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Release Blitz and Feature Post: Losing Time by Chris Karlsen

Title: Losing Time ( Knights in Time Book 5)

Author: Chris Karlsen

Genre: Historical Romance (With time travel elements)

Release Date: September 16, 2018

Book Description:

Can love survive the wrong time and place?

Felicia Wycliff’s peaceful stroll through the woods turned to disaster when her dachshund bolted after a rabbit. One minute Felicia was running after the determined little dog, the next she was hurled to the ground. Gathering her wits after her tumble, she brushed herself off and continued her pursuit—-right into three mounted knights who blocked her path.

They were so authentic looking. They might’ve stepped from the keep of the nearby castle, Elysian Fields. But the old Norman fortress was a ruin and had been for three hundred years.

“Seize her,” the middle knight ordered, the knight who sat tallest in the saddle.

“Let me go.” She fought, striking out when the two knights grabbed her. “Who the deuce are you?”

“I’m the Captain of the Baron’s Guard, and you are trespassing.”

Kidnapped, her confusion and fear consumed her. But when they rode through the gates of Elysian Fields, the castle looking as formidable as the date it was built, her terror exploded.

When she fell she knew exactly where she was. But where the devil had she landed?

Goodreads book link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4822048.Chris_Karlsen?from_search=true

Buy links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2NbhI0Q

iBooks: https://apple.co/2MRtVuC

Nook: http://bit.ly/2OYo4Be

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2LgHEXf

Universal link: https://books2read.com/Losing-Time

About Chris:

I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books.

My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.

I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream. I write three different series. My paranormal romance series is called, Knights in Time. My romantic thriller series is Dangerous Waters. The newest is The Bloodstone Series. Each series has a different setting and some cross time periods, which I find fun to write.

I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband and five wild and crazy rescue dogs.

Social Media:

Newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/Moonlight_Serenade

Website: http://chriskarlsen.com/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ChrisKarlsenAuthor/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/chriskarlsen/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorCKarlsen

Instagram: http://instagram.com/chriskarlsenwriter

Giveaway:

$10 Amazon Gift Card

5 ecopies of Heroes Live Forever

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Book Review: A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas by Maisey Yates

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

A TALL, DARK COWBOY CHRISTMAS (A Gold Valley Novel #4) by Maisey Yates is a contemporary holiday romance. This is an addition to the Gold Valley series and does have many characters crossing over from previous books in the series. The H/h romance can be read as a standalone, but I feel some of the backstory and character interactions are better understood if you have read this series in order.

McKenna Tate was given away by her mother and put into foster care at the age of two. At age eighteen, she received paperwork that could lead her to her birth father, a famous rodeo cowboy and his family in Gold Valley. After eight years of having no one to care about her, with only a suitcase to her name, she ends up in Gold Valley broke and sleeping in an abandoned cabin. She has to figure out a way to approach her father because all she has ever dreamed of is belonging to a family and having someone care about her.

Grant Dodge has been existing, but not living for the last eight years since his wife died. He hates the pity in all of the townspeople’s eyes, but he cannot leave his responsibilities at his family’s dude ranch. He is shocked when he finds a woman sleeping in the abandoned cabin on the ranch’s property. His brother hires McKenna and there is something about her prickly and tough exterior that begins to break through Grant’s protective shell. They agree to a no-strings attached fling.

McKenna wants the Christmas miracle of a family that cares for her and just maybe a man who loves her, too because she stills believes in hope. Grant believes he has no more emotion left for a new relationship, but he also does not want to give up McKenna. Can these two find what they want and need in each other or will their pasts overshadow their future?

I loved McKenna and her never ending hope, but she also would not be taken advantage of or walked all over. Grant was a great foil to her with his loss of hope. All of the family and friends made the story feel realistic because of their own situations going on around the H/h. The sex scenes were explicit, hot and appropriate to the story. I did have a problem with how many times the author returned to McKenna’s and Grant’s backstories. There was a continual repeat of the same internal angst and it got to be a bit repetitive and I felt unnecessary. The unexpected love, hope and letting go of the past are what made this an enjoyable holiday read.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.

