Opposites burn hot enough to melt the snow and ice of an Alaskan winter in this all-new series from USA Today bestselling author Megan Crane.
Quinn Fortune is the official protector of all the unspoiled beauty in Lost Lake, Alaska, as the head of the community trust. A rugged frontiersman through and through, he doesn’t do soft. But he can’t help his fascination with the pink-clad professor who shows up in Lost Lake seeking his approval for her cheerful outsider’s proposal about land that isn’t hers. Still, he agrees to consider it–if she can handle a month of good old-fashioned Alaska living. He’s betting she’ll head back to the safety of the Lower 48 within the week.
Violet Parrish is a thinker, not a doer, but desperate times call for extraordinary measures–like taking on the Alaskan wilderness. In January. Off the grid. With a mountain man hot enough to melt a glacier. The frozen Alaskan tundra should be no match for Violet’s determination, but the sheer immensity of the Last Frontier takes her by surprise–as does her attraction to gruff, impossibly handsome Quinn, and the unexpected heat that burns between them during the freezing Alaska nights…
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Elise’s Thoughts
Bold Fortune by M. M. Crane aka Megan Crane brings to life an “opposites attract” story within an Alaskan setting. The plot has action, intensity, and emotion. The best part is the banter between the characters.
The plot begins with an Internet boyfriend stealing Violet Parrish’s research and reputation. She realizes she must do something to keep her job. She offers to convert the small-town of Lost Lake Alaska into a trust to protect the land and make the old mine there a historical landmark. But she must convince Quinn Fortune, the representative and protector of the land to go along with her plan. After arriving in this bush wilderness, she accepts Quinn’s challenge that he will discuss her proposal if she spends time in the Alaskan wilderness. No matter what he throws at her, Violet keeps derailing his plans and shows she is up to the challenge.
Violet is a strong female character. She is fierce, smart, independent, determined, and enthusiastic. But she also drives Quinn crazy with an over-the-top love of pink. Quinn is a mountain man who believes in the rugged frontier and on the outside has a rugged grumpy and gruff attitude. Together they realize that there is a mutual attraction.
This is a wonderful adventure story that has romance, and great banter between the characters. Although not a suspenseful romance as in her previous books, this one has plenty of action.
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Elise’s Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Are you ever going to write suspense romance again?
Megan Crane: I would love to. I really enjoy writing those type of books. It was a lot of fun. I would love to hear from my readers if they want me to write more books like the Alaskan Force Special Ops series. They can contact me at https://megancrane.com/contact.php#email .
EC: The idea for this story?
MC: My editor wanted me to write something still in Alaska but with a frontiersman. I created a little town with a lot of snow, a lake, and an abandoned mine having a tight-knit community.
EC: You continue the Alaskan setting?
MC: This is a very different Alaska than what I wrote about in the Alaskan Force series, the coastal region. Here in the interior, there is winter for ten months, not much daylight, very quiet. I found out during winter is when this part of the state opens. Since there are no roads in the winter, after the snow falls, people use their snowmobile. They do not think of the snow as an impediment but as something that allows them to connect. I even put tidbits I found out. For instance, no one should eat the snow, but must let it melt. It is all about the expanding of calories and dehydrating. To get here people need to fly or find a way with the river.
EC: How would you describe Violet?
MC: A brain in a jar. She is trying to figure out how to be a whole person and what she is capable of. She is intellectual, charming, confident, enthusiastic, and adaptable.
EC: Why pink?
MC: I thought a man like Quinn would find it outrageous. Violet wants happy colors and feels black, and grey are not bright. This is me. I have a pair of red pants to brighten things up. Eventually he finds it endearing.
EC: Describe Quinn?
MC: Grumpy, a martyr about his self-imposed responsibility. Blunt, rugged, loner, stubborn, and practical.
EC: Relationship?
MC: She gets him to open. He finds her fascinating especially since she steps up to his challenges. They complement each other’s feelings. Violet is not intimidated by him. He has a marshmallow center and ends up falling for her.
EC: What is the role of Stuart?
