Friday, November 24, 2017

Book Reviews for 3 Christmas Tales

Three Lovely Christmas Tales




Homecoming in Christmas Falls by Ciara Knight




Publisher & Release: Hatco Publishing, October 23, 2017

Time and setting:  Present Day, Tennessee

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Book Length: 166 pages

Heat Level: 1 Sweetheart

Rating: 4 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

Eight years after fleeing Christmas Falls because of a high school prank gone wrong, Ashley Brooks receives a mysterious letter from her mentor asking her to come home. She arrives to face all she left behind—her family, her friends, and the rich boy she’d loved who would never date the girl from the wrong side of town.

Brent Donnelly, high school jock, brainiac, and dutiful son did everything right until the day Ashley returns to Christmas Falls. With one look at the girl who got away he questions all his life choices, including following in his father’s footsteps in the family business.

Faced with a potentially devastating decline of tourism in their hometown, Brent and Ashley must work together to save the magic of their town, but when Ashley discovers he still has feelings for her best friend she must finally face the real reason she left Christmas Falls—to try to heal her broken heart.

Seven fabulous authors bring you this holiday romance series about a group of special friends returning to their hometown at the request of their high school mentor. Each book is a standalone, but read them all to fully enjoy the journey of these remarkable women and their emotional reunion with their mentor, an incredible woman who changes their lives and helps save a small town community forever.
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Vikki’s Musings

I always enjoy Ciara Knight’s heart-warming love stories. Homecoming in Christmas Falls is definitely that. I want to thank the author and Net-Galley for the opportunity to read this delightful tale.

This is a unique series where several authors have joined forces and each written a romance about a group of friends who made a pact as children.

Now they are all adults and come together for their beloved music teacher who is fighting a life-threatening disease.

Homecoming in Christmas Falls is the first book in this series, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The characters are real with flaws, especially the heroine, but that just makes her more endearing.

The premise of this story is intriguing, so I enjoyed the plot a great deal. If you like Christmas tales that will put joy in your heart, then you will love Homecoming in Christmas Falls. Happy reading!


Forever Yours in Christmas Falls




Publisher & Release: Hatco Publishing, October 23, 2017

Time and setting:  Present Day, Tennessee

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Book Length: 164 pages

Heat Level: 1 Sweetheart

Rating: 4 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

Morgan Reed is excited to return to her hometown of Christmas Falls and open her beauty salon, but when she arrives at her rented business space she’s shocked to find it already occupied by Dallas Parker—her brother’s best friend, the guy she had a childhood crush on, and the one her mom blames for their family’s greatest tragedy.

With their landlord out of the country and unreachable, Morgan and Dallas must open their businesses together. But, no worries, all small towns need a combo furniture store/beauty salon, right? Ugh. As they work together, Morgan tries to keep her emotional distance but time and off-the-charts chemistry soon turn a childhood friendship into a blossoming romance.

Unfortunately, just when their relationship develops into something deeper, an unexpected crisis re-opens her family’s old wounds and the blame is on Dallas once again. Will Morgan’s sadness and fear pull them apart, or make her realize Dallas has always been her heart’s true safe harbor?

Seven fabulous authors bring you this holiday romance series about a group of special friends returning to their hometown at the request of their high school mentor. Each book is a standalone, but read them all to fully enjoy the journey of these remarkable women and their emotional reunion with their mentor, an incredible woman who changes their lives and helps save a small town community forever.

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Vikki’s Musings

This is the first book I have read by Ms. Halter, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I want to thank the author and Net-Galley for giving me the opportunity to read this heart-warming holiday romance.

The interaction between Morgan and Dallas is great, and I truly enjoyed the story-line. The characters are real, and even though this is a short book, the character development is good. The romance is sweet, and I really rooted for them to find their happy ending.

If you are looking for a lovely holiday read, then you will enjoy Forever Yours in Christmas Falls. The lively secondary characters will steal your heart, along with the hero and heroine. Happy reading!


