Feature Post and Mini Book Reviews: Rose Bend Romance Series Books #0.5 thru #2 by Naima Simone

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Mini Book Reviews for the first four stories in Naima Simone’s Rose Bend series. I have been binge reading all of these fantastic romances and I am happy to still have four more to go.

These romances are multicultural, have characters that break your heart before healing them with their HEAs, and do have some very smokin’ hot sex scenes but they are not gratuitous. This series is set in the small town of Rose Bend which is located in the Berkshires and I really hope there is a place just like it in the real world.

Each book numbered with a 0.5 is novella length and features new side characters from the town and all of the whole number books feature a brother or sister from the Dennison family who you follow throughout the series.

I highly recommend this romance series and I am so glad I found this author because when I am done with this series, she has written more.

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Book Description

Goodbye is never easy…but neither is love.

Cherrie Moore is just passing through, the same way she does every year. Rose Bend’s annual motorcycle rally has been her sanctuary—two solid weeks just for herself, just for a little while; one long, peaceful ride through the Berkshires, then back home to bustling Chicago. In and out, and gone again. No strings, no commitments. Until she meets Maddox Holt.

The man is pure temptation, and he sure has a mouth on him—a redheaded bullet Cherrie knows she’d be smart to dodge. When the mysterious dive bar owner pulls her onto the dance floor that first night in town, her plans for a clean getaway turn muddy. Something’s there between them, sure…but Maddox has roots in quiet Rose Bend, and he’s looking for more than a fling.

Cherrie came here for a break from it all. After the year she’s had, her heart can’t take another hit. But before long, she’ll have to decide—should she risk her freedom for a second chance at love…or just enjoy the ride while it lasts?

My Mini Book Review

SLOW DANCE AT ROSE BEND (A Rose Bend Book #0.5) by Naima Simone is an intense novella length contemporary romance featuring independent jewelry maker Cherrie Moore and Rose Bend bar owner Maddox Holt. This love at first sight novella is packed with more emotion than some full-length books.

Cherrie is once again in Rose Bend for two weeks to attend the annual motorcycle rally, to sell some of her jewelry, and catch up with old friends. When the hot bartender hits on Cherrie, she is at first not interested after just getting out of a difficult relationship, but the sparks are flying around her and Maddox. She agrees to two weeks of fun, but Maddox has other plans.

Explosive chemistry, hot sex, and finding the person who loves you for who you are. Yes, please!

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Book Description

If it was only about her, she might never have come back to Rose Bend.

But it’s not only about her anymore.

Sydney Collins left the small Berkshires town of Rose Bend eight years ago, grieving her sister’s death—and heartbroken over her parents’ rejection. But now the rebel is back—newly divorced and pregnant—ready to face her fears and make a home for her child in the caring community she once knew. The last thing she needs is trouble. But trouble just set her body on fire with one hot, hot smile.

Widower and Rose Bend mayor Coltrane Dennison hasn’t smiled in ages. Until a chance run-in with Sydney Collins, who’s all grown-up and making him want what he knows he can’t have. Grief is his only connection to the wife and son he lost, and he won’t give it up. Not for Sydney, not for her child, not for his heart. But when Sydney’s ex threatens to upend everything she’s rebuilt in Rose Bend, Cole and Sydney may find that a little trouble will take them where they never expected to go.

My Mini Book Review

THE ROAD TO ROSE BEND (A Rose Bend Book #1) by Naima Simone is an emotional contemporary romance that features the return of rebel Sydney Collins to her small hometown in the Berkshires and the widowed mayor of Rose Bend Coltrane “Cole” Dennison. This story brought me to tears in so many scenes and yet it is balanced with happiness and love throughout with an extremely satisfying HEA.

Besides the main romance plot, Sydney is dealing with being pregnant by her ex-husband after their divorce and unresolved issues which lead to her rebellion all through her teen years with her parents after her sister died from cancer when she was younger. Cole is a widower of only two years and besides losing his young wife, he also lost his son. Even with all this angst, Ms. Simone is still able to find moments of joy and love between these two because they really have empathy for each other’s pasts and present problems. The sex scenes are explicit, but not gratuitous.

The entire Denison family is introduced in this book, and they are fully drawn and realistic. I am looking forward to following them in future books in this series.

