Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for a new addition to the Richter Series AN UNEXPECTED DISTRACTION (Richter Book #3) by Catherine Bybee.
Below you will find a book description, my book review and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
Family secrets and fresh romance collide in this heart-pounding Richter series installment by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee.
Jacqueline “Jax” Simon knows how to expose secrets: she’s a skilled operative with MacBain Security and Solutions. When Jax hears her parents are divorcing, she races to London to find out why. She’s determined to learn the truth, especially when her investigation uncovers why her parents sent her to Richter, the German military school that made her a fighter.
Andrew Craig collects Jax at Heathrow Airport as a favor. He’s heard she’s a handful, but he didn’t know she’s dangerously gorgeous too. His instant attraction could change his life…or end it.
Jax doesn’t want to fall for Andrew, but soon he’s worming his way into her life. Together, they infiltrate Richter to discover if it has returned to its covert purpose: training children to be spies and assassins and blackmailing parents to look the other way. As the attraction between the two intensifies, so do the secrets exploding all around them. How deadly are those secrets—and who will survive?
AN UNEXPECTED DISTRACTION (Richter Series Book #3) by Catherine Bybee is an exciting, fast-paced romantic suspense featuring another of the elite, highly trained women from Richter Academy who now works for McBain Security. While each book has a unique romance and subplot at that point in time, I feel it is better to read these books in order for maximum understanding.
Jacqueline “Jax” Simon’s world is changing. Her best friend through Richter Academy, Claire is getting married. As they begin their wedding plans, Jax receives a mysterious call from her brother to return home to London. Her parents have separated and since neither will talk about why, Jax begins to investigate. What she may discover as she investigates their separation and pasts may also be the reason why they sent her to Richter.
Andrew Craig is doing Jax’s brother a favor by picking her up at Heathrow Airport. He is instantly taken with this blonde beauty who is frank about her family and who believes Andrew is just her driver and not a family friend. He knows Jax wants to return to California, but he is on a mission to make her want to stay in England. This man of finance does not know the full extent of Jax’s life, but he is about to learn some truths quickly.
As the attraction between Jax and Andrew grows, so does the threat of secrets unknown.
I really love this series. It is fun to read all the suspense and intrigue involved in the McBain Security investigations. Unlimited money and gadgets, world travel and always a kick-butt female Richter graduate right in in the middle of the action. Jax’s world on the surface is familiar to Andrew, but as he learns more, he realizes that there is much more to discover and when he does, he does not run the other way. There are sex scenes, but they are not explicit. I was glad Jax was able to connect with her family on a more personal level. I also enjoy catching up with all the other characters in this series from previous books. The men and women of McBain Security are always there for each other. I am very happy there will be at least one more book in this series foreshadowed by the slight cliff-hanger ending regarding Richter.
I highly recommend this third Richter book and the entire series!
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Author Bio
Catherine is a #1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and Indie Reader bestselling author. In addition, her books have also graced The New York Times and USA Today bestsellers lists. In total, she has written thirty-six beloved books that have collectively sold more than 10 million copies and have been translated into more than twenty languages.
Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full time and has penned The Not Quite series, The Weekday Brides series, The Most Likely To series, and The First Wives series.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for A THIN DISGUISE (Richter Book #2) by Catherine Bybee. I love the strong, intelligent and highly trained women action heroines in this series!
Below you will find a book blurb, my book review an excerpt from the book and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Blurb
A former gun for hire and a federal agent find themselves on the right side of love but the wrong end of a bullet in this Richter installment from New York Times bestselling author Catherine Bybee.
On a fateful night in Las Vegas, FBI agent Leo Grant is working on a critical detail in a high-profile child prostitution trial when a beautiful woman jumps into the path of a bullet meant for him. Little does Leo know that the woman is Olivia, an ex-assassin who is seeking redemption one good deed at a time.
One minute, Olivia is lunging in front of Leo on the Vegas Strip. The next, she’s waking up in the hospital in a haze of pain with no memory of her past, her enemies, or even her own name.
With Olivia suffering from memory loss and completely unaware of the danger she is in, it’s up to Leo and Neil MacBain’s team of operatives to keep her safe. With Olivia and Leo both unaware of her past crimes, the two have little reason to avoid their growing attraction. Slowly her past seeps in through the cracks as she struggles to find the answers of who she is. When the veil is lifted and her dark past is staring her down, Olivia must turn her back on Leo and the love she can never allow herself to have, and race to find her would-be killer.
A THIN DISGUISE (Richter Book #2) by Catherine Bybee is an exciting and action-packed romantic suspense. Once again, even though all the male characters of MacBain Security are highly trained, it is the women taken in from Richter who are elite, highly trained, kick-butt heroines. The plot of this book continues months after the ending of the first book with the same characters, but the romance plot is unique to this story.
Olivia Naught was groomed from a young age to live a life not of her choosing. She expected to be an international spy with her training from Richter, but soon learned she was to be an assassin with no control over her own life. When the man controlling her is killed, she works to redeem herself. She refuses to join MacBain Security, but she does agree to secretly guard the witness that will put the leader of a criminal family in prison.
FBI Agent Leo Grant has worked the criminal case that Olivia is guarding the principal witness for. Leo accidently interferes and he stops Olivia on the Vegas strip where Olivia takes a bullet for Leo from a passing car.
Waking in the hospital with no memory puts Olivia in danger. Leo and the MacBain team of operatives work to keep her safe until she can remember her past. Olivia and Leo’s attraction grows, but there are secrets in her past and the others know she will walk away when she remembers who she is.
Will Leo be able to pull Olivia in from her solitary life and prove they are stronger together with a little help from their friends?