Christmas at the Second Chance Chocolate Shop





Publisher & Release: Harper Collins Publishing, November 5, 2017

Time and setting:  Present Day, England

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Book Length: 200 pages

Heat Level: 1 flame

Rating: 4.25 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

’Tis the season for second chances…

Serena Hunter loves her new life in the sleepy Devonshire countryside! It’s a world away from her crazy past as the wife of American bad boy rock star, Ritchie Dangerfield.
Now she spends her days making delicious chocolate using milk from the local dairy and she finally feels that everything is back on track. That is, until her handsome ex-husband arrives in the village to win her back…
Away from the limelight, Serena gets to know Ritchie all over again and realizes that maybe a second chance at love is the Christmas miracle she’d been dreaming of all along?
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This is another delightful holiday romance. This is the first book I have read by Kellie Hailes, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I want to thank the publisher and Net-Galley for the opportunity to read this engaging story.

I always enjoy second chance romances, and this is a lovely one. The characters drew me in from the first page and kept me engaged from the first page to the last. The plot is unique, involving a rock star and his wife. She left him and returned to her hometown and opened Sweet Things, a chocolate shop.

Ritchie, the hero, finds he can’t write his music without her and comes to Rabbit Leap, hoping to find his muse. What he finds is the woman he loves. I love how he goes about winning her back. He is willing to sacrifice his music for her. The biggest reason she left him was that he kept a very big part of him concerning his past, closed up. At last, he opens up his past and why he hates Christmas.

Serena’s character is feisty and independent. She leaves Ritchie because she craves that independence. She took a chocolate-making class and it becomes her passion. Although she loves her husband, she can no longer be his eye-candy on his arm. I loved her character and could feel her pain over her decision.

I’m so glad the hero and heroine found their happy ending. The ending of this tale brought tears to my eyes. If you enjoy heart-felt holiday romances, then you will love Christmas at the Second Chance Chocolate Shop. Happy reading!



Thursday, November 16, 2017

Virtual Book Tour: Thicker Than Blood by Anne Marie Citro



Contemporary Romance
Date Published: May 1, 2017

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Every paramedic’s worst nightmare is to arrive at the scene of a horrific accident and find out that the victim is someone they love. Or, in Caden Ross’s case, the woman he used to love. It took two years to finally get over Dakota and move on with his life, or so Caden believed, until he has to face the thought of a world without her. Nothing could have prepared the handsome, headstrong off-duty paramedic for the emotional upheaval of keeping the woman he once thought would be his forever alive.

Dakota Martineau appeared to have the world in the palm of her hand. She is beautiful, kind, has an adoring family, including her best friend and identical twin sister. She has a passion for incorporating her love of life, family, and her cultural background into her dream job with special needs kids. Then, in a life-altering crash, she discovers just how fragile life is. Thankful to be surrounded by an incredible group of friends who will help heal, not just her body, but also her soul, she knows she should be happy she is alive and on the mend, but Dakota is still tormented by the loss of her one true love.

How can you feel safe with the one person who hurt you the most? What road will Caden and Dakota take when they discover fate wreaked havoc on everything they thought was true?


About the Author


Anne Marie Citro grew born and raised in the greater Toronto area of Ontario, Canada. She grew up in a large, loving family. Anne Marie is married to a very patient man. He is the love of her life. They have four very cool sons, and the girls they brought into their family that have become daughters of her heart. She has been blessed enough to finally have a beautiful granddaughter after four sons. She has her own personal gaggle of girlfriends, who enrich her life on a daily basis and make her laugh. Caesar Friday is her favourite day of the week. Caesars with the girls and date night with her hubby. She works with special-needs teenagers, that have taught her how to appreciate life and see it through gentler eyes. Anne Marie was encouraged by her husband to follow her lifelong dream to write. She loves the characters that take over imagination and haunts her dreams. She loves the arts and she has tried her hand at painting, wood sculpting, chainsaw carving, wood burning, metal and wire sculptures. Yes, her husband is a very patient man! Anne Marie is an avid reader and enjoys about three books per week. But nothing makes her happier then riding on the back of her husband's Harley and throwing her arms out and feeling the wind race by. Anne Marie and her husband take a few weeks every year to travel to spectacular destination around the world. Anne Marie is excited and can't wait to see what the next chapter holds for her life.


