Jesse.” Tears welled in her eyes. “That makes me a monster.”

He cupped her shaking shoulders and their feet stilled. Something exploded in his chest. His heart maybe. She cared about him. She experienced the same powerful emotions that had taken him by storm from the moment he’d laid eyes on her. “Then I’m one, too, because I want you here, would have wanted you even if Jesse had brought you home, and I’m glad I don’t have to compete for you.”

She brushed something from his cheek, her touch achingly tender. “I’m not sure it would have been much of a competition.”

“We’ll never find out, just like we can’t change what happened.”

The sparkling light reflected in her brown eyes. “No. And maybe we shouldn’t wallow in it, either.”

He nodded. “Ma’s right. Jesse would want us to be happy. He cared about that most of all.”

Suddenly, the heaviness that’d been buckling his shoulders since Jesse’s death eased. The grief, the remorse he’d been carrying all these years was his own making. Not Jesse’s. He saw that now.

Jesse would want him to be happy. And nothing made him happier than Sofia.

And Javi.

“You care about others as much as Jesse did,” Sofia insisted and her indignant expression, her defense of him, stirred him deeply. “You just show it differently. I used to believe you wanted to control me because you didn’t think enough of me, and maybe that was true at first. Now I know it’s coming from a good place. You just want to keep everyone safe.”

“Protected,” he murmured, touched that she alone understood him. It felt like a homecoming. “I want to be that person for you and Javi. Controlling you or anyone is wrong, but I’ll always be the kind of man that looks out for others, especially my family.”

“Am I part of your family?” She choked up a bit on the last word. His eyes whizzed to the ceiling and he blinked fast, thinking about her lonely, difficult life.

With every breath he took while on this earth, he’d make it all up to her.

“Yes. More than that, even.”

About the Author

In a quest to provide her ELA students with quality reading material, educator Karen Rock read everything out there and couldn't wait to add her voice to the genre. In addition to her work as a Young Adult romance novelist, she's now an author for Harlequin's Heartwarming line and thrilled to pen stories that moms can share with their teenage daughters. She's loved Harlequin books since she spent summers going through her grandmother's Presents books that she passed along in paper grocery bags each year. As half of the writing duo J.K. Rock, Karen also pens young adult romance. When she's not busy writing, Karen enjoys scouring estate sales for vintage books, cooking her grandmother's family recipes, reinventing her gardens to suit her moods and occasionally rescuing local wildlife from neighborhood cats. She lives in the Adirondack Mountain region with her husband, her very appreciated beta-reader daughter, and two Cavalier King cocker spaniels, who have yet to understand the concept of "fetch" though they know a lot about love. For more information about Karen's upcoming books, check out her website.

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Other Heartwarming Books by the Author

Tour Schedule

November 6th:

Launch

Katie's Clean Book Collection

It's All About the Romance

underneath the covers

23 Review Street

November 7th:

Slice of Life

Jorie Loves A Story

Janice's Book Reviews

Ever After Book Reviews

November 8th:

Thoughts of a Blonde

Granny Loves to Read

Bookworm Lisa

Brooke Blogs

November 9th:

Getting Your Read On

Harlie's Books

Rietpetite's Book Reviews

Zerina Blossom's Books

November 10:

Becky on Books

Wishful Endings

Hearts & Scribbles

Reading Is My SuperPower

November 11th: Grand Finale

Tour Giveaway

- 1 winner will receive a $50 Amazon gift card along with print copies of HIS KIND OF COWGIRL, UNDER AN ADIRONDACK SKY AND A COWBOY TO KEEP by Karen Rock, TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH by Elizabeth Lowell, THOSE TEXAS NIGHTS by Delores Fossen and FAMILY TREE by Susan Wiggs.- US Only.

- Ends November 15th

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Cover Reveal, Excerpt & Giveaway: A Heart Restored by Elizabeth Maddrey

Be sure to keep scrolling down to see the COVER REVEAL and enter the GIVEAWAY!

She renovates old houses. Can he restore her heart? Deidre McIntyre didn’t exactly purchase the gorgeous old home in the Shenandoah Mountains on a whim. The building had seen better days, but she had the skills—and the time—to fix it up. And maybe it would provide the fresh start she was looking for. Local handyman Jeremiah Crawford has a soft spot for Peacock Hill. When someone from out of town purchases it, he swings by to offer to help fix it up…and investigate the new owner’s plans for the property. The pixie-like Deidre isn’t at all what he expects, but he’s happy to hang around and enjoy the view. When Deidre’s ex-boyfriend, a popular TV house flipper, shows up demanding a piece of the action, Jeremiah must decide if Deidre—and Peacock Hill—are worth fighting for. Falling in love wasn’t on the blueprints, but it might just be worth the change in plans.

Elizabeth Maddrey is a semi-reformed computer geek and homeschooling mother of two who lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace on their way to their own romantic happily ever after.