I love Olivia and Leo together. The ex-assassin and the FBI agent who you think could never work, but Ms. Bybee’s deft plotting makes it happen. Olivia, like all the girls of Richter, have pasts that could destroy them, but they meet the one man who will emotionally save them. All the romances in this series continue to add members to the MacBain Security pseudo family. These books are all action-packed and full of thrills, but this book does have a few slower chapters while Olivia has amnesia and is healing from her gunshot wound, but it is necessary to show there can be a different Olivia than the solitary assassin from previous books. The sex scenes are passionate and explicit, but I feel they are not gratuitous.
I love this book, series and author and I am looking forward to many more books to come!
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Excerpt
Inside the eye of a scope, there is a spot where two lines come together. If that scope is mounted on top of a high-powered rifle and is in the hands of someone who understands the mathematical calculation of how much the projectile will descend before it reaches its target, that spot becomes deadly.
Olivia noted three snipers positioned south, east, and west of the entrance to the courthouse. SWAT…all of them. While she had no doubt they’d do their job well if put to the task, the fact that none of them had noticed her pissed her off.
She positioned a camera behind her sope and snapped photos of the uniformed men.
Once she was satisfied with what she had, she wrapped up her location and moved to the next. It took ten minutes to change her appearance, and ten more to get in position.
The familiar thump of her heart pounded blood up to her brain. The first time she’d ever squeezed the trigger, she’d pictured a video of red blood cells pushing through veins. With each beat, her blood pushed forward and stopped as valves closed off behind them only to be pushed forward again with another beat of her heart.
After pulling the trigger…the imaginary blood in her mind manifested into real puddles on the pavement.
The images he’d put in her head were nothing next to the real thing.
Nothing had prepared her for what followed.
Not one of the classes she’d been forced to take at Richter equipped her for what she needed to survive.
And yet here she was.
Heart still beating.
Soul still bleeding.
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Author Bio
Catherine is a #1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and Indie Reader bestselling author. In addition, her books have also graced The New York Times and USA Today bestsellers lists. In total, she has written thirty-six beloved books that have collectively sold more than 10 million copies and have been translated into more than twenty languages.
Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full time and has penned The Not Quite series, The Weekday Brides series, The Most Likely To series, and The First Wives series.
A former gun for hire and a federal agent find themselves on the right side of love but the wrong end of a bullet in this Richter installment from New York Times bestselling author Catherine Bybee.
On a fateful night in Las Vegas, FBI agent Leo Grant is working on a critical detail in a high-profile child prostitution trial when a beautiful woman jumps into the path of a bullet meant for him. Little does Leo know that the woman is Olivia, an ex-assassin who is seeking redemption one good deed at a time.
One minute, Olivia is lunging in front of Leo on the Vegas Strip. The next, she’s waking up in the hospital in a haze of pain with no memory of her past, her enemies, or even her own name.
With Olivia suffering from memory loss and completely unaware of the danger she is in, it’s up to Leo and Neil MacBain’s team of operatives to keep her safe. With Olivia and Leo both unaware of her past crimes, the two have little reason to avoid their growing attraction. Slowly her past seeps in through the cracks as she struggles to find the answers of who she is. When the veil is lifted and her dark past is staring her down, Olivia must turn her back on Leo and the love she can never allow herself to have, and race to find her would-be killer.
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Elise’s Thoughts
A Thin Disguise by Catherine Bybee delves into forgiveness, love, and redemption. There are very few authors that can write a riveting mystery with gripping characters. Bybee does both along with humorous dialogue, a lot of action, and romance.
The story has FBI Agent Leo Grant working a protective detail for a child witness against a Russian mob boss engaging in sex trafficking. Olivia Naught, a former assassin and Richter student, is working the same detail for MacBain Security, keeping her eye on the witness and the people protecting her. Although Olivia knows about Leo, he knows nothing about her. They meet on the Las Vegas Strip where Olivia takes a bullet meant for Leo. Following this incident, she suffers amnesia. To protect her and to make Olivia a permanent part of the team, MacBain Security seizes upon the opportunity of her memory loss to show her, with help from the smitten Leo, the new life she could have if she no longer worked alone. As Olivia’s memories return, she feels guilt and unworthy of love because of her past. The team, Leo, and Olivia try to figure out who is responsible for the shooting, while the unlikely pairing of Leo, an FBI Agent and Olivia, a former assassin, navigate their personal feelings and chemistry for each other.
Olivia realizes how much she cares for the team and decides to disappear, fearful if she stays, she will jeopardize their lives. She has wit, strength, and intelligence. Bybee does an excellent job is peeling away all the layers of this female protagonist.
The Bybee readers are once again treated to another wonderful story. The team of Claire Kelly, Cooper Lockman, Jax Simon, Sasha and A.J. Hoffman and Neil and Gwen McBain joined by Olivia and Leo are riveting characters. They are not only a team but a pseudo family who care, protect, and do anything for each other. It is a story of characters who survive in spite of the circumstances of their pasts. Hopefully, this series will continue with a lot of future books that have this team of characters. It is one of those series that should have a book out every year.
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Elise’s Author Interview
Elise Cooper: This series has characters from previous books?
Catherine Bybee: If someone is a Bybee reader they know there will be glimpses of character crossovers between series. I hope to continue writing with this team. It comes down to the publisher asking for more books from the Richter Series. I would love to write a Richter espionage book every year.
EC: Olivia is from previous books?
CB: She showed up in Sasha’s book, Say It Again, and briefly in the first book of this series, Changing The Rules, along with Leo. Each book can be read on their own.