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Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Promo Blitz: She Do Run Run by Amy Swifton



Romantic Suspense
Date Published: September 26, 2017
Publisher: Broadback

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She Do Run Run is a fast, double-shot-of-espresso read. Its heart-racing story can be consumed in a few quick hours.

Jenny’s life is shattered when her Special Ops husband is killed. To escape the pain, she falls into a dangerous cycle of random sex and booze, and one night she kills a violent man.

She runs off into the unknown, desperate to survive and change her life. That’s when Lieutenant Jon Dowling appears.




Excerpt

Enraged, KC bounced off the bed, faltered, then whirled about to face me.  He broke for me, spitting threats and curses, his giant shadow of a body charging.  I felt a twist of terror in the pit of my stomach.

I slipped the Luger from my purse easily—feeling the cool, sticky grip.  There was no time to shout out a warning.  He was coming—a charging, killing animal.  I squeezed off two shots.  The impact stunned him, jerked him erect.  Froze him.  I could see his eyes, wide in the bright flash of yellow neon.  He heaved out a loud breath, like a snort.

“You shot me, you bitch!  I’ll kill you!  You fuckin’ shot me!  I’ll kill you!”

He came at me, a big angry bear reaching.  I fired two more shots.  I watched in horror as he teetered, and stumbled backwards off-balance.  He bounced off the wall, face blank, and dropped like a heavy sack.  I felt the thud of his body shake the floor under my bare feet.

I stood breathing, sweating, heart kicking.  I knew he was dead.  I didn’t need to check.  I mean, I shot him four times, for Chrissake!  Did anyone hear the shots?  I strained my ears.  Dead quiet.  Were there people next door?  Would someone call the police?

Strangely, I felt calm—incredibly calm.  Where was the shock?  Methodically, I slipped the handgun back into my purse.  Then I realized I was naked.  I found my clothes, slipped them on, turned the room lights on dim and searched the room, refusing to look at KC, making sure I hadn’t left anything: still had my earrings, watch, phone, purse.  Would there be finger prints?  Maybe.  I knew, from some of Kyle’s police buddies, that prints were hard to find.  I hadn’t touched many things.  I hadn’t even drunk from a glass or used a towel.  What about hair in the bed?  A broken nail?  No time to search.  Impossible anyway.

I turned off the lights and slipped out of the motel into a dark humid night.  The motel office was 70 feet or so away and, fortunately, I hadn’t stepped inside the office with KC when he registered.  I had not been seen.  I listened for police sirens.   Nothing.  Strange.

We had come on KC’s motorcycle, leaving my car in the bar’s parking lot.  I’d have to walk the five miles or so, and I did, keeping my head low, edging along in the shadows.

When I arrived back at the bar, the parking lot was still bloated with motorcycles, trucks and old dinged up cars.  I glanced about, saw a couple locked in a kiss near the front door, climbed into my car, cranked the engine and drove away, still feeling oddly calm.  Why?  I had just killed a man.

The police would soon be looking for the killer, of course.  The bartender had seen me, and the man who had moved to give me his barstool, had seen me.  Would they remember what I looked like?  As far as I knew, they were the only ones.  No one knew my name or anything else about me.  Still, there was no doubt the police would find some evidence.  If there was hair in the bed, they’d run a DNA test.  This was Florida after all, and Florida cops weren’t stupid, at least not the ones Kyle and I had known.

So, what now?  I drove, and drove, and kept on driving.  I lost track of time and place, my mind soon entranced by the blurring white lines of the road, by the hum of the car engine and the expanding, chilling realization that I’d just killed a man. 