Book Review: Mistletoe Miracles by Jodi Thomas

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

MISTLETOE MIRACLES (A Ransom Canyon Romance #7) by Jodi Thomas is a heartwarming addition to this series and is perfect for putting you in the Christmas romance spirit.

In this book, there are three stories intertwined. All set in the small Texas town of Crossroads. Each has a hero and heroine that have given up on love, been broken by people who supposedly loved them, or never believed in the possibility of love for themselves in the first place.

Griffin’s Problem has Griffin Holloway desperate for cash to save his ranch that has been in his family for generations. He would rather cut off a limb than sell even a small portion of his land. The solution he and his brothers come up with; he must marry a wealthy bride before the end of the year. These bachelors have no idea how to go about their plan, so they seek the help of a pair of elderly sisters in town who run a boarding house. The sisters find a bride for Griffin, but the bride has conditions.

Midnight Crossing has Jaxon O’Grady, former firefighter, living like a hermit on his family’s isolated piece of land. When he witnesses a car crash off the nearby isolated road, emergency personnel rescue the woman, but Jaxon finds and saves her injured dog. After realizing the danger this mystery woman is in, Jaxon takes her in as well to his isolated cabin and he begins to realize he is needed.

The Johnsons has Jamie Johnson finally settled in her dream lakeside home and happily teaching. To avoid nosy neighbors and unwanted male attention, she has invented a husband away in the service. When she returns from a weekend school trip, she is shocked to find a man asleep on her sofa. The town believes Mr. Johnson has returned. Now what is Jamie going to do?

This is such a wonderful read! Ms. Thomas has taken interesting individual characters and put them in unusual situations and we get to enjoy watching how they come together. I wanted every hero and heroine to get their HEA and the Christmas setting makes it even more magical. Well written with believable, broken characters who are perfect for each other. All sex scenes are behind closed doors. This is a book that I just did not want to end and I highly recommend.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.

Book Review: Night Music: A Novel by Deanna Lynn Sletten

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

NIGHT MUSIC: A NOVEL by Deanna Lynn Sletten is a beautifully written genre story that is a cross between a sweet romance and women’s fiction. The time period is 1968 to 1971 and the setting a small college town in Illinois. Ms. Sletten takes you back to the social and cultural turmoil of the Vietnam War. A soldier’s return to build the life he has only dreamed of in the jungles of Vietnam, a charismatic student anti-war leader and a girl finding herself, loved by both.

Charlotte Parsons lost her older brother after only three months in Vietnam. Her family is devastated, but proud of his service. Charlotte wants to know more about this war that took her brother, so she lies about her age and joins a group that writes letters to soldiers overseas. She corresponds with a soldier named Joseph Russo. Char tells Joe all about the small town life she loves and Joe shelters Char from the horrors of the war that took her brother. After only a few months, the letters stop. Char does not know why they stop, but she moves on with her high school life.

Two years later, Char begins college. Char is dating Deke Masterson, her brother’s best friend from high school. Deke is the leader of the anti-war movement on their college campus. He is dedicated to the cause and wants Char to participate. Char hates that she lost her brother, but she does not really have her own opinions on the war. He father fought in WWII and her parents believe their son died doing his duty, while Deke preaches that all the men fighting in Vietnam are baby killers and killing innocent villagers.

Joe has come home wounded. He will have a life-long limp, but he feels blessed to be home alive. He moves to Grand Falls to put the war behind him and go to college in the small town of his letters from Char. He cannot believe his luck to meet her in person. She is as sweet and beautiful as her letters. He befriends Char and her parents. As Deke becomes more radical, and Joe shows Char only respect, kindness and understanding, Char has a choice to make.