I love Sydney and Cole, the entire Dennison family, and the small town of Rose Bend. I highly recommend this contemporary romance!

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Book Description

It starts with an unexpected kiss…

Remi Donovan doesn’t know what possessed Declan Howard to sidle up to her desk and ask for a kiss—but she’s not about to turn him down. After all, she’s had a secret crush on the sexy-as-sin wealth manager ever since he set foot in Rose Bend two years ago. Still, why steal a kiss from a small-town librarian when a man like Declan could have any woman he wants?

For Declan, the plan is simple: fake a relationship with Remi to keep his ex off his back and his matchmaking mother happy. As the charade brings them closer, it ignites something real—something neither can ignore. But before they can build a happy future together, they’ll both have to reconcile with the past…

My Mini Book Review

A KISS TO REMEMBER (A Rose Bend Book #1.5) by Naima Simone is a fake relationship contemporary romance novella in the Rose Bend series featuring small town librarian Remi Donovan and wealth manager Declan Howard. What starts with an unexpected offer of a kiss in the library then turns into a declaration of a relationship to family and friends which leads to an emotional journey for both Remi and Declan. Ms. Simone is able to pack so much emotion in such a short novella.

I especially loved and had empathy for Remi in this story. She has learned to love herself and her plus size even with the negativity from some people in town including her own mother. Declan may have started out just trying to make life easier for himself, but he truly appreciates the full bodied and intelligent Remi. I enjoyed their fake to real relationship and their journey to get there.

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Book Description

The holidays have never been her thing. But Christmas in Rose Bend has more than one surprise in store…

Grieving ER nurse Nessa Hunt is on a road trip with her sullen teen half sister, Ivy, and still reeling from her mother’s deathbed confession: Nessa’s dad wasn’t really her dad. Seeking answers, they arrive in Rose Bend to find a small town teeming with the kind of Christmas cheer Nessa usually avoids. But then she meets the innkeeper’s ruggedly sexy son, Wolfgang Dennison.

Wolf’s big, boisterous family is like a picture-perfect holiday card. Nessa has too much weighing on her to feel like she fits—even though the heat between her and Wolf is undeniable. And the merriment bringing an overdue smile to Ivy’s face is almost enough to make Nessa believe in the Christmas spirit. But with all her parental baggage, including lingering questions about her birth father, is there room in Nessa’s life for happy holidays and happily-ever-after?

My Mini Book Review

CHRISTMAS IN ROSE BEND (A Rose Bend Book #2) by Naima Simone is a an emotional holiday contemporary romance featuring ER nurse Nessa Hunt who is visiting Rose Bend with her stepsister and staying at the Dennison’s Family Inn. She is literally knocked off her feet by carpenter Wolfgang ‘Wolf’ Dennison as they wait to check in. The attraction is immediate, but Nessa has been hurt so often by men in her past, she no longer lets anyone completely into her heart.

Nessa no longer celebrates Christmas, but here she is in small town Christmas hell. Both Nessa and Wolf’s histories are heartbreaking and yet Wolf is determined to help Nessa bridge the rift with her stepsister and get her to enjoy the Christmas season again. The realistic dialogue between these two was either making me laugh or cry. Even with their fears, they could not stop their intense physical attraction to each other which led to sex scenes that are explicit, but not gratuitous. The road to the HEA in this romance is rough, but very satisfying.

This romance is full of angst, love, laughter, family, small town life and Christmas cheer. This series can be read as standalone romances, but they are so well written that they pull you in and you will fall in love with the Dennison family and Rose Bend and want to read them all, just like me.

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About the Author

Published since 2009, USA Today Bestselling author Naima Simone loves writing sizzling romances with heart, a touch of humor and snark. Her books have been featured in The Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly, and described as balancing “crackling, electric love scenes with exquisitely rendered characters caught in emotional turmoil.”

She is wife to Superman, or his non-Kryptonian, less bullet proof equivalent, and mother to the most awesome kids ever. They all live in perfect, sometimes domestically-challenged bliss in the southern United States.

Social Media Links

Website: http://naimasimone.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Naima_Simone

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/naima-simone

Book Review: Exposed: A Circle of the Red Lily Novel by Anna J. Stewart

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

EXPOSED: A Circle of the Red Lily Novel by Anna J. Stewart is the first intriguing romantic suspense in the Circle of the Red Lily series featuring a special cast of characters caught up in a murderous set of secrets from old Tinseltown that puts these friends in jeopardy in present day Hollywood.

