#bookdescription – Page 63 – Avonna Loves Genres

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE BOYFRIEND CANDIDATE by Ashley Winstead on this Summer 2023 HTP Books Blog Tour.

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

As a shy school librarian, Alexis Stone is comfortable keeping out of the spotlight. But when she’s dumped for being too meek—in bed!—she decides she needs to change. And what better way to kick-start her new more adventurous life than with her first one-night stand?

Enter Logan, the gorgeous, foul-mouthed stranger she meets at a hotel bar. Audacious and filterless, Logan is Alexis’s opposite—and boy, do opposites attract! Just as she’s about to fulfill her hookup wish, the hotel catches fire in a freak lightning storm. In their rush to escape, Logan is discovered carrying her into the street, where people are waiting with cameras. Cameras Logan promptly—and shockingly—flees.

Alexis is bewildered until suddenly pictures of her and Logan escaping the fire are all over the internet. Turns out Logan is none other than Logan Arthur, the hotshot candidate challenging the Texas governor’s seat. The salacious scandal is poised to sink his career—and jeopardize Alexis’s job—until a solution is proposed: he and Alexis could pretend to be in a relationship until election day…in two months. What could possibly go wrong?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62197594-the-boyfriend-candidate?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=XsvDK4ZlEV&rank=1

The Boyfriend Candidate

By Ashley Winstead

On Sale May 9, 2023

Graydon House

Paperback Original

ISBN: 9781525804960

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

THE BOYFRIEND CANDIDATE by Ashley Winstead is an absolute treat of a fake romance/rom-com contemporary romance featuring a shy, book loving school librarian and a foul-mouthed, audacious politician running for office. Opposites attract in this slow burn fake romance.

Alexis Stone has always preferred books over people and has a job she loves as a school librarian. When her boyfriend cheats on her for a second time and blames her, she is determined to change her life. She gets dressed up and goes out looking for a one-night stand. When she is hit on by an obnoxious drunk, the gorgeous man next to her at the bar rescues her.

Logan Arthur just wants some down time and stops for a drink after work in the bar by his office. He stands up to the obnoxious man hitting on the woman next him at the bar and finds he loves listening to her stories. As they go to leave, both find they want each other. But when a lightening strike starts a fire in the hotel, they find themselves outside, half dressed, and Logan takes off, leaving Alexis when the photographers start taking pictures.

Logan is single and running for Governor and the scandal of coming out of a hotel with a woman brings up his playboy history, so his campaign finds Alexis and proposes a fake relationship just until the election in two months.

I really loved the opposites attract dynamic between Alexis and Logan. They both learned from each other how to be bold and when to hold back, while both were trying to get beyond being hurt by others in the past. While there is plenty of romance, it is a slow burn with a love triangle thrown in three quarters of the way through the story. I felt the entire romance plot moved at a believable pace with no sex scenes until almost the end of the story, but plenty of chemistry between the H/h. The election and campaign issues added interest to the overall story, also. All the characters are fully fleshed and believable. This is an overall enjoyable read with fun characters, dialogue, and plot.

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Excerpt

Alexis Stone Is Not a Mouse

I’LL SAY ONE NICE THING ABOUT MY EX CHRIS TUTTLE: the man was the entire reason I was here, standing at the entrance to the sultry Fleur de Lis hotel bar, wearing a red dress so plunging I kept it in the back of my closet for fear of scandalizing visitors, on the verge of reinventing myself. The memory of Chris and the still-fresh psychic wounds he’d left me were like a marching drum line urging me forward as I’d left my apartment, Ubered downtown to the Fleur de Lis, and cut a determined path across the lobby to the bar, a place with a reputation as Austin’s Grand Central Station of hookups. Unfortunately, now that I was standing at the entrance, the sight of all the laughing, drinking, dazzling people—dressed to the nines like me, but looking much more at ease about it—had me momentarily cowed.

I thought back to what Chris said the day I discovered he was cheating on me (for the second time): “I do have needs you can’t satisfy. You should really learn to be more adventurous in bed, Lex. You’re like a timid little mouse. It can get really boring.” Remembering those words, I straightened my shoulders, took a deep breath, and stepped inside. I was not a boring mouse—or at least I wouldn’t be one anymore. Starting tonight, I was going to be a new version of Alexis Stone: as bold and adventurous as my flaming-red dress.

I tried to soak in the beauty of the bar while beelining through the crowded tables, anxious to leave the peculiar spotlight of being the only person standing among a bunch of cozy, seated people. But then I realized new Alexis wouldn’t care if everyone’s eyes flitted to her as she walked across a room—in fact, new Alexis would welcome it, because she’d spent nearly an hour straightening and then recurling her hair into movie star ringlets, and maybe that effort should be appreciated. I forced myself to slow and look up at the bar’s gorgeous glass ceiling, shaded a twinkly blue thanks to the night sky. Real palm trees lined the circular perimeter, fronds reaching toward the stars. They made the bar look like a very urbane urban jungle, which actually wasn’t too far off the mark.

