LOVELY DIGITS by Jeanine Englert is a historical romantic
suspense that I feel is perfect in every way. The romance and suspense/mystery
were both perfectly balanced and intriguing. This book has a heroine with a
unique occupation, a constable hero trying to right a past wrong while both
work together to solve a series of murders in 1849 Clun, England.
Miss Lucy Wycliffe is a spinster, who has for the last ten
years been Clun’s layer out of the dead. She ignores the gossip from the town
people who feel she is unnatural for she has to support herself and help her
sister who is a widow and her niece since the death of their parents. Lucy takes
pride in the job she does for the dead even as she knows no man will be
interested in her.
John Brodie is the new constable. He is no stranger to Clun
and his acceptance of this position is meant to correct old wrongs and help him
move on in the future. He wishes to help Lucy by paying her to be his assistant
as they work to find the killer of Lucy’s childhood friends. He never thought
he would fall in love with the beautiful and intelligent “Lovely Digits”.
The killer knows secrets from the past and has come back to not
only reveal truths that could end Lucy and John’s relationship, but also their
lives.
I loved this book! This historical romantic suspense focuses
on a small town in England of regular people and there are no princes or dukes
in sight. The clothes, language and interactions are era appropriate. Lucy’s
occupation is unique, but it is also plausible. I love that Lucy is also an
intelligent, strong heroine who is as heroic as John. No sex. Hand holding and a few kisses only.
The murders are investigated with old-fashioned leg work, clues obtained from
the bodies and clues left by the killer.
Set time aside because I know once you start this book you
will not be able to put it down! There is no cliffhanger and the story is
complete, but there does seem to be a possibility of more books following John
and Lucy in the future and I can only say to Ms. Englert, “Yes, please”!
Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.
I am happy to bring you this Feature Post and Book Review for Only a GoodMan Will Do (The Good Man Series Book 1) by Dee S. Knight which is the first book in a new contemporary romance series by a new to me author.
Curl up in your favorite reading spot and fall in love with Daniel and Eve just as I did. (And make sure a fan is handy.) You are going to want to start this series right now with book 1. Below you will find a book blurb, buy links, an excerpt from the book, my book review and the author’s bio and information.
Enjoy!
***
Blurb:
Seriously ambitious man seeks woman to
encourage his goals, support his (hopeful) position as Headmaster of Westover
Academy, and be purer than Caesar’s wife. Good luck with that!
Daniel Goodman is a man on a mission. He aims to become headmaster of Westover Academy. For that he needs a particular, special woman to help him set high standards. Into his cut and dried life of moral and upright behavior, comes Eve Star, formerly one of Europe’s foremost exotic dancers. Her life is anything but cut and dried, black and white. Daniel is drawn to her like a kid to chocolate. Nothing good can come of this attraction. Or can it? He is after all, a good man.
Daniel
walked into the parlor of the headmaster’s house Saturday afternoon seeking
first the food table and second, his friend, Stan Baxter. He spotted them both
near the front window.
“You’re
late,” Stan said.
“Lots
of people wanted to chat.” Parents’ Weekend, when teachers sat in their
classrooms to meet their students’ mothers and fathers, meant mandatory tea
afterwards for all professionals at the Academy. Board members and parents
attended at their own discretion, and the boys—the reason the school existed
and they were all there—mostly stayed out of sight and hearing.
“Fortunately
for me, a good many parents now have grabbed their progeny and left campus, so
I have access to the snacks unimpeded,” Daniel said, examining the finger food
on display before making his selections. The challenge was always how to load
his plate while appearing to take a socially acceptable portion. “Did I miss
anything?”
“Only
an angel.” Stan turned toward the window. “Holy Mother! Look at that,” he
muttered.
“What?”
Daniel asked, fitting a cucumber sandwich beside the smoked salmon-topped
cracker on his dessert plate. “Am I missing a table of fare? I swear, every
year the offerings at these teas are more meager than the last.”
Stan
chuckled and answered in the same low voice, “Is your stomach all you think
about? I was talking about another kind of dish. One you can have fun eating in
bed, if you catch my drift. And she just slipped out onto the lawn.”
