DRAWING BLOODLINES (The Princeton Allegiant #1) by Deborah
Garland is the first book in a new paranormal vampire romance series. The
vampires are a bit different from the norm and this leads to new world-building
opportunities for this author.
Dr. Alexander Manning is a doctor, a professor and a
vampire. He is a valued member of the Princeton Allegiant due to his ability to
supply blood to the group. Alex was turned over one hundred years ago and is
still learning how to use the “special” gifts he received from his sire, Loren.
No one knows about his extraordinary talents and he prefers to keep it that
way.
Elizabeth Lockspier is a teacher and is adjusting to her
life as a divorced mother of one. While having her blood drawn at a doctor’s
visit by one of the most beautiful men she has ever seen, she becomes
lightheaded as he takes too much and faints when she finds him drinking from
one of the vials.
Alex could not help himself. He finds Elizabeth’s scent and
blood intoxicating. The problem is that no human can know of a vampire’s
existence and if they do they must be reported to the head of the Allegiant.
Alex breaks into Elizabeth’s house to wipe her memory rather than report her,
but finds she is as drawn to him as he is to her even though he is a vampire.
As Alex and Elizabeth grow closer, Alex’s past threatens to
pull them apart forever. He must decide to obediently go into a forced marriage
with a vampire he hates or attempt to change his immortal future with a secret
science experiment of a colleague.
I was drawn into this new paranormal vampire world with all
of the twists in the world-building and action. This is a complete story, but
the author introduces enough secondary characters and questions to carry the
series forward. The sex scenes are explicit, but not gratuitous. (Personally, I
would not be interested in those cold interactions.) If you are looking for a
new twist on vampire paranormal romance this is the book and series for you.
Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.
Welcome to the Feature Post and Book Review for Carolyn Brown’s upcoming release THE PERFECT DRESS. Below you will find a message from the author, an excerpt from the title, my book review and info about the book and author.
Also included is a Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card and a digital copy of the book. Enjoy this preview about three strong female friends and as always good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway!
***
Carolyn Brown’s Real Life Inspiration for Writing THE
PERFECT DRESS
Hello, everyone and thank you for inviting me to your site
today!
My granddaughter is getting married this fall, and she’s not
one of those size six girls who can walk into wedding dress store, try on a
dozen dresses and find the perfect dress—especially when she has her heart set
on a black lace dress for her wedding. When we began to shop for her dress, I
wished for a custom wedding shop that catered only to women who wore a size
fourteen or larger. So I created one called The Perfect Dress and
set it in the little town of Celeste, Texas. This summer I plan to bring my old
Singer sewing machine out of retirement, and make my granddaughter’s black lace
wedding dress—just the way she and I will design it!
The Perfect Dress is not a real place so don’t
go to the local doughnut shop in Celeste and ask about it, but the town, the
characters and the shop were all very real to me while I was writing about it.
Speaking of characters let me introduce you to Mitzi. She’s
and her two plus sized friends, Paula and Jody, have dreamed of putting in
their own plus-sized wedding dress shop for years. Now it’s a reality. They’ve
bought an old two story house at the edge of Celeste and hung out their
shingle.
Jody is a thin vegetarian now, but when the girls were in
high school, she was a big girl just like her friends. She’s living proof that
a woman will do anything for love, but when love goes awry, she’s sure glad
that she’s got Mitzi and Paula to support her.
Paula is carrying a big secret. The three women have shared
everything since they were little children, but she can’t talk about her
secret, not when both her friends are in the middle of drama themselves. She
has to be the strong one to share Jody’s sorrow and Mitzi’s happiness.
Fanny Lou, Mitzi’s grandmother, is an eccentric old gal with
lots of advice that she’s not one bit shy about spreading around. She’s the
mother role for all of them, constantly popping into the shop with a box of
doughnuts, or the local gossip.
Lately Mitzi has been feeling like maybe her ‘perfect
family’ is missing someone… perhaps the perfect man. She hasn’t seen him
since high school, but that doesn’t mean that Mitizi’s heart doesn’t go
pitter-patter for this awesome single dad. Graham towers above Mitzi, who is
almost six feet tall. He has twin girls, who are also plus sized. He feels the
sparks, too, but questions whether Mitzi could ever love some big guy who
already has teenage daughters.
