Book Review with Featured Author: Home for a Cowboy Christmas by Donna Grant

Home for a Cowboy Christmas 

by Donna Grant

 

Publisher & Release: St. Martin’s Press, October 26, 2021

Setting:  Montana

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Length: 319 Pages

Heat Level: 2 Flames

Rating: 4.5 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

The most wonderful time of the year has arrived for this cowboy in New York Times bestseller Donna Grant's next novel, Home for a Cowboy Christmas.

Tis the season—for everyone except Emmy Garrett. She’s on the run after witnessing a crime. But when it becomes clear that trouble will continue following her, the US Marshal in charge takes her somewhere no one will think to look–Montana. Not only is Emmy in a new place for her protection, but now, she’s stuck with a handsome cowboy as her bodyguard…and she wants to do more than kiss him under the mistletoe. 

Dwight Reynolds left behind his old career, but it’s still in his blood. When an old friend calls in a favor, Dwight opens his home to a woman on the run. He tries to keep his distance, but there’s something about Emmy he can’t resist. She stokes his passion and turns his cold nights into warm ones. When danger shows up looking for Emmy, Dwight risks everything to keep her safe.

 

Buy Links:

 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Cowboy-Christmas-Donna-Grant-ebook/dp/B08R2L9QN5

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/home-for-a-cowboy-christmas-donna-grant/1138664954

KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/home-for-a-cowboy-christmas

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Donna_Grant_Home_For_a_Cowboy_Christmas?id=kScQEAAAQBAJ

 

Add to Goodreads & BookBub:

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56421330-home-for-a-cowboy-christmas

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/home-for-a-cowboy-christmas-by-donna-grant

 

Vikki’s Musings

 

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the complimentary digital copy of Home for a Cowboy Christmas by Donna Grant. I voluntarily agreed to read and review this book prior to publication. My opinions are my own, and nothing has influenced my rating.

 

Home for a Cowboy Christmas is another emotionally charged romance with compelling characters and an intriguing plot. There’s even a nice amount of suspense. The pacing pulled me in from the start to the finish.

 

Emmy Garrett is our heroine, and she’s gone through a terrible ordeal. She’s running for her life, and when the US Marshall takes her to the hero for protection; she’s grateful for his succor. Her fear practically jumps off the page. 

 

Dwight Reynolds is the hero, and he has many of the characteristics I most admire in a male protagonist. He doesn’t hesitate to take Emmy in, although it could likely put him in jeopardy, along with his employees, if the villain finds her. 

 

The romance develops fast but, when a male and female spend every waking moment together and the attraction between them crackles with plenty of fire, it’s not surprising. I could easily see them falling in love and having it last.

 

If you enjoy romantic suspense with engaging characters and a plot that pulls you in, then you will love Home for a Cowboy Christmas as much as I did. I always know I’m in for a sensual journey and plenty of high emotion. Happy reading!

 

Author Bio:

 

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant has been praised for her "totally addictive" and "unique and sensual" stories. Her latest acclaimed series, Dark Kings, features a thrilling combination of dragons, Fae, and immortal Highlanders who are dark, dangerous, and irresistible. She lives with her two children and an assortment of animals in Texas. 

 

Social Media:

Website: https://donnagrant.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDonnaGrant/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dgauthor/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/donnagrant1/_created/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/donna-grant

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1141209.Donna_Grant

 

Book Review with Featured Author: Warsaw Fury by Michael Reit

Warsaw Fury by Michael Reit

 

Publisher & Release: Independently published, October 8, 2021

Setting:  WWII Poland

Genre: Historical Fiction

Length: 431 Pages

Rating: 5 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

Warsaw, 1939
We mustn't let darkness win.

Natan Borkowski has it all. In line to take over the successful family business, his future is set.

Julia Horowitz lives in poverty. The daughter of a shoemaker, she dreams of a different life—a different world.

Everything changes when Hitler’s armies invade Poland. Natan’s future is ripped away by the flick of a switch of a Luftwaffe pilot. When the smoke clears, Julia and her family find themselves locked within the walls of the newly-formed Jewish ghetto.

On opposite sides of the wall, Natan and Julia’s lives are not so different anymore. As the Nazis unleash a reign of hunger, terror, and death across the city, they must now decide what’s more terrifying:

To die on their knees, or go down fighting?

Based on true events, Warsaw Fury is a story of love, courage, and resilience in the face of unimaginable evil.

 

Buy Links:

 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Warsaw-Fury-Polish-Resistance-Events-ebook/dp/B099YG9ZLJ

 

FREE on Kindle Unlimited

 

Add to Goodreads

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58883860-warsaw-fury

 

Vikki’s Musings

 

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the complimentary digital copy of Warsaw Fury by Michael Reit. I voluntarily agreed to read and review this heart-wrenching novel prior to publication. My opinions are my own, and nothing has influenced my rating.

 

Warsaw Fury is a riveting novel set in Poland during the WWII. The characters are compelling and the plot enthralling. The pacing pulled me into the story from the first and I stayed enmeshed until the last. 

 

Natan Borkowski is the male protagonist, and he’s a careless seventeen-year-old at the start of the book. He is more concerned with sports than working at his father’s business. As the plot unfolds, Natan faces horrific losses and must grow up fast. His character development is amazing and enriched the story.