About the Author:
I'm a Florida-based writer, who loves all things romantic, with a shot of suspense.  I also love to write Time Travel Novels.
When the characters keep me up nights, I feel good about the story.

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Monday, November 13, 2017

Promo Blitz: Forgotten Warriors by D. Ralph Young

History
Date Published: May 2016
Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing

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Forgotten Warrios is the story of the aphibious march across the Pacific from the Aleutians to Okinawa from the experiences of shipmates aboard the USS J. Franklin Bell which includes the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the following battles: The Aleutian Campaign (Adak, Attu and Kiska); The Solomon Islands Campaign (Guadalcanal, Bougainville); The Coral Sea Battle (Naval Battle); The Battle of Midway (Naval Battle); The Battle for Tarawa; The Battle for Kwajalein; The Battle for Eniwetok; The Marianas Champaign (Saipan, Tinian, and Guam); The Battle for Leyte; The Battle for Iwo Jima; The Battle for Peleliu; The Battle for Okinawa. Refresh your memory with the what, where, when and why for each of these battles, the listing of the Medal of Honor Awardees for each battle, as well as a listing of casualties. Also included are the contributions made by Coast Guard, Submarine Service, and Seabees as well as the women of the USA toward victory over the Japanese in World War II.

It seem like we celebrate Normandy every year, which we should, but when have you heard about Peleliu, Tarawa, Tinian etc.During the invasion of Peleliu we had 3201 more casualties than D-Day at Normandy. At Tarawa 2 out of 3 marines never made it to the beach. Admiral Spruance called the invasion of Tinian the most brilliant amphibious operation of WWII. The two fake landings on the most suitable beach on the South caused the Japanese to move their troops in that direction, which allowed us to land on the North less desirable beach, with minimum resistance. I know this for a fact because I was there.

The book covers all major battles in the Pacific where statistic shows that when we are compared to our counterparts that fought in the European Theater we were 5 times more likely to be killed; 3 times more likely to be wounded and twice as likely to end up being a POW.

We fought a different kind of enemy in the Pacific. If the Germans or Italians were surrounded they surrendered. But, the Japanese would charge with or without a weapon. That explains why our wounded to death rate was 3 to 1. For the Japanese it was the reverse of 18 killed to each one wounded.

The book recognized all the Medal of Honor that were awarded in the Pacific with a brief description of why each was awarded.



About the Author



D. Ralph Young was born in central Kentucky in 1925 and was raised on a farm in Lincoln County. He served as a Gunner's Mate on the USS J Franklin Bell for nearly 3 years during WWII.

After military service he obtained an engineering degree from the University of Kentucky. He was involved in developing electric power systems all over the USA as well as the Middle-east and South-east Asia. He retired to his place of birth in Kentucky 3 times before really calling it over from an active engineering career to become an author and write 2 books. The Power of a Mothers Prayer and Forgotten Warriors.

In 2006 he was inducted into the University of Kentucky, College of Engineering Hall of Distinction

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Saturday, November 11, 2017

Promo Blitz: Daredevils by Anne Greene

Historical Romance, Women’s Fiction
Date Published: January 2017
Publisher: Forget Me Not Romances, Winged Publications

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What happens in the roaring twenties when a daredevil barnstormer falls in love with a wing-walking flapper threatened by dangerous men out to exploit her?

Orphan and wing-walker Gloria needs a job when her boss dies in a barnstorming accident. With no other jobs available, she sweet-talks Rand into letting her walk his wing. Flying Ace Rand fights wartime injuries that hamper his flying even as he works to gain the world-record for solo flight across the Atlantic. He bucks his wealthy dad’s plans for him to settle down, join the company, and marry a socialite.

