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Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Home for the Baby’s Sake by Christine Rimmer

Hi, everyone!

I am very excited to be on the October 2020 Harlequin Category Romance blog tour. Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for Christine Rimmer’s Harlequin Special Edition HOME FOR THE BABY’S SAKE (The Bravos of Valentine Bay Book #8). This book is easily read as a standalone and it will make you want to go back and read all of the siblings stories.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

He’d do anything for his son…including returning to the town he left behind.

Valentine Bay’s the perfect place for real estate developer Roman Marek to raise his infant son. But when he snaps up the charming local theater, he doesn’t bargain for tempestuous director Hailey Bravo.

Hailey won’t let Roman wreck the thing she holds most dear—and she’s certainly gotten under Roman’s notoriously thick skin. As the duo spar and sparks fly, Roman’s surprised to find that Hailey’s the perfect missing piece for his family. But how can he convince her that this partnership’s for keeps?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51183107-home-for-the-baby-s-sake

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

HOME FOR THE BABY’S SAKE (The Bravos of Valentine Bay Book #8) by Christine Rimmer is a contemporary romance that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. Even though this is the eighth book in the series each featuring a different sibling, it is easily read as a standalone.

Roman Marek is a hugely successful real estate developer who has relocated with his infant son and mother back to Valentine Bay upon his mother’s request. He purchased the old theater in town and plans to use its bones for a boutique hotel, but it is still in use by the community for local projects until the end of the year.

Hailey Bravo and her sister, Harper run H&H Productions and produce all the community shows and projects in the old theater. She loves the theater, her job and her community. When the theater sale is complete, she is worried about the future plans of the new owner.

When Roman and Hailey meet they are both attracted to each other even with the future of the theater between them, but Roman has been lost in love twice before and is not as open as Hailey even though he believes she is the missing piece for his little family. Roman is going to learn that Hailey cannot be managed like a business problem and he is going to have to learn to trust again for the love he truly wants.

This is a sweet and spicy quick read with plenty of family, love and ultimately a very satisfying HEA. Roman is a complex alpha hero who could easily run over a heroine who is not as strong, but Hailey has him matched with her strength, love and understanding. The sex scenes are realistic and not gratuitous. All the secondary characters add to the depth of the story and are not just fillers especially the secondary story revolving around Roman’s mother. I love the Bravo family and really need to check out more of this series.

I recommend this contemporary romance for a well written and heartfelt HEA!

***

Excerpt

When she arrived at the fish place on Ocean Road, Roman was waiting outside for her, leaning against a sleek black sports car—the famous one made in Italy, with doors that opened upward, like wings.

“This car,” she said, shaking her head, trailing a finger along the gleaming hood. “You’d better write the arts council a check, Roman Marek.”

He put his hand to his broad, hard chest, right over his heart. “You have my solemn word on that.”

They went inside. The food was excellent, as always, and being with Roman was easy and fun. Even the silences were comfortable. He said he’d moved back to town from Las Vegas and bought a house on Treasure Cove Circle. Hailey knew the house. It was a mansion nestled in its own private oceanfront reserve, surrounded by beautiful old-growth forest, overlooking a secluded stretch of beach.

“I want to see you again,” he said as he walked her back out to her car. She gave him her number and when he gathered her close, she didn’t resist.

The kiss was just right, a tender, sweet getting-to-know-you kind of kiss. His lips felt so good brushing against her own, and excitement sizzled through her. They both pulled back slowly and just stood there at the driver’s door of her Kia Sportage, grinning at each other for a long string of lovely seconds.

“See you soon,” he said as he pulled open the driver’s door for her.

She climbed in and he shut the door. Then he stood there, the afternoon sun gleaming on his dark brown hair, as she backed from the parking space and drove away.

For the rest of the day, Hailey felt like the living, breathing representation of some old romantic song. She walked on air and danced on clouds. She’d met a guy she wanted to see again. That hadn’t happened since Nathan.

She couldn’t stop smiling as she sat at the kitchen table in the family cottage she shared with Harper and worked on her plans for the Christmas show—which desperately needed an actual name. Later in the afternoon, she was back at the theater, greeting the parents as they dropped off their children for Fall Revue rehearsals.

It was the usual circus, corralling all the kids, giving them instructions that they immediately forgot. There was some pushing and one of the little girls cried. Hailey consoled and coaxed and loved every minute of it—she always did. But somehow, more so today.