My older sister, Lee, and her friends liked to roll their eyes at the entire downtown bar scene, calling places like the Fleur de Lis “meat markets where you go to spend thirty-five bucks on a martini while beating back horny yuppies” (Lee’s words). They preferred the hipster bars on the east side of Austin, where the clientele was cooler yet dirtier (my words). I thought the Fleur de Lis was romantic, so it made sense to come here tonight for my critical but one hundred percent private mission: I, Alexis Rosalie Stone, was going to have my first one-night stand. I was going to sleep with a man with no strings attached, no stakes or expectations: just one night to do whatever felt right. Alexis the unadventurous bore? I’d killed her and buried the body.

The gleaming brass bar was crowded, but I managed to slip a shoulder between two men and catch the bartender’s attention. “Vodka martini,” I said, feeling a sudden rebellious compulsion to do anything that would raise my sister’s eyebrows. By the time my drink came, I’d completed a full three-sixty swivel in my barstool to survey the sea of men for potential candidates. How exactly did one negotiate a one-night stand? Did you lead with it in conversation so all your cards were on the table (“Hi, I’m Alexis; you might be interested to know I’m trolling for a stranger to ravish me”), or did you hold back, let your intention slip out at just the right moment (“I see you’re ordering an Uber home; could I interest you in going splitsies back to my place for a wild night of sex”)?

I braced a hand on the bar, taking a fortifying sip of my martini. Even if I made a complete fool of myself tonight—even if I was roundly rejected by every man I spoke to—coming here alone at least meant Lee and her crew couldn’t witness my flop, then use it to skewer me for all eternity like the jackals they were.

A whistle cut through the bar’s ambient noise, followed by a loud, “Now that’s a dress.” Out of nowhere, a man appeared and sidled up beside me. One look at him and my mind blurted forehead! Probably because his was shiny as a disco ball, framed by waggling eyebrows, and tilted all the way to the side. The next second, I realized his head was turned that way so he could get a clear view down my dress.

“Thanks.” I placed a protective hand over my chest and swiveled in the opposite direction. Hoping my body language would signal my disinterest, I took another sip of my martini and studied the empty corner of the room like it was fascinating.

No such luck. “I’m Carter Randall,” the man said, jutting out his hand. “What’s your name?”

My deep desire for him to go away warred with my silly lifelong compulsion to be nice. “Um…” I twisted back to shake his oddly moist hand and searched for inspiration. My gaze snagged, as his clearly had, on my dress. “Ruby…” The next word came unbidden. “Dangerfield. Ruby Dangerfield.” Curse my polite hardwiring that had me sitting here inventing a new name instead of dismissing him with something cool and clipped like, “Not interested.”

Carter gave my hand a little squeeze. He was twice my age, probably well into his fifties. Well-dressed, with a massive gold watch on his wrist, and—now that I squinted—a strangely sweaty face, like he’d just done a lap. Was he on party drugs? He used his sleeve to mop his forehead and I pulled my hand away, resisting the urge to wipe it on my dress. Carter’s eyes drifted down the length of my body yet again. “Well, Ms. Ruby. Can I buy you a drink? A stiff one?” He grinned.

“Oh,” I said. “That’s very nice. But—um—no thank you.” Inside, I burned with the fire of a thousand suns. Saying no to anyone, even a stranger, stretched the limits of my bravery.

“Aw, come on.” Carter leaned in closer and I scooted back so fast I nearly tipped over. “Look at you, sitting there in that dress. Clearly fishing for attention. Well, you caught me. Let’s get you drunk and see what happens.”

Apparently, I was going to get a lesson in how not to proposition someone tonight. But my cheeks were burning, because in a small way Carter was right—I had come here to put myself on display and find someone, just very much not him. Be the new Alexis, I urged myself. Stop prioritizing this stranger’s feelings and tell him to leave you alone. But I couldn’t—at the slightest provocation, old, sad, doormat Alexis had quickly jumped back in charge.

“I’m not trying to be rude,” I said carefully, feeling my heartbeat spike. “I would just like to be by myself tonight.” Well, shoot. Now that I’d committed to that, would I have to leave the bar so Carter didn’t catch me talking to anyone else later? My palms started sweating.

“One drink—” he started.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” came a voice, tinged with an accent I couldn’t place—British mixed with Texas panhandle? I nearly knocked over my martini. “She said no, mate. Get it through your thick skull and leave the poor woman alone.”

Carter spun to get a look at the man who’d interrupted us, and without his body blocking the view, I got a clear line, too. My stomach flipped over and released a conservatory’s worth of butterflies. Even wearing a look of contempt, the man on the other side of Carter was stop-in-your-tracks, tongue-tyingly handsome. He was around my age, maybe a little older—he certainly radiated an older person’s authority—with a head of dark curls cut close and tight, brown eyes that were currently blazing, and thick eyebrows arched, waiting to see how Carter would respond. He had on a dark suit like most of the other men in the room, but he’d taken off his jacket and hung it on the back of his seat. He was sitting hunched over his drink in a white dress shirt with the sleeves messily rolled back, wearing a dark slim watch that was the antithesis of Carter’s flashy gold one. The wrinkles in his suit, creases under his eyes, and day-old stubble gave the impression of a weary business executive after a long, hard day at work. His eyes flitted to mine for the briefest moment before returning to Carter, but the charge that ran down my spine was enough to root me to my chair.