MC: Stuart is a make-believe boyfriend, while Quinn is real. Stuart is a narcissist. She only knows him through the Zoom calls. It was only a relationship in her head. Stuart tries to convince Quinn that Violet had ulterior motives and her feelings are not real.
EC: Next book?
MC: The second book in the series is Quinn’s brother Bowie. He gets involved in a mail-order-bride contest. The title is Reckless Fortune and will be out in fall. Then in March 2022 will be the book written with my author friends: Nicole Helm, Jackie Ashenden, and Maisey Yates. It is titled Sweet Home Cowboy. The plot has four Hathaway sisters who had grown up apart, but they agree to move to Jasper Creek, Oregon, to revitalize their grandfather’s farm. It is very humorous.
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.
Holden Monroe is focused on sending his son off to college until ex-girlfriend Bernadette Carlisle drops the bomb that she’s expecting their baby. The cowboy’s offer to do the right thing is an empty gesture to Bernadette. The successful doctor doesn’t believe Holden capable of settling down—she just wants a custody agreement. But an eventful road trip might just change everyone’s expectations!
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Elise’s Thoughts
Caught By the Cowboy Dad by Melinda Curtis shows why she is the best at writing relationship stories. Readers take a journey with the characters as they struggle through their feelings and must decide if second chances really exist.
The plot has Holden Monroe coming to grips with his seventeen-year-old son Devin leaving for college, an ex-girlfriend, Dr. Bernadette Carlisle, expecting his baby, and having to deal with his financial losses. All of these have caused anxiety that has manifested itself in what looked like a heart attack but was a panic attack.
Although not wanting to make his anxiety worse, Bernadette realizes that she and Holden must talk about how the baby will be raised. She decides to accept what she perceives as an invitation to take a road trip with Holden and Devin. Readers will enjoy the banter between all three. Holden wants to be a “obligation” dad, Bernadette wants a custody agreement, and Devin wants to see the two get together.
Being a strong, independent woman, she knows what she wants, and will accept nothing less from this stubborn man who is not at the top of his game. She is also a successful OB/GYN practice in Ketchum which she is trying to sell to become Second Chance’s doctor, where Holden is situated. She refuses to accept Holden’s marriage proposals because it is obvious it does not include love.
Melinda uses humor, emotion, and life’s challenges to write realistic plots and characters.
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Elise’s Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Idea for the series?
Melinda Curtis: My dad passed away and he had a list of crazy items to be given away to different people. For example, a hunting rifle used to go Elk hunting was given away to a waitress in an Idaho small town. He always stopped there to have a cup of coffee on his drive to his summer vacation home. There were also a bunch of other random items. I thought what if people inherited something odd. So, I had a bunch of grandchildren inherit a town.
EC: Why anxiety?
MC: I wanted to show how it can have people unfocused, not able to concentrate, and feel like something is pressing on your chest. It happened to me when everything in my family’s life changed. We were going to sell our house in California and be closer to our children in Oregon. Covid hit as we were listing our house. I can relate to being about to multi-task and having chest pressure because of all these life changes. It was extremely stressful.
EC: What about this book?
MC: I set up the romance for this story in book three or four. Holden was the silver fox hero, thirty-eight years old. My husband just had a heart attack, so I thought to give Holden a wake-up call. I was reading about those in their thirties, some police and military people who had a heart attack in their thirties. Harlequin wanted me to not give him a true heart attack, so I gave Holden anxiety with panic attacks.
EC: Do you like to write large families?
MC: This series specifically has a large family. I prefer to write smaller families because it is easier to keep track of. It is hard to wrap everything up, to remember what everyone looks like.
EC: How would you describe Holden?
MC: He should have been born a Yuppie. Now people are not as accepting of wealth and success. He had a big shift because he had to feel more relaxed and comfortable in his own skin. He is proud, strong, stubborn, and wants to be manly. Pride was a huge factor because he must admit to everyone, he lost all this money. Holden is into himself.
EC: How would you describe Bernadette?