“Is
your libido all you think about?” Daniel bit a carrot stick in two and
sighed. Only three more hours and he could order a pizza. With all of his
charges gone from the dormitory for Parents’ Weekend, he had a rare, private,
two-day holiday ahead of him. With the tiny plate full, he joined Stan at the
large windows. “Where is this goddess?”
“There.
In the red dress and hat.”
Daniel
saw nothing but the shapely form of a woman walking away. Slender ankles topped
three inch heels. A dress of some kind of lustrous material hit her mid-calf.
The style was soft and feminine, and berry red. Not many women showed up at
Westover in a color sure to make them the focus of attention. Not that most of
them didn’t expect to be the focus—didn’t demand it, in fact—but they
usually weren’t so obvious. The breeze at her back molded the material to the
curves of her hips and ass, and fluttered the dress’s full sleeves. A
wide-brimmed hat hid her hair, but based on what was visible, Daniel easily
imagined a long column of neck designed for kissing.
“If
the rest of her matches the back view, you’ve got reason to be drooling down
the front of your gown.”
Frowning,
Stan glanced down as though to make sure the drool comment was only facetious.
“Can’t afford to drool on this. I had to use my tax refund to pay for the thing
and show off my Master’s chevrons. I don’t know how you afforded to pay for
your Ph.D. paraphernalia.”
“The
new degree looks sharp on you. Now, why are you mooning over a woman you see at
the headmaster’s tea, when you know she’s some student’s mother and off
limits?”
“She
looks young enough to be a sister, so it’s not a given she’s out of bounds.”
At
that moment, a young boy wearing the school uniform and a big grin ran up to
the woman. She bent to catch him in her arms. When she straightened, she
ruffled the boy’s hair. His expression and his wagging finger showed that he
chastised her, but then he laughed and finger-combed the mussed hair back into
place. She took his hand and they walked toward the circle where most of the
parents parked. Looking up at the woman, the boy’s lips moved the whole while,
carrying on a steady monologue.
Something
in her actions captured Daniel’s attention. They were artless, performed
naturally and with unabashed love. The child fairly skipped beside her and the
frequent turns of her head showed she looked at him as though hanging on every
word he spoke.
“How
wonderful,” Daniel murmured, impressed with her total attention to the boy.
“Did you see that?”
“Oh,
yeah. I didn’t think her hips would ever stop swaying, and it’s a crime they
make hemlines so long.”
Daniel
laughed. “You’re such a hedonist.”
“And
proud of it. But you were right. Looks like she’s a student’s mother after all.
Damn the luck.”
For
once, Daniel agreed with his friend. But not just because of the woman’s
obvious good figure. More because she seemed to love her son and didn’t care
who knew it. He normally kept his distance from flashy women, as this one
appeared to be, based on her dress color, but her easy manner with the boy
would be enough to make him ignore his own inclination toward the conservative.
If she weren’t also a patron of the school. Assuming the gods smiled on
him and he became headmaster, he and the woman would be on business terms, and
nothing good ever came from mixing business with pleasure. Pleasure is
what every male instinct in him screamed she would be.
***
My Book Review:
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
ONLY A GOOD MAN WILL DO (The Good Man Series Book 1) by Dee S. Knight is a contemporary romance by a new to me author that had me falling for the hero and heroine, fanning myself during the well written sex scenes and looking forward to the other brothers’ stories.
Daniel, Jonah and Mark Goodman are a set of natural born identical
triplets. Growing up in North Carolina to loving, but eccentric parents, each
brother may look alike, they have gone in very different directions in their
adult lives.
Daniel Goodman loves being an educator. He has worked for
years to achieve his goal to become the Headmaster of Westover Academy.
Westover Academy is one of the most prestigious schools in the country and only
accepts boys. There are stringent rules for both the students and those who
teach them. Daniel wants to become Headmaster to carry on some of the school’s
traditions, but also to make changes that would better serve the students.
Jonah visits Daniel, who has not been home for several years
to ask him to come home for Thanksgiving. Daniel loves his parents and
brothers, but the reason for his visit home could derail his path to the
Headmaster’s office which requires a life of moral and upright behavior.