There is definitely a gap between the teenager girls, who help out in the shop, and Fanny Lou, the granny, and the three best friends. But true friendship knows nothing about age—it’s love, support, and unflinching loyalty towards each other, no matter what the age.
***
Excerpt: The Perfect Dress by Carolyn Brown
Mitzi
rushed back to the sewing room, where the hum of two sewing machines filled the
air. “Graham Harrison just came in the shop to set up an appointment for his
two daughters. He said they only live a few houses up the street from us. He
looked like a bull in a china shop sitting on that pink sofa. And of course he
didn’t even recognize me, but I sure knew him the minute I laid eyes on him.”
At the mention of that name from the past, work
jolted to a halt.
“All the girls in high school swooned over him,
including Mitzi, but she hasn’t told us if he’s still as sexy as he was back
then.” Jody took a bowl of salad from the fridge along with a plate of
vegetables that she stuck into the microwave to heat.
“He’s aged very, very well, and I’m having
cookies,” Mitzi said.
“Smart girl,” Fanny Lou said. “Life is short.
Eat dessert first. So you had a little crush on Graham?”
“Everyone did,” Mitzi answered.
“Not me. I was always in love with Lyle,” Jody
said.
“Well, according to what I heard at the church
bake sale today, Graham moved his daughters here to Celeste because they were
being fat shamed down in Greenville. One of them knocked a girl on her butt,
blacked both eyes, and bloodied her nose with one punch. It was the last day of
school and they said they were going to suspend her for the first two weeks of
next year for fighting,” Jody said.
“She should get a medal, not suspended,” Mitzi
fumed.
Fanny Lou took a gallon jug of sweet tea from
the fridge. “Who all wants a glass?”
Three hands went up.
She filled four glasses with ice and then tea
and carried them to the table. “I remember when he went to work for his dad at
the Cadillac dealership—right after he and Rita got married. His dad gave him a
job on the lowest level, and he had to work his way up. Rita was furious
because she thought they’d get a big house and a new Caddy every year. Stupid
woman figured since his folks had money that he had an open bank account.”
Paula took the ham and cheese containers from
the fridge while Mitzi pulled a loaf of bread from the cabinet. “You eating
with us, Granny?”
“I’ll eat with you and Paula, but I don’t want
any of that stuff Jody is having. I don’t eat fake meat. I’ll eat what I want
and die when I’m supposed to. Slice some of them tomatoes I brought in here
earlier. And I’d rather have bologna instead of ham and mustard instead of
mayo,” Fanny Lou answered.
“Me, too,” Paula said. “I want one like hers.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” Mitzi set
about making three sandwiches.
So Graham was divorced and raising girls on his
own. Bless his heart for getting them away from a school that bullied them
because of their size. Mitzi could relate to the girls. But then, so could Jody
and Paula. She’d always figured that Jody adopted her own modern-day hippie
style to combat those feelings of insecurity. Paula had retreated into
superstition. Mitzi had just plowed her way through emotions and other kids,
spending a lot of time in the principal’s office for fighting.
She pushed all that to the back of her mind,
put the sandwiches on plates, and carried them to the table. “Y’all know that
this job for Ellie Mae could turn into a big thing. I bet her older sister will
be the maid of honor and her mother will want a fancy dress.”
“That’s what you’re in business for, isn’t it?”
Fanny Lou said. “Man, this brings back memories. Friday night was bologna
sandwich night when I was a kid.”
“Why?” Jody asked.
“Because Mama always cleaned house on Friday,
and she didn’t have time to make a big meal,” Fanny Lou answered.
“Funny how an hour of beading takes forever and
our noon hour goes so fast.” Jody pointed to the clock.
“Good Lord!” Fanny Lou finished off her
sandwich and grabbed a cookie. “I’ve got an appointment with my CPA at one and
it’s a fifteen-minute drive to Greenville. See you girls later. You have my
permission to flirt with Graham, Mitzi.”