MC: Curious. She wants to be a country doctor because she will be a single mom, thinking about her priorities. She is comfortable within herself. She is a doctor I would love to have, compassionate and a great listener. She is a straight-talker, sarcastic where Holden is concerned, but also honest, warm, and very smart.
EC: What about the relationship between Holden and Bernadette?
MC: She is special and realizes that she would want her man to be happy. She considers family very important and is willing to find her way. They are navigating how things will be. I do not see them in the small town past the birth of the baby. Everybody had to hit him over the head to realize how much he cared for her.
EC: The role of Devin, Holden’s child?
MC: He was a pressure point by adding some conflict to the situation. I, as a parent, also thought that once my child is out of high school and off to college my job is essentially done. Holden realized Devin wants to be independent and that his job isn’t necessarily done. Yet, at times he switched roles with Holden as to who is the parent and who is the child. He gave advice.
EC: You had a book made into a movie?
MC: I wrote a book titled Dandelion Wishes, a Harmony Valley series” Novel 1. It was a small-town winery book. It was one of my more serious books. It has real conflict. The movie is called” Love in Harmony Valley” and stars Amber Marshall from the “Heartland series.” She is a fantastic actress. On set, she is exactly like you see her in “Heartland.” I had to do some promotional stuff and she came running over to me and just laughed/hugged me.
EC: Next book?
MC: I am creating a western series which will launch in 2023. I also do a multi-author series called the “Blackwells.” The next Monroe book, book ten, is out in February titled The Cowboy Meets His Match. The story has Olivia Monroe, a yacht racing captain. Her boat capsized and she had to be resuscitated. She has now lost her nerve. She meets this cowboy who likes extreme sports, and he challenges her. In 2022 this series will be finished with the last book coming out around Thanksgiving.
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 sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on the HTP Holiday Romance Blog Tour for A LITTLE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT by Sheila Roberts.
Below you will find a book summary, my book review, an excerpt from the book and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Summary
The best Christmas gifts—family, friendship, and second chances—are all waiting to be unwrapped in this sparkling new novel from USA Today bestselling author Sheila Roberts.
Single mom Lexie Bell hopes to make this first Christmas in their new home special for her six-year-old son, Brock. Festive lights and homemade fudge, check. Friendly neighbors? Uh, no. The reclusive widower next door is more grinchy than nice. But maybe he just needs a reminder of what matters most. At least sharing some holiday cheer with him will distract her from her own lack of romance…
Stanley Mann lost his Christmas spirit when he lost his wife and he sees no point in looking for it. Until she shows up in his dreams and informs him it’s time to ditch his Scroogey attitude. Stanley digs in his heels but she’s determined to haunt him until he wakes up and rediscovers the joys of the season. He can start by being a little more neighborly to the single mom next door. In spite of his protests he’s soon making snowmen and decorating Christmas trees. How will it all end?
Merrily, of course. A certain Christmas ghost is going to make sure of that!
A LITTLE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT by Sheila Roberts is a wonderful Christmas holiday standalone fiction story with romance elements. A grumpy old neighbor who lost his Christmas spirit when his wife died, a single mother and her young son who are new in the neighborhood are all brought together by a Christmas ghost.
Stanley Mann lost the love of his life, Carol, three years ago in a terrible car crash and he has never recovered. He continues on by himself and wants nothing to do with anyone or anything outside of his home and he especially hates the holidays. Then Carol’s spirit returns during several nights to remind Stanley of their time together and to encourage him to start living life again and not just existing and he can start by helping his new neighbors.
Kindergarten teacher Lexi Bell and her young son, Brock, have moved from California to the Pacific Northwest and are excited about spending their first Christmas in their new home. Their next-door neighbor at first is more grumpy hermit than neighbor, but Lexi and Brock have a way of squirming into his heart during the day even as Carol nudges him into being the man she remembers during the nights.
This story is absolutely perfect for a holiday read! It is full of love, family, forgiveness, and holiday spirit. Brock is endearing and you can understand how he was able to worm his way into Stanley’s closed-off heart. Lexi’s trial of looking for the perfect man is all too familiar for many of us. When Stanley sits down with The Grinch and Scrooge in one of his dreams it was very entertaining. The secondary characters all make their appearances at just the right time and give this story a realistic feel even with its ghostly apparition. Keep the tissues close for a few of the scenes. This is the first time I have read a book by this author, and it will not be the last.