Enter Eve Star and her son Timmy. Eve is formerly one of
Europe’s foremost exotic dancers. She will do anything to provide her son with
an education at Westover Academy. This includes making up a false background. All
it takes is one night of helping a young man from Westover for the possibility of
her secrets being revealed and her son removed from the school.
Daniel decides to help keep everything he has learned about
Eve to himself, but is it to help his students or is it because he cannot control
his attraction to this beautiful mother? And are Daniel’s years of sacrifice to
achieve his goal more important than one woman?
I sat down and just got lost in this romance. Daniel was a
great hero to follow through his journey in this book. At first, everything was
black-and-white and goal oriented and then… Eve upends his world. I knew from
the glimpses of his childhood remembrances that there had to be a hero under
all of that pomp and circumstance. Eve was a wonderful single mother doing her
best for her son and not letting others define her or her past. Daniel and Eve
challenge each other and their beliefs. The sex scenes in this book are
explicit and smokin’ hot, but not gratuitous. I also fell in love with all the
boys who were secondary characters. I completely agree with Daniel who believed
in rules, but there are also times, as he discussed when you have to let kids
be kids.
I highly recommend this romance and I am looking forward to reading Jonah and Mark’s stories!
SOLVING CADENCE MOORE by Gregory Sterner is a mystery
written in the form of a radio podcast series intertwined with intervals of the
background workings and relationships of the main character. The podcast
scripts reveal the mystery and interviews in an attempt to solve a ten-year-old
murder mystery.
Ten years ago, Cadence Moore, a talented but troubled young
singer disappeared. After a drunken altercation with her college friends, she
was left on the side of the road while returning from a party and was never
seen again.
Charlie Marx is the host of a popular conspiracy radio show.
After the huge popularity of a movie about the disappearance of Cadence
reignites public interest, Charlie’s boss wants a special series of podcasts on
the subject. He launches his own investigation into the disappearance and claims
to have solved the mystery which he will reveal in a groundbreaking live radio
special after the podcasts run.
But is it really solved? Is there finally closure for
Cadence?
If Charlie has succeeded and truly solved this mystery, he
will be acclaimed, but if he fails and everything he is promoting are lies, his
entire career will be destroyed live on air.
I liked the mystery and the podcasts revealing the
information, speculation and characters involved. It was a unique way to let
each character reveal their versions of Cadence and the case. It was a
fictional case, but the author made feel you feel as if you were following a
true-crime case which pulled you into the mystery. Charlie Marx is a flawed
character that has everything on the line and you feel equal parts empathy and revulsion
for. I did find the sections of the book where Charlie interacts with others
outside of the podcasts realistic, but drawn out and slow. I also found the
lead section into the climax slow and unnecessary. That said, it was not enough
to stop me from reading until the end to find out both the solution to the
mystery and the resolution of Charlie’s career.
I would like to thank Kelsey Butts from bookpublicityservices.com
for the copy of this book for review.
THE REBOUND EFFECT by Linda Griffin is listed as a romantic
suspense. It is not a romance. This book is a domestic psychological thriller.
If considered in that genre, it is a high intensity read of a single mother on
the rebound and the new man who comes into her life while women are disappearing
in the area.
Teresa Lansing is a struggling single mother working as a
veterinary assistant in the small town of Cougar. She is doing the best she can
for herself and her six-year-old deaf son. Both are trying to get over the
recent break-up of Teresa and her fiancé after she found out he cheated.
While visiting her best-friend at her local family bar and
grill, Teresa is swept off her feet by Frank McAllister. Frank just moved to
Cougar four months ago. He is a cop and works on the S.W.A.T. team in the big
city near Cougar. Frank is handsome, charming and very sexy. Teresa and her
friend believe she has finally found a good man.
As the courtship progresses, Teresa at many times feels
overwhelmed by the fast pace Frank wants to set for the relationship. She tries
to draw some lines, but she always feels ungrateful for everything he is doing
for her and her son and lets Frank continue to have his way. While Frank is
pushing for a permanent commitment, Teresa’s former fiancé continues to try to
win her back.