Carter shifted his weight. Apparently, he was going to play the tough guy. “Why don’t you mind your business, pal?”

The beautiful, tired man rolled his eyes. “Oh, good. You’re one of those.” He got to his feet so fast his barstool made a screeching sound as it scraped across the floor. “Then let’s go ahead and get this over with, because I’ve had a shit day and I would like to kick your ass and get back home at a reasonable hour. So come on. You’re the one campaigning for Most Punchable Man in the Bar. Let’s have your prize.” The dark-haired man spoke calmly and quickly in his hard-to-place accent, like he invited people to get their asses kicked at least once a day. He made a little “come on” gesture that conveyed utter boredom.

People around us had stopped talking to watch. The extra attention only made me feel like I was going to melt into the floor at twice the speed. But if I had no idea how to respond to this turn of events—what to say or even where to put my hands—Carter was even more clueless. I could see his eyes dancing, doing quick calculations. On the one hand, Carter was thicker around the middle than the dark-haired man. On the other, the dark-haired man had revealed himself to be tall and well-built when he stood up.

“Nah, man.” Carter put his hands up. “We’ve got no problems. Just making new friends like you’re supposed to at a bar, for Christ’s sake.”

“Great,” said the dark-haired man. “Then kindly fuck off as suggested.”

Carter didn’t wait to be told a third time. As he hightailed away from the bar, a woman nearby muttered, “What a douche.” And with that judgment rendered, the room dialed back to a normal volume.

“Thank you,” I said to the dark-haired man. He waved me off with a grunt and settled back in his barstool, leaning comfortably over his drink, apparently hoping to resume his night like nothing had happened.

I stared at him. The adrenaline was draining out of my system, which left me feeling hollow. I should have been the one to tell Carter to fuck off. I should have had the guts, but instead I’d tiptoed around and this man had to step in and do it for me. How humiliating. It hit me like a ton of bricks: from the moment Carter arrived, I’d been unequivocally mousy. Exactly like Chris said.

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Author Bio

Ashley Winstead’s 2021 breakout thriller, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, was an Amazon Editor’s Best Thriller, an Apple Books Best Book of August, as well as a Library Journal, New York Times, CrimeReads, Parade, and Goodreads best or most anticipated thriller of the year. Her 2022 thriller, The Last Housewife, was a Library Reads pick, a Loan Star pick, an Amazon Editor’s Best Thriller, as well as a Cosmopolitan, Good Morning America, Good Housekeeping, Seattle Times, and Southern Review of Fiction best or most anticipated thriller of the year. Her 2022 romance debut, Fool Me Once, was an Amazon Editor’s Best Romance as well as a USA Today, PopSugar, New York Post, and Goodreads best or most anticipated romance of the year. Her work has been translated into more than a dozen languages and optioned for film/TV.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.ashleywinstead.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashley.winstead

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ashleywinstead

Purchase Links

HarperCollins: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-boyfriend-candidate-ashley-winstead?variant=40743817412642

BookShop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-boyfriend-candidate-ashley-winstead/18794134?ean=9781525804960

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-boyfriend-candidate-ashley-winstead/1142080805

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Boyfriend-Candidate-Novel-Ashley-Winstead/dp/1525804960/

Feature Post and Book Review: A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver

Book Description

The first in the Electra McDonnell series from Edgar-nominated author Ashley Weaver, set in England during World War II, A Peculiar Combination is a delightful mystery filled with spies, murder, romance, and the author’s signature wit.

FIRST RULE: DON’T LOSE YOUR CONCENTRATION.

Electra McDonnell and her family earn their living outside the law. Breaking into the homes of the rich and picking the locks on their safes may not be condoned by British law enforcement, but with World War II in full swing, Uncle Mick’s locksmith business just can’t pay the bills anymore.

SECOND RULE: DON’T MAKE MISTAKES.
So when Uncle Mick receives a tip about a safe full of jewels in an empty house, he and Ellie can’t resist. All is going as planned—until the pair is caught red-handed. But instead of arresting them, government official Major Ramsey has an offer: either Ellie agrees to help him break into a safe and retrieve blueprints crucial to the British war effort, or he turns her over to the police.

THIRD RULE: DON’T GET CAUGHT.
Ellie doesn’t care for the major’s imperious manner, but she has no choice. However, when they break into the house, they find the safe open and empty, and a German spy dead on the floor. Soon, Ellie and Major Ramsey are forced to put aside their differences to unmask the double agent, and stop Allied plans from falling into enemy hands.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54860475-a-peculiar-combination?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=UZS4Nw8jxe&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

A PECULIAR COMBINATION (Electra McDonnell Series Book #1) by Ashley Weaver is an entertaining and unique WWII historical cozy mystery featuring a resourceful female well versed in the family business of locks and safe cracking and a strait-laced English Intelligence officer. I love finding a new series that guarantees more stories with strong characters for me to enjoy in the future.