EC: You definitely redeemed Olivia in this book?
CB: She was an assassin, but I wanted her to be sympathetic. The only way I could do that is to have her get Transient Amnesia. Once she could not remember anything she became the person who was a student at Richter. She felt connected to the team and knows she can count on them. She allowed herself to feel for others.
EC: How would you describe assassin Olivia?
CB: She was afraid to love because she did not want anything to happen to those she cared about. After she had graduated from Richter, she thought she was being a spy who was good and altruistic. She did not see the sinister side because she was young and naïve. She wanted to connect but would not allow herself to. Both Olivia’s are bold, stubborn, and independent.
EC: How would you describe the relationship between Leo and Olivia?
CB: A tug of war. In the beginning she was in charge, but after she is shot, he gets some control until she gets her memory back. Once that happens, she has an internal battle. Overall, they are two peas in a pot that are attracted to each other. She would not have fallen for him if he was not an FBI Agent. I think she was more of a teaser than Leo.
EC: Do you think Sasha, the lead of the book Say It Again, is similar to Olivia?
CB: No, they are different. Sasha is not as damaged or jaded as Olivia. If Sasha put a bullet in somebody, she knew why she was doing it. Olivia is the alias character who never got a say in who she killed. Sasha had people who loved her as well as freedoms in her life whereas Olivia is always on the run. Sasha did care for Olivia and made sure she got what she needed to survive. Sasha and the team were a pseudo-family. In all my books the family is not blood relatives because of my own personal life.
EC: Who do you identify more with, Sasha or Olivia?
CB: Sasha is the hero to my own heart. She is the best operative. I could see Sasha as a heroine on the big screen. Sasha can be clandestine and lethal, but she is also someone who supports other women. Olivia knew if the chips would fall, Sasha would have her back.
EC: How would you describe Leo?
CB: He gave Olivia humanity and heart. He is outgoing, loyal, and assertive, helping Olivia make choices in her life.
EC: Claire and Jax, the younger generation, are not the same personality types as Sasha and Olivia?
CB: They have more of a sense of humor, are spunkier, and more demonstrative. I think that is because they were never faced with the sinister side of Richter. Sasha actually helped Claire get out, so she did not turn into Olivia. Claire and Jax are huggers and more happy- go- lucky. What I wanted to show is how different people from the same place have different home lives with different families.
EC: How were you able to write about the details of a sniper?
CB: I own certain weapons. Since I am a successful single female, I am not afraid of having weapons to protect me. I have used many of the guns I describe. What is interesting and ironic is that I found out the teams I made up exist and I got it right. If I think about it, then it probably has been done professionally.
EC: What about your next books?
CB: The next Richter book will be Jax’s story. The title is An Unexpected Distraction, out in November of this year. This book will come full circle, but I am hoping there is a clamoring for more in the series. I love writing these characters and want to write them for some time.
I am currently working on a non-espionage book, but more women’s fiction, set in San Diego. It is family driven and inspired by my own life. I have to deal with putting my elderly father in an assisted living residence. It is hard to try to create, while taking care of someone else.
THANK YOU!!
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.
Today I am excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on this Blog Tour for CHANGING THE RULES (Richter Book #1) by Catherine Bybee.
Below you will find a book summary, my book review, an excerpt from the book, an about the author section, the author’s social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway for a $100 Amazon gift card. Good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway and enjoy!
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BookSummary
As an employee of MacBain Security and Solutions, Claire Kelly can certainly hold her own. Armed with an impressive set of covert skills, she’s more than prepared to tackle any job that comes her way…except one involving Cooper Lockman.
Cooper and Claire used to work together before his feelings for her sent him packing to Europe for six long years. But now he’s back and determined to ignore the still-smoldering heat that lingers between them.
Their current mission: go undercover together at a California high school to root out the mastermind behind a prostitution ring targeting young girls. The closer they get to the truth and the closer they get to each other, however, the deadlier their task becomes. As Claire and Cooper risk their lives to bring down their target, will their hearts be the final casualties?
CHANGING THE RULES (Richter Book #1) by Catherine Bybee is the first book in a new romantic suspense series featuring characters working for MacBain Security and Solutions that were introduced in the fifth and final book “Say It Again” in the First Wives Club series. Even with the crossover, this book is easily read as a standalone with background information given in the story.
Claire Kelly was taught an impressive set of covert skills at her private military boarding school, Richter in Germany. Given a home and college education by the MacBain’s, Kelly has now worked for MacBain Security and Solutions for six years while living with her best friend and fellow Richter graduate, Jax.
Cooper Lockman has been working in the European MacBain office for the last six years and has returned to the California headquarters in time for a new assignment with Claire. He left to give Claire time to mature and make her own life, but he is back and finds he still wants her.
Claire as a student and Cooper as a back-up track coach are working undercover in a local high school to root out a sex-trafficking ring with a mastermind who has eluded local undercover police. The more they uncover, the more dangerous their situation even as their relationship heats up.
I was so happy to see Claire and Cooper get a story. Claire is a character that can take care of herself and was trained in all covert skills and yet she is a caring and giving adult. Abandoned as a baby and still at times affected by that, she loves the MacBain and Hoffman families. Cooper is perfect for Claire. He is willing to give her up for six years, appreciates her skills and does not seek to change her. Ms. Bybee does a wonderful job of making Claire and Cooper’s romance grow naturally while also keeping the plot and suspense moving at a rapid pace with ever increasing tension. All the characters, past and present and the increasing suspense keep you turning the pages to get to the final solution.
I highly recommend this romantic suspense and I am looking forward to many more!