Mitzi’s cheeks began to burn. “I had a teenage crush on him. I’ve grown
up since then.”
Fanny Lou winked as she headed for the door.
“Paula, since you live with Mitzi, I’m putting you in charge of being sure she
takes her birth control pills every morning.”
Mitzi felt even more heat in her cheeks.
“Granny!”
“When you get old you get to say whatever the
hell you want to.” Fanny Lou closed the door behind her.
***
My Book Review
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
THE PERFECT DRESS by Carolyn Brown is an emotionally packed women’s fiction story with a cozy romance subplot of three lifelong friends and their plus-size only custom made wedding dress shop “The Perfect Dress” in small town Celeste, Texas. Mitzi, Paula and Jody are three strong female characters that are all going through differing life challenges as the story begins, but no matter the problem they always know they can count on each other for love and support.
Mitzi is the dress designer of the group. Her grandma and
her father have always supported her and her dreams. When her high school crush
moves back to town in the summer divorced and with a set a twin girls, Mitzi
wonders if she has a chance with Graham. The twins love The Perfect Dress shop
and Mitzi has them helping with flower arrangements. She loves the twins and
does not want to ruin her relationship with them if she starts dating their
father and she also is insecure about her larger size since the twins mother
was a tiny woman.
Jody specializes in beading veils and dresses. She has lived
“in sin” with her high school sweetheart since graduation, but she is about to
learn he has not be faithful and is dumping her for the mother-to-be of his
child. Jody has put up with years of abuse from her mother about not being
married and now she has to deal with the entire small town knowing she was
cruelly dumped.
Paula loves sewing the beautiful dresses they make. She has
been criticized and abused by her mother and sister because of her weight her
whole life. She had been secretly seeing a man until she found out his wife is
pregnant and he lied about getting a divorce. When she finds out she is
pregnant, she wants to raise the baby as a single parent and does not want the
cheater to ever know he got her pregnant. Her mother disowns her when she finds
out, but Mitzi and Jody swear they will all be loving her baby right along with
her.
Mitzi and Graham’s cozy romance is more of a subplot than the main focus of this book. This book revolves around the three friends who love each other and will do anything for each other. This is a book about how messy life can be, but with good friends you can get through the tough times and triumph in the end. Ms. Brown deals with many weight related prejudices throughout this story realistically and with heart. The Perfect Dress is a heart-warming, feel good book that had me closing the book with a smile on my face.
***
Title: The Perfect Dress
Author: Carolyn Brown
Release Date: April 16, 2019
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Summary
In the small
town of Celeste, Texas, Mitzi Taylor has never quite fit inside the lines.
Nearly six feet tall, flame-haired, and with a plus-size spirit to match every
curve, she’s found her niche: a custom wedding-dress boutique catering to big
brides-to-be with big dreams. Taking the plunge alongside her two best friends,
she’s proud they’ve turned The Perfect Dress into a perfect success.
Just when Mitzi
has it all pulled together, Graham Harrison walks back into her life, looking
for bridesmaid dresses for his twin daughters. A still-strapping jock whose
every gorgeous, towering inch smells like aftershave, the star of all Mitzi’s
high school dreams is causing quite a flush.
For Mitzi, all it takes is a touch to feel sparks flitting around her like fireflies. She can just imagine what a kiss could do. Graham’s feeling it, too. And he’s about to make that imagination of Mitzi’s run wild. Is it just a hot summer fling, or are Mitzi’s next designs for herself and seeing her own dreams come true?
Author Biography
Carolyn Brown
is a New York Times, USA Today, Publisher’s
Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and a
RITA finalist with more than ninety published books. Her genres include
romance, history, cowboys and country music, and contemporary mass-market
paperbacks. She and her husband live in the small town of Davis, Oklahoma,
where everyone knows everyone else, knows what they are doing and when . . .
and reads the local newspaper every Wednesday to see who got caught. They have
three grown children and enough grandchildren to keep them young. Visit Carolyn
at www.carolynbrownbooks.com.