Electra “Ellie” McDonnell grew up with an uncle and cousins who earned their living slightly outside the law when their locksmithing business was not quite enough to pay the bills. With her cousins away serving their country in the fight against Hitler, Ellie goes with her Uncle Mick on a late-night job. They are caught red handed and taken not to jail, but to the government office of Major Gabriel Ramsey. Ellie and Uncle Mick are offered a deal, work for the government using their unique skill set or go to prison.

Ellie must break into a safe to exchange critical weapons blueprints before they are delivered to a German spy. While Ellie does not like the high-handed Major, she is more than willing to do her part for the war effort. But things do not go as planned and Ellie and the Major must race to uncover all the traitors involved in the plot as the dead bodies stack up.

This is a great start to this new historical mystery series by this new to me author. All the characters are very well developed and feel very believable and appropriate to this time in history. Not only is the research on London before the blitz evident, but the author does a great job of making the reader feel the appropriate atmosphere of living in the black outed city. The mystery/espionage plot is fast-paced and tightly written with plenty of twists throughout. Electra is a wonderful protagonist and there is still so much to learn about her, her mother’s conviction and which possible gentleman she will find romance with in the future, Major Ramsey or Felix.

I highly recommend this wonderfully enjoyable start to this new WWII historical mystery series!

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About the Author

Ashley Weaver is the author of the Amory Ames Mysteries and the Electra McDonnell series. She is also the Technical Services Coordinator for the Allen Parish Libraries in Louisiana. Weaver has worked in libraries since she was 14; she was a page and then a clerk before obtaining her MLIS from Louisiana State University. She lives in Oakdale, Louisiana.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.ashley-weaver.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AshleyCWeaver

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Deep Tide by Laura Griffin

Book Description

With two brothers on the police force, Leyla Breda is well aware of the rising crime in her small beach town, but she never expected it to show up on her doorstep. When Leyla finds one of her employees murdered in the alley behind her coffee shop, she’s deeply shaken, and as a new law enforcement officer in town begins to circle her place of business, her instincts only sharpen.

Sean Moran is on an undercover assignment. The seaside community of Lost Beach may look like a picturesque postcard, but his team suspects it’s a point of intersection for several crime syndicates that the FBI has been investigating for years. Even so, when the brash and beautiful Leyla Breda starts bossing him around, he’s immediately intrigued. He knows her brothers want him to back off, but every time he sees her, he feels more of a spark.

Leyla’s connections in the local community and Sean’s skills allow them to go deeper into the case together than they would be able to go alone. But when a single crime spirals into something much darker, Sean’s carefully planned mission takes a deadly turn.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Deep Tide by Laura Griffin is the fourth book in the “Texas Murder Files” series. As with the other three, readers will not be disappointed. The stories have likeable characters and intense action.

The heroine Leyla Breda is the sister of two local police officers, Joel, and Owen. She meets the hero, FBI Special Agent Sean Moran, at the wedding of her brother Joel. But Sean is also there as an undercover agent to investigate a tech billionaire believed to be associated with multiple crime syndicates.

Leyla runs both a popular coffee shop and a pastry shop. After finding that one of her employees was brutally murdered, Leyla and Sean team up to find the killer. She puts herself in dangerous situations which increase exponentially when she tries to help Sean with the undercover mission.

Readers are awarded a bonus because there is not just one strong heroine in the story, but two. Nicole Lawson is assigned as the lead detective on the case. She is young, the only woman on the police force, and has great instincts. At first, she and Sean butt heads, but over time they realize they can trust each other and begin to work together. Nicole and her partner Emmett discover that the murder could be linked to a case Sean is working on.

Along with the budding romance between Sean and Leyla, there is intense action, suspense, and chemistry between characters that are off the charts. Readers will have to hold on to their hats as Griffin takes them on a thrilling roller coaster ride.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: The idea for the story?

Laura Griffin: The main character has been in previous books in the series. Readers wanted to know when Leyla would get a book. This is her story, but also pulls together all the other characters from previous books. Thus, a wedding between Joel and Miranda where Leyla is the chef who caters the wedding. It was a lot of fun to write.

EC: You made Leyla a chef, are you a cook?

LG: My mother-in-law used to be a caterer. I did some research about working in an industrial kitchen and took some cooking classes as well. I learned how to decorate a cake. This was one of my most favorite forms of research. One of the things I learned to make was a puffy French sandwich cookie called Macaron. They are tricky to make. I am a cook but not a gourmet cook like Leyla.

EC: How would you describe Leyla?

LG: She is guarded and does not wear her emotions on her sleeve. She is cynical when it comes to relationships. Sometimes she is prickly, competitive, and controlling. Leyla uses food to express her love for people.

EC: How would you describe Sean?

LG: Very determined and smart.

EC: What about the relationship between her and Sean?

LG: She is immediately attracted to him. Sean can chip away her hard exterior. He is protective of her but not in the same way as her brothers. They want to shield her from everything. He was tenacious while she was evasive. She does not have a lot of trust in men. At first, she writes Sean off, but he is persistent.

EC: There was a scene in the book where she jumps forty feet into water -is that realistic?