Riley Temple is fascinated with photography from a young age and her grandfather, who was a famous Hollywood photographer taught her everything. She is fascinated with old Hollywood, so she buys old rolls of film to develop in addition to pursuing her bill paying gig as a paparazzi. When she develops a roll of film from a pawn shop, she discovers what appears to be a series of photos showing the death of a young woman. Riley does not trust the police, but as her friend is killed and more are threatened, she finds herself reluctantly turning to Detective Quinn Burton for help.

LAPD Homicide Detective Quinn Burton is as frustrated as he is intrigued by the argumentative Riley, but he discovers she will do anything to protect her friends and family even as she vows to discover the truth behind the woman in the photo. With unknown killers after the photos, Riley and Quinn work to discover why these old photos and the secrets of the Red Lily symbol are worth killing for.

This story pulled me in with two strong protagonists, all the interesting secondary characters in Temple House and a decades old mystery/secret cult/serial killings. Riley and Quinn’s relationship is plagued with a lack of trust, fractious with entertaining dialogue, and smokin’ hot when they finally make it to a bed. The first Riley ‘jumping before she thinks’ moment was believable; the second time was a bit irritating even with the given reason. I am really looking forward to discovering more about the other inhabitants of Temple house and the continuation of Riley and Quinn’s relationship. The suspense plot is limited to the killers after Riley and keeping the photos secret with just the beginning of the full horror of what has been in hiding in Hollywood for decades. Even though I usually do not like books that carry over too many plot threads to future books, I am so invested in these characters and the hint of what is to come that I cannot wait for the next book.

I recommend this first romantic suspense book in the Circle of the Red Lily series.

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About the Author

A geek at heart, USA Today and national bestselling author Anna J Stewart writes “refreshingly unique, quietly humorous, and profoundly moving romance.” (RT Book Reviews) Her books include The Butterfly Harbor series for Harlequin Heartwarming, along with the Blackwell continuity series. She also writes the Honor Bound series for Harlequin Romantic Suspense and has written in the ongoing Colton family saga. As her first love is paranormal romance, she’s published a number of novellas, including the Tome Wardens trilogy collection. EXPOSED, her first book of The Circle of the Red Lily romantic suspense series with CAEZIK Romance will be released in November of 2022. Readers can get a taste for what’s to come with her Nemesis Files Trilogy (light romantic suspense), available on audio through Scribd.

NYTimes bestselling author Brenda Novak says “The talented Anna J Stewart delivers every time!”

Anna lives in Northern California where she deals with a serious Supernatural & Jason Momoa addiction, surrounds herself with friends and family and tolerates two devious cats named Sherlock and Rosie.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.authorannastewart.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ajstewartwriter

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/anna-j-stewart

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Mysterious Amish Nanny by Patrice Lewis

Book Description

Stepping into her past…

Reveals a future she didn’t know she wanted.

When car failure stalls Englischer Ruth Wengerd’s impulsive cross-country trip, she doesn’t expect to be rescued by a horse and buggy—or to suddenly become a nanny for widower Adam Chupp’s son. Helping the sweet family reminds Ruth of her Amish upbringing and the shameful secret she’s hiding. But when the temporary job begins to feel permanent, can she face up to her past…for a future she left once before?

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Mysterious Amish Nanny by Patrice Lewis is a very uplifting book.  It has readers understanding how someone needs to change their lifestyle for their emotional well-being, preferring to have family come first.

The heroine, Ruth Wengerd, quits her lucrative job on Wall Street and impulsively leaves behind everything to go on a cross-country trip.  Unfortunately, her car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and she needs to be rescued by an Amish man and his son. Because she needs money, she agrees to be the nanny for Lucas, the son of Adam Chupp who is a widower.  She begins to fall for this family, bringing back memories of the time she was part of an Amish community as a young child.

Adam is also a contrast for Ruth.  He shows her the importance of family, and that money should be for support not for ambition.  While Ruth makes Adam understand the importance of having a partner, he shows her the importance of family.