Because she kind of had butterflies over Roman Marek, and for three long years she’d honestly believed that all her butterflies had shriveled up and died.

***

Author Bio

Author bio: A New York Times bestselling author, Christine Rimmer has written over ninety contemporary romances for Harlequin Books. Christine has won the Romantic Times BOOKreviews Reviewers Choice Award and has been nominated six times for the RITA Award. She lives in Oregon with her family. Visit Christine at http://www.christinerimmer.com.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.christinerimmer.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RimmerChristine

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinerimmerauthor?ref=hl

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21949.Christine_Rimmer

Sales Links

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/home-for-the-babys-sake-christine-rimmer/1136387506?ean=9781335894847

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Babys-Mills-Bravos-Valentine-ebook/dp/B0876JM6HG

Google: https://books.google.ca/books/about/Home_for_the_Baby_s_Sake.html?id=kevODwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335894847

Harlequin: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781488070112_home-for-the-babys-sake.html

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: How the Wired Weep by Ian Patrick

How the Wired Weep by Ian Patrick

#HowTheWiredWeep @IPatrick_Author @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on the blog tour for this new dark and gritty British police procedural mystery HOW THE WIRED WEEP by Ian Patrick.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

The Wire crosses the pond.

Ed is a detective who handles informants. He recruits Ben, a young man, who is treading a dangerous path into the criminal underworld.

Ben’s unsure of where his loyalties lie. They have to find a way to work together despite their differences.

Both men are drawn into the world of Troy, a ruthless and brutal leader of an Organised Criminal Network.

Ben is torn between two worlds as he tries to walk the impossible line between criminality and helping Ed combat crime.

He lives in fear of discovery.

When your life is thrown upside down who do you turn to in order to survive?

Set against the backdrop of the 2012 Olympic Games, How the Wired Weep is a fast paced urban thriller where time is against both men as they attempt to serve their own agendas.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54166480-how-the-wired-weep

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

HOW THE WIRED WEEP by Ian Patrick is a new standalone dark and gritty British police procedural mystery. It takes the reader into a mystery in the world of covert police operations and how they handle the safety and anonymity of their criminal informants.

DS Ed Hunter and his teammates handle police informants out of the Metropolitan Police headquarters. Ed loves his work, but it is a tricky business. The informants are criminals and Ed does have rules and laws to work by and must also let the informants know that they cannot break them either. One of Ed’s informants, Ben is being released from prison and Ed is eager to get him back out on the streets.

Ben, a young gang member and his family have a history of being on the wrong side of the law. He likes the easy money from being an informant, but Ed is afraid Ben will end up back in prison for not being able to follow his rules. Ed needs him though to get information from the inside on a new violent gang leader.

Ben becomes more frustrated, greedy and angry at being used. Ed sees Ben spiraling out of control as he returns to the streets. Will Ed be able to continue to get Ben to walk the line and see beyond the easiest and quickest means to an end?

This story pulls you in to the two main characters lives and makes you feel everything they do. Mr. Patrick’s writing invests you in the outcome for both as the story is told in chapters related by each character. This book depicts the dark, dirty despair of the urban criminal landscape, but also has moments of friendship and humor. This is an intense, realistic and powerful read.

I highly recommend this book as a crime read that is very different from the norm.

***

About the Author

Ian spent twenty-seven years in the Metropolitan police the majority as a Detective Sergeant within the Specialist Operations Command. He specialised in Child Protection and was part of a Major Investigation Team that targeted abusers and investigated the murder of children.

His last seven years were spent in the Covert Policing Command where he managed a specialist covert unit dedicated to the detection and disruption of organised criminal networks across London and the UK.

Rubicon, Stoned Love, and Fools Gold are published by Fahrenheit Press.

How the Wired Weep is a standalone novel.

Rubicon is in development with the BBC for a six part TV series.

He’s appeared at Bloody Scotland in 2018 as a spotlight author on the opening night with Val McDermid and Denise Mina.

Ian’s undertaken a mentorship with Write4Film Scotland and is developing a script for a short film. He’s also an ambassador for Muscular Dystrophy Scotland. He lives in Scotland where he divides his time between family, writing, reading and photography.

You can follow Ian on his website https://www.ianpatrick.co.uk where you can subscribe to his newsletter and get updates on blogs, events and books.

