Blog Tour + Review: "The Christmas Plan" by Samantha Chase

I am pleased to join the blog tour promoting the release of Samantha Chase's latest novel, "The Christmas Plan," book #6 of the Silver Bell Falls series. It reads as a standalone although characters from some of the earlier books in the series make cameo appearances in this one.

There was an enjoyable Hallmark holiday movie feeling to this story, and main characters Gabe and Aspen were relatively likeable, if a bit frustrating at times. They were cute together as best friends in the first part of the story, but I have to admit that I found their romance to be rather lackluster. Both Aspen and Gabe were very stubborn and terrible at communicating their feelings, which resulted in a "conflict" at the end that seemed like it was a problem only because they made it into one.

On the bright side, I really liked the town of Silver Bell Falls as well as the book's secondary characters, particularly Gabe's parents. I loved the way they welcomed Aspen into their home and treated her like a member of the family even before she and Gabe started dating. The entire town was very friendly and welcoming, and it was easy for me to understand why Aspen fell in love with it.

Overall, the funny, sweet aspects of the story outweighed the ones that frustrated me, so I'd still recommend that holiday romance fans give "The Christmas Plan" a chance. I don't think it's going to be a keeper for me, however.
 

*Review copy provided by the author via InkSlingerPR.  All opinions expressed are my own.

 

About "The Christmas Plan"

If only life was a cheesy holiday movie… 

Unfortunately for Aspen Harris, her life doesn’t even come close.

Finding herself unemployed just before the holidays, she has no choice but to move back home and in her parents’ house. And that means leaving behind her best friend Gabriel and all her dreams of someday owning her own chocolate shop. So when Gabe suggests she come to Silver Bell Falls to spend the holidays with his family, it seems like the perfect distraction.

What’s so great about holiday movies?
Don’t people realize that living in an actual Christmas town is anything but magical?

Every year, Gabriel Andrews goes home to Silver Bell Falls to help his father run the family Christmas tree lot. When Aspen tells him she has to move to the other side of the country after losing her job, he suggests she come home with him for the holidays. It’s the perfect way to spend as much time together as possible before a whole country separates them.

But this is Silver Bell Falls at Christmas time…between a mother with matchmaking tendencies, tight living quarters and far too much chocolate, it doesn’t take very long for life to start imitating art.

 

Release Blitz + Review: "Rules of Engagement" by Jessica Klide

Congratulations to Jessica Klide on today's release of "Rules of Engagement," part of author K. Bromberg's Everyday Heroes World. It reads as a total standalone, though characters from earlier books written by Bromberg make cameo appearances here in Klide's story.

 

I was really looking forward to picking up "Rules of Engagement" but ended up being disappointed with it. It was a quick read with very little in the way of character or relationship development, which made it difficult for me to connect with the main characters, Jorja and Jocko, or believe in the strength of their feelings for each other. Their physical attraction was quite apparent, however; I lost count of how many times Jocko described Jorja as being "built like a brick house." What exactly did he like about her besides her body? As for Jocko, if the descriptions of him from various women in the book were to be believed, he must have walked around town causing spontaneous orgasms wherever he went!

 

I also had an issue with the fact that Jocko didn't keep in touch with Jorja in the six years he was away serving in the military. He attempted to explain his radio silence, but the explanation didn't really make sense to me. Why on earth would Jorja forgive Jocko so easily based solely on that lame explanation and halfway apology? She should have at least made him grovel! What bothered me even more, however, is that Jorja somehow managed to rationalize Jocko's horrible treatment of her in high school as a "misunderstanding" and decided that she was the one who had messed up. I wholeheartedly disagree. He basically marked his territory by kissing her in the most outrageous way possible on his way out of town so no other guy would even think about dating her, then ignored her for six years until he was ready to come home. In what way was that her messing up, or as her supposed best friend tried to call it, stringing Jocko along?