As with all of Patrice Lewis books readers get a heartfelt story with some mysterious plotlines that will keep people turning the pages.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: The idea for the story?

Patrice Lewis:  I had this story in my head years ago. I wanted to write someone snaping  emotionally, where they leave their job, and then have their car break down in the middle of nowhere after going on a cross country trip. I had read about the pressure cooker environment of Wall Street, contrary to the lifestyle I have. I based some scenes in the story from the book Young Money by Kevin Roose. Where my routine is deliberately slow and unpressured this is contrasted by the intense Wall Street environment that sucks employees every hour of someone’s life. This was the theme I wanted to explore.

EC:  What is the mystery of the story?

PL: There are several little mysteries woven through it. First, why did the heroine’s parents leave the Amish when she was a ten-year-old?  There is also how Adam tries to figure her background out after seeing a missing flyer of Ruth. Besides those there was why Ruth left a successful job on Wall Street, what had she done to become so ashamed?

EC:  You explore some traditions of the Amish?

PL:  I wrote in the story how they sing hymns. On YouTube I came across a couple of Amish girls, one playing the guitar and the other singing a particular hymn.

EC:  How would you describe the heroine, Ruth?

PL:  She is impulsive and ambitious. She is also impetuous, affectionate, kind, and tender, which comes out in her love of children.  She is searching for a “home.”

EC:  How would you describe Adam?

PL:  There is a lot of my husband in him. We have a woodcraft business for several years. It can leave someone very frazzled which is how Adam reacts. He is lonely, caring, kind, and worried about his hyperactive son. He left behind his support structure after his wife passed away. He was a single dad.

EC:  How similar is the relationship between the four-year-old child Lucas and Ruth?

PL:  Both are impulsive, enthusiastic, energetic, and firecrackers. Ruth understood Lucas.  I based the story where Ruth became Lucas’ nanny on my daughter.  She was a professional nanny and learned how to deal with these overly active children by keeping them occupied. Lucas adored Ruth and always wanted to impress her.

EC:  What about the relationship between Adam and Ruth?

PL: She still has the Wall Street mentality that money is everything, while he just wants to earn enough to support, himself and his son. Ruth is vulnerable. The relationship started with the young boy’s feelings for Ruth. She remembers the fond memories of the Amish view of community and family since in her early life she was raised Amish. They both realize what they are missing:  her a family, and he a solid home life.

EC:  How did the financial end affect the relationship?

PL:  Adam and Ruth became a team first, as she helped him with his finances. Ruth was able to keep track of his finances, write proposals, write estimates, and do the billing and payroll.  This freed him up to build, construct, and supervise. This is also based on how my husband, and I handled our business.  He can create and build, while I do the numbers and taxes. Just as with us, with Ruth and Adam, one person’s weakness is the other person’s strength. They balance each other off.

EC:  Next book?

PL:  The title is The Quilter’s Scandalous Past. It is based on a huge Amish store in Ohio called Lehman’s.  The heroine, Esther, manages the store for her aunt and uncle.  She works with this prospective buyer who knew her as a teenager. It is probably coming out in June. The third story in this series has a “Beauty and the Beast” theme.

THANK YOU!!

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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Book Review: Buried Ranch Secrets by Lisa Childs

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

BURIED RANCH SECRETS by Lisa Childs is an inspirational romantic suspense with a second chance romance and a page-turning cold case investigation. This is a book in the loosely connected Love Inspired Inspirational Cold Case collection. Each book is a standalone HEA romantic suspense.

FBI agent Bethany Snow returns home for the first time in several years to spend Christmas with her parents and to decide on her future with the FBI. After being picked up from the airport, her father, the town’s sheriff, is called to the Shepard ranch where a skeleton has been unearthed. Her father asks for Bethany’s help, which she is eager to give.

Cody Shepard, after years on the rodeo circuit has returned home with his young daughter to take over the running of the family ranch when his father is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. A skeleton is discovered on the ranch and Bethany, the only woman who broke his heart that he could never forget shows up to work the case.

As Cody and Bethany work to discover the identity of the skeleton, the old connection is still there but Bethany plans on leaving again, and Cody needs to protect his and his daughter’s hearts. A chain of discoveries begin to reveal secrets from the past that an unknown killer wants to keep buried at any cost.