I highly recommend this Christmas tale of love!
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Excerpt
1
It was the sixth call in two days, all from the same person. Wouldn’t you think, if a man didn’t answer his phone the first five times, that the pest would get the message and quit bugging him?
But no, and now Stanley Mann was irritated enough to pick up and say a gruff “Hello.” Translation: Why are you bugging me?
“It’s about time you answered,” said his sister-in-law, Amy. “I was beginning to wonder if you were okay.”
Of course, he wasn’t okay. He hadn’t been okay since Carol had died.
“I’m fine. Thanks for checking.”
The words didn’t come out with any sense of warmth or appreciation for her concern to encourage conversation, but Amy soldiered on. “Stan, we all want you to come down for Thanksgiving. You haven’t seen the family in ages.”
Not since the memorial service, and he hadn’t really missed them. He liked his brother-in-law well enough, but his wife’s younger sister was a ding-dong, her daughters were drama queens and their husbands were idiots. The younger generation were all into their selfies and their jobs and their crazy vacations where they swam with sharks. Who in their right mind swam with sharks? He had better things to do than subject himself to spending an entire day with them.
He did have enough manners left to thank Amy for the invite before turning her down.
“You really should come,” she persisted.
No, he shouldn’t.
“Don’t you want to see the new great-niece?”
No, he didn’t. “I’ve got plans.”
“What? To hole up in the house with a turkey frozen dinner?”
“No.” Not turkey. He hated turkey. It made him sleepy.
“You know Carol would want you to be with us.”
He’d been with them pretty much every Thanksgiving of his married life. He’d paid his dues.
“You don’t have any family of your own.”
Thanks for rubbing it in. He’d lost his brother ten years earlier to a heart attack, and both his parents were gone now as well. He and Carol had never had any kids of their own.
But he was fine. He was perfectly happy in his own company.
“I’m good, Amy. Don’t worry about me.”
“I can’t help it. You know, Carol was always afraid that if something happened to her you’d become a hermit.”
Hermits were scruffy old buzzards with bad teeth and long beards who hated people. Stanley didn’t hate people. He just didn’t need to be around them all the time. There was a difference. And he wasn’t scruffy. He brushed his teeth. And he shaved…every once in a while.
“Amy, I’m fine. Don’t worry. Happy Thanksgiving, and tell Jimmy he can have my share of the turkey,” Stanley said, then ended the call before she could grill him further regarding those plans he’d said he had.
They were perfectly good plans. He was going to pick up a frozen pizza and watch something on TV. That sure beat driving all the way from Fairwood, Washington, to Gresham, Oregon, to be alternately bored and irritated by his in-laws. If Amy really wanted to do something good for him, she could leave him alone.
At first everyone had. He was a man in mourning. Then came COVID-19, and he was a senior self-quarantining. Now, however, it appeared he was supposed to be ready to party on. Well, he wasn’t.
Two days before Thanksgiving he made the one-mile journey to the grocery store, figuring he’d dodge the crowd. He’d figured wrong, and the store was packed with people finishing up the shopping for their holiday meal. The turkey supply in the meat freezer was running dangerously low, and half a dozen women and a lone man crowded around it like miners at the river’s edge, searching for gold, each trying to snag the best bird from the selection that remained. A woman rolled past him with a mini-mountain of food in her cart, a wailing toddler in the seat and two kids dragging along behind her, one of them pointing to the chips aisle and whining.
“I said no,” she snapped. “We don’t need chips.”
Nope. That woman needed a stiff drink.
Stanley grabbed his pizza and some pumpkin ice cream and got in the checkout line.
Two men around his age stood in front of him, talking. “They’re out of black olives,” said the first one. “I got green instead.”
The second man shook his head. “Your wife ain’t gonna like that. Everyone knows you got to have black olives at Thanksgiving.”