 

It didn't help matters that both Jocko and Jorja used language that made them seem very immature. For example, Jocko answered his phone by saying, "Sup?" and referred to Jorja as his "bae" when he wasn't calling her "Juicy." That nickname was bad enough when he was using it to tease her in high school, but as an adult it was just ridiculous and immature. Honestly, the book's language in general seemed kind of strange to me. I couldn't figure out why the author chose not to use contractions most of the time. It made the dialogue seem very stilted and unnatural.

I really had to struggle to finish this book. The setup was good and the story had potential, but IMO it wasn't executed well. Unfortunately, I can't recommend "Rules of Engagement," nor do I have any interest in picking up another one of this author's books in the future.

*Review copy provided by the author via Grey's Promotions. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

 

About "Rules of Engagement"

Jorja Jones:
My boss, Editor in Chief of Modern Family Magazine, Sidney Malone, informs me that I will be writing our entry into the First Annual Thorton Publishing House Contest, and the theme is Everyday Heroes, featuring Sunnyville's recently returned Navy SEAL Jocko Malone.

Jocko? Just my luck! We have bad blood, high-school history.
The day before he left for the Navy, he took his torture to another level.
He kissed me like we were lovers. It was humiliating.
Six years later, the memory still makes my blood boil ... and my toes curl.
I'm doomed!

Jocko Malone:
The last time I saw Juicy Jorja, her body that's built like a brick house was pinned between my manhood and the lockers, and I had kissed the ever-loving (fill in the blank) out of her sassy mouth.
The memory of which got me through all the darkness I faced.
She's the reason I returned to Sunnyville.
She and I have unfinished business.

Get ready to fall hard for Sunnyville's returning hero, Navy SEAL Jocko Malone, as he fights to win back the girl he left behind. Failure is not an option.

One-click it today and immerse yourself back into Sunnyville with an all-new magnificent Malone man.

Jessika Klide steps into K. Bromberg's Everyday Heroes World with an enemies to lovers, steamy, standalone romance about a case of miscommunication that leads to total crisis management and proves that in the game of love, winners never quit. (Featuring a precocious K9.) 

 

About the Everyday Heroes World

"Rules of Engagement" is written in New York Times Bestselling author K. Bromberg's Everyday Heroes World, which is one of two KB Worlds projects. With over 100 authors, who were selected by and are working with K. Bromberg, these stories are fan fiction at its finest—and sexiest. Devoted fans of the Driven and Everyday Heroes series will have the opportunity to revisit their favorite characters and settings. You can find out more about K. Bromberg and the KB Worlds at kbworlds.com.

KB Worlds Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/3dpfvuX
KB Worlds Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2Vez4Aa
KB Worlds Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2B226Mo

 

 

Release Blitz + Review: "Jolly Hour" by Melissa Williams

I am very happy to participate in today's release blitz celebrating "Jolly Hour" by Melissa Williams, book #2 of the All My Jingle Ladies series. This short, sweet story reads as a total standalone. Like the previous novella, it had something of a Hallmark holiday movie vibe, but to me it was more of a straight contemporary romance than a rom-com. I enjoyed it, but didn't find myself laughing like I did while reading "Jingle Lady."

 

In "Jolly Hour," the romance between main characters Ajay and Nadia is a classic love at first sight story; Ajay saw Nadia walk through the door and instantly knew that she was the one for him. There wasn't much in the way of character or relationship development, which I kind of expected given the length of the novella, but I did like Nadia and found her insecurities to be pretty relatable. As for Ajay, while I didn't dislike him, he almost seemed to be too perfect to me. I think I would have liked him better in a longer story that allowed for more character development, in which he might have come across as more realistic and flawed.

Overall, while I liked "Jolly Hour," I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first novella in the series. I didn't connect with Ajay and Nadia or feel their connection the same way I did Libby and Brendan's in "Jingle Lady." That said, it was still a cute story and I would recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance, particularly anyone who enjoys love at first sight stories. I look forward to the release of the third book of the series next week. 

 

*Review copy provided by the author via Grey's Promotions. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

 

About "Jolly Hour"

Fall in fa-la-love this holiday season with bell ensemble group All My Jingle Ladies. Three feisty bell-ringing friends must face the music when the magic of Christmas brings them their happily ever afters.