SETBACK by Edita A. Petrick was a fast paced mash-up of CIA/FBI spy novel, supernatural novel with a witch’s heirloom locket that protects the rightful heir, corporate corruption by a cadre of CEO’s, and a psychologically damaged hitman who always succeeds. Scientific and supernatural coexist side by side throughout this fast paced thriller with romantic elements and irreverent humor.
CIA Agent
Ted Bester “Beast” is called in to work with his counterpart in the FBI to
solve a series of brutal killings that are all tied to a scientific conference
on cold fusion that could radically change America’s energy dependence. The FBI
has a source for him. Amelia is in an FBI safe-house because she was killed by the same hitman he is trying to find. (Yes, you read
correctly – killed!)
Amelia now
goes by ‘Randi” and is a doctor who was set to testify against corrupt
pharmaceutical companies. Her heirloom amulet is passed down to first born
daughters in her family from an ancestor witch from Salem who cursed all who
harmed the owner. She survived her execution and is now able to sometimes slip
into the hitman’s mind because he stole the amulet as a trophy.
The two work
together with all the secondary characters you would expect in a usual spy
thriller to find and eliminate the hitman and retrieve the cold fusion
documents before they can be turned over to a foreign government.
Ms. Petrick
has written a fast paced thrill ride that brings together many different genres
into one. Even with all the characters and subplots, the writing is crisp and
never confusing. This is a creative story with unexpected twists, especially in
regards to the hitman. The characters
are well developed and believable. I cannot recommend this book enough and I
can’t wait to read more from this author. If you want something different and
well written, this is it.
I am very excited to share this Feature Post and Book Review for THE PROMISE OF US (Sanctuary Sound Book 2) by Jamie Beck. Below you will find an interview with the author, an excerpt from the book, my book review, a book summary and the author’s biography and social media links. At the end of the post is a Rafflecopter giveaway.
I actually missed my bus stop going to work because I was so engrossed in Claire and Logan’s story! This story is as heartwarming and realistic as it is emotionally heartbreaking at times. Have the tissues ready for this one. As always, good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway!
***
Interview with Author Jamie Beck
1. Can you give readers a quick snapshot of your newest
novel The Promise of Us.
At its heart, this book is based on some favorite romance
tropes (best friend’s older brother, unrequited crush, second chance-ish)
although the circumstances are unusual. Basically, Logan returns to town to
help his sister recover and, in his desire to help his sister mend fences with
Claire, he hires Claire to redecorate his apartment. What starts out as a
somewhat manipulative—though well-intentioned—plan flips on him. He remembers
the version of Claire from before the gunshot wound and wants her to stop
living in fear, so he sets about slowly challenging her limits to help her lead
a fuller life. In the process, he falls for her, although his job and wanderlust
(and Claire’s inability to forgive Peyton) conspire to make her push him away.
Ultimately, they have to figure out how to compromise if they want things to
work out.
2. What makes Claire and Logan’s story special to you?
Each book I write is special in its own way. I think what
stays with me about this one is a sense of tenderness that developed in Logan
that didn’t really exist before he spent more time with Claire. He was a fairly
selfish guy (meaning he put his needs and career aspirations ahead of
everything) for most of his life. His sister’s life-threatening illness was the
first catalyst for change, but his relationship with Claire develops a new
facet of his personality. I liked him so much by the end of the story. And I
had fun writing Claire, despite her being a very nervous, conservative
character at the outset.
3. Your heroine Claire has suffered tremendously (both
physically and emotionally) yet she perseveres and has made a great life for
herself. What gives her strength?
In my mind, Claire’s greatest strengths are her ability to
be content with the little things and her gratitude for her family and friends.
For the most part, she rarely laments her quiet life. When she had to give up
her first love (tennis), she directed her energy into something else she
enjoyed and made that a career. She feels that she is good at her job and she
enjoys it, so that also gives her a sense of pride and accomplishment. I think
her job (making old or ugly things pretty) is a bit of a metaphor for how she dealt
with her injury.
4. Claire has had love and lost it. How has her past
experience changed her?