This is an engaging romantic suspense with a believable second chance romance and a suspense plot that kept me guessing. Cody is a responsible father, and his daughter is Molly was adorable. Bethany is an interesting heroine, who is at a point in her life where she is making decisions on her future both professionally and personally which I believe many woman can relate to. All the secondary characters are well drawn and satisfying in their pivotal roles in both the romantic and suspense plots.  The inspirational aspects of this story are a romance with no sex scenes, church attendance and volunteering, and praying for the safety of others.

I recommend this inspirational romantic suspense and I am looking forward to reading more in this collection.

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About the Author

Born one dark and stormy Halloween night, Lisa Childs was predestined to write suspense novels. She loves spinning dark and twisty stories that keep readers awake because they’re either too busy turning pages or too scared to sleep. Lisa Childs is the prolific author of more than seventy published novels. In addition to romantic suspense, she also writes women’s fiction, paranormal and contemporary romance.

Social Media Links

Website: https://lisachilds.com/index.html

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lisa_Childs

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: High Mountain Tracker Series by Freya Barker

Book Descriptions and Elise’s Thoughts

The “High Mountain Tracker four book series by Freya Barker has characters people will root for within a very suspenseful plot.  The characters are strong, mature, and range in age from their late thirties to middle age with both the hero and heroine having histories and hang ups to navigate. In each book there are strong independent women facing off against alpha-males. It is a modern-day western suspense with added doses of romance.

The first book in the series, High Meadow has Jonas Harvey facing off with Alex Hart.  He has a business that tracks domestic terrorists, criminals, and missing people with his retired Special Forces buddies, Fletch, Sully, and Bo.  Jonas also has another business, the High Meadow Stud Horse Ranch where he and his ex-military friends work on the ranch.

Alex and her friend Lucy have a business that rescues abandoned and abused horses as well as dogs and a donkey. New to the area, they would have to build the rehabilitation reputation of their farm. But everything is put on hold until escaped convicts are found because they have decided to set up their terrorist operations on Alex’s land. Jonas feels the need to protect her even though she makes it clear she and Lucy can protect themselves.  As they work together a chemistry is formed that leads them to become intimate.

High Stakes has Nella Freling searching for her sister Pippa who has gone missing in Montana. No one in law enforcement will help so she tries to contact Fletch Boone, a highly recommended tracker. Nella’s first interactions with him goes badly since he is rude and an overall jerk.

They decide to work together to find Pippa since Fletch realizes that Nella had no sense of self-preservation, and her stubbornness got her into trouble in more than one circumstance.  She went off into the mountains looking for her sister with no idea what she was doing and Fletch needing to rescue her multiple times. The couple bond over the search but each has insecurities that they must overcome before the relationship becomes solid.

High Ground has Pippa Freling recovering from the attacks after being rescued by Nella and Fletch. Pippa has decided to make roots in Libby Montana to be closer to her sister. Unfortunately, she got pregnant after a one-night stand with Sully Eckhart, one of the trackers and a ranch hand. She is resentful and angry since he never contacted her after that night, basically ghosting her. But after hearing he is the father; he becomes very protective of Pippa.  Eventually they decide for the baby’s sake to get together, realizing that they are more alike than not.

The suspense happens after Pippa has inadvertently become involved in a murder case. The FBI has her as a suspect in a five-victim murder investigation. This also puts her in the scope of the killer. Now Sully and the team must protect her and work with the FBI to clear Pippa’s name and find the true killer.

High Impact focuses on the backstory of Lucy Lenoir.  She was a common thread throughout the series, always helping the other heroines. Lucy was there for everyone.  She was content to run the horse rescue and horse therapy alone and be in her own company. This story has Lucy attempting to overcome her past and hiding from it. She ran away from an abusive situation and has tried to reinvent herself. But after Lucy suddenly becomes the center of threats, framed for a murder, and has her rescue animals attacked, she realizes her past has caught up with her. 

Bo Rivera is content to work with his “brothers” on the ranch and helping with the tracking business. But watching his friends finding someone to share their life outside the business has created some longing for more in his life. Being misled and trusting too quickly almost had him burned so he is very careful when it comes to women. But he feels a draw to Lucy that he can’t seem to ignore. The attraction that has simmered between Bo and Lucy for a while keeps growing and Bo appoints himself to watch over Lucy and find the person responsible for threatening her. All these stories have plenty of drama and suspense. There are twists and turns, surprises, and dangerous situations. Wanting to learn more about these mature characters’ lives will keep readers turning the pages.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Why the hero and heroine chapters in each book of this series?