I’m a man of action. When I see something I want, I go after it.

So after one night with the intoxicating Nadia I know what I need next – her. She’s a workaholic who’s in need of a holiday distraction. I’m happy to take the reins and help. She can try to hide her passion behind a frosty attitude and a cool smile, but I know I can melt her heart. I just have to catch her first. 

 

All My Jingle Ladies is an interconnected holiday series!

• Jingle Lady: Now Available
• Jolly Hour: Now Available
• Oh My Garland!: November 26, 2020 

Blog Tour + Excerpt + Review: "Little Lies" by H. Hunting

Today, I am thrilled to participate in the blog tour celebrating the release of "Little Lies" by Helena Hunting (writing as H. Hunting). This book is a spinoff of both the Pucked and All In series, featuring the children of those books' main characters. However, it reads as a complete standalone. 

 

"Little Lies" grabbed my attention from the very first page and did not let go until the end. The prologue was incredibly suspenseful, and after that I did not want to put the book down until I was sure that everything would work out for female lead Lavender Waters. The story was quite angsty as Lavender and male lead Kodiak Bowman worked through all of the issues keeping them apart, but I enjoyed the moments of lightness scattered throughout to lessen the tension. Most of them seemed to involve Lavender embarrassing herself in front of Kodiak, and as much as I felt bad for her in those situations, I couldn't help but laugh. I think my favorite was when she accidentally started playing a racy reverse harem audiobook over her car's audio system.

 

The slow burn, friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance between Lavender and Kodiak was well crafted and kept me at the edge of my seat waiting for them to finally act on the obvious chemistry between them. When they did, it was totally worth the wait; I thought my Kindle might spontaneously combust from all of the heat those two generated! However, as much as I loved Kodiak and Lavender together, I would have liked to see Kodiak grovel a bit more before Lavender forgave him for the terrible way he'd treated her since their falling out several years earlier. The "punishment" Lavender concocted really didn't seem like much of a consequence at all since I'm certain that Kodiak enjoyed at least some parts of it.

In addition to Lavender and Kodiak's relationship, the secondary plot involving Lavender's relationship with her brothers (especially her twin, River) was very well done. In a lot of ways, Lavender and River's struggles were just as heart-wrenching as Lavender and Kodiak's. It's hard enough for twins to establish individual identities without the kind of trauma River and Lavender faced. Given their circumstances, it's easy to understand why they came to rely so much on each other. They had to grow up sometime and learn to stand on their own two feet, but that's a lot easier said than done.

Overall, I very much enjoyed "Little Lies" and would recommend it for all fans of angsty/emotional contemporary and/or new adult romance. I hope there will be future books set in this world featuring some of the other Pucked offspring that featured as secondary characters in this story, such as Lavender's brother Maverick and cousin BJ.

 

*Review copy provided by the author via Social Butterfly PR. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

About "Little Lies"

Little Lies, an all-new, angsty and emotional new adult romance from New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting writing as H. Hunting is out now!

I don’t want you.
You mean nothing to me.
I never loved you.
I turned my words into swords.
And I cut her down.
Shoved the blade in and watched her fall.
I said I’d never hurt her, and I did.
Years later, I’m faced with all the little lies, the untruths, the false realities, the damage I inflicted, when all I wanted was to indulge my obsession.
Lavender Waters is the princess in the tower. Even her name is the thing fairy tales are made of.
I used to be the one who saved her.
Over and over again.
But I don’t want to save her anymore.
I just want to pretend the lies are still the truth.

 

 

Read an Excerpt from "Little Lies"

The front door swings open, and the never-ending nightmare that is this day smacks me in the face like a long-expired sausage. Kodiak stands in the doorway wearing only a pair of swim shorts, wet hair sticking out all over the place, water dripping on the damn floor. But God, is he ever glorious. Muscle layered over muscle, thick biceps flexing as he holds the doorjamb, a mischievous grin popping the dimple in his left cheek.