I think losing her boyfriend to a best friend rocked her to
the core. Those two betrayals shook a fundamental sense of trust in all
relationships. And in love. She recovered much better from her physical injury
that the emotional ones, that is for sure. In any case, this cynicism about
love and friendship definitely makes it hard for her to believe anything Logan
has to say, or to believe that he could truly love her.
5. What is her reaction to first seeing her childhood crush
Logan?
She’s caught unaware, so she reacts badly, especially
because she suspects he is trying to manipulate her. Hostile might be how some
would describe her mental state, although Claire tempers her feelings most of
the time, so it is more of a quiet rage with a hint of desperation to flee!
6. It seems like Claire and Logan are complete opposites.
She is cautious about new experiences, while he jet sets around the world. Was
it difficult to write about two very different characters?
No. They are opposites, but in a complementary manner. In
other words, he is able to use his strengths (courage) to help her tap into her
own, and she is able to use her strength (contentedness) to give him a sort of
stability and affection sorely lacking in his life.
7. What common ground do your heroine and hero have?
The have the common ground of growing up in the same
community, with all the values and ideals that help form us as children. They
also have mutual friends and some shared history, which binds them. In terms of
their interests, they are both creatives—him with photographs, her with fabrics
and such—so they understand that way of seeing the world.
8. A hallmark of your writing is the maturity that your
characters find throughout their journey of falling in love. What are some
lessons that Claire and Logan must learn for them to get their
happily-ever-after?
The hallmark of any well-written romance (of which there are
plenty) is that its characters will have a strong arc (they will grow and
become better, stronger individuals). In this story, Claire needs to learn to
take risks again, and to trust that, come what may in life or love, she will
survive and be okay. Logan needs to learn to compromise, and to learn that the
relationships he makes in the here and now are more likely to bring true happiness
than achieving any aspirational goal.
***
The Promise of Us Excerpt
“What are you
thinking?” Claire dropped her hands to the table.
Steffi shook her head, waving one hand.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie. Is there another problem I’m not
aware of?”
“No.” Steffi inhaled, held her breath, then
exhaled slowly.
“I know of one project that would make a sweet
profit and let you really stretch your talent. ‘Sky’s the limit’ kind of
budget.”
Excitement lifted Claire’s spirit,
straightening her spine. Anything that accelerated plans to open a retail
outlet merited her attention. “Sounds amazing. What’s the catch?”
Steffi hesitated.
“Never mind. You won’t take it, so let’s move
on.” Steffi spooned whipped cream into her mouth. “Oh! Molly says that Mrs.
Brewster is thinking of remodeling her master bath.”
Mrs. Brewster’s late husband had left her
comfortably well off, but you’d never know it. She clipped every coupon
available to humanity—Claire had been behind her at the grocery store more than
once. She put only two dollars in the collection basket at church each week,
despite having enough money to leave more. And she gave out bite-size candy at Halloween.
Bite-size!
“We can’t rely on Ryan’s mom as our major
source of leads, and Mrs. Brewster spending big bucks on a remodel sounds
improbable..” She leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Don’t make me beg. If
you have a solution, I won’t dismiss it out of hand, I promise. I’m not an
idiot. We need income. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep the doors open.”
Steffi went still, her chin just above the mug
held midair. “Whatever it takes?”
Claire’s hair stood on end, but she motioned
“Let’s have it” with both hands.
Steffi hesitated. “How would you like to
redecorate a high-end condo in Chelsea?”
“In the city?” Her entire body prickled
painfully at the thought of putting herself in the midst of that chaos and
danger. She’d already been one madman’s random victim. Manhattan teemed with
crazy people, not the least of whom were the ones who drove their cars like
heat-seeking missiles. “Who’d hire us instead of any of the premier designers there?”
Steffi met Claire’s gaze. “Logan.”
Claire’s tongue seemed to swell and turn
sticky. Work with Logan … Her blood thickened
like warm syrup. Tingles and terror all at once—a sensation she both loved and
loathed. Her own brand of crazy. Maybe she did belong in New York, after all. “No.”
“You just said you’d do whatever it takes.”
“Not that. Never that.” Claire didn’t need to look into a mirror to know that her
fair, lightly freckled cheeks now looked like someone had smeared them with
ripe strawberries.