 

Julia Horowitz is the female protagonist, and she’s determined to rise above the limits for women to keep them from finding success in what has always been a man’s occupation. Her eyes are opened to what she’ll face if she wants to become an attorney. All that turns to ash when Germany invades Poland, and she and her family are herded into the Jewish ghetto. She too must grow up fast to survive. When her family disappears with no warning, I could feel the devastation that tears through her when she returns home to find them gone. 

 

I enjoyed the growing comradeship between Natan and Julia and loved watching as it turns into an abiding love. They are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for each other if it comes to that. Although there are so many issues to keep them apart, I wanted them to find a way to make it work.

 

The horror of what they go through is visceral and sent chills through me. I became Julia as she leads the children through the sewer. The author shows Natan’s bravery as he fights for his life against the German soldier. I loved his astonishment when he survives the attack and why.

 

If you enjoy historical fiction with complex character, and a plot that will keep you captivated, then you will love Warsaw Fury as much as I did. This is the first book I’ve read by Mr. Reit, and I plan to read his other book soon. Happy reading!

 

Author Bio:

 

Michael Reit is an independently-published author. That means he likes to do everything himself, but he doesn't identify as a control freak. An avid fan of history and historical fiction, and intrigued by WWII, Michael spent years researching lesser-known events, locations, and people to produce his debut novel Beyond the Tracks. He's currently working on his next novel on the Polish Home Army, one of the largest resistance networks in Europe during World War II. Born in the Netherlands, he now lives in beautiful Vienna, Austria, with his partner Esther, daughter Bibi, and Hungarian Vizsla Maggie. 

 

Social Media:

Website: http://michaelreit.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelreit

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelReit

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelreit/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michael-reit

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20489852.Michael_Reit

 

Book Review with Featured Author: Out of the Mountain's Shadow by Rose Alexander

Out of the Mountain’s shadow 

by Rose Alexander

 

 

Publisher & Release: Canelo Saga, June 10, 2021

Setting:  WWII, Albania

Genre: Historical Fiction

Length: 247 Pages

Heat Level: 1 Sweetheart

Rating: 4.5 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

A secret from the war with the power to change one woman’s future… 

1939: War has broken out, and in Albania Bekim’s family take in a Jewish family fleeing from Nazi Austria. The years of war will shape his life in unimaginable ways as Bekim grows to love Hannelore, doing everything in his power to protect her. But will he be enough to keep her safe?

2019: Following a shock redundancy, Ruth is taking an extended holiday in southern Italy where she befriends local Zak. When Zak’s dying father asks them to solve a mystery from his past, Ruth leaps at the chance. Journeying through his homeland of Albania, Ruth and Zak race to find the sacred artefacts hidden in the mountains during the war.

 

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Out-Mountains-Shadow-emotional-historical-ebook/dp/B091BZFNT3

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/out-of-the-mountains-shadow-rose-alexander/1139134576

KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/out-of-the-mountain-s-shadow

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Rose_Alexander_Out_of_the_Mountain_s_Shadow?id=IOEmEAAAQBAJ

 

Add to Goodreads & BookBub:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57826301-out-of-the-mountain-s-shadow

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/out-of-the-mountain-s-shadow-an-emotional-world-war-two-historical-novel-by-rose-alexander

 

Vikki’s Musings

 

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the complimentary digital copy of Out of the Mountain’s Shadow by Rose Alexander. I voluntarily agreed to read and review this book prior to publication. My opinions are my own, and nothing has influenced my rating.

 

Out of the Mountain’s Shadow is a well written novel with engaging characters and an emotionally charged plot. This book is written in dual timelines, one in 2019, and the other in WWII Albania. I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the book.

 

Ruth is the main character in the story set in 2019 in southern Italy. She’s on holiday where she meets Zak and agrees to help him solve a mystery for his dying father. I enjoyed her character a great deal. Her caring ways with her landlord’s young son stole my heart, and her determination to find Bekim’s first love made me love her even more.

 

Bekim is the main character in the story set in war-torn Albania and follows him from a young boy when he befriends Hannelore, a young Jewish child. As the war is fought around them, he falls in love while his family hides her family to keep them safe from the Natzi soldiers. He becomes a resistance fighter and fights to win his country’s freedom.

 

There are dual love stories in this book. Zak and Ruth are well matched, and I enjoyed their relationship a great deal. Then Bekim and Hannelore are wonderful. My heart wept for them when Hannelore leaves Albania bound for America.

 

This is a very emotional book, and it shows the stark reality of the brutal occupation of Albania by Natzi Germany. I loved learning about the resistance fighters and the fierce battle to protect their country.

 

If you enjoy historical fiction with amazing characters and an intriguing plot, then you will love Out of the Mountain’s Shadow. This is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Alexander but it will not be the last. Happy reading!

 

Author Bio:

 

I've had more careers than I care to mention and am currently working full-time as a secondary school English teacher. I write in the holidays, weekends and evenings, whenever I have a chance, although with three children, a husband, a lodger and a cat, this isn't always as often as I'd like. My book is the result of much hard work, research and patience. The greatest reward possible would be my readers' enjoyment, so I hope it does it for you!

 

Social Media:

Website: https://www.rosealexander.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rose.alexander.98434

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RoseA_writer

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rose-alexander

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3219717.Rose_Alexander