Rand falls in love with the courageous, fun-loving, and  daring Gloria. But Orphan Gloria’s experienced too many men who promise love and marriage and instead take advantage of her being alone in the world. She holds Rand at arm’s length. Without her knowledge, Rand protects her and makes sure she doesn’t starve. When Gloria’s offered a movie contract Rand knows he must intervene.


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Excerpt

Kill Devil Hills, 1925

Gloria plodded from the bathroom into the bedroom. “Daisy, we’ve no food in the cottage, so I need to have a heart-to-heart chat with Mr. Rand Maitland. He’s exactly the type of older man I prefer to work with.” She bent to pat the blonde puppy’s head. No more fending off amorous bosses. “I need to find another partner like Buzz.” A tear slipped from her eye and wiggled down her cheek. “I miss you, Buzz. If you were still alive, I wouldn’t be in this mess. Thanks to Vincent and his lies, no other pilot will hire me.” 

Gloria swiped a fist across her cheek to wipe the tears and snagged her only dress from a hanger, leaving the small closet empty. “I’ll force myself to be amusing and cheerful. Older men like that.” Anything to improve her chance of getting a job. According to Annie, Rand Maitland had been an ace fly boy during the war. She could trust his acrobatics.

She perched on the edge of the sagging bed, pulled shiny, silk stockings just above her knees and rolled in the garters. She stood and slid into the white dress that ended in a shocking way just below her knees. Well, older men liked that too. She’d need every advantage to capture this job.

Suited her just fine she didn’t need to flatten her bosom because God hadn’t overly endowed her. In her line of work a voluptuous bust got in the way. She reached behind her back to zip up her dress. Easy, because the fabric draped open to below her shoulder blades in the rear. Scandalous in the daytime, but she only had this one gown or her trousers. “Trousers won’t impress the old man, Daisy, and I can’t wear my costume. Being broke is just tedious.”  She smoothed the drop-waist dress and settled on the edge of the bed to slip on red, high-heeled shoes. She stood and pivoted in front of her blonde puppy. “How do I look, Daisy?”

Though her might-be-new boss lived close, she’d borrow Annie’s Model T roadster. “Rand Maitland’s bound to have his Jenny tied-down near the sand runway, and I don’t want to get grit inside my only pair of dress shoes.”

Daisy raised a paw to be shaken. Gloria smiled, bent and shook the furry offering.  She didn’t need the auto since Kitty Hawk wasn’t more than five hundred yards or so from Annie’s cottage near Kill Devil Hills, but Mr. Maitland would be more impressed if she drove. He mustn’t know how desperately she needed this job or he wouldn’t hire her. Her high heels tapped a determined rhythm on the uneven linoleum as she crossed the living room. She shut the door behind her and marched down the rickety wooden stairs to the beach. Stepping carefully to keep loose sand out of her shoes, she tiptoed around the cottage to where Annie had parked her Model T before she left for Europe.  Gloria bent, cupped the crank handle on the front of the car in her palm, pulled the choke wire with her left hand and gave the crank a quick half-turn. The engine sputtered to life. Her shoes slipped on the sandy driveway as she minced on tip-toes around to the driver’s seat and climbed inside.

She drove close to the three bi-planes tied down just beyond a cluster of larger cottages on stilts. Too late to turn back. She’d forgotten to apply that new chalk-white face powder that was all the rage. Nor had she painted her lips red. She’d wanted that color to bolster her confidence and hide her pain. She shook her head and shrugged. Well, she had a stiff spine and didn’t need to paint on courage.  She pulled up next to the closest home, stopped the automobile, turned off the ignition, set the brake, and slipped out the door. Just off the road, her red high-heels sank into loose sand. “Ain’t we got fun?” she murmured dryly. Her shoes had survived worse obstacles. These red high heels would outlast this setback too.

