Sunday, June 25, 2017

Review: Her Surprise Engagement by Ashlee Mallory


Author: Ashlee Mallory
Publisher: Entangled Bliss
Series: The Sorenson Family Series
Release Date: June 19, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Blurb: 

Single mom Daisy Sorensen doesn’t believe in fairytale endings—at least not for her. All she wants is to enjoy a much-needed, stress-free family vacation at a friend’s Lake Tahoe home. So of course everything that can go wrong does. Including a gorgeous man and his daughter showing up in the middle of the night.
Soon-to-be Governor Jack Harrison has had a crazy week, but he’s sure nothing can top arriving to find a bathrobe-clad, beautiful stranger in the home he’s staying in for the week. He’s wrong. When things spiral out of control the next morning, Jack makes Daisy an offer she can’t refuse. She’ll pretend to be his fiancée and he’ll help her open the bakery she’s been dreaming about.
But in between late-night campfires and days on the lake, Jack finds himself falling for the strong, stubborn woman for real.
Each book in the Sorensen Family series is a standalone, full-length story that can be enjoyed out of order.
Series Order:
Book #1 Her Backup Boyfriend
Book #2 Her Accidental Husband
Book #3 The Playboy's Proposal
Book #4 Her Surprise Engagement

Buy Links:





About the Author:


Ashlee Mallory is a USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and thrillers. She currently resides in Utah with her husband and two kids. She aspires to one day include running, hiking and traveling to exotic destinations in her list of things she enjoys, but currently settles for enjoying a good book and a glass of wine from the comfort of her couch.

Keep up with all upcoming releases by joining her Newsletter at http://bit.ly/1lPwwE3 for updates and giveaways!

Find her online:

Website: http://www.ashleemallory.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AshleeMalloryAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AshleeMallory

My Review:

When I heard about this book I knew I had to read it. I'd just gotten back from a trip to California and had stopped by Lake Tahoe to show my kids how beautiful and magical it was. So when I saw it was a romance set at Tahoe I was totally hooked. I related to this book on so many levels. First of all, the characters are from Utah which is where I live, and next, it's about a single mom with three kids. Until recently I was a single mom with four kids. I found this great guy who swept me off my feet and helped me out just like in the book. 

Swoon. Jack Hamilton was such an amazing character. Handsome, successful, kind-hearted, generous, and the future governor of Utah? That was just SUPER hot. He was the perfect Prince Charming and she was his Cinderella. 

Daisy was a strong, independent woman, who'd lost everything because of a cheating, loser ex. I couldn't help but feel for her. I totally related to the guilt she felt for marrying him in the first place. So it made sense that she was so hesitant to jump into a relationship with Jack despite the chemistry and the feeling of it just being right. I felt a little frustrated that Daisy wasn't more accepting of his generosity in the book, but as I read further I understood the flaws of each character and why they made the choices that caused them to experience some bumps in their relationship. It was beautiful to read about their growth and their realization of how they needed to change.  

I loved this book so much. It was incredibly hard to put down and made for a great weekend read. My husband had to put up with a lot of giggling and squealing from me as I read. But that's how you know it's a good one, right? 

*Five Stars*


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Thursday, June 8, 2017

Blog Tour: Weird and Wonderful by Cece Barlow



Weird and Wonderful
by Cece Barlow
Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: February 13th 2017



Blurb:


Gin Autry must finish the last semester of high school in eclectic Austin with her hippie grandmother while Gin’s brother waits for heart surgery in Houston.

Instability reigns, but Gin uses the principles of feng shui to find balance and send positive energy to her brother. She also secretly hopes her voice-over actress dream will advance and true love will show up.

Instead, she falls for the wrong guy and clings to the wrong dream. Nothing in Gin’s life is balanced, but when death threatens her brother, she discovers true balance is about listening, compromise, and the guy in the friend zone.  