My heart seizes and gallops. I miss this version of him: the one that smiles and doesn’t hate me.

He ruins everything a moment later by bellowing, “Who’s fucking in the driveway?”

His gaze moves to Dylan, who looks as horrified as I feel, but as it shifts to me, his smile drops and my stomach tightens.

“You should really go,” I tell Dylan.

“I’ll see you around.” He disappears into his car and barely has the door closed before he’s backing out of the driveway and screeching down the street.

I adjust my backpack on my shoulder and head for the house, steeling my spine and my nerves because Kodiak is still standing in the middle of the doorway, his face a mask of indifference. I try to brush by him, but he stays where he is, making it impossible.

I sigh, exhausted beyond belief. I just want to go upstairs and have a good, cathartic cry. I try to mirror his apathy. “Can you move so I can get into my house?”

His brow furrows as his eyes move over my face. He lifts his hand, like maybe he’s thinking about touching me. There’s no way I can handle that. I jerk back and swat his hand away. “What are you doing?”

“Your lip is bleeding.”

“Don’t act like you actually give a shit, Kodiak.”

“Tell me what happened.” His voice is low and soft, and for whatever reason, that makes me even angrier, so I lash out, wanting to wound him the way he keeps wounding me.

“You, Kodiak. You happened, and you ruined my goddamn life. Now get the hell out of my way.” I elbow past him, almost tripping over several sets of running shoes.

I head straight for my bedroom and lock the door behind me. I slide down the wall until my butt hits the floor and close my eyes, taking deep breaths.

I imagined the concern in his voice.

I imagined the pain that sat heavy behind his eyes.

We see what we want to, not the truth, especially when it hurts.

 

Review: Imperfect Harmony

Imperfect Harmony by Lola West
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved Lola West's "Imperfect Harmony," a funny, charming enemies-to-lovers romance featuring likeable, three-dimensional characters. Main characters Sarah and Horse were so cute together after they got past their initial animosity! I especially enjoyed when they played Scrabble together on the tour bus; I could imagine them doing exactly the same thing when they were in their 80s, only surrounded by their children and grandchildren instead of roadies.

Moody/grouchy heroes are my favorite kind, and Horse was definitely one of those. His background was a mystery to most of the others who worked on the tour, and they loved to speculate about the meaning behind his nickname. As it turned out, Horse was hiding a lot of tragedy and pain in his past. He really needed someone like Sarah to bring him out into the light and help him learn to live again. Sarah was such a ray of sunshine, not just for Horse but for everyone around her. It was lovely to see her blossom when she got out from under from her brothers' constant protection and supervision.

The book's secondary characters were so much fun and added a great deal of depth and humor to the story. I especially enjoyed Sarah's new friend Sean as well as catching up with her older brother Bill and his girlfriend, Kat. It was great to see Kat and Bill so settled and happy together.

Overall, "Imperfect Harmony" was my favorite book of the series so far, and I highly recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. I look forward to the next book in the series.

*Review copy provided by the author. All opinions expressed are my own.

View all my reviews

Release Blitz + Review: "Desperate Times" by Emily Goodwin

I am pleased to take part in the release blitz promoting "Desperate Times" by Emily Goodwin, book #2 of the Silver Ridge series. This book is not a standalone but rather picks up right where the previous book ("Backup Plan") ended. 

 

I've been desperate (pun intended) to get my hands on this book ever since reaching the cliffhanger at the end of "Backup Plan" a few months ago, but the conclusion of Sam and Chloe's story was worth the wait. They were both such likeable, sympathetic characters, and I loved them as a couple. They had fantastic chemistry and there were plenty of steamy scenes in this story to cement their connection. However, there was an undercurrent of anxiety for me as I was reading this book because I knew about the secret Sam was keeping from Chloe, and I was afraid of what would happen to their relationship when it finally came out. Fortunately, they managed to work through everything and ended up in a good place, but it wasn't easy for either of them.