Social Media Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/IPatrick_Author

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

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

Instagram: https://instagram.com/ian_patrick_author

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/332xpRm

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3jRISKb

Publishing Information

Published in paperback and digital formats on 30^th June 2020

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: All We Buried: A Sheriff Bet Rivers Mystery by Elena Taylor

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour for this well written and paced, atmospheric small town Sheriff/police procedural mystery. I am excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for Elena Taylor’s debut ALL WE BURIED: A Sheriff Bet Rivers Mystery (A Sheriff Bet Rivers Mystery Book #1).

Below you will find a book synopsis, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway. Enjoy!

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Synopsis

For fans of Julia Keller and Sheena Kamal, All We Buried disturbs the long-sleeping secrets of a small Washington State mountain town.

Interim sheriff Elizabeth “Bet” Rivers has always had one repeat nightmare: a shadowy figure throwing a suspicious object into her hometown lake in Collier, Washington. For the longest time, she chalked it up to an overactive imagination as a kid. Then the report arrives. In the woods of the Cascade mountain range, right in her jurisdiction, a body floats to the surface of Lake Collier. When the body is extricated and revealed, no one can identify Jane Doe. But someone must know the woman, so why aren’t they coming forward?

Bet has been sitting as the interim sheriff of this tiny town in the ill-fitting shoes of her late father and predecessor. With the nightmare on her heels, Bet decided to build a life for herself in Los Angeles, but now it’s time to confront the tragic history of Collier. The more she learns, the more Bet realizes she doesn’t know the townspeople of Collier as well as she thought, and nothing can prepare her for what she is about to discover.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48561056-all-we-buried

Genre: Mystery
Published by: Crooked Lane
Publication Date: April 7, 2020
Number of Pages: 304
ISBN: 1643852914 (ISBN13: 9781643852911)
Series: Sheriff Bet Rivers #1
Purchase Links:Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

ALL WE BURIED: A Sheriff Bet Rivers Mystery (A Sheriff Bet Rivers Mystery Book #1) by Elena Taylor is a well written and paced, atmospheric small town Sheriff/police procedural mystery debut.

Elizabeth “Bet” Rivers has returned home to Collier from L.A. to her small hometown in the mountains of Washington state to follow in her father’s footsteps as Sheriff. Currently the interim Sheriff, she is not certain she wants to stay even as she runs for election against her father’s deputy.

A Washington State professor is studying the dead glacial lake by the abandoned coal mine outside of Collier when he discovers a canvas wrapped body floating in the lake. Bet has never handled a murder investigation, but she is determined to solve this one to prove her worth to the people of her town and herself. This murder is eerily reminiscent of a terrifying dream Bet has had for nearly nineteen years. Was it a dream or a memory she would rather forget?

As Bet digs deeper into the disturbing history around her hometown, two hometown sons have returned at the same time the body turns up. The more Bet digs, the more she learns that she does not know the town people of Collier as well as she believed and she may be the next victim of the dead lake and the ghosts of the old mine.

This is a wonderful mystery read that kept me guessing and turning the pages. I would never have expected a debut to be able to pull me in to not only the mystery and characters, but also the landscape and ecology of the small Cascade mountain town and lake. Bet is a wonderful new lead character that I am looking forward to following into the future. She is realistic and relatable as are the secondary characters. The mysteries from the past and the present are intertwined and paced perfectly in my opinion.

I highly recommend this debut and first in a series mystery!

***

Excerpt

ONE

Sheriff Bet Rivers leaned back in her chair and gazed out the office window at the shifting light on Lake Collier. Bright sunlight cast up sparkling diamonds as a late-summer breeze chopped the surface—turquoise-blue and silver. The fragment of a song from her childhood teased her mind—silver, blue, and gold. She hummed the tune under her breath.

Red and yellow leaves turned the maple trees in the park across the street into Jackson Pollock paintings. Hard to believe Labor Day weekend ended tonight. Somehow summer had slipped by and fall had snuck up on her as she tended to her new position.

If she had still been in Los Angeles, she’d have been a detective by now. Instead, she was back in her tiny hometown with a job her father had tricked her into taking.

“I need you to cover for me while I get chemo,” he said. “It’s just for a few months. I’m going to be fine.”

With the detective exam available only once every two years, it meant putting her career on hold. But her father had never asked her for anything; how could she say no?

He never said he would die, turning her “interim sheriff” position into something more permanent.