“I can’t help it if there’s none left on the shelves. Anyway, the only one who eats ’em is her brother, and the loser can suck it up and do without.”
Yep, family togetherness. Stanley wasn’t going to miss that.
He’d miss being with Carol, though. He missed her every day. Her absence was an ache that never left him, and resentment kept it ever fresh.
They’d reached what was often referred to as the Golden Circle, that time in life when you had enough money to travel and enjoy yourself, when your health was still good and you could carry your own luggage. They’d enjoyed traveling and had planned on doing so much more together—taking a world cruise, renting a beach house in California for a summer, even going deep-sea fishing in Mexico. Their golden years were going to be great.
Those golden years turned to brass the day she died. She didn’t even die of cancer or a stroke or something he could have accepted. She was killed in a car accident. A drunk driver in a truck had done her in and walked away with nothing more than some bruises from his airbag. It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t fair. And Stanley didn’t really have anything to be thankful about. He didn’t like Thanksgiving.
There would be worse to follow. After Thanksgiving it would be Merry Christmas!, Happy Hanukkah!, Happy Kwanzaa!, you name it. All that happy would finally get tied up in a big Happy New Year! bow. As if buying a new calendar magically made everything better. Well, it didn’t.
Stanley spent his Thanksgiving Day in lonely splendor, watching football on TV and eating his pizza. It’s not delivery. It’s DiGiorno. Worked for him. He ate two-thirds of it before deciding he should pace himself. Got to save room for dessert. Pumpkin ice cream—just as good as the traditional pie and whipped cream, and it didn’t come with any irritating in-laws. Ice cream was the food of the gods. After his pizza, he pulled out a large bowl, filled it and dug in.
When they got older, Carol had turned into the ice cream police, limiting his consumption. She’d pat his belly and say, “Now, Manly Stanley, too much of that and you’ll end up looking like a big, fat snowman. Plus you’ll clog your arteries, and that’s not good. I don’t want to risk losing you.”
Ironic. He’d wound up losing her instead.
Between all the ice cream and the beer he’d been consuming with no one to police him, he was starting to look a little like Frosty the Snowman. (Before he melted.) But who cared? He got himself a second bowl of ice cream.
He topped it off with a couple of beers and a movie along with some store-bought cookies. There you go. Happy Thanksgiving.
For a while, anyway. Until everything got together in his stomach and began to misbehave. He shouldn’t have eaten so much. Especially the pizza. He really couldn’t do spicy now that he was older. Telling everyone down there that all would soon be well, he took a couple of antacids.
No one down there was listening, and all that food had its own Turkey Day football game still going in his gut when he went to bed. He tossed and turned and groaned until, finally, he fell into an uneasy sleep.
“Pepperoni and sausage?” scolded a voice in his ear. “You know better than to eat that spicy food, Stanley.”
“I know, I know,” he muttered. “You’re right, Carol.”
Carol! Stanley rolled over and saw his wife standing by the side of his bed. She was wearing the black nightie he always loved to see her in. And then out of. Her eyes were as blue as ever. How he’d missed that sweet face!
But what was she doing here?
He blinked. “Is it really you?” He thought he’d never see her again in this lifetime, but there she was. His heart turned over.
“Yes, it’s really me,” she said.
She looked radiant and so kissable, but that quickly changed. Suddenly, her body language wasn’t very lovey-dovey. She frowned and put her hands on her hips, a sure sign she was about to let him have it.
“What were you thinking?” she demanded.
He didn’t have to ask what she was referring to. He knew.
“It’s Thanksgiving. I was celebrating,” he said.
She frowned. “All by yourself.”
“I happen to like my own company. You know that.”
“There’s liking your own company, and there’s hiding.”
“I am not hiding,” he insisted.
“Yes, you are. I gave you time to mourn, time to adjust, but enough is enough. Life is short, Stanley. It’s like living off your savings. Each day you take another withdrawal, and pretty soon there’s nothing left. You have to spend those days wisely. You’re wasting yours, dribbling away the last of your savings.”
“That’s fine with me,” he insisted. “I hate my life.”