LG: I did some research, and it is possible without getting severely injured. It depends on the circumstances and how someone falls.

EC: Inner law enforcement rivalry?

LG: I had the rivalry with my characters Nicole, who is on the police force, and Sean, who is FBI. She thought he was territorial, pushy, possessive, and petty. She has worked with the FBI in the past and found them to be very controlling, but Sean shows her he will share information. The investigation moved forward because of their partnership. He dispelled the stereotypic FBI agent.

EC: Encrypted phone apps?

LG: It is based on something that really happened. There are encrypted phone apps used by criminal organizations to shield themselves. It is a double edged sword. It can also shield journalists who are investigating these criminal organizations. The reporter in the story shows how he uses these apps that protects him, where he is invisible. This is how a lot of technology is used: either for good or nefarious reasons. This is a moral gray area.

EC: The next books?

LG: It is titled, The Last Close Call, a stand-alone suspense novel. It takes place in central Texas with the topic of genetic genealogy. The heroine uses DNA to trace people. It comes out in October.

The next book in “The Texas Murder File Series” is Nicole and Emmett’s story, out in the spring.

THANK YOU!!

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

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Feature Post and Book Review: An American Beauty by Shana Abe

Book Description

This sweeping novel of historical fiction is inspired by the true rags-to-riches story of Arabella Huntington—a woman whose great beauty was surpassed only by her exceptional business acumen, grit, and artistic eye, and who defied the constraints of her era to become the wealthiest self-made woman in America.

1867, Richmond, Virginia: Though she wears the same low-cut purple gown that is the uniform of all the girls who work at Worsham’s gambling parlor, Arabella stands apart. It’s not merely her statuesque beauty and practiced charm. Even at seventeen, Arabella possesses an unyielding grit, and a resolve to escape her background of struggle and poverty.

Collis Huntington, railroad baron and self-made multimillionaire, is drawn to Arabella from their first meeting. Collis is married and thirty years her senior, yet they are well-matched in temperament, and flirtation rapidly escalates into an affair. With Collis’s help, Arabella eventually moves to New York, posing as a genteel, well-to-do Southern widow. Using Collis’s seed money and her own shrewd investing instincts, she begins to amass a fortune.

Their relationship is an open secret, and no one is surprised when Collis marries Arabella after his wife’s death. But “The Four Hundred”—the elite circle that includes the Astors and Vanderbilts—have their rules. Arabella must earn her place in Society—not just through her vast wealth, but with taste, style, and impeccable behavior. There are some who suspect the scandalous truth, and will blackmail her for it. And then there is another threat—an unexpected, impossible romance that will test her ambition, her loyalties, and her heart . . .

An American Beauty brings to vivid life the glitter and drama of a captivating chapter in history—and a remarkable woman who lived by her own rules.

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61341955-an-american-beauty?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=npMzMsAXaB&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

AN AMERICAN BEAUTY by Shana Abe is a riveting biographical historical fiction novel about the most interesting woman of the gilded age that I knew nothing about. Arabella Huntington uses her beauty, determination, and brains to overcome her impoverished beginnings and will ignore the rules of elite New York society and rise to become the wealthiest self-made woman in America.

This story begins in 1867 Richmond, Virginia when Arabella Duval Yarrington is only in her teens. Her mother runs a boarding house and is barely able to feed her children in the war devastated Richmond. Arabella is the beauty of the family, and her mother takes her to get work in a gambling parlor and brothel. Arabella is beautiful and talented and knows her family depends on her. Collis Huntington is a railroad baron who attends the establishment Arabella works at and is smitten with Arabella even though he is married. This man will change her and her family’s lives even as Arabella learns and grows into her ambitions, business acumen, and large fortune over her lifetime.

This is such a rich story with many individual plot threads woven together over the lifetime of Arabella Huntington that made me feel she could walk right off the page. Arabella and her mother had to be tough and make difficult choices that not everyone would agree with, but they survived and thrived. I kept thinking of the Reba McEntire song “Fancy” as I was reading that part of Arabella’s life. All the characters are fully drawn throughout the book and believable. Even though this is a work of historical fiction many of the major plot points of the story can be verified as well as painting and jewelry collections still available for viewing left by Arabella. This story tells the tale of an amazing woman who triumphed even though she was very much ahead of her time.

I highly recommend this captivating biographical historical novel.

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About the Author

Shana Abé is the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of seventeen books, including the acclaimed Drákon Series and the Sweetest Dark Series.

She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Southern California, and currently resides in the mountains of Colorado with her very patient husband and a lot of pets.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.shanaabe.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shana_abe

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Swindler’s Daughter by Stephenia H. McGee

Book Description

A surprise inheritance. A cache of family secrets. A choice that will change her life forever.

Lillian Doyle has lived her entire high-society life with her widowed mother, believing her father died long ago. But when news arrives that her estranged father only recently passed away–in jail–Lillian is startled to find that the man has left a business and all of his possessions to her, making her a rather unusual heiress.

When she goes to take possession of her father’s house in a backwoods Georgia town, the dilapidated structure is already occupied by another woman who claims it was promised to her son, Jonah. In her attempts to untangle the mess, Lillian will discover not only a family she never knew she had but a family business that is more than meets the eye–and has put a target on her back.