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Excerpt
Claire collapsed onto the living room sofa the second she walked in the door. Not only had she suffered a headache the entire day, Cooper ran her like a trainer working an Iron Man competitor.
“That sounds like a bad day,” Jax said as she walked around the corner of the kitchen.
“You don’t want to know.”
Claire flung an arm over her eyes to block out the sun.
She heard Jax walk in the room and then exhale as she sat down. “You’re right. I don’t give a crap what happened in school, unless it involved Cooper. What I want is the details of last night after I got out of the car.”
Before Cooper picked them up, Claire and Jax had agreed that Jax would give them a few minutes to have a private conversation. Now Claire regretted that plan.
“The long story, or the short story?” Claire asked.
“Whatever one you want to deliver.”
Claire’s arms slid off her head, and she pushed herself into a sitting position.
“Cooper has a thing for me.”
Jax sat silent, blinked a few times. “Okay, and?”
“What do you mean, ‘okay, and?’”
“Sorry, Claire, but that’s obvious. I think you’d have to be an idiot to not see it. Even the guys on the team see it.”
“What? Are they talking about—”
Jax stopped her with a shake of the head. “Of course not. But you can tell by how they look at the two of you that they know there’s an attraction.”
Claire pointed to her chest. “I’m not doing anything, it’s him.”
“Maybe it’s more him.”
She kept shaking her head. “No, it’s all him. I’m not instigating anything.”
“You flirt with him all the time.”
“I do not,” Claire huffed.
One look from Jax and she rescinded her statement. “Okay, we banter. But it’s always been like that. I have the pool stick, he makes some kind of phallic joke. It’s banter. Not flirting.”
Jax sat back, crossed her arms over her chest. Claire couldn’t believe her best friend was calling her out. “We’re friends. And last night he ruined that by telling me he’s had a thing for me since we met. Told me he left sunny California for dreary London because I was too young and naive to handle him when I first got here.”
Jax narrowed her eyes. “Is that really how he said that?”
Claire’s headache was coming back. “No. He said I was a child.”
“A child?”
Claire stood up from the couch, started for the kitchen. “He kept repeating that I was eighteen back then.”
Jax followed behind. “Which is true.”
Claire yanked open the fridge, pulled out a beer. “Whose side are you on?”
“Yours. Always. But I just don’t see where all the fire is about this. Cooper owns up to the flirting comments and puppy-dog looks he gives you, and you’re pissed because he walked away six years ago.”
Like picking a lock, the pieces slid into place and finally started to click. “But he’s my friend.”
“Trying to say you’ve never thought of him as more?”
“No.” Her denial was quick.
Jax started to smile. “You’ve never checked out his ass? The guy can fill out a pair of jeans.”
Some of the anger she’d harbored all day eased. “That’s true.”
“And that smile. When he’s belly laughing he has the tiniest dimples.”
Claire closed her eyes, pictured his smile. She hadn’t noticed the dimples, but now that she thought about it . . . She opened her eyes to find Jax staring at her.
“Sounds like you have a thing for him,” Claire said.
“Wouldn’t matter if I did, and I don’t, by the way, but it wouldn’t matter. The guy can’t stop looking at you.”
“God, what am I going to do with him?”
“I don’t think you have to do anything. It’s not like he asked you out and you said no and now it’s awkward.”
“You’re right. It’s worse than that.”
“You’re overthinking it.” Jax pushed off the counter. “You know what, let’s gussy up a little and hit a proper happy hour. We’ll talk in German and pretend we don’t speak English and shamelessly flirt.”
Claire abandoned her beer. “Now that is exactly what I need to do and get my mind off of boys.”
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About the Author
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee has written twenty-eight books that have collectively sold more than five million copies and have been translated into more than eighteen languages. Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Not Quite Series, the Weekday Brides Series, the Most Likely To Series, and the First Wives Series.
Today I am very excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for MY WAY TO YOU (Canyon Creek Series Book #1) by Catherine Bybee. This is an emotional and heartfelt romantic start to this new series.
Below you will find an author interview, a book summary, my book review, an excerpt from the book, an about the author blurb and social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway. Enjoy!
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Author Interview
Please tell us about the fire that inspired your
newest novel My Way To You.
I was taking my youngest son to his senior
pictures for the school when we noticed a plume of smoke in the rearview
mirror. I have lived through many fire scares in the twenty years I lived in my
home. Only this time, it wouldn’t be a false alarm.
You had to evacuate your house because of the fire. How did you feel in those
moments?
I was thankful my children and I escaped, and terrified that I would come home
to nothing but ash and debris. I’d packed up the cars with pictures and things
I felt I couldn’t replace, but had to leave one of my cars behind because the
fire engine was blocking my ability to drive it away. But none of that truly
mattered. I felt like all the work I had done to keep my children’s family home
after my recent divorce was for nothing. That fire was going to undermine the
stability I had desperately tried to preserve. In short, I was an emotional
mess.
While your property suffered immense damage, thankfully your home was
left standing. Did this experience change the meaning of that word for you—home?
Home is stability. It’s a base for all the
things we cherish. But it’s the people who make it so. I had a conversation
with my youngest son not too long ago. I asked him if he missed the home he
grew up in. (I’ve since moved to San Diego and sold my property in Santa
Clarita.) This is what he said, “The day we ran from the fire, I stopped caring
about the house. I didn’t think it would be there when we came back.” So no, he
doesn’t miss his childhood home. I was shocked to hear this since my youngest
tends to hold back his feelings. I lived in that house for 21 of my 51 years of
life. There were memories in every corner. But in the end, the fire and flood…
and exhaustion made it easier for me to sell it and walk away. Now that I’m in
a new place I’m reminded that my family and memories are always with me—and a
house is wood and stone. Whether I like it or not, however… it is stability.