He hated waking up to find her side of the bed empty and ached for her smile. Without her the house felt deserted. He felt deserted.
“You still like ice cream, don’t you?” she argued.
Except for when he paired it with pizza.
“Stanley, you need to get out there and…live.”
“What do you think I’m doing?” he grumped.
“Going through the motions, hanging in limbo.”
What else could she expect? “It’s not the same without you,” he protested.
“Of course it’s not. But you’re still here, and you’re here for a reason. Don’t make what happened to me a double waste. Somebody snatched my life from me, and I wasn’t done with it. I want you to go on living for the both of us.”
“How can I do that? This isn’t a life, not without you sharing it.”
“It’s a different kind of life, that’s all.”
It was a subpar, meager existence. “I miss you, Carol. I miss you sitting across from me at the breakfast table. I miss us doing things together and sitting together at night, watching TV. I miss…your touch.” He finished on a sob.
“I know.” She sat down on the bed next to him, and he couldn’t help noticing how the blankets didn’t shift under her. “But you have to start filling those empty places, Stanley.”
“I don’t want to,” he cried. “I don’t want to.”
He was still muttering “I don’t want to” when he woke up.
Alone. For a moment there, her presence had felt so real.
“She wasn’t there at all, you dope,” he muttered.
Except why was there a faint scent of peppermint in the bedroom? It made him think of the chocolate Christmas cookies she used to make with the mint-candy frosting and sprinkles on them. After a few big sniffs, he couldn’t detect so much as a whiff of peppermint and shook his head in disgust. Indigestion and memory. That was all she was.
Sheila Roberts lives on a lake in Washington State, where most of her novels are set. Her books have been published in several languages. On Strike for Christmas, was made into a movie for the Lifetime Movie Network and her novel, The Nine Lives of Christmas, was made into a movie for Hallmark.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on the HTP Holiday Romance Blog Tour for THE CHRISTMAS WEDDING GUEST by Susan Mallory.
Below you will find a book summary, my book review and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Summary
The last thing Reggie Sommerville wants is to come back home for Christmas. It’s only been a year and a half since her boyfriend, Jake, proposed and then broke up with her, all in one weekend, and the prospect of facing the entire town is humiliating. But when her parents reveal that they’re renewing their vows in the lavish wedding they always wanted and her mother asks her to be a bridesmaid, Reggie knows she can’t say no. No matter how much she wants to. She expected the town would be gossiping about her relationship with Jake, but she never expected to run into Toby, her first love that broke her heart all those years ago, living in town and raising his son. She always thought things between them were long over…but this Christmas is full of surprises.
Dena Sommerville has only ever wanted one thing: to have a child. But motherhood has been alluding her because she never met the right man…until she took the bull by the horns and decided to have a baby as a single mom. She knew it would be difficult and the morning sickness alone is knocking her down for the count, but she’s determined to do this on her own. So when a handsome musician checks into the inn where she works, Dena is surprised when a friendship develops. He has his own issues to work through—that much is clear. But she can’t deny there’s something between them
This Christmas, guilted into being bridesmaids at their parents’ vow renewal ceremony, Reggie and Dena Sommerville just might find the most unexpected gift of all—love.
THE CHRISTMAS WEDDING GUEST (Wishing Tree Book #1) by Susan Mallery is an enchanting small town Christmas contemporary romance story times two featuring two sisters and their very different paths to HEA. I am very excited that this is going to be a series and I cannot wait for more from Wishing Tree.
The Somerville sisters are excited about their parents wedding to renew their vows.
Dena Somerville is a teacher at the local Wishing Tree elementary school besides owning the small town’s B&B. Being financially secure and never having been lucky in love, Dena decides to have a baby on her own. Micah Ruiz has come to town for the holidays to visit his ex-band mate and try to get inspiration for his song writing. When he meets Dena, he is intrigued by this woman’s strength to have a baby on her own and he is falls for her with their first kiss, but Dena is afraid to believe that a rock star could fall for a small-town girl.