Freya Barker: It was not a conscious decision. I have had that in every book I have written.  I have found books written from a single point of view to be unbalanced.  I want to be inside both main characters heads to show more of their personal evolution and thought process during the book. Readers get both perspectives from an event that happened. It enables me to explore behind the scenes when something happens.

EC:  Are your books more mystery or romance?

FB:  I think I do a pretty good balance, leaning on a little more suspense.  The label romantic suspense for me creates pockets of tension through misunderstandings. I want to include everyday events that people experience in real life. This puts the characters in a context on how they interact to life.

EC:  Why the title in a sentence of each story?

FB:  I try to do it, so the title becomes purposeful with an intent and cohesiveness.  Everything gets tied in including the title.  I will sneak it in, knowing the readers’ enjoy trying to find it.

EC: How would you describe Alex, the heroine of High Meadow?

FB: Independent, motivated by idealism, emotional, passionate, strong, determined, big- hearted, and pragmatic. She is a bit of an earth-mother type. She has preconceived ideas which can make her a bit naive.

EC: How would you describe Jonas?

FB: He is a traditionalist and old fashioned. He has lived in a male dominated environment, being surrounded by ranchers and having been in Special Forces. He is considerate and can be a charmer when he wants to be. Jonas can also be open-minded.

EC: What about the relationship?

FB: It is a mature relationship. Neither is looking for a partner, yet there was some chemistry both could not ignore. There is not a lot of angst, emotional situations, in the relationship, but more a cerebral approach. I am not a fairy tale writer and want it to be real. I hope I reflected that they could talk about misunderstandings and their feelings. In the beginning Alex is guarded but not for long, because she was willing to open to a possibility.

EC:  In the book, High Stakes, how would you describe Nella?

FB:  I wanted to write a contrast to her sister Pippa who went missing. Nella is the stable one. At first view, each sister appeared unmatchable. Nella is determined, cautious, stubborn, gutsy, headstrong, and direct.  Because she is a librarian, she has become very sheltered, and kept her world as a very small safe environment. She found herself after her sister disappeared.

EC:  How about the hero Fletch?

FB:  He was in the background in the first book, High Meadow.  I love grumpy characters considering three of my four brothers are cantankerous. These types of men have a softer core that they protect by portraying themselves as grumpy. He likes to avoid people, does not know how to communicate but is loyal and caring.  Fletch is a bit of a hermit and does not have the patience to deal with other people’s stupidity. 

EC:  The relationship between Nella and Fletcher?

FB:  At first it was condescending with him being bossy over her.  They eventually found trust with each other.  They were an unlikely combination until they were thrown into a dire situation. They saw each other in a different light. Nella’s determination to expose herself to danger has Fletcher seeing her as naïve at first.

EC:  In High Ground how would describe Pippa, the heroine.?

FB:  She is like me since I have an interest in traveling in a camper.  She is colorful, exuberant, adventurous, unpredictable, a Tomboy, non-traditional and non-conventional. She is a rebel.

EC:  How about the hero Sully?

FB:  Protective, possessive, formidable, confident, kind, and complex. He is a decent and strong man. Underneath there are levels of insecurities.

EC:  How about the relationship?

FB:  Everything changes once Pippa finds out she is pregnant from a one-night stand with Sully. At first, she is angry, hurt, and vulnerable. Then they became supportive of each other. It was a process because they were forced into the situation with the unexpected pregnancy.  This is based on reality since I just witnessed it with my daughter. She found out she became pregnant by her friend.  The friendship had to evolve into something else. They chose to forge a relationship and some of that was portrayed in the book. I wanted to bring up the real issue of health insurance and how it affected the characters’ decisions.

EC:  The latest book of the series, High Impact has very emotional topics?

FB: Yes, this book was heavily loaded in terms of Lucy’s background who was abused.  I wanted to show how the heroine, Lucy was raped, bullied, manipulated, and lost control.  Lucy lived a lie for years, basically hiding in plain sight. 

EC:  How would you describe Lucy?