While tensions rise between Teresa and Frank, the number of
missing women in the area also increases. Is Teresa safe or is she the next to
die?
Ms. Griffin’s characters are realistic and make you easily
understand how psychopaths and psychological abusers can overwhelm you. Yes,
there were times I wanted to smack Teresa in the head and tell her to wise up
and put her son first, but Frank knew how to tie them both together to get what
he wanted. The sense of danger and the high intensity of the emotions in this
book keep you turning the pages. As I wrote previous, this is a thriller and
not a romance. For me, a romance or romantic suspense must end with or be
leading to a HEA. The dating and sex in this book is not a romance.
If you are looking for a domestic psychological suspense, this is a fast paced, high intensity read.
COLTON ON THE RUN (Coltons of Roaring Springs Book 9) by
Anna J. Stewart is a new Harlequin Romantic Suspense that I could not stop
reading. Ms. Stuart had me completely engrossed in Skye Colton’s story and the
strong rancher who will do anything to protect her.
Skye Colton is missing.
She wakes with no memory of who she is. She needs to escape.
She is bound in an old shed and just knows she needs to run before someone
comes back.
Leo Slattery has returned to Roaring Springs, to run the
ranch his grandparents left him. As he and his dog, Ollie head into the barn to
begin their day, they find a half-dead woman hiding in a pile of hay. The woman
has no memory, but she knows she is in danger and she is terrified of the
police. Her injuries and fear bring out Leo’s protective streak and he promises
he will keep her safe.
As Leo keeps her secret and “Jane” begins to heal, the two
forge a bond while working side by side on the ranch. “Jane” wants more from
Leo than he is willing to give until they can find out who she really is and
where she belongs, but she refuses to go to the police out of an unknown fear
and not wanting her time with Leo to end.
But someone is looking for her and will not stop until she
is silenced. She witnessed something that a killer does not want her to
remember.
This book is an absolutely perfect escape read. It is fast
paced, easy-to-read and contains all the elements I am looking for in a
romantic suspense. Leo is the hero we all want; strong, protective and loving.
Skye/“Jane” may need Leo’s help, but she is no pushover and blossoms on the
ranch. There is one explicit sex scene, but it is not gratuitous. As the
romance builds, the suspense continues to build the more “Jane” remembers. All
of the secondary characters were fully fleshed and realistic which is unusual
for a story of this length. Also, this book can easily be read as a standalone.
I love and recommend this addition to the series!
Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.
I am very excited to share this Feature Post and Book Review for C.D. Reiss’ new release ONLY EVER YOU. This romance is different than the steamier, darker stories from this author. This romance is lighter and all about a reunited friendship, family, hope and love.
Below you will find an interview with the author, an excerpt from the book, my book review, an author biography and social media links, book summary and a Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card and a digital copy of the book. Enjoy and good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway!
***
Author Interview: CD Reiss
Please introduce your newest release.
Only Ever You is about a girl who planned for everything but never
got what she hoped for, and a dweeb who hoped he’d to marry the girl, but never
planned for it.
Rachel and Sebastian have an interesting history. They were friends as kids,
but have lost touch as adults…
They’re really strangers when they reunite at 30, but they’re burdened by what
they think they know about each other. Sebastian was supposed to be an artist
and Rachel was supposed to be a screenwriter. They have to shake all that stuff
loose before they can see each other. When they do, they’re strangers.
I think attraction between strangers is real.
Sexual heat is real. But “hearts and flowers” are earned. (I know
that sounds like I’m your dad telling you to mow lawns, but that’s where the magic
is. Not the lawns.) In the time just before you’re struck by lightning there’s
a real electricity. It’s pure potential and anything can go wrong. It’s the
best thing ever.
When they were kids they made up a ‘contract’ to get married at 30—which is
pretty much panned when they do meet up and have the most awkward first kiss
EVER. How do they overcome such an incredibly uncomfortable situation?
They overcome it by running away!
Sebastian is thinking “now or never” because he thinks Rachel’s never going to
think he’s any cooler than when she sees him in the office of his own company.