To discover the truth and take hold of the independence she’s always dreamed of, she’ll have to make friends with adversaries and strangers–especially Jonah, the dusty and unrefined cowboy who has secret aspirations of his own.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Swindler’s Daughter by Stephenia McGee is a compelling mystery mixed within a historical novel. Both the male hero and female heroine are put in dangerous situations with a villain that is multifaceted.

Set in 1912 Georgia, the main character Lillian Doyle always believed that her father was dead and her mother his widow. That is until she receives notice that her father has just recently died and left her as the sole heir to his home and half his business. Deciding to travel to a small town in Georgia to settle her father’s estate and accept the inheritance she gets more than she bargained for including a family she has never met and an inheritance that brings dangerous problems. The longer Lillian stays in her father’s small town, the more intrigue, and mysterious events she encounters.

After arriving in the small city of Dawsonville. Georgia, she finds a family already in possession of her father’s house, and some shady aspects about her father’s business including the business partner who wants not only the whole business for himself, but also the house. Having to navigate who is good and who is bad she discovers charming, loving people, and a cousin and an aunt she never knew. After meeting the current occupants of the house who suggest she becomes a business partner with them she contemplates about achieving her dream of independence. Realizing a decision needs to be made she makes the choice of becoming business partners with the family that includes Jonah, his mom Melanie, and his sisters. While trying to find the truth behind her father’s business dealings she also must deal with her superficial mother who tried to manipulate Lillian to get control over the inheritance.

Readers will be on the edge of their seats because of the cache of family secrets. The story also includes a sweet romance, historical details, mystery, and adventure.

***

Elise Cooper: The idea for the story?

Stephenia McGee: I had gone to a Colorado museum where there was a whole section with bottles from the prohibition era. I thought this is neat and found out how things were hidden in the walls. The story idea sparked from hidden items.

EC: How would you describe Lillian?

SM: She is quietly feisty but is usually stoic and reserved. She is outwardly tough, inwardly soft, vulnerable, thoughtful, and determined.

EC: How would you describe Jonah?

SM: Hard-working, determined, very responsible, and has the weight on his shoulders because he does not want to let those who depend on him down. He is also protective and loyal.

EC: What about the relationship between Jonah and Lillian?

SM: It starts off where they do not care for each other. In the beginning it is a battle of their wits. Eventually, they develop a mutual respect where they balance each other out. He causes some cracks in her armor and she lets him see that not everything is as he thinks it is supposed to be.

EC: What was the role of each of their mothers?

SM: Each had strong personalities. His mom, Melanie, wants the best for everybody, and wants everyone to accomplish their dream, having the best at heart. She guides Lillian to make her dreams come true. Lillian’s mother wants the best for herself, all about status, what society thinks of her, and wants to build a life of comfort. Basically, she is a snob, uncaring, and selfish.

EC: Can you explain the book quote, “Life is full of unknowns?”

SM: The theme of the book is what should people do when life does not turn out at all what they expect. For Lillian, nothing is as is seems. The idea is that life throws curve balls, and how do people navigate those obstacles with hope and a sense of self.

EC: Why a bakery and the bookstore?

SM: For Melanie the bakery was her stress reliever. It is something she always wanted to do. Lillian, when she sees Melanie determined to have her own business, also wants to create her favorite place for others, the bookstore. It was quiet, cozy, and allowed her to get lost in the stories. She wanted to provide that same sort of place for others. Both Melanie and Lillian realized that they could work together. The project also brought Jonah’s sister Rose out of her melancholy ways. She was able to accomplish her hobby of sewing cushions.

EC: What about the Watson family?

SM: Whether Jonah’s family or Lillian’s father extended family, they had a huge impact on Lillian’s character growth. Lillian sees what is like to have a warm and caring family. Since it was only her and her uncaring mom, she learned to love and be supported through the other families.

EC: Next books?

SM: I am working on a new series about Mississippi romances. Book 1 is called The River Queen about a 1923 showboat. This one has river pirates, gangsters, more hidden secrets, and a deep mystery. It comes out in October. I will more than likely write a book for Revell the following October. I am thinking that once a year I will self-publish, and the next year will be a Revell book.

THANK YOU!!

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Feature Post and Book Review: The Viscount Who Vexed Me by Julia London

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE VISCOUNT WHO VEXED ME (A Royal Match Book #3) by Julia London.

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

Daring. Darling. Determined.

Next to the Season’s newest diamond, Harriet (Hattie) Woodchurch feels like a plain Jane. But that’s of no consequence, since Hattie’s plan for her future is to earn enough to live far, far away from her embarrassing family.

That is until Mateo Vincente, Duke of Santiava and newly minted Viscount Abbott, arrives in London. While the shy European’s spoken English is impeccable, his writing is less fluent. The ton is eager to meet the handsome bachelor, and so many invitations flood in that Mateo needs a correspondence secretary.