Regina “Reggie” Somerville has returned after a year away to help her mother with her wedding. Being her own boss and having a job she can do from anywhere she moves back to her parents’ home for the holidays with her rescued Great Dane, Belle. She is surprised to learn her first love and high school sweetheart is back in Wishing Tree with an eight-year-old son. Toby finds he is just as attracted to Reggie as he was before he left town as an eighteen-year-old. Reggie wants to give their relationship a second try, but Toby has been hurt in the past and has difficulty trusting. Can Reggie and the holidays work their special magic to get Toby to love again?
Ms. Mallery’s writing wraps you up in the story like a cozy blanket that you do not want to leave until “The End”. I feel like I should be able to find Wishing Tree on the map and become friends with all the town’s occupants. I appreciate that the sisters are very forth right and honest. They were each dealing with different relationship paths and men, but their stories were believable with the help of family and their circle of friends. These are mature relationships with realistic problems and dialogue. There are no sex scenes in either storyline, but there is plenty of caring, love and romance. I am looking forward to reading about more romances in Wishing Tree and checking in with these two couples again.
I highly recommend this Christmas contemporary HEA times two and this author!
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Author Bio
Susan Mallery is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of novels about the relationships that define women’s lives—family, friendship, romance. Library Journal says, “Mallery is the master of blending emotionally believable characters in realistic situations,” and readers seem to agree—40 million copies of her books have sold worldwide. Her warm, humorous stories make the world a happier place to live.
Susan grew up in California and now lives in Seattle with her husband. She’s passionate about animal welfare, especially that of the two ragdoll cats and adorable poodle who think of her as mom.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book on the DREAMER Harlequin Series Winter Blog Tour for CHRISTMAS AT THE CHATEAU (Bainbridge House Book #2) by Rochelle Alers.
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 link. Enjoy!
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Book Description
CHRISTMAS AT THE CHATEAU by Rochelle Alers (on-sale Nov.30, Harlequin Special Edition): The halls are decked for holiday romance in nationally bestselling author Rochelle Alers’s latest book in the Bainbridge House series! Christmas dinner’s on the table, and it’s being served with a side of romance! Executive chef Viola Williamson has to have the kitchen up and running by the time the Bainbridge House restoration is complete. Working closely with Dom Shaw, Viola is struck by her hotter-than-mulled-cider attraction to her family estate’s handsome caretaker. It’s obvious that he feels it, too—yet Dom keeps his distance. Can Viola convince him that with all this cooking going on, he’s the only one stirring her heart?
CHRISTMAS AT THE CHATEAU (Bainbridge House Book #2) by Rochelle Alers is a holiday contemporary multicultural romance and the second book in the Bainbridge House series. It can be read as a standalone, but there is crossover with the H/h from book one who are this book’s heroine’s brother and best friend.
Viola Williamson has worked hard for years to earn her title as chef. When she is passed over for promotion one too many times at her current Michelin star restaurant, she decides to accept the position as Executive chef for the family’s Bainbridge House when it is fully restored and running. She is excited about being her best friend’s maid of honor for her Christmas wedding and being the head chef for their reception.
Dominic “Dom” Shaw has worked as the caretaker for Bainbridge House since his father’s retirement. Dom has been burned in love before, but he cannot seem to keep away from the new Executive chef.
Neither is looking for love, but the attraction grows as they work together to get the kitchen up and running for the wedding and Dom has a secret that could change everything.
I did enjoy this story with the descriptions of the renovations of Bainbridge House, the amazing descriptions of food throughout the story and the backstories of both Dom and Viola’s families. While I enjoyed these descriptions, the romance was slow to start and did not really pick up or become the focus of the book until halfway through. That said, I did feel it progressed and grew at a realistic pace since both were romance adverse. There is just one short sex scene and it is not explicit. The twist before the ending with Viola’s mother was a surprise because I was expecting Dom’s secret to be the final twist.
I am looking forward to the other brother’s romance stories to come.
***
Excerpt
Dom turned his head, successfully hiding the smile struggling to emerge. He didn’t know why, but he hadn’t expected to overhear the ribald curse that had flowed so effortlessly from Viola. “That’s good to know because that would definitely negate us becoming friends.”