In the slanting morning light, three visiting biplanes cast long shadows. All the other planes, snug inside hangars, waited for tomorrow’s barnstorming show. A man wearing blue coveralls with his back to her, bent over the engine casing of the middle Jenny. Annie had mentioned Mr. Maitland named his plane Jazzman, so that big fella had to be the man himself, right where she thought she’d find him. Taking giant steps through the sifting sand between her and the hard-packed sand beneath the Jennies, she stopped directly behind him. She tugged her red cloche hat low over one eyebrow, held down the silky skirt flapping in the breeze, and straightened her shoulders.

“Hello!” She highlighted her voice to sound perky. Older men liked perky.  The man grunted, tightened a bolt on the engine with a large wrench and then turned. She started, her hands flew up, and she almost lost her footing. Annie hadn’t mentioned her husband’s youngest brother was gorgeous. He flashed a smile. Dimples played around that dazzling grin and found an immediate place in her heart. He stared at her with eyes bluer than the bluest lapis. And he was no older man.

Too bad for her. She pressed her lips together. She’d so counted on Mr. Maitland being older. She’d learned her lesson about handsome men.

And she better make sure she remembered it.  

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About the Author

ANNE GREENE's home is in the quaint antiquing town of McKinney, Texas, just a few miles north of Dallas.

Her husband is a retired Colonel, Army Special Forces. Her little brown and white Shih Tzu, Lily Valentine, shares her writing space, curled at her feet. She has four beautiful, talented children who keep her on her toes.

She's traveled to every location of each book she's written, and each book is a book of her heart. Besides her first love, writing, she enjoys travel, art, sports, reading, sailing, snorkeling, movies, and way too many other things to mention. Life is good.

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Friday, November 10, 2017

Promo Blitz: Spur of the Moment Bride by Anne Greene


Historical Western Romance
Date Published: March 2017
Publisher: Forget Me Not Romances, Winged Publications
FREE on Kindle Unlimited!!

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Heiress Abby Hollister’s Papa demands she stop toying with young men’s hearts and marry within a month or be disinherited. After reading an ad for a mail-order bride in untamed Laramie, Wyoming, Abby makes a list of characteristics she expects for her husband and sets off to claim the perfect mate and secure her personal fortune.

Stage coach driver, Zach Tyler likes his exciting job where he outsmarts robbers and Indians and keeps the stage running regardless of weather, break-downs, and ornery passengers. But passenger Abby Hollister proves to be an unusual challenge. He protects her on the journey to Laramie, but in that town women are as scarce as a bird’s nest in a cuckoo clock, and men go crazy when the beauty arrives seeking a husband. And Zach doesn't know Abby's arrived to marry him.


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Excerpt

The stage driver halted his four horses with a screech of brakes and huffing of animals, their breath wafting clouds in the cool air.
The driver slammed down from his high perch to stand before her. He tipped his dusty hat. “Ma’am, are you boarding?”
Brown eyes stared at Abby Hollister above a face smothered in black whiskers.
She swished her long skirts to brush off as much of the dust as she could. “Yes, I am,” she managed before she sneezed into her handkerchief.
“Sorry about the dust. I failed to see you standing there.” He tied the two handfuls of reins he held to the hitching post. “We don’t stop here long. I’ll get this luggage loaded.” He turned toward her, long-lashed brown eyes wide. “Are these all yours?”
“Yes. I’m planning to stay in Laramie for a period of time.”
He nodded and yelled to the man riding shotgun. “Uri, catch these will ya?” He tossed her heavy bag laden with books up to the other man kneeling on the top of the coach as if her luggage weighed no more than a sack of flour.
Well, she shouldn’t stand here with her mouth hanging open. She closed her lips. None of her rejected beaus could have loaded her belongings without breaking into a sweat. He was so efficient. Well, of course, this was the man’s job, so he was accustomed to tossing heavy items to the compartment above the coach. She need not be surprised. And yet, she stood, her brain registering his strength and ability. True, he was tall and the distance wasn’t so far for him. And his mackinaw hid his build, but he must be somewhat muscular to heave her trunk up on one shoulder when Moses and Caleb had lugged it to the wagon and jimmied the big trunk aboard as if the leather box weighed as much as a steamship. How beautiful to watch the man in action. But she must not stare. T’wasn’t lady like.
“Are you ready, Miss?”
Why he wasn’t even breathing hard. “Yes, I am.”
He opened the stagecoach door for her.
She gathered up her skirts and tried to set her boot on the first high step.
He held out his hand and all but heaved her up into the coach.
She looked back down at him. “What is your name, Sir?”
He lifted dark eyebrows above dangerous-looking brown eyes. “Zach Tyler, Ma’am.”
Even his resonant voice stirred her blood. Her heart tripped faster. Blue blazes, had she been hoping to hear he was Corky Callahan? She settled herself inside the coach on the leather seat. Well, God had been known to work miracles. But usually He didn’t place the perfect man right in her path. Though after Papa’s mandate, she’d asked Him to. He could have done just that for her, knowing she’d been in somewhat a frenzy lately. Anyway, despite the dense collection of whiskers, Mr. Tyler appeared to be too good-looking.
Her future husband had to be ugly.