And that was shook to its core because of the fire.
Your life changed drastically in just one day, which is something your heroine
Parker experiences—twice. The first time is when her parents die. How does this
one event inform the course of her life?
She has to stop thinking about herself and put others before her. She had to
grow up. Trauma changes you! Period. And I needed Parker to experience that so
she could realize just how strong she was.
She has to find that strength again when fire almost destroys her home. Tell us
how your heroine changes during all of this.
She needed to learn to lean on others again. Her parents death took that away
and made her a very controlling person. (Ahummm… that’s my own epiphany.) It’s
through the course of the book, and all the other players, that she learns to
open herself up to live a full life. I think she also learns to be a big sister
again and not the parental figure she took on.
In what ways is Parker like you? In what ways is she different?
She learned to let go, I still can’t do that.
She fell in love… That’s not me.
She had a privileged childhood with tons of
options… Not me.
Parker fought to keep her home and make it right to live in it. I fought to
keep my home and make it right to sell it. After so many years and so many
struggles, it just wasn’t the peaceful place it once was. And with an empty
nest and no Colin there to give it meaning, I needed to let go and start
new.
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Summary
When a wildfire nearly destroys Parker Sinclair’s family home, it’s just one more disaster to add to her mountain of stress. For the past two years, she has shouldered the responsibility of raising her younger brother and sister after their parents’ untimely deaths. Forced to leave college for a crappy job that barely pays the bills, Parker manages her family property, which consumes every aspect of her life. Now winter is coming and the forecast isn’t spreading sunshine on the dark cloud over her head. The last thing Parker needs is a mudslide destroying everything she has worked so hard to maintain.
Colin Hudson’s job as a public works supervisor is to protect Parker’s property and neighborhood from further damage. But it’s a little hard when the owner of the land is a control freak who tries to do everything herself. The hardworking, attractive young woman is far from the “hot mess” she claims to be. In fact, her tight grip of control is one of the things that attract him the most. It’s also the hardest to crack. Now Colin’s working overtime to help Parker open up her heart, trust him, and let him in.
As Parker and Colin work together to keep her home and neighborhood safe, they may be in for another disaster. Or they may just realize that sometimes it takes destruction to create something new.
About the Title
Title: My Way To You
Author: Catherine Bybee
Release Date: March 10, 2020
Publisher: Montlake
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
MY WAY TO YOU (Canyon Creek Series Book #1) by
Catherine Bybee is the first book in a new contemporary romance series that is a
powerful and engaging emotional read. I have enjoyed many books by this author,
but this one grabbed me and would not let go.
Parker Sinclair had to grow up fast. Her parents were killed
in an accident which meant she had to drop out of college and return home to finish
raising her two younger siblings. After two years of a job that barely pays the
bills, Parker is managing to keep the family property up in Canyon Creek, but
it takes everything out of her.
When a wildfire strikes and burns all of the outbuildings
and vegetation on the surrounding hills, Parker knows she is lucky to have had
the house survive, but now with the rainy season coming Parker has to worry
about mudslides that can destroy everything she has worked hard to save.
Colin Hudson is the county public works supervisor sent to
evaluate Parker’s property for mud slides. He is struck by the tenacious and strong
young woman shouldering such a large burden. Colin and Parker butt heads due to
Parker not willing to give up control, but Colin is the is willing to work hard
for Parker’s trust.
Can Parker and Colin work together to save her home and
neighborhood?
I absolutely fell in love with Colin and the way he treated
Parker. I know how hard it is to give up control even when you feel like you
are drowning and I could relate with Parker. Ms. Bybee gave the couple witty
banter and realistic dialogue. The sex scenes were explicit, but not gratuitous
and did not overshadow the tenderness of the romance. I will be thinking of
these two H/h’s for a long time to come. This story also has a third major
character in Mother Nature and the destruction that she can bring. All the
secondary characters are fully fleshed and are completely believable.
I highly recommend this emotional contemporary romance! I am
now anxiously waiting for more books in this series.
***
Excerpt: My Way To You by Catherine Bybee
“Excuse
me?”
Parker turned toward the sound of the male
voice and brushed aside hair that had fallen out of her ponytail. The sun
glared in her eyes, making it difficult to get a clear picture of the man
standing on the other side of her gate.
“Hello,” she greeted him.
“Do you live here?”
Probably a neighbor, she thought to herself.
They’d shown up constantly after the fire to see how close the flames had
actually come to their homes. Many of them invited themselves in without
knocking. That was until she paid to have someone come in and fix the broken
gate and stop the trespassers.
“I would hope so,” she said, waving the pruner
in her hands. “I don’t think I would take this job for actual money.” The
closer she got to the gate, the better the features of the man came into focus.
He stood at least three inches taller than her, no easy task when she was five
nine. Broad shoulders and arms that didn’t look like they slaved in an office
all day. He wore jeans. It had to be over a hundred degrees, and the man wore
jeans.
And filled them out nicely, if she wasn’t too
tired to notice.
Parker forced her gaze back to his face, his
eyes hidden by his sunglasses; his thick brown hair wasn’t covered by a hat.
She stopped in front of him, the gate to the
property a clear division. The intense set of his jaw softened slightly. “Is
your, ah … husband here?”
Three years ago, in a bar … or while out with
friends, she would have instantly denied a lack of a husband. Out here, with a
stranger … even an attractive one standing at her front door, she wasn’t about
to correct him. “Who’s asking?”