Her father always knew what cards to play. Competition. Family. Responsibility. Loyalty. Collier. A perfect straight. He’d used them all this time, as if he’d known it would be his last hand. No easy way to extricate herself now, short of gnawing off her own foot.

The sound of instruments tuning up pulled her attention to a trio set up at a bench outside the market across the street. The raised sidewalk and false front of the old building made the perfect backdrop for their performance. Collier relied on tourism for much of its income, and the local musicians encouraged visitors to stay longer and spend more.

A beat of silence followed by a quick intake of breath, the unspoken communication of musicians well attuned to one another, and the trio launched into song.

Church of a different sort. Bet could hear her father’s words. I don’t know if there’s a God, Bet, but I do believe in bluegrass.

The music produced a soundtrack to her grief. The banjo player favored the fingerpicking style of the great Earl Scruggs. Loss etched in the sound of three-part harmony, Earle Rivers’s death still a wound that wouldn’t close.

She recognized the fiddle player. She’d babysat him years ago. It made her feel old. Not yet thirty, she wasn’t, but as the last generation of Lake Collier Riverses, the weight of history fell heavy on her shoulders. In a line of sheriffs stretching back to the town’s founding, she was the bitter end.

Looking down at her desk, Bet eyed the new fly she’d tied. The small, barbless hook would work well for the catch-and-release fishing she did, and the bright yellow and green feathers pleased her. The only thing she’d missed while living in California. Surf fishing wasn’t the same.

I should name it in your memory, Dad. The Earle fly. Her grandfather had named him after Scruggs, but her grandmother added the e because she liked how it looked.

Bet imagined her father’s critical response to her work, the size of the hook too dainty for his memorial.

Bet “spoke” with her father more now, four months after his death, than she’d ever done when he lived. Another burden she carried. The conversations they’d never had. Things she should have asked but didn’t.

She took a deep breath of the dry, pine scent that drifted in through the open windows, filling the room with a heady summer perfume. She should get up and walk around, let the community see she was on the job, but her body felt leaden. And it wasn’t like anyone would notice. She could vanish for hours and it wouldn’t matter to Collier; no one required her attention. Not like they had depended on her father. His death still hung over town like a malaise, her presence an insufficient cure no matter what Earle might have believed when he called her home.

Before her father’s illness, she’d had a plan. First the police academy, then patrol officer, proving she could make it in Los Angeles as a cop. She’d envisioned at least twenty years in LA, moving up the ranks—something with Chief in the title— returning home with a long, impressive career before stepping into Earle’s shoes.

Too late, she’d realized he wouldn’t get better. He’d brought her home for good.

Stretching her arms above her head, she walked her fingers up the wall behind her, tapping to the beat of the music. Anything to shake off the drowsiness brought on by the hot, quiet day and long nights of uneasy sleep.

The coffee stand beckoned from across the street, but the sound of the front door opening and the low, throaty voice of the department’s secretary, Alma, stopped her from voyaging out. A two-pack-a-day smoker for almost forty years, Alma sounded a lot like Lauren Bacall after a night of heavy drinking. She’d given up smoking more than twenty years ago, but even now, as she edged into her seventies, Alma’s voice clung to the roughness like a dying man to a life preserver. Bet hoped the visitor only wanted information about the community and Alma could answer.

No such luck. The efficient clop of Alma’s square-heeled shoes clumped down the scarred floors of the hallway, a counterpoint to another set of feet. Bet brought her hands down off the wall and automatically tucked a wayward curl of her auburn hair back up under her hat before Alma arrived, poking her birdlike head around the wooden frame of the door. Gray hair teased tall, as if that would give her five-foot frame a couple extra inches.

“Bet?” Alma always said her name as though it might not be Bet Rivers sitting behind the enormous sheriff’s desk. Bet assumed Alma wished to find Earle Rivers there. She wondered how long that would last. If Bet threw the upcoming election and fled back to Southern California, leaving her deputy to pick up the reins, maybe everyone would be better off, no matter what her father wanted.

“Yes, Alma?” “I think you’d better listen to what this young man has to say.” The “young man” in question could be anywhere under the age of sixty in Alma’s book, and as he stood out of sight down the hallway, Bet had little to go on.

“Okay,” Bet said.

“I think it’s important.” Alma waited for Bet to show appropriate attention. “Okay.”

“Seems he found a dead body floating in the lake.”