About the Author


ANNE GREENE's home is in the quaint antiquing town of McKinney, Texas, just a few miles north of Dallas.

Her husband is a retired Colonel, Army Special Forces. Her little brown and white Shih Tzu, Lily Valentine, shares her writing space, curled at her feet. She has four beautiful, talented children who keep her on her toes.

She's traveled to every location of each book she's written, and each book is a book of her heart. Besides her first love, writing, she enjoys travel, art, sports, reading, sailing, snorkeling, movies, and way too many other things to mention. Life is good.

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FREE on Kindle Unlimited!!
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Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Book & Audio Review: The Trouble with Dukes by Grace Burrowes

The Trouble with Dukes by Grace Burrowes




Publisher & Release: Forever, December 20, 2016

Time and setting: Regency period, London

Genre: Historical Romance/Regency

Book Length:  369 pages

Heat Level: 2 Flame

Rating: 5 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

THEY CALL HIM THE DUKE OF MURDER...
The gossips whisper that the new Duke of Murdoch is a brute, a murderer, and even worse--a Scot. They say he should never be trusted alone with a woman. But Megan Windham sees in Hamish something different, someone different.

No one was fiercer at war than Hamish MacHugh, though now the soldier faces a whole new battlefield: a London Season. To make his sisters happy, he'll take on any challenge--even letting their friend Miss Windham teach him to waltz. Megan isn't the least bit intimidated by his dark reputation, but Hamish senses that she's fighting battles of her own. For her, he'll become the warrior once more, and for her, he might just lose his heart.

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Vikki’s Musings

Oh, my, this is a wonderful book. This is the first book I've read by Ms. Burrowes in quite some time, and it's a fine example of her incredible skill as an author. The story flows beautifully, the plot is lively, but the best part is the engaging characters that will capture your heart from the first page to the last.

Meggie's character is a pure delight. She is one of the most endearing characters I've encountered in quite some time. She is a true Regency lady, loves her family and will protect them from harm at her own expense.

Hamish is a wonderful hero who will steal your heart. I know he did mine. He is burdened by the unexpected title of duke, something he would never want, but he assumes the mantle superbly well. His most engaging characteristic is his high sense of honor. He loves his family, and falls for Meggie right away, which moves the story along at a fast pace.

The romance between the pair is sweet, yet sensual. The sexual tension practically jumps off the page. The plot has the couple falling in love early on, and the conflict is more external then internal. I really enjoyed that aspect of this book a great deal. So many times, the conflict is antagonistic, which is not something I enjoy.

I listened to the sudio version, and James Langdon is fabulous. His ability to bring each character to life is brilliant. I will definitely look for more books narrated by him.


If you're looking for a romantic Regency tale with amazing characters and a truly dastardly villain, then you will enjoy The Trouble with Dukes as much as I did. If you are a fan of her original Windham series, you are in for a treat because many of them are in this story. Happy reading!