With her perfect penmanship and way with words, Hattie is recommended, and the two bond over books and the ton’s eligible ladies. But when Hattie’s friend Flora becomes smitten with the viscount, things get complicated. Flora is tongue-tied in his presence. To help, Hattie feeds her information about Mateo’s interests. Soon things turn around and Flora appears on track to become his duchess. Yet for Mateo, something’s not quite right. Conversation with Flora isn’t as scintillating as it is with Hattie…

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63028657-the-viscount-who-vexed-me?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=yMvc8S6f4R&rank=1

A Royal Match Series

Book 1: Last Duke Standing
Book 2: The Duke Not Taken
Book 3: The Viscount Who Vexed Me

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE VISCOUNT WHO VEXED ME (A Royal Match Book #3) by Julia London is another charming and witty addition to this historical romance series. Each book in the series has a royal who needs to find a mate and hopefully a love match with the help of a determined matchmaker and recurring characters working to assist. Each book can easily be read as a standalone with a complete HEA in each with the recurring characters introduced in each book of the series.

Harriet “Hattie” Woodchurch is determined to earn her own living and move very far away from her embarrassing family. While she has friends in society from her time in school, her father is a rich penny-pinching merchant and not a member of polite society and she realizes her life and circumstances will not be like her friends.

Mateo “Teo” Vincente, Duke of Santiava and now also the Viscount Abbott after the death of his mother’s father arrives in London to set his new inheritance in order. Society is excited about his visit and the knowledge that he seeks a wife, but he is not comfortable with the attention. When he needs assistance with his English correspondence, Hattie is recommended for the position. Teo soon finds he and his entire household are enchanted with his scribe.

As Mateo meets all the eligible debutantes, he finds that he is only truly himself with Hattie and Hattie is finding herself increasingly infatuated with the Viscount. The matchmaker still has a few things up her sleeve to assist this pair, if the Viscount is willing to find his voice and stand up for what he wants.

I adore this series not only because of the well written characters and situations that I never know how Ms. London will resolve them into a HEA, but also because the dialogue is always so witty and fun. Hattie is a determined young woman willing to work for everything she wants and yet she is also friendly and warm despite her difficult family, and it broke my heart every time her supposed friends hurt her. Mateo is complicated and a product of his father’s constant verbal abuse, but that makes it even more wonderful when he finally finds his own voice and power. I loved that his hobby and passion is baking. This book has no explicit sex scenes, but a steadily growing romance from the discovering of friendship to love.

I recommend this enjoyable historical romance and the entire Royal Match series.

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Excerpt

Suddenly, a woman entered the shop in such a hurry that she set all the bells above the door clanging. “Mrs. Perkins!”

Mrs. Perkins, the shopkeeper, burst forth from the curtains covering the entrance to a back room like she thought the shop might be on fire. “What is it? What’s happened?”

The woman rushed to the front window where Flora and Queenie were, forcing them aside. “What in heaven!” Queenie cried.

“He’s there!”

“Who’s there?” Queenie demanded—she’d never been shy about seeking answers.

“Here?” Mrs. Perkins gasped and sprang to the window like a gazelle. “Where?”

The woman pointed across the street, and Queenie grabbed Flora’s arm. “Look!”

“You’re hurting me,” Flora said.

“For once, will you do as I ask?” Queenie demanded. “Look!”

Hattie watched the four ladies in the shop window, leaning forward and peering out over the glove displays, confused about what was happening. “Oh my. Oh my,” Flora said, then gestured wildly for Hattie. “Come here, come here, you have to see!”

There was not enough room for the five of them, and Hattie had to stand on her tiptoes to see over Flora’s shoulder. “I can’t really see,” Hattie said.

The rest of them ignored her. “Where?” Mrs. Perkins demanded, sounding panicked.

Mrs. Perkins’s friend pointed.

Hattie tried to make herself taller. The only thing she could see was a haberdashery across the street. Three gentlemen stood before it, chatting. “Is that it?” Hattie asked and sank down onto her feet again.

“Not them,” the woman said. “The viscount.”

There had to be at least a dozen viscounts on Regent Street on any given day. “Which one?”

“Which one?” Flora repeated, and shot a disapproving look over her shoulder at Hattie. “Viscount Abbott, of course.”

“Of course,” Hattie muttered. She didn’t know of any Viscount Abbott. Or why any of these women were interested in him.

“Who is also the Duke of Santiava,” Queenie said. Hattie blinked. Queenie rolled her eyes. “Why do you never know these things, Hattie? It’s as if you live in a cave.”

She never knew these things because she didn’t know anything. How could she? She didn’t exactly exist in the same social circles as Flora and Queenie. She knew what they told her, and they had not told her about this viscount.

Just then, Flora grabbed Hattie’s hand and gripped it so tightly that Hattie winced. Queenie pushed a display of gloves out of the way, and the four women surged forward, Flora dragging Hattie with her.

A man emerged from the shop, holding his hat in his hand. He was tall, with sun-drenched skin. His clothing fit him snugly, and it was apparent that he was trim with an athletic build. His dark hair brushed his collar, and when he looked up at something one of the other gentlemen said, he smiled. Only a little, but it was a smile that sparked through Hattie. That gentleman was quite possibly the most beautiful man she’d ever seen in her life—elegant, strong, and astonishingly agreeable in looks.