Sam's secret wasn't the only obstacle they faced as Chloe considered the next steps in her career. She was fortunate to have several wonderful opportunities in front of her, but choosing to move forward with one of them in particular would have required her to continue to live apart from Sam. This aspect of the story was a bit frustrating for me because it seemed as if Chloe had made her decision early on, but she continued to agonize over it for most of the book. I understand that it can sometimes be difficult to make big decisions, but it felt like Chloe was making this one a much bigger obstacle than it needed to be when it was pretty clear which way her heart was pulling her.

Overall, I enjoyed "Desperate Times" and Sam and Chloe's story as a whole. It was very easy for me to root for them to overcome all of the obstacles standing in their way and end up together. I would recommend this duet for all fans of contemporary romance, and look forward to picking up future books in the series (hopefully featuring Sam's brothers Jacob and Mason).

 

*Review copy provided by the author via Valentine PR. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

About "Desperate Times"

Desperate Times by Emily Goodwin is now live!

I fell in love with Chloe Fisher when we were only kids. I knew then, just like I know now, there will never be another woman in the world for me but her. A silly childhood pact to marry each other if we were still single and thirty kept us together…until I messed up, hurting the only woman I’ve ever truly cared about. I swore if I ever got a second chance, I would make things right, prove to Chloe I’ve changed, that I’m not the same guy who broke her heart years ago.

History has a way of repeating itself, and now that Chloe is finally giving me what I’ve always wanted, I’m terrified that maybe Chloe will always be the one that got away. That maybe, just maybe, she’s entirely too good for me.

I’ve never been one to give up, and I’ll keep fighting for her—for us, even though the universe is doing its very best to keep us apart. It’s true what they say: desperate times call for desperate measures. And I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make her mine.

Download today on Amazon, Apple, Kobo, & Barnes & Noble! 

 

Release Blitz + Review: "Lost Without You" by Lea Coll

I am delighted to participate in today's release blitz promoting "Lost Without You" by Lea Coll, book #2 of the Annapolis Harbor series. I have not yet read the first book of the series ("Only With You"), and while this book mostly stood on its own, I have to admit that the first few chapters felt a bit like I was diving into the middle of an ongoing story. Main characters Avery and Griffin had already established a relationship from speaking on the phone about her law firm's lease over the past several months, though they only met for the first time in Chapter 1. I'm not sure if if any of the earlier back and forth between Avery and Griffin was included in the previous book of the series, but even if it was, it might have been nice to include it in a prologue to this story to provide some context for their relationship and initial attraction.

Once I got past those first few chapters and settled into the story, I really enjoyed it. Avery and Griffin were both complex, endearing characters, and after the trauma of their respective pasts, it was heartwarming to see them find happiness and become a family with Griffin's young nephew, Declan. I really loved the way Declan's bond grew with each of them. He was such a sweet kid and deserved to be surrounded by people who loved him.

 

Overall, "Lost Without You" was an excellent read that gave me all the feels. I recommend it for all fans of emotional contemporary romance and will plan to pick up the other books in the series.

 

*Review copy provided by the author via Grey's Promotions. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

About "Lost Without You"

Avery
Opening a law firm isn't at all what I thought it would be. The landlord is arrogant and irritating. Despite his sexy voice and smooth demeanor, I want to fight him at every turn. Everything with him is a battle--a battle I intend to win. After all, I'm an attorney who never backs down. But when he needs my help, I can't possibly refuse. Who could? Thrown into a role he knows nothing about can't be easy.

Beneath his gruff nature is a broken man who needs to be put back together. The last thing I will ever do is let someone destroy him more.

Griffin
A cheating fiancée and a backstabbing best friend are not the worst of my problems. When my brother dies, I'm thrust into the life of a single parent. In over my head, I'm forced to seek help from the lawyer who fights me every chance she can. Avery Arrington is a smart-mouthed, feisty woman, who can win my case. Powerful, intelligent, and sexy, I want her in ways I've sworn off for good.

But right now, it's all about my nephew. He's my top priority--the only thing that matters. Now, I have to put all of my faith and hope in Avery to save me—save us. I rarely trust anyone. But the truth is, without Avery, I'd be lost.