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Buy Link: Amazon

Excerpt:

"Still mad about what I said about your vlog?" Aaron smiled at me and stroked my cheek. The brilliance of his smile was marred by his grotesque red eye and the swelling on his cheekbone. "Why do you care so much what I think? You have a dream. You shouldn't let my opinion or anyone else's sway you from it."
"But your opinion is important to me," I said.
"But it shouldn't be necessary for you to chase after a dream." He brushed back my hair and tucked it behind my ears. "If you want to be a voice-over actress, do it. Don't wait for me to put a seal of approval on your dream."


About the Author:




Cece Barlow writes books for young adults and the young at heart. She's a dash of fun, mixed in with some smart cookie and a splash of capable. She started her first fan fiction group in junior high and never stopped writing. Today, she writes about girls with lofty dreams and about the absolute craziness of falling in love.

When Cece's not writing, she curls up with a book, heads to a popcorn blockbuster, or kicks back to watch shooting stars. If she sees the moon in the daytime, she thinks she's lucky.

Cece lives in College Station, Texas with her college sweetheart Tim and two cats - one evil and one good.

Author Links:
Website│Goodreads│Twitter


Why I Write about Ordinary Girls (From the Author)

I write fun and heartfelt stories, but I also have a mission. I tell stories about girls whose lives are continual shuffled to the side in today's literature. I love blue collar teens. These girls do not work at trendy cupcake shops or as mystery-solving detectives. They have jobs, that require elbow grease, humiliation, and perseverance. They work construction, fast food, grocery stores, and bowling alleys. Their lives are not focused on high school. They often have tough times at home, usually a function of failing health (mental and physical), drug addiction, and poverty.

The socio-economically privileged girl doesn't interest me. My girl is ordinary, and she plans to fix her own problems. She is trying to figure everything out (love and life) just like everyone else. She hungers for an education, but knows a mountain of debt is coming her way. She's making serious missteps in life because she is innocent and inexperienced, but my girl is also finding the grace of reinvention. Her life is valuable and worthy. I hope that you join me in my celebration of the ordinary girl. I hope you celebrate the everyday life.


Blog Tour Organized by:
YA Bound Book Tours



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Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Blog Tour: The Man She Knew by Loree Lough

On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

The Man She Knew
(By Way of the Lighthouse, #1)
by Loree Lough
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 384 pages
June 1st 2017 by Harlequin Heartwarming

Don't they both deserve a second chance?

Fourteen years ago, one reckless act cost Ian Sylvestry everything, including the girl he planned to marry. Since then, he has fought hard to turn his life around. Returning to his Baltimore town after serving a prison term was the first step. Winning back Maleah Turner's trust is a far more daunting challenge. From their first sparks-flying reunion, it's obvious they still have powerful feelings for each other. In fact, they might be even stronger together now. But if their second chance is going to work, Maleah has to believe that Ian is a changed man. She really wants to believe…but she simply isn't convinced.

Excerpt:

It had been a mistake, asking Andy to drop him this far from her grandparents’ drive. Walking on flat ground had been a challenge with crutches, and then the cane. He took his time, but tromping through deep snow made him wince with every step. If you put yourself in the hospital, you’ll only have yourself to—
“Ian? Ian Sylvestry?”
Maleah…