***

Author Bio

Elena Taylor lives on the banks of the middle fork of the Snoqualmie River in a town made famous by Twin Peaks. When she’s not writing or working one-on-one with writers as a developmental editor, she can be found hanging out with her husband, dog, and two cats. Her favorite place to be (besides home) is the stables down the road, with her two horses Radar and Jasper.

Social Media Links

ElenaTaylorAuthor.com, Goodread, BookBub, Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook!

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Rafflecopter Giveaway

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/ZjI0YmY4NGI1MjJkZDM3MDAyMmIxNWZhMzUxNTNkOjY4Ng==/?

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Drop by Jacy Morris

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing on the Blackthorn Tours Blog Tour for a new unique post-apocalyptic horror/suspense book. My Feature Post and Book Review is for Jacy Morris’ THE DROP.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

How many hearts can a song touch? How many ears can it reach? How many people can it kill?

When popular boy band Whoa-Town releases their latest album, no one thinks anything of it. They certainly don’t think that the world will be changed forever. After an apocalyptic disease sweeps the world, it becomes clear that the music of this seemingly innocuous boy band had something to do with it, but how?

Katherine Maddox, her life irrevocably changed by a disease dubbed The Drop, sets out to find out how and why, to prevent something like The Drop from ever happening again.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53685550-the-drop

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE DROP by Jacy Morris is a new unique post-apocalyptic horror/suspense book. This new to me author grabbed my twisted-sense-of-humor interest with the premise of a boy band triggering a worldwide pandemic with drop of their new album and surprised me with a thought provoking, intense page turner that I found difficult to put down.

Katherine is a young journalist who is chasing the story of the origin of the Drop so that it can never happen again. Her investigation is laid out in a series of news reports, chatroom conversations, pod casts and in-person interviews.

The three time periods laid out in the book are post-Drop, pre-Drop and during the Drop. With the story investigated out of order to the events. While I normally find the out of order timeline difficult to follow, the author has laid each nugget of information to carry you through the different sections and build the tension and suspense in an easy to comprehend style.

This is a book that is difficult to give you any more information from it without giving away surprise twists that are learned throughout Katherine’s investigation. The ending left an impression and I believe everyone who reads this book will be sharing.

I highly recommend this story and I am looking forward to other readers opinions!

***

Author Bio

Jacy Morris is a Native American author born in 1979 in Virginia. He is a registered member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz. At the age of ten he was transplanted to Portland, Oregon, where he developed a love for punk rock and horror movies, both of which tend to find their way into his writing. Under the pseudonym The Vocabulariast, he was the writer/owner/CEO of the website MovieCynics.com from 2007-2014. He graduated from Portland State University with a Masters in Education. He has been an English and social studies teacher in Portland, Oregon since 2005.

His first film, All Hell Breaks Loose has a cult following. His second film, entitled The Cemetery People is now in post-production.

He has written several books, including the “This Rotten World” series, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Killing the Cult, and “The Enemies of Our Ancestors” series. The Abbey was his first book under his real name. In between drinking beer and watching horror movies and hockey, he is currently working on the following books: An Unorthodox Cure, and the fourth chapter of This Rotten World.

Social Media Links

Website: https://jacymorris.com/Home

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jacy-Morris-110524983786893/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vocabulariast

Purchase Link

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Drop-Jacy-Morris/dp/1674417225

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Semi-Sweet On You by Erin Nicholas

Hi, everyone!

Today I am excited to be sharing on the Social Butterfly PR Blog Tour. My Feature Post and Book Review is for the latest book in the Hot Cakes series – SEMI-SWEET ON YOU (Hot Cakes Book #4) by Erin Nicholas. This is one of my favorite contemporary romance series with great characters, sweet and yummy baked goods and plenty of fun!

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

A semi-sweet second-chance rom com!

She broke his heart ten years ago.

Now he’s back — and her new boss.

And she might still be semi in love with him.

But that’s no problem, right? They can keep it professional.

Until her grandmother gets involved.

She’s thrilled to think that Whitney and Cam are still in love. And invites him to move in with her…and Whitney.

Of course, Whitney can handle that too. Yeah, everything is fine. Just fine.

Until Cam makes it clear that he’s all in.

Having him back is very sweet, but can she really have it all? Or will it all crumble around her?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51051928-semi-sweet-on-you

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

SEMI-SWEET ON YOU (Hot Cakes Book #4) by Erin Nicholas is the latest contemporary romance in the Hot Cakes series. I have been anxiously waiting for Whitney and Cam’s second chance love story and it did not disappoint. Laughter, fun, family, friendship, love, smokin’ hot attraction and yummy baked goods are all used to solve even the toughest problems.