“As I suspected.” Steffi shrugged nonchalantly,
as if she hadn’t just pulled the pin from a grenade and dropped it on the
table. “So that leaves us a little tight until something else comes up. In
terms of our social media presence, I just read an article …”
Claire heard Steffi talking, but the words ran
together like white noise because Claire’s brain was still stuck on the idea of
working with—no—for Logan Prescott. His
obvious ploy made her want to laugh. Did he really think he could buy her
forgiveness for his sister? Well, Claire would never, ever forgive Peyton. Not
even if he paid her a million dollars to renovate his condo.
“Claire? Did you hear anything I said?” Steffi
turned her hands out in question.
“Sorry.” She rubbed the scowl from her
forehead. “I’ll find another way to turn up new leads. Working with Logan is a
hard no.”
“Too bad. You’d have so much fun decorating his
place. I’m sure he’d let you do whatever you wanted. Anything would be better
than how it looks now. Guess he never cared before, since he was rarely around
to enjoy it.”
Only a Prescott would own a million-dollar
property that sat vacant as often as it was occupied.
“I’m not an idiot.”
“Did I call you one?” Steffi had the gall to
look stunned.
“This has Peyton’s paw prints all over it. I’d
bet my last penny that she put him up to it. I don’t know what I hate more,
that she did it, that you took the bait, or that she knows we’re desperate for
money.”
“It’s not a conspiracy. I mentioned that I felt
bad about putting you in this situation because of this home. Logan tossed out
the idea on the spot.”
“I can’t deal with the strings that would come
with his offer.” Except now Claire couldn’t focus on anything else because
thinking about Logan took up all the space in her head. If Peyton hadn’t stolen
Todd, she might’ve pounced on a chance to work closely with Logan. Of course,
then she wouldn’t have been free to act on her desire. Not that she had ever
acted on it before Todd, either. The hawkish way Logan could stare at her
turned her to jelly around him and—oh, just no. “I thought you finally
understood that.”
“I do. That’s why I wasn’t going to say
anything.” Steffi crossed her arms. “You forced me to tell you.”
True enough. Logan’s image flickered through
Claire’s mind again, poking at the tender spot of her pointless longing, like
always.
She shook her head, dislodging all thoughts of
Logan. “I’ll catch up with Mrs. Brewster and pitch a proposal for her bathroom.
But we also have to scrape together funds to advertise and update the website,
and you need to scare up reno work pronto. Promise me we’ll earmark new revenue
toward retail space—”
A knock at the door interrupted her monologue.
Steffi rose from the table and disappeared
around the corner.
From the other room, Claire heard Steffi’s
surprised voice say, “Oh, we didn’t expect you so early.”
“Hope that’s not a problem,” replied Logan, in his unmistakable baritone.
***
My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
THE PROMISE OF US (Sanctuary Sound Book 2) by Jamie Beck is
a contemporary romance with characters I know I will be thinking about well
beyond “The End” of this book. Ms. Beck’s characters in The Sanctuary Sound
series are realistically written and fully fleshed enough to walk right off the
page. Even knowing my HEA will arrive, the journey is never easy or
cookie-cutter in Ms. Beck’s Sanctuary Sound books.
Claire McKenna is the artistic design half of the fledgling
company she started with one of her closest childhood friends in her hometown.
She has rebuilt her life since losing her promising career as a professional
tennis player to a random bullet to the hip in the local mall and her boyfriend
who dumped her and left town with her other best friend. Claire was focused on
her career and travelled the country, but now she allows her fear to build a
wall around her hometown and never takes any risks.
Logan Prescott lives every day trying to live up to his famous
grandfather’s legacy. He is a photographer who travels the world trying to find
the job that will give him fame and recognition. When his sister is diagnosed
with breast cancer, he comes home to be by her side. They have returned to the
family home to document Peyton’s cancer fight and Logan would like to get
Claire’s forgiveness for his sister, who is the one who stole Claire’s
boyfriend.