And she isn’t ready because her whole idea of herself is tied up in what a
failure she is. Neither one of them is feeling good enough about themselves to
have a really hot first kiss, which is the same reason they’re not ready to get
married.
***
Excerpt: Only Ever You by CD
Reiss
After
I left her and CJ with Lucinda, I spent the weekly staff meeting wondering if
Rachel was the same warrior I’d loved or if she was more the woman who’d held
her laptop to her chest as if she needed protection.
I was obsessed.
I had to know.
Her text came in as I was
leaving the meeting.
I need
to check that we’re kidding
Before I could finish
typing a response, I caught her coming out of the bathroom with her laptop
under her arm.
Alone. Me and her. Nothing
between us but the question of who we were and how we fit.
“Seb, I—”
She didn’t have a chance
to finish. I crowded her back into the bathroom and locked the door behind us.
“Kidding about what?” I
said.
“About getting married.”
“Why would that even be a
question?”
“Our parents have been in
negotiations about it.”
My mother couldn’t keep
herself from talking if she tried, and I was her favorite subject.
“It might be a little soon
for marriage, but—”
“Soon? I don’t like you
seeing what I do for a living while you’re in a glass-walled office overlooking
the ocean. I mean, I’m not marriage material, and the odds are that’s never
going to change.”
“I don’t see why a date’s
off the table.”
“Do you know what’s going
to happen if we date?”
The list of possibilities
was as long as my arm. I could have counted them off, from “We decide we hate
each other” to “We end up in bed.” But I didn’t, because I was still trying to
figure her out.
What did she want to hear?
With her wide eyes and
parted lips, what did she want? Did she have a fondest wish where I was
concerned? Was she leaning forward? Was her expression soft and yielding?
My mind spent too long
deciding what to say, so my body spoke for me.
I kissed her hard and was
met with teeth and stiff resistance. It was a kiss I’d wanted since I’d had
hairless armpits and a voice somewhere in the low soprano range. I’d dreamed
about it. Fantasized about it. Thought about it so hard in the middle of the
night I could practically feel it.
But never, ever in my
fantasies did she push me away so hard I fell back against a towel dispenser,
watching her face twist into surprised rage as the machine spit out a ragged
rectangle of brown paper.
“That was—”
“Messed up. I know.”
“Then why? What is wrong
with you?”
She was livid, just like
she would have been. Just like she should have been.
The tiger within Rachel
was in there, and my attempt to tease her out had probably alienated her. She’d
be right to never speak to me again.
“I’m sorry,” I said with
my hand on the door lock. “I misread you. It won’t happen again.”
I started to open the
door, but she held it closed.
“If we date, my mother’s
going to get her hopes up that I’m going to settle down. And I’m sorry, Seb,
but if we break up while she’s in chemo, it’s going to crush her.”
“You don’t even know if
she’s sick again.”
“You’re right.” She
pointed a rigid finger at me as if I were her mother. “I’m going to make her
tell me.”
“You’re really beautiful
when you’re telling it like it is.”
She slid her hand off the
door. Having been called out, the warrior was sent into hiding.
No. I wouldn’t accept
that. I wouldn’t allow it.
“Let’s just go out and
catch up,” I said. “Saturday.”
“Can’t. Saturday’s the
soonest I can talk to Mom.”
I unlocked the door. “I’m
sorry about . . . the thing.”
“Kissing me?”
“No, wasting paper towels.
Of course kissing you.”
“Next time, give a girl a
little warning.”
Next time? Her eyes darted
to the door. Was she calculating the distance to her getaway? Or making sure it
was closed?
“How about now?” I asked.
“Now what?”
“Fair warning. Now.”
I stepped a little closer
and put my hands on her arms. Not right away. I let them hover an inch away
before touching her to give her the chance to move away. A chance I was sure
she’d take.
“Seb, really?”
But she didn’t move away.
Not this time. When I laid
my hands on her biceps, she leaned in to me just a little. I smelled the floral
lotion on her skin and a hint of cool water on her breath.
“Really.” I slid the
laptop from her arms and placed it on the counter. “This is your warning.”
You’re
doing this. I cannot believe you’re doing this.