No one spoke for a moment.

A carriage rolled in between the shops and stopped, blocking their view of the haberdashery. When it rolled away, the gentlemen were gone.

The ladies settled back. Queenie sighed and stepped away from the window, leaving the display of gloves knocked onto its side. The woman who had rushed in to announce the viscount sighting retreated to the back room with Mrs. Perkins. Hattie picked up the display and righted it in the window.

“You will be at the top of that list, Flora,” Queenie said with certainty.

Queenie was short and round, with soft gold curls that fell around her shoulders. She carried herself like a queen and acted like one on occasion, too. Flora was tall and lithe, her hair auburn. She was pretty by any standard. When Hattie was with the two of them, she often felt like the plain cousin come to town from the village. Her hair was a dull brown, her figure unremarkable.

Flora gave Queenie’s remark a high-pitched, breathy laugh that Hattie had never heard her make. “Don’t be silly!”

“Don’t be coy,” Queenie said. “You know that you will.”

“The list is quite long, I’m certain. What about Hattie? She might be at the top.”

“The top of what?” Hattie asked.

“Really, Hattie!” Queenie said, sounding annoyed. “How can you be so ignorant of all the news around town? The list of potential brides for the viscount, obviously.”

Hattie laughed. Loudly.

“I agree, it’s hardly a possibility,” Queenie said. “I don’t mean to offend, but he is the Duke of Santiava, and now he’s Viscount Abbott, as he is his English grandfather’s only living male heir. He’ll marry someone with a large dowry and from a titled family. Someone with proper connections.”

Santiava? Hattie vaguely recalled something about it. A duchy, she believed, on the Mediterranean Sea. Once a colony of Wesloria if memory served.

“He’s the sovereign duke, and quite rich,” Queenie continued. “But they say he’s a recluse. One must always be wary of the recluse.”

One must? Hattie hadn’t heard that rule.

“And unmarried, obviously,” Flora added as the three of them departed the shop.

“Won’t he choose a wife from Santiava?” Hattie asked as they walked toward Hyde Park.

“No!” Queenie scoffed, and Hattie was once again left wondering how her education could be so lacking. “He’s come here to claim his title and his fortune and, as everyone knows, be fitted with an English wife. It serves a small duchy to have an English or Weslorian duchess, you know, if they were ever to need the backing of a larger country in times of war or economic hardship. This would practically guarantee it.”

Queenie spoke with such authority about him that Hattie had to wonder if she’d consulted with the man himself. She was dubious that a marriage to Flora could guarantee anything of the sort. But she kept silent.

“Imagine, Hattie,” Flora said, “if you were the link to the might of the Royal Navy should that duchy need it.”

All Hattie could imagine was herself on a leaking, rickety boat. “I won’t be the link to anything, because I’m already engaged.” She smiled.

Flora and Queenie exchanged a look. “You haven’t told her?” Queenie said to Flora.

“Told me what?” Hattie asked, confused.

“Tell her. She can’t walk around without knowing,” Queenie said.

Hattie’s heart dropped. “Knowing what? What are you talking about?”

“Oh, Hattie… Mr. Masterson paid me a call,” Flora blurted. “I was going to tell you. I was waiting for the right time.”

“Well, this is hardly it,” Queenie drawled, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she’d just urged Flora to tell her.

But tell her what, exactly? That Rupert had called on Flora? How odd—they weren’t so well acquainted. “Mr. Rupert Masterson called on you,” Hattie repeated, to make sure they were indeed speaking of her Mr. Masterson, the owner and proprietor of the Masterson Dry Goods and Sundries Shop.

“He…he came to me in confidence.” Flora punctuated that remark with a look of sympathy.

Hattie’s gut began to do a strange bit of swirling. “Why?”

“He said…that he thought it best if you and he…” She paused, as if trying to find the words.

Elope? That was it! What other reason could he have for needing to speak in confidence to Flora? He must have sought her help. “Elope?” she asked at the same moment Flora said, “Should not pursue things further.”

No one said a word for a moment. Even Queenie kept her mouth shut. “What?” Hattie asked and stopped walking. This was stunningly incomprehensible. She pressed a fist to her abdomen to keep down the sudden swell of nausea. “What…what did…he…or you…say?” “Oh, Hattie, dearest.” They’d come to the park’s entrance, and Flora pulled her to a bench and sat her down. She took both of Hattie’s hands in hers. “I’m so very sorry, but there is no other way to say it, is there? He would like you to cry off your engagement. End it, I mean. He has come to the unfortunate conclusion that it must be done. But because he has the utmost consideration for you, he means to protect your reputation by having you write him and end it.”

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About the Author

Julia London is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over fifty novels of historical and contemporary romance. She is the author of the popular Highland Grooms series as well as A Royal Wedding, her most recent series. Julia is the recipient of the RT Bookclub Award for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction. She lives in Austin, Texas. Visit her at www.julialondon.com.

Social Media Links

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Facebook: Julia London

Twitter: @JuliaFLondon

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