FB:  From the first book on Lucy is portrayed as someone with a chip on their shoulder and someone who is hiding something. Anti-social with trust issues because of what she went through. She is also independent, stubborn, strong, sarcastic, and defiant.  But she can be compassionate by establishing a horse therapy site for those who were raped or abused. For me, horses were a comfort.  It is a way to teach people to trust again. She is extremely complicated and has many layers because she is a survivor. She is an observer, someone who sees herself as an outsider to avoid scrutiny.

EC:  How about the hero Bo?

FB:  Tenacious, relentless, a flirt, egotistical, cautious, and caring. He likes to joke and rib his peers. Because he is black, I wanted to show how difficult he had it. At the same time, I wanted to show how he does not view himself much different. 

EC:  What was the role of Bo’s mom, Zuri?

FB:  She was a bit of comic relief.  Zuri showed how loyal he was to his mom and their relationship anchored him. She is pushy, sharp-tongued, and is how Lucy’s backstory becomes prevalent becomes she probed her.

EC:  What about the relationship between Bo and Lucy?

FB:  She never likes to show public affection which put their relationship off-balance. Bo was smitten with her. He became frustrated with her lack of communication. She has self-protective instincts which holds her back.

EC:  Next books? Are you going to write about any of the secondary characters from this series?

FB:  By the time I was writing the last book the side characters played a role. I am thinking of either doing a spinoff, a next generation, or just continue the books with the secondary characters becoming main characters. There will be more books with a fictional timeline moving forward in years.

My next book, the sixth in my “Arrows Edge series,” titled Edge of Trust, is out in March.  In Durango the head of a motorcycle gang is married to an FBI Agent.  One of the gang members is matched up with a bartender. She is a rebel, like Pippa.   In the story there is a murder, a sex club, and organized crime.

THANK YOU!!

***

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Book Review: The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE BODYGUARD by Katherine Center is an absolutely endearing, entertaining and at times laugh-out-loud rom/com women’s fiction story featuring a female executive protection agent assigned to one of Hollywood’s most handsome and eligible leading men.

Hannah Brooks is an average looking woman which makes her perfect for her job as an executive protection agent, aka bodyguard. She can blend into the background to assess danger, but when needed she has the skill set to take down any threat.

Jack Stapleton is a movie star with a Greek god’s body and is a box office superstar, but after a tragic accident he has been out of the public’s eye for a few years. When his mother is diagnosed with cancer, he comes home to the family ranch to help. He does not want his mother to have extra worry over his stalker, so Hannah is told she must pretend to be his girlfriend.

Hannah does not believe anyone will believe she is Jack’s girlfriend, but the more time she spends with him, the more she falls for the real Jack, not the superstar. As Hannah begins to have real feelings for Jack and his family and tries to keep her own heart safe from heartache, she is pulled off her bodyguard duty. But Jack wants more and Hannah has to open her heart and believe her instincts or their relationship may be over before it begins.

This is just an all-around wonderful feel good, after some laughter and tears, story. I felt for Hannah immediately with her closed off emotions and the heartache of losing her mother, boyfriend, and best-friend almost all at once. Both Hannah and Jack had heartbreaking secrets that were written and revealed perfectly during the story. The snappy, snarky, witty, and realistic dialogue is a star in this book. The only sex scene is not until almost the end of the book, and it was not explicit. This book has everything I am looking for in a rom/com. I laughed, I cried, and I was unable to put this book down.

I highly recommend this book for the wonderful characters and a feel good ending!

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About the Author

Katherine Center’s new novel is WHAT YOU WISH FOR. She’s the author of How to Walk Away and Things You Save in a Fire—both instant New York Times bestsellers—as well as The Lost Husband (now a movie starring Josh Duhamel), and five other bittersweet comic novels. She writes laugh-and-cry books about how life knocks us down—and how we get back up. Katherine has been compared to both Nora Ephron and Jane Austen, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” Her books have made countless Best-Of lists, including Amazon’s Top 100 Books of 2019, Goodreads’ Best Books of the Year 2019, BookBub’s Best-Loved Books of 2019, the Indie Next Great Reads List, SheReads’ Best Women’s Fiction 2019, BookList’s Top Ten Women’s Fiction, and many, many more. Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband, two kids, and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.