For three generations the feud between the Lancaster and McCaffery families has carried on in the small town of Appleby, but like Romeo and Juliet, Cam and Whitney fell in love in high school and hid it from their families. When it came time for Cam McCaffery to go to away for college, he wanted to stay and marry Whitney, but she knew he had so much more to accomplish, so she broke up with him and sent him on his way.

Now Cam and his best friends are back and have purchased Hot Cakes, the largest employer in town from the Lancaster family to save the town. Cam is now Whitney’s boss, but he realizes that Whitney is not the same girl he left behind.

Whitney has never had the chance to prove herself in her family’s company. Her father and brothers did not believe she had a place in decision making. Now with the new ownership she is determined to prove her worth and become a partner, but she is also dealing with her grandmother, Didi’s Alzheimer’s. Cam slides right into Whitney and Didi’s life with the promise that he will help and support Whitney as a friend only.

Cam is trying to be a friend to Whitney, but even Whitney is not sure this can work because every time they are together the sexual attraction is hot enough to burn anything Cam has baking in the oven.

PERFECT! Cam and Whitney are a great H/h couple. The sexual attraction is smokin’ hot between these two, but Ms. Nicholas has written a romance that shows them with feelings and emotions that have changed according to their new circumstances in life and are more mature than when they were together ten years ago. This relationship is everything I was hoping for and more.

The secondary characters all play a very important role in this story, also. The friendship of all the guys of Fluke, Inc. and that includes the talented Piper, too make this series very entertaining. In this book we get to get to know Didi, Whitney’s grandmother and her side of the feud story even as her mental cognition declines. (Have some tissues ready for these parts of the story.) Whitney’s emotional reactions and emotions for her grandmother I feel were realistically written and handled.

This book is the fourth book in the series, but it can be easily read as a standalone. I believe that after reading this book you will go back and read all the previous stories.

I highly recommend this second chance contemporary romance!

***

Excerpt

He leaned in, close enough that she could feel his breath on her lips when he said, “Let me kiss you.”

Oh damn. She wanted that. She wanted it so much. She was weak.

“I—” she started.

“The tea is getting cold!” Didi bellowed from the kitchen.

Whitney and Cam stilled. Then she felt him sigh. But he didn’t pull back. “You going to let me do this or not?”

He was already practically kissing her. When his lips moved as he spoke, they brushed hers ever so lightly. His body heat surrounded her. She swore she could feel his heartbeat pounding. Or maybe that was hers.

They both clearly wanted this. She certainly wasn’t pushing him away or stepping back. But the only actual connection was his hand on her face. And their mingling breaths.

Clearly he was going to insist that she make this decision. He wasn’t going to just sweep her up and kiss the hell out of her before she could protest and then let the chemistry take over.

“Whit,” he said, his voice low and rough. “Push me back or pull me closer.”

She slid her hands up to his chest, not sure until the last moment if she was going to fist his shirt and pull him in or push him away.

Cam, however, didn’t look surprised when she pushed.

He let go and stepped back though. He didn’t seem angry or even frustrated. It seemed that he’d been expecting her reaction actually.

“Okay,” he finally said.

She wet her lips. “Thanks,” she said, hoarsely. And she meant it. She appreciated that he was giving her these choices. Kind of.

It would be a lot easier to just climb him like a tree and give in to everything zipping between them if he’d just back her up against the wall, seal his mouth over hers, and start running his big hands over her body. Then she could pretend she was just caught up in the moment and enjoy the hell out of it without actually admitting she wanted any of that.

Which he knew.

She could see it.

He knew that she wanted him, but that she didn’t want to admit it.

So, of course, he was going to make her confess before he did anything more.

“In case you’ve forgotten, I’m very stubborn,” he said.

Whitney gave him a nod. “I remember.”

“And something you should know about me and the past ten years,” he said, holding her gaze steadily, “I’ve also gotten very used to winning. “

That actually made her heart trip and her inner muscles clench.

See, she should really feel trepidation at that implied promise from him. But she didn’t.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, trying desperately not to act excited about the idea of him trying again and again to get close to her.

He looked at her for a long moment and a thought flickered through her mind—he knows.