“It doesn’t feel like a
warning,” she said, and again—I noted—she didn’t move away.
“Flashing red lights.” My
lips brushed her cheek, heading for her mouth. She felt better than I ever
imagined. “A buzzer, maybe.”
“Just a kiss?” she asked,
her lips moving against mine.
Before I could consummate
what she was agreeing to, I was smacked by a swinging door.
“Oh!” CJ said. “I’m sorry!
I was looking for you.”
Rachel snatched up her
laptop and walked out. CJ raised an eyebrow with good reason, since I was in
the ladies’ room. I left, and we all gathered in the hall.
Awkward.
“Well,” Rachel said.
“Thanks for showing us your tedious financial-sector company.”
“Thank you for coming,” I
said and let them walk away. I could have done or said much more, but not
without getting her into trouble. She glanced back at me when they turned the
corner, as if she wanted to make sure I was still there.
***
My Book Review:
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
ONLY EVER YOU by
C.D. Reiss is a new contemporary romance not like any previous books I have
read from this author. I think dark, erotic and intense usually when I see this
author’s name, but this romance is different. Sebastian and Rachel’s story is
lighter, full of family, hope and love. The angst and steamy is still there,
but not as often and with a twist.
When Sebastian was in school, he was a stick thin, nerd who
was bullied.
Then a beautiful girl named Rachel moved in across the lane.
She became his best friend. She defended him and included him.
As they plan their futures, they decide on a back-up plan
and write a marriage contract stating if both are single when they turn thirty
years old, they will marry each other.
The future happens and it does not always go as planned. Rachel and Sebastian are both home for Christmas. Sebastian has become an extremely successful and gorgeous man. Rachel is still struggling in her career and has dated a string of losers. Nothing has gone as she planned, but she also would not have changed the time she put her career on hold to help her mother through her cancer.
Are they really going to go through with their marriage contract?
This is a very entertaining friends to lovers contemporary romance.
Sebastian is a hero we all love to cheer for. The dweeb to heart-throb, smart
to successful, but no matter the success, he is still very vulnerable. Rachel
was strong as a young girl, but she let fear and the wrong men make her doubt
herself to the point of losing her confidence in herself. As the two reunite,
they learn how they are still alike, but also different. This is a cute couple
with crazy family members and friends that love them and only want them to be
happy. The sex scenes occur towards the end of the book and there is a very
interesting twist involved, especially from this author.
This is one of those feel good, fun romances to enjoy curled
up on your favorite chair.
***
About the Book:
Title: Only Ever You
Author: CD Reiss
Release Date: July 9, 2019
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Summary:
Rachel knew exactly
what turning thirty would be like. She had a plan, after all. First college,
then a climb up the professional ladder. Love, marriage, children. All of it
was on the schedule.
The cheap Hollywood
apartment wasn’t on the list. Neither was the string of heartbreaks. Or the
effect her mother’s cancer had on her career.
It’s hard to stay
practical and on point when everything takes a left turn.
Enter Sebastian,
the nerd across the street. The boy she defended when he couldn’t defend
himself. The best friend she promised she’d marry if life didn’t go according
to plan.
Not only is he
successful, confident, and gorgeous, but he also still has their handwritten
marriage contract.
No one goes through
with childhood wedding pacts.
That’s crazy.
But their families might just be crazy enough to rent a hall and set a date. All Rachel and Sebastian have to do is fall in love.
***
Author Biography:
CD Reiss is a New York Times bestselling
author. She still has to chop wood and carry water, which was buried in the
fine print. Her lawyer is working it out with God, but in the meantime, if you
call and she doesn’t pick up, she’s at the well hauling buckets. Born in New
York City, Reiss moved to Hollywood, California, to get her master’s degree in
screenwriting from USC. In case you want to know, that went nowhere—but it did
give her a big enough ego to write novels.
Reiss is frequently
referred to as the Shakespeare of Smut, which is flattering but hasn’t ever
gotten her out of chopping that cord of wood. If you meet her in person, you
should call her Christine. Text cdreiss to 77948 to get a
notification whenever she has a new release.