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Deidre slipped her phone into the pocket of her jeans before backing up to view the front of her new…well, it wasn’t a home yet. The house sat on fifty acres in the foothills of the Blue Ridge. Mountains rose in the distance to the west. Though she couldn’t see it, the tiny town of Butler’s End sat at the bottom of the hill the house perched on, and civilization wasn’t too much farther down the road in either direction. But from here, she could’ve been in the middle of nowhere. This place was going to be something amazing. It had been, once, and it could be again, with a little bit of love and a whole lot of know-how. She happened to have both.
The front of the house needed to be cleaned. And several sections of the stone blocks that made up the facade repaired or replaced. She might have to hire that out. She dug out her phone and opened her note-taking app. She circled the house, tapping away as she saw things that needed attention. The landscaping, such as it was, would have to wait. The house was her first priority.
She rounded the corner, returning to the front of the house, and scowled at the dinged red pickup parked in the circular drive. She snapped a photo of the sign on the truck’s door that featured an enormous cartoon frog wearing a straw hat and chewing on a piece of grass. There had to be someone who belonged to that heap.
“Aha.” A man in jeans and a cream Henley that stretched over broad shoulders and well-defined arms jogged down her front steps and avoided the missing tread with ease that spoke of practice. “I heard someone bought the old girl. That you?”
Deidre kept her phone in her left hand, her finger hovering over the emergency number speed dial, and nodded.
“Pleasure to meet you, ma’am. I’m Jeremiah Crawford.” He gestured to the truck and extended his hand. “I own Bullfrog Home Services.”
Deidre took his hand, remembering her father’s advice to have a firm grip and make eye contact. “Deidre McIntyre.”
“Ms. McIntyre, I was just wondering what you planned to do with the place. She’s been a fixture ‘round here. A lot of the locals would be torn up if she got knocked down and turned into condos or something.” He flashed a bright, toothy smile.
If the locals loved the place so much, why hadn’t anyone taken better care of it? Sure, the previous owner was old and in a nursing facility now, but she had family. Family who’d seemed well pleased to be rid of the thing. “I have no plans to tear it down.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Then what will you do?”
She crossed her arms. “I’m sorry, why do you care?”
“Well now, ma’am. If you plan to fix her up, I thought I’d offer my services.” He dug in his pocket and produced a business card.
Deidre took the card and offered a tight smile. “I think I’ll be fine. But thanks.”
He nodded. “All right then. I’ll leave you with that, in case you change your mind.”
Deidre tucked the card into her pocket. She wasn’t going to be able to do everything herself, but she’d planned to bring down some of her contractors from D.C. “I don’t suppose you do stone work, Mr. Crawford?”
“Jeremiah. And, as it happens, I do.”
“Have any references?”
“In the truck. Hang on a second.” He crossed quickly to the vehicle and pulled open the door. Deidre caught a glimpse of a passenger foot-well littered with food wrappers. He took a binder off the seat and brought it back. “Here you go.”
Lips pursed, she flipped through the pages. The photos were good. But you could edit images. “Any way I could visit some of these sites? Check them out?”
“Course. Why don’t you give me a call in the morning and I can take you around?”
She opened her mouth to protest then shrugged. She’d find them faster if she was with him. And even if he was there glad-handing the client, she could see the work. It would speak for itself. “I’ll do that.”

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Baker Kella​
Blossoms and Blessings
Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen
Faithfully Bookish ​
Heidi Reads…​
Mindy Houng
Remembrancy
Singing Librarian Books
​Wishful Endings

Link-up: Free / Bargain Books

Sharing the Love of Books
Enjoy our selection of New Releases / Free & Bargain Books this week

Authors please feel free to add your own books
Readers please free to add your own finds
(any genre except erotica welcome)

This weekly link up is hosted by Beck Valley Books & these awesome book loving blogs...
Monday
 Leels Loves Books
Tuesday
Celticlady's Reviews | First Time Mommy Adventures 
Wednesday
Beck Valley Books | Between the Coverz | Bookalicious Traveladdict
Thursday
Miki's Hope | Heidi Reads...
Friday
Ebook Addicts | I Love Romance | Colorimetry | Futures
Saturday
3 Partners in Shopping | I Create Purty Thangs | Wishful Endings 

Sunday

Ali - The Dragon Slayer | Deal Sharing Aunt | Living Life With Joy

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(Strictly no Erotica please.  Steamy romance is fine but watch those covers people, in case any underage child is viewing it!)

Here is this weeks awesome selection!

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Review: Lies Jane Austen Told Me by Julie Wright

My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

Synopsis

Ever since Emma read Pride and Prejudice, she's been in love with Mr. Darcy and has regarded Jane Austen as the expert on all things romantic. So naturally when Emma falls for Blake Hampton and he invites her home to meet his parents, she is positive an engagement is in her future. After all, Blake is a single man in possession of a good fortune, and thus must be in want of a wife.

But when it turns out that what Blake actually wants is more of a hook-up than a honeymoon, Emma is hurt, betrayed, and furious. She throws herself deeper into her work as CMO of Kinetics, the fastest growing gym franchise in the nation. She loves her work, and she's good at it, which is why she bristles when her boss brings in a consultant to help her spearhead the new facilities on the East Coast. Her frustration turns to shock when that consultant turns out to be Blake's younger brother, Lucas.

Emma is determined not to fall for Lucas, but as she gets to know him, she realizes that Lucas is nothing like his brother. He is kind and attentive and spends his time and money caring for the less fortunate.

What she can't understand is why Lucas continues to try to push her back into Blake's arms when he so clearly has fallen as hard for her as she has fallen for him. It isn't until Lucas reveals to Emma that he was adopted into the Hampton family that she begins to understand his loyalty to Blake as well as his devotion to the child April-she is Lucas's biological niece.

Emma opens up to Lucas about the feelings of abandonment she has harbored ever since she was a child and her mother left the family. As she helps Lucas deal with his past demons, she is able to exorcise some of her own.

Realizing that her love life is as complicated as anything Jane Austen could have dreamed up, Emma must find a way to let Blake know that it's time for him to let her go and to let Lucas know it's time for him to love her back.

My Review

Such a fun story! I loved how Austen was brought into the contemporary world, influencing Emma (even after the "renouncement") and showing why her classics are so well-loved and still relevant. I'm not generally a fan of love triangles, but since I knew from the synopsis that Lucas and Emma are meant to be together, I was able to view the rest as providing conflict and obstacles to their relationship. I loved the friendship they shared and couldn't wait for them to figure things out and get together! While there is plenty of fun banter and snarky thoughts, there are also deeper themes that are explored and I finished the book with a happy sigh :)

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