He’d hoped for a few minutes to catch his breath, to pull his thoughts together, and find a way to mask his pain. It lessened some when he took stock of the woman who stood before him, snow-dampened blonde curls clinging to her cheeks and forehead, cheeks as rosy as those on the painted cherubic faces of Gladys’s Hummel figurines. If she’d ever looked more beautiful, he couldn’t remember when.
“What’re you doing out in this mess?” he asked.
“Trying to stay half a step ahead of this beastly storm.” She followed the narrow path she’d shoveled and met him at the mailbox. “The better question is, what are you doing here? No…” She held up an ice-encrusted mitten. “The better question is, how did you get here?”
Ian pointed to the plow just up the street, lifting buckets of snow from the road and emptying them onto neighbors’ lawns.
“Hitched a ride with a friend.”
“From Fells Point to Ellicott City. In a snowplow.”
He shrugged. “Uh, yeah.”
“Why?”
“So I could see for myself that you’re all right.”
“And put your own life on the line in the process?”
Ian hadn’t realized until that moment that he’d been massaging his aching thigh. He grinned, trying to make light of it. “I’d hardly call the ride over here life threatening…”
She snorted. “I wonder if your surgeon would agree.”
“Good question.” He snickered. “I have a feeling if I show up at next week’s checkup without a reasonable explanation for this insanity, he might just send me straight to Shephard Pratt…with a prescription for a padded cell and a hug-myself jacket.”
“You look awful,” she said. “Pale, dark circles under your eyes… You arranged for that plow, didn’t you.”
“I might’ve influenced the driver. A little.”
“You’re shivering.” She jammed the shovel into the slip-sliding mound of crumpled snow she’d tossed beside the driveway. “You’re coming inside.”
She punctuated the order with a smile, and linked her arm through his. His heart beat hard. That oughta warm you up, he thought. “But…your grandparents…”
“They’re fast asleep. Have been for hours.”
“So,” he said as she led him to the back steps, “they have no idea you’re out here, alone in the dark, in the middle of a major blizzard.”
“No…”
“And if you slipped, clunked your head on something—”
“It’s snow, Ian. Snow.”
“With a half inch of frozen stuff on top of it.”
She paused at the bottom of the stairs. “Says the man who traveled miles, on a snowplow, to earn a few brownie points by having my grandparents’ driveway cleared.”
Ian hung his head. “I’m that obvious?”
She blinked up at him through snowflake-dusted lashes, blue eyes glittering in the golden glow of the porch light. Once upon a time, a look like that might precede a passionate kiss. At the very least, a loving hug. Maleah took a step closer. Licked her lips. Exhaled a sweet sigh. Those minutes on the dance floor, holding her close enough to feel her heart thrumming against his chest, had been wondrous and memorable…and woke a yearning in him as nothing before it had. Would she actually take another step forward, and bridge the gap that had separated them for so long?
Rattled, hopeful, and more than a little scared, Ian decided to take that step, instead…
…and lost his balance.
Ian landed on his back in a deep drift, taking her with him, a warm and petite, parka’d blanket that covered him from chin to shins. Instinct made him wrap his arms around her. Instinct…and an aching desire to hold onto the moment for as long as he could.
He’d heard people say “Time froze,” but until now, hadn’t experienced it. What seemed a full minute passed as those incredible eyes bored into his, searched his face, then squeezed shut. When she opened them again, Maleah whispered, “Are you all right?”
“No. I’m not.”
Both eyebrows disappeared under wet bangs. “I’ll get your snowplow friend to help get you up.”
She started to get up, but Ian tightened his arms around her. “The only thing wrong with me,” he grated, “is…is…”
Where to start? By telling her about the self-loathing he’d experienced every hour since that night at the convenience store? With regrets he’d recited like a litany when sleep eluded him? Or the list of “if onlys” he’d tried so hard to bury in his mind?
Maleah lay her head on his chest and patted his shoulder.
“Maybe Shephard Pratt isn’t such a bad idea.”
“I, ah—”
“Because you are a little crazy.”
Her lyrical voice, soft as the falling snow, touched a long-forgotten place in his heart. Ian didn’t trust himself to speak. Last time she’d brought tears to his eyes had been the day her letter arrived, unopened like the others, demanding that he leave her alone, forever. Eyes burning, he struggled for self-control, and the courage to tell her what he’d come here to say.



Bestselling author LOREE LOUGH once sang for her supper, performing across the U.S. and Canada. Now and then, she blows the dust from her 6-string to croon a tune or two, but mostly, she writes novels that have earned hundreds of industry and "Readers' Choice" awards, 4- and 5-star reviews, and 7 book-to-movie options. The Man She Knew, #1 in her “By Way of the Lighthouse” series, her 3rd for Harlequin Heartwarming, is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Harlequin.com.
Tour Giveaway

- Two winners will receive a $10 Amazon eGift Card (open internationally)
- Two winners will receive an ebook of THE MAN SHE KNEW (open internationally)
- Two winners will receive a print copy of THE MAN SHE KNEW (US only)
- Ends June 13th




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