Logan offers Claire the job of remodeling and decorating his
NY condo for enough money to get the store front she wants for the business. He
turns on his charm to get Claire to take the job, but he soon finds that Claire
has changed and he wants to help her get over her fears as much as he wants
forgiveness for his sister. Claire has had a crush on Logan since they were
young. Can taking risks with Logan free her or break her all over again?
Get the tissues ready. Claire and Logan are opposites that attract and in the end fill the empty spaces in each other, but not without a lot of emotional growth. Claire’s fears after the shooting and her parents’ over-protectiveness, Peyton’s breast cancer journey and Logan’s emptiness were realistically written and intertwined into a beautiful story. They are imperfect characters that are all changing and on a journey to forgiveness and understanding. The sex scenes are behind closed doors or PG rated. This book can standalone, but Claire’s partner, Steffi has a great story in book 1 of this series that you will not want to miss.
I highly recommend this romance, series and author!
***
About the Book
Title: The Promise of Us
Author: Jamie Beck
Release Date: April 9, 2019
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Summary
Claire McKenna
knows about loss. The bullet wound that ended her promising professional tennis
career drove her to make a quiet life for herself working with fabric samples,
chatting with her book group, and spending time with her parents in her sleepy
coastal Connecticut hometown. Then there was the boyfriend who dumped her to
pursue her adventurous childhood friend. Now, Claire’s business has hit a
financial snag, but she’s up to the challenge. After all, she can survive anything.
At least she thinks so . . . until her teen crush, Logan, returns to town with
his sister, Claire’s traitorous friend.
Photographer
Logan Prescott is more playboy than homebody. But his sister’s illness teaches
him that there’s more to life than chasing the next thrill. Bent on helping her
win Claire’s forgiveness, he turns his charm on Claire and offers her big bucks
to renovate his multimillion-dollar New York City condo.
After years of playing it safe, Claire must now take some risks. The payoff could be huge, but if it all falls apart, can her heart recover from another loss?
***
Author Biography
National
bestselling author Jamie Beck’s realistic and heartwarming stories have sold
more than one million copies. She’s a Booksellers’ Best Award and a National
Readers’ Choice Award finalist; and critics at Kirkus, Publishers
Weekly, and Booklist have respectively called her work
“smart,” “uplifting,” and “entertaining.” In addition to writing, she enjoys
dancing around the kitchen while cooking and hitting the slopes in Vermont and
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FINDING HER FOREVER FAMILY by Traci Douglass is a Harlequin
contemporary medical romance set in the same Alaskan hospital as this author’s
previous medical romance, One Night with the Army Doc. This is an extremely
emotional romance with an O.B. doctor, single dad and an E.R. trauma nurse with
the unresolved fear of a hereditary disease hanging over her head.
Wendy Smith is an exceptional trauma nurse in the E.R. Even
though she faces other people’s traumas every day, she is still unwilling to
face the results of her test for the hereditary Huntington’s mutation. She
watched her vibrant mother die at a young age and refuses to risk passing the
disease on so she has built a wall around her heart and never becomes involved
in relationships for more than one night stands.
Dr. Tom Faber is the O.B. doctor on call when Wendy’s
sister-in-law delivers her twins. Besides long hours at the hospital, Tom has
recently received custody of his twelve year old daughter after the death of
his ex-wife. They are both struggling to connect. When he finds out Wendy has
been helping with his daughter’s counseling and has a connection with her, he
asks for her help without violating their privacy. Wendy agrees to help knowing
how hard it is to lose a parent at that age.
Wendy and Tom are instantly attracted to each other and each
have reasons to take it slower, but they just cannot stay away from each other.
Wendy wants to help this perfectionist doctor learn to accept that not
everything can be planned and perfect, especially in his relationship with his
daughter. Tom wants to help Wendy face her fear of her test results and have a
real relationship with her. Will they be able to move forward past their
individual fears and come together as a family?
I found Wendy and Tom’s romance well written, but too short.
I feel the issues they were both dealing with deserved a more in-depth story.
This author did a very good job though of taking several heavy issues and
fitting them into this shorter format. The sex scenes are explicit, but short
and not gratuitous. This is an easy-to-read, heartwarming story with
interesting characters that keeps you emotionally involved throughout.
Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.