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About Erin Nicholas

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Erin Nicholas has been writing romances almost as long as she’s been reading them. To date, she’s written over thirty sexy, contemporary novels that have been described as “toe-curling,” “enchanting,” “steamy,” and “fun.” She adores reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines, and happily ever afters.

Erin lives in the Midwest, where she enjoys spending time with her husband (who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books), her kids (who will never read the sex scenes in her books), and her family and friends (who claim to be “shocked” by the sex scenes in her books).

Connect with Erin

Website: http://bit.ly/2NkB2uF

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2tdTM8e

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2QLd1Pr

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3a3rnm4

Instagram: http://bit.ly/36NqV9y

Website: http://bit.ly/2FM3Doo

Stay up to date with Erin Nicholas by joining her mailing list:
http://bit.ly/38a5Fv5

Purchase Links

Amazon: https://amzn.to/39aTn7g

Apple Books: https://apple.co/2WzRWdn

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/semisweet

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2CKTiej

Google Play: https://bit.ly/2WvTy8c

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Tortured With Love: The True Crime Romance of the Lonely Heart Killers by J.T. Hunter

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour. I am excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for TORTURED WITH LOVE: The True Crime Romance of the Lonely Hearts Killers by J.T. Hunter.

Below you will find a book synopsis, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway. Enjoy!

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Book Synopsis

What is the price of passion? What is the power of love?

Meet Martha Beck, a young nurse dedicated to healing others, until her own hurting heart lured her down a darker path. Loneliness led her to Raymond Fernandez, but love led her all the way to the electric chair.

This is the tragic story of the Lonely Heart Killers.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53450493-tortured-with-love

Genre: True Crime
Published by: JT Hunter
Publication Date: May 15th 2020
Number of Pages: 210
ISBN: 9798646112720
Purchase Links:Amazon | Goodreads

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

TORTURED WITH LOVE: The True Crime Romance of the Lonely Hearst Killers by J.T. Hunter is a true crime story of a couple who ranked fourth on Time magazine’s list of Top 10 Crime Duos in U.S. history. Their crime spree occurred in the 1940’s and while it may seem somewhat tame compared to some of our current atrocities, it was the sensation of its time.

Martha Beck was a young nurse and mother in Pensacola, Florida. Divorced and lonely, her best friend encourages her to sign up with a lonely hearts correspondence club which was popular in the 1940’s and 50’s. Her letter is answered by a suave suitor named Ray from New York City.

Raymond “Ray” Fernandez came to America from Spain leaving his wife and four children behind. Having trouble keeping a job, he begins to scam wealthy women he corresponds with through the lonely hearts correspondence clubs. He meets Martha and while he walks away, Martha cannot let him go and will go to any lengths to keep his love.

Ray and Martha set out scamming and then ultimately moving on to murdering the women Ray makes fall in love with him to acquire all their assets. Dubbed by the press as the “Lonely Heart Killers” they are captured and continue to declare their love for each other all the way to the electric chair.

I had never heard of this couple in my true crime reading and was very interested in learning more. I am especially interested in these stories that have a couple committing murders to learn about the psychology of the couple. There are so many variables and I always wonder if they never met, if there would have been no crimes. The period of the 1940’s is brought to life and I found the author did a great job of displaying the differences in our mores and moral judgements then and now. This is the second book I have read by this author and I enjoy his clean and uncluttered style of writing while still providing a story that keeps you turning the pages.

I can highly recommend this true crime book and author!

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Excerpt

ONE

On an otherwise mundane March day, a peculiar piece of paper arrived in Martha Beck’s office mailbox. It came with the usual medical correspondence and junk mail, giving no indication of its importance. Yet, this one particular envelope would change Martha’s life forever.

The envelope arrived on a cool afternoon, the temperature hovering just below 60, the highest it had climbed all day in the Pensacola area of the Florida Panhandle. But Martha was not in the mood to enjoy the weather. She was still down in the dumps about her recently finalized divorce from Alfred Beck, a Pensacola bus driver who had married her when she was six months pregnant with another man’s child. Although she had been separated from Alfred since May 1945, nearly two years earlier, the formal entry of their divorce had the nearly 27-year-old Martha feeling like an old maid doomed to live out the rest of her life alone.

Martha was not unique in that respect in post-World War II America. With well over a million more women than men, the United States population of the mid and late 1940’s left many lonely women in its wake.