The man’s smile fell and he quickly removed his
sunglasses. “I’m sorry. My name is Colin Hudson. Colin to my friends.”
“What can I do for you, Mr. Hudson?” She wasn’t about to
call him by his first name.
“I work with the Public Works Department and
wanted to see if you’d let me take a quick look at the wash that runs through
your property.” He reached into his back pocket and removed his wallet. Out came
a business card that he handed her through the bars of the iron gate.
She had to move close enough to take the card,
but retreated once she had it in her fingertips.
He instantly shoved his hands in his front
pockets and took a step back.
The card looked legit. Parker reminded herself
that anyone with a computer could make a business card. “Does your department
work on Saturdays, Mr. Hudson?”
“All the time.”
She peered beyond the gate, didn’t see a car.
“Did you walk here?”
Mr. Hudson looked over his shoulder, pointed
his thumb down the street. “I have a company truck. I parked around the
corner.”
“Ah-huh.” She wanted to believe him. His
caramel brown eyes looked kind enough. “Even Ted Bundy was good-looking,” she
said loud enough for him to hear.
Parker looked up to find him staring, his mouth
gaped open. “That’s a first.”
“Sorry.” Not sorry. “By-product of being a lone woman on a large piece of property with
a stranger asking to come in. Business card aside, you could be anyone.”
He lifted his hands in the air. “Very wise. I
hope my sister would do the same. I was just hoping to get an eye on the canyon
before Monday’s meeting. But I can wait.”
She relaxed her grip on the tree pruner. “What
meeting?”
“The city and county are meeting to discuss the
concerns of the watershed after the fire. We’re developing a plan to preserve
property during the winter. If I could take a quick look it would help.”
“You mean prevent mudslides?”
“Control mudslides,” he corrected her.
She shifted from foot to foot. “You can do
that?”
“It’s a big part of our job.” He smiled, looked
over her shoulder. “I can wait. I don’t want to make you uneasy.”
Parker looked back toward the house. “Tell you
what. You go get your company truck and I’ll grab a snake fork and show you the
wash.”
His eyes narrowed with an unasked question.
“It’s summer. Rattlesnakes are a thing,” she
explained.
“You sure?”
Yeah, she was sure. “I’ll open the gate. You can park inside.”
***
About the Author
New
York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee has
written thirty-four books that have collectively sold more than seven million
copies and have been translated into more than eighteen languages. Raised in
Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a
movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and
became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency
rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Not Quite series, the
Weekday Brides series, the Most Likely To series, and the First Wives series.
For more information on the author, visit www.catherinebybee.com.
Today I am excited to share this Feature Post and Book Review for Catherine Bybee’s new book SAY IT AGAIN (First Wives Club Book 5). I am very excited that Ms. Bybee gave the mysterious Sasha a feature story and it is a page-turner!
Below you will find a Q&A with the author, an excerpt from the book, my book review, a book summary, the author’s bio and social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway. I read the entire book in one sitting and I could not put it down. As always, good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway!
***
Author Interview: Catherine Bybee
1) Sasha, from your newest novel Say it Again,
is unlike any character that most readers will have encountered. Can you give
us a rundown of your heroine?
Sasha is a female James Bond with all the skills that kick ass and the sexy
that opens doors. She’s a master of disguises, speaks more languages than
anyone should…and has a razor-sharp mind that doesn’t sleep. In all her
badassery, (pretty sure I just made up that word) Sasha has a soft spot—a
vulnerability that makes her want to protect the innocent. She’s a true to life
superhero who walks the fence between right and wrong. She really doesn’t have
any issues breaking laws to get what she wants. And that’s what makes her so
fun to read, and for me to write.
2) Fans have been following Sasha throughout your First Wives series. Did
you always know you wanted to write her story?
No! Not at all. The first four books in the series were going to be it.
However, Sasha commanded attention the first moment she walked on the page and
I couldn’t get enough of her once I dreamed her up. I was almost finished
writing the first book when I decided that Sasha was
not going to be a bad guy. Yes, I’m a pantser, and have no real outline before
I sit down to write. I think the fact that I didn’t know she was one of the
good guys made her all that more believable. I don’t even think she knew she
was going to be on the side of right and justice until the end of Fool
Me Once.
3) While many of your novels have a mystery or suspense element, you dive
head first into action and spy-games in this book. How easy was this transition
for you?
It was super easy and tons of fun. In fact… I think I may have a spin off of a
spin off rolling in my head with all the fun characters I played with while
writing this book. Neil was one of my very first book boyfriends from the
Weekday Brides. And having him come back in this book just reminded me how much
fun it is to write all the action and intrigue. I hope my fans love it enough
for me to continue the theme with new books.
4) When AJ is first introduced he seems pretty average—just a guy looking
for answers about his sister’s death. But in reality, there is nothing average
about AJ. How would you describe him?
The best picture in my mine that I can describe with all clarity is Brian
O’Connor, Paul Walker (RIP), from Fast and Furious. Innocent until
he isn’t.
I would say that AJ is exactly what Sasha needed to open up and accept that she
too can be loved. I wanted AJ to come off as average until he wasn’t. Sasha is
such a strong character that she needed someone who wasn’t going to try and
overpower or overshadow her badassery (love that word). AJ does that. Yet he
has some badass moments himself and that is what makes her fall for him even
more. He is in no way perfect and neither is she.
5) AJ and Sasha have something in common—they are both characters with lots and
lots of secrets. What makes them open up to each other? What else do they have
in common?
Trust through time. That’s the best way for me to describe how they evolved in
my head. There is a common respect the moment they “acquire” the other’s phone.