I so loved this book and will remember the characters long into the future. I was a preteen in the time period of this book and can understand and identify with all the characters. My family is full of veterans and we were taught to always respect their service, but I was also watching the horrors of the war nightly on the news and heard of the atrocities. Ms. Sletten’s book captures all sides of the conflict with believable characters. I also loved the character development of Charlotte, growing from a sheltered high school girl to a college coed who learns to think for herself and realize all the shades of grey in the world. This is a sweet romance with no sex scenes on the page.

I will always be listening for night music.

Book Review: Season of Wonder by RaeAnne Thayne

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

SEASON OF WONDER (A Haven Point Novel #9) by RaeAnne Thayne is a contemporary holiday romance set in the small town of Haven Point, Idaho. This book is part of a series and has some crossover characters, but it is easily read as a standalone.

Daniela “Dani” Capelli is done with veterinary school and has moved herself and her two daughters from Boston to the small town of Haven Point. She has a one year internship lined up with Dr. Morales and is hoping to buy his practice when he retires in the next year. It is a fresh start and she hopes this will be the life she has always wanted for herself and her daughters, Silver and Mia. Dani loves her job, but thirteen year old Silver is having difficulties adjusting to small town life.

Deputy Sheriff Ruben Morales lives next-door to the new vet and her daughters. He is curious about his father’s new associate. She seems to be very caring and loving towards her animal patients and her daughters, but she has a very prickly exterior around him. When he goes out of his way to help Dani with Silver, she begins to fall for the handsome deputy, but she has a secret that she refuses to expose which could possibly destroy their new life in this small town and make Ruben hate her. Ruben refuses to give up on Dani and includes all of the girls in his own family’s holiday traditions and a Christmas in Haven Point becomes life-changing for them all.

I loved all the characters in this story. Dani has overcome so much and yet she could not leave her past hurts and mistakes in the past. That past though is what drove her to be everything for her girls. Ruben was the perfect hero for Dani with his steadfastness and belief in love, family and justice. Silver and Mia were realistic and sweet additions to the story. I loved all the dogs, too.

This romance is sweet and has an intense moment of self-forgiveness. No sex scenes, but lots of love. Along with the romance, the author intertwines a believable story of a teenager dealing with emotions and troubles that impact her whole family. The small town of Haven Point is charming and just right for this Christmas love story.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.

Book Review: Enticed by the Gargoyle by Lisa Carlisle

RATING: 3 out of 5 Stars

ENTICED BY THE GARGOYLE (Boston Stone Sentries #2) by Lisa Carlisle is a paranormal romance/urban fantasy. This is the second book in the trilogy and has more worldbuilding and action and less romance than the first novella.

Larissa Riley has been placed on leave from the Boston police force after the demon attack. Larissa and the police are trying to understand what happened, especially when Larissa had light beams coming from her hands to chase the demons back into the portal.

Roman, a gargoyle shifter, is Larissa’s lover and her mate. Roman believes Larissa is a witch, but Larissa is having a hard time understanding how that is possible. When she confronts her father and then her grandmother, the truth of her heritage is revealed. Larissa has had her life beliefs turned upside down and now must start to work to bring her powers under control.

Larissa has another vision of a demon threat. Roman and his gargoyle sentries have spotted demons on this side of the portal. The demon threat continues and they are coming for Larissa and those she loves. Can Roman protect the woman who is his mate and the world against demons as Larissa learns her magical powers and what being a gargoyle’s mate entails?

This second book in the trilogy has more emphasis on Larissa discovering her witch heritage and action with Roman and his fellow gargoyles finding demons on this side of the portal who escaped the closing. The action plot and worldbuilding continue on at a good pace. My problem with this book in the trilogy was Larrisa and Roman’s romance. This went from a hot gargoyle meets mate with great sex in book one to emotions and actions that were very immature on Larissa’s part in this book. I really had a hard time believing these two were “mates” in this book. I am a big fan of Ms. Carlisle’s smoking hot relationships, but I feel this book did not live up to the promise of the first in the romance story line.

That said, I am looking forward to the last book in this trilogy to see how the author reconciles the demon threat and hopefully gets Larissa and Roman’s romance back to the level I expect from this author.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.