A visit from Elizabeth Swanson, one of the nurses she supervised at the Crippled Children’s Home, temporarily distracted Martha from feeling sorry for herself. She considered Elizabeth her closest friend. When Elizabeth knocked on her office door, Martha had just started going through the mail. As the two engaged in the latest gossip and friendly chit-chat, Martha resumed sorting through the assortment of envelopes. The first was an advertisement from a Jacksonville company selling medical equipment. She quickly flipped past it as well as a few other pieces of junk mail until a mysterious envelope caught her eye. It was made of thin, pale-brown paper with the name, Mrs. Martha Jule Beck, typed prominently on the front.

“What’s this?” she asked, the question directed more to herself than her friend.

“What is what?” Elizabeth replied, sipping from a mug of coffee.

“This . . . this odd envelope,” Martha said, holding it up to show her.

“Beat’s me,” Elizabeth remarked coyly. “I wonder who sent you that.”

“I’m sure I don’t know,” Martha remarked, her curiosity now piqued. She turned the envelope over to inspect it further, and seeing nothing hinting at its contents, opened it to find a thin, paper pamphlet inside. It was a promotional mailing and application for the Standard Correspondence Club, one of many “lonely hearts clubs” operating across the country. The return address gave Standard’s location as Grave Lake, Illinois.

LONELY?, the pamphlet asked in large, bold letters, Let us help you find that certain someone. Join old reliable Club, 50 years of dependable, confidential service. Correspondents most everywhere seeking congenial mates, proven results. Interesting photos, descriptions FREE. There were several pictures of women spaced throughout the page, each next to a testimonial about a happy marriage brought about by contacts made through the club.

“Now why on earth would they send this to me?” Martha wondered aloud, taking a little offense that such a “lovelorn club” would be contacting her.

Elizabeth’s coyness now morphed into a broad grin that spread across her face.

“Now why on earth would they send this to me?” Martha wondered aloud, “I have a confession to make,” Elizabeth said as she started giggling. “I wrote the club and asked them to send you information and an application.”

Martha studied her friend’s face, deciding whether she was serious.

“Whatever for?” she asked in a tone matching the astonishment in her eyes.

Still giggling, Elizabeth moved to a chair closer to Martha and sat down beside her.

“I originally did it as a joke,” she explained, “but the more I thought about it, the more I decided that you should give it a try. Three of my daughters are writing to me that they have met men through this correspondence club, and this is the very same club that I met my husband through thirty years ago. And after all, what do you have to lose?”

Martha rolled her eyes.

“I may be a little lonely,” she acknowledged, “but I’m not THAT desperate.”

She glared with some annoyance at Elizabeth. “I swear, sometimes I really wonder what’s going on in that head of yours.”

Martha tossed the pamphlet onto a pile of papers stacked on the side of her desk and made no more mention of it for the rest of their time together. But the seeds of intrigue had already been planted in her mind.

Later, after Elizabeth had left, Martha retrieved the discarded pamphlet and read it more closely. Part of the pamphlet contained a form asking her to fill out information about herself and write a letter detailing what kind of men she would like to meet. Sitting down at her desk, she carefully completed the form and took her time crafting the letter, being sure to mention how people often commented that she was witty, vivacious, and oozed personality. She also emphasized that she was a trained nurse with her own pleasant apartment. When she was satisfied with what she had written, Martha carefully folded the papers, enclosed $5.00 for the required membership fee, and licked the envelope to seal it. That evening, she dropped it in a mailbox on her way home from work.

*****

Years later, when asked whether she had experienced any misgivings about joining a lonely hearts club, Martha candidly replied, “Yes, as soon as I’d put the letter in the mailbox, I began thinking I’d made a mistake.”

Questioned about what kind of man she hoped to meet through the club, Martha took a little more time before answering.

“Well, I don’t know,” she confessed. “I guess I hadn’t thought about it much.

But I sure didn’t think I’d ever meet anyone like Ray.”

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Author Bio

JT Hunter is a true crime writer with over fifteen years of experience as a lawyer, including criminal law and appeals. He also has significant training in criminal investigation techniques. He enjoys being a college professor teaching fiction and nonfiction to his creative writing students.

Catch Up With J.T. Hunter

JTHunter.org, Goodreads, BookBub, Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook!

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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/ZjI0YmY4NGI1MjJkZDM3MDAyMmIxNWZhMzUxNTNkOjY4NA==/?