A moment where they take notice and begin to respect the other. Honor among
thieves as they say. I think the common ground that isn’t apparent until the
story evolves is how they want the love of a family. AJ is much more open to it
than Sasha, but they both have to fight for it in the end.
6) While you have written books with scenes in foreign countries, this story
takes place internationally. Have you visited the same places as your
characters? Where do you hope to take readers around the world in the future?
Yes, I have been to all the places I have written about. I was in Berlin a
couple of years ago at a book signing and managed to get their by taking the
train from London, through Amsterdam etc. So yes, I’m blessed to have visited
these places which makes the story that much richer in my opinion. Richter, the
school in the story, is from my imagination. I did some fact checking and
learned that post Hitler’s Germany, military boarding schools were not welcome
in the country. So I made one up and made it as great and awful as I could
while still making it believable.
I have placed most of my travels, or experiences from them, in my books. And as
I travel the world, I will bring my readers along…eventually.
7) Say it Again wraps up your First Wives series. What have you
learned while writing these books? Will these lessons affect your writing in
the future?
On a personal level, I will say that I’ve leaned to write with a great deal of
personal turmoil. There have been times I’ve doubted my process and this final
book in the series has told me to never do that again. I would like to always
keep the door open for more books because of characters like Sasha. I love
writing fast moving romantic suspense and intrigue and can see Claire, Cooper
and the whole of Neil’s team as a great setting for future books. Yeah… I’m
liking that idea more and more. I hope my readers do, too.
***
Excerpt
AJ was being
stood up.
It was half past noon and Sasha wasn’t there.
The Brandenburg Gate was one of the busiest tourist
attractions in Berlin. The square was filled with families and walking tours
led by someone holding a colored flag on a stick and talking into a microphone while
a line of dazed, zombie-like visitors followed behind. Aside from those in the
square learning about the history of the place, there were a dozen police
officers and security guards moving around. Considering the American, British,
and French embassies were all within a stone’s throw of each other, AJ was
surprised there wasn’t a stronger military presence.
AJ kept scanning the crowd in search of Sex on
a Stick in black leather pants and a bad attitude.
Nothing.
Left without options, AJ dialed his phone
number on her phone and waited. It rang twice.
Behind him, the riff of “Bad to the Bone,” his
ringtone, shot through him. He dropped his hand from his ear and saw a blonde
standing three feet away, her back to him.
Slowly she turned.
“Whoa.”
Sasha stared back at him, wearing white capri
pants and a bright floral top. The blonde wig overdid it but completely
camouflaged her in broad daylight. She took a step closer, reached out her hand
holding his cell. “Hello, AJ.”
They switched phones. “How long have you been
standing there?”
“Half an hour, give or take.”
He looked her up and down. She looked like a
typical American housewife, minus the kid in the stroller. “Impressive.”
“I wanted to make sure you were alone.”
AJ glanced around at the passing tourists. “Is
there a reason behind the cloak-and-dagger?”
She moved closer, lowered her voice. “You’ve
come here to look for your sister’s killer. You think there is some connection
to Richter. Went so far as to go there asking questions. You’re stalking the
local pub and hitting on, not to mention stealing from, the patrons . . .”
Sasha waved her phone in the air before tucking it into her back pocket.
“I’m calling pot to kettle on that last
accusation.” Although all the rest she pointed out was spot-on.
“I like to go unnoticed. If someone followed me
here, they lost me the second I made the city limits and went clothes
shopping.”
“What if someone followed me?”
“Then I would have seen them watching in the
thirty minutes you’ve been standing around looking like a lost child without a
parent.” She turned and started walking toward the gate.
AJ had no choice but to follow.
“What makes you think anyone is following
either of us?”
She smiled, didn’t answer his question. “I used
to help your sister on her agility training,” she told him.
The mention of his sister brought his attention
back to what he should be focused on. “She wasn’t the most athletic woman.”
Amelia took after their mother, who didn’t grow more than five feet five inches
tall and had a sweet tooth that always kept her rounder than she’d liked. At
least that’s what she’d blame when she went on one of her many diets.
“No. But she held her own most of the time. Everyone
at Richter was pushed to do at least that.”
“Her coworkers said she had recently started
taking morning walks before work,” AJ said.
“Which explains the police report about her
being murdered in the park and tossed in the river.”
AJ stopped walking. “You looked her up.”
“Only because I knew her.”
He jumped in front of her, stopped her from
moving. “Then you’ll help me.”
“There is nothing to suggest that Amelia’s
death is at all linked to Richter.”
AJ looked over Sasha’s shoulder and noticed a
man eating an ice cream cone and staring at Sasha. The middle-aged guy turned
his attention away and took a few steps in the opposite direction.
“Maybe she . . .”
AJ felt eyes, turned to his left.
No one.
“What is it?” Sasha asked.
“The guy with the ice cream, over your left
shoulder.”
She grinned, cocked her head to the side. “We
did this last night.”
“Yeah, only I’m not asking you to lay a lip
lock on me. Tempting as that might be.” Truth was, he’d thought about that kiss
more times than he wanted to admit. “If how you’re dressed is any indication,
you’re the expert on all things undercover. You tell me if you feel the weight
of someone’s stare.”
Sasha paused, then looked over her shoulder.
“That him?” she asked, thumbing toward the guy with the ice cream.
“Yeah.”
She grabbed AJ’s hand and walked directly
toward the guy he thought for sure was watching them.
“What are you doing?”
She didn’t answer. “Excuse me?” Her voice rose
a full octave, her smile was sickeningly sweet. Any accent he’d detected from
her voice was gone . . . or changed.
The man with the cone turned toward them.
“Yes?”
“Are you American? You look American.”
“I’m, ah . . . yeah.” The guy looked directly
at AJ.
Sasha kept going. “Good. Would you mind taking
our picture? I can’t get the gate behind us with a selfie.”
Again the guy offered AJ unblinking eyes. “Ah,
sure.” He reached for the phone Sasha was handing him.
Next thing AJ realized, he was standing beside
Sasha, her arm slipped around his waist, and he was smiling like all of the
other tourists surrounding them while the man he thought was spying on them
took their picture.
The stranger holding Sasha’s phone, while
trying to balance his ice cream cone, looked completely out of place.
“Take a second one, just in case.” Sasha
giggled.
The sound of her voice didn’t suit her. The
hand on his waist, however, suited him just fine. The feel of her there, the
warmth, the softness he knew she would hate if he pointed it out, felt a little
too right.
“Thank you so much.”
The stranger handed her phone back with a nod.
“Have fun.”
She waved. “We will . . . thanks.”
And he was gone.
AJ watched the man slip away as Sasha removed
herself from AJ’s side.
He missed her warmth, instantly.
“Any self-preserving spy wouldn’t have made
contact,” Sasha told him.
The two of them walked toward the center of the
square. “Okay,” AJ started. “Maybe I’m a little paranoid.”
“You’re a lot paranoid.”
AJ paused in the middle of the plaza and stared
at the massive horses that sat atop the gate. The image of his sister at
Christmas the previous year surfaced. It was the last time he’d seen her alive.
“I know Amelia’s death wasn’t random, Sasha. I feel it with every breath I
take.”
She sighed. “I know you do.”
He looked at her. “You don’t believe me.”
“I believe you believe.”
He lowered his head, studied the
salt-and-pepper colored stones beneath his feet. “You’re not going to help.”
Damn it . . . he was back to ground zero.
Another heavy sigh from the woman at his side.
“I will help you.”
AJ snapped his head up. “What?”
She placed a hand in the air as in warning.
“Not because I think you have anything other than grief inside you. The not
knowing, or never accepting the facts, can eat you alive.”
Not ground zero. He wanted to kiss her. Not
that she would be receptive to that kind of thing. “Why are you doing this?”
There wasn’t anything in it for her. Sasha turned away from him and focused her
attention on the Brandenburg Gate.
“Because I’m not bored.”
***
My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
SAY IT AGAIN (First Wives Club Book 5) by Catherine Bybee
is the last romantic suspense in this series and features the mysterious Sasha,
who has made intriguing appearances since book 1. This is a well written series
of books that have unique suspense and relationship plots that can be read as
standalones, but the relationships between all of the “First Wives” evolve and
change, so in my opinion it is best to read the series in order.
Sasha Budanov has grown up learning to only ever depend on
herself. She was raised and hidden in a boarding school in Germany. Richter is
bastion of secrets. From a young age the students are trained in languages, stealth,
firearms and militarized survival through high school and college. When she
finds herself discontent and not knowing what direction to take in her life,
she decides to return to her old school.
AJ Hofmann has travelled all the way from Florida to Germany
searching for answers. His sister was killed and he believes when he discovers
her roommate from Richter was also killed that the answers to the murders lie
in her old boarding school. He wants answers and he needs Sasha’s help.
Sasha always works alone, but something about AJ just keeps
pulling her to help and keep him close. As the two work to uncover secrets the
danger escalates and they become the hunted. It will take all the training
Sasha has and the help of some old friends to unmask a killer.
I love that Ms. Bybee gave Sasha a full story. She has
always been so mysterious and isolated. AJ is not the type of character I would
have thought could bring out Sasha’s softer side, but he did and it worked. The
dialogue between Sasha and AJ was entertaining and at times very emotional. The
romance builds right along with the suspense. I was surprised by the climax,
which followed a page-turning read. I read this book in one sitting and it was
worth the time spent. The sex scenes are explicit, but not gratuitous.
There is a wrap up with all the couples from the previous
books at a Christmas get together which ends the series nicely. This is an
exciting read and another great addition to this series.
***
About the Book
Title: Say it Again
Author: Catherine Bybee
Release Date: September 24, 2019
Publisher: Montlake
Summary
Protector-for-hire Sasha Budanov is accustomed
to life as a loner. Always on the move, she’s now reached a crossroad. Looking
for answers about her shadowy youth, she’s returned to the strict boarding
school in Germany where she was raised. It’s also where she was trained in the
stealthy, militarized art of survival. But behind its gleaming gates, Richter
is a fortress of secrets, including those buried in Sasha’s mysterious past. To
uncover them, she’s clinging to her first rule of defense: stay guarded.
If anyone can challenge Sasha’s rules, it’s devilishly sexy stranger AJ
Hofmann. He wants answers, too. And he needs Sasha’s help. The recent deaths of
several of Richter’s former students—including AJ’s own sister—have aroused his
suspicions. He’s arousing something more in Sasha. Never one to surrender to
her emotions, she senses something tempting in AJ. She trusts him. He’s
fearless. And he kisses like a demon. Sasha’s found her match.
But treading Richter’s dark halls—and following their hearts—has its risks. As the decades-old secrets of the past are mined, Sasha and AJ are falling deeper in love . . . and into danger.
***
Author Biography
New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal,
and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee has written thirty
books that collectively have sold more than five million copies and been
translated into more than eighteen languages. Raised in Washington State, Bybee
moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After
growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a
registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now
writes full-time and has penned the Not Quite Series, the Weekday Brides Series,
the Most Likely To Series, and the First Wives Series. For more information,
visit www.catherinebybee.com.