Viola narrowed her eyes, reminding him of a cat ready to attack. “Do you always test your friends?”
“Most times I do.”
“Why, Dom?”
“Because I have trust issues.” The admission had come out unbidden. But if he were completely forthcoming with Viola, then he would’ve said his distrust was with women. It didn’t matter whether they were platonic or intimate, he’d made it a practice to keep their relationships at a distance.
“Bad breakup with a girlfriend?”
“No,” he said truthfully. “It was a marriage that ended with irreconcilable differences.”
She blinked slowly. “Well, you’re not the only one with trust issues. And mine are not with an ex-husband but with the men I’ve dated. They say one thing and do something entirely different.”
This time Dom did smile. She’d just given him the opening he’d needed to discover more about her. “Are you saying you’re not currently involved with anyone?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’m not involved and don’t want to become involved. Right now, my sole focus is getting these kitchens renovated so that I can be ready once the hotel opens for business.”
It appeared as if they were on the same page when it came to relationships. Neither wanted one. And for him, it would make her presence on the property a win-win. Although he’d found Viola attractive, just knowing she didn’t want anything more than friendship would make it easy for Dom to relate to her as a friend.
“Do you have an idea as to what you want to offer your guests?” he asked, deftly changing the topic of conversation.
“That all depends on the clientele. If it’s a wedding, then that would be at the discretion of the bride and groom. However, for guests coming for a business conference, the food would be different from what would be served at a wedding reception. Then there are folks that may just want to stop by to hang out at the lounge for drinks and to watch sports. For them, I would have a special bar menu.”
“It sounds as if you have everything planned out in advance.”
Viola flashed a dreamy smile. “I would have to. I can’t afford to wait until we’re ready to open for business to begin creating menus without taste testing every item beforehand.”
Dom grinned from ear to ear. “I wouldn’t mind becoming one of your taste testers.”
She laughed. “I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”
Dom sobered. “When do you intend to come back here again?”
Viola also sobered. “Why?”
***
About the Author
Hailed by readers and booksellers alike as one of today’s most popular African-American authors of women’s fiction, Ms. Alers is a regular on bestsellers list, and has been a recipient of numerous awards, including the Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing and a Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award.
It started as a chance encounter on the beach, and ended 24 hours later when they parted to go their separate ways. Or so they thought.
Actually it was just the beginning.
WHEN LAUREN CANTRELL said goodbye to the guy she had just met on the beach, she had no way of knowing their paths would ever cross again. But fate had another unexpected meeting in store for them—this time in a place where danger was part of the culture and the stakes were life and death.
THE LAST PERSON in the world Rad expected to see at a special ops briefing in Afghanistan is the girl he met at the beach two weeks ago—the one he can’t stop thinking about.
From the sundrenched beaches of Ocean City, Md., to the snowcapped mountains of Afghanistan, this thrilling tale of espionage and intrigue takes readers on a spellbinding journey into the secret lives of our nation’s quiet heroes—and answers the question:
What do you do when the person you most want to protect is the one risking everything to make sure you survive?
MEANT TO BE recounts the dedication of our military, the honor and sacrifice of our soldiers, and a relationship that is tested and sustained by the powerful forces of love, courage and resolve.
Elise’s Thoughts
The first national security novel, by Jessica James delves into the meaning of honor and duty. This is a story of hope and love along with patriotism, conviction, and perseverance.
The story begins with a chance encounter between Rad and Lauren, on a beach in Ocean City Maryland. They spend the day together doing fun things along the Boardwalk including going to Ripley’s Museum, an arcade, and a Ferris wheel. In the evening, the hero, Michael Radcliff, asks the heroine, Lauren Cantrell, to meet his buddies at a party on the beach. She is impressed with his friends and their partners, with their humor, compassion, and helpfulness. That is except one person, Angela Powers, a power-hungry journalist who will stop at nothing to make a name for herself. Unfortunately, for Rad and Lauren, at the end of the day they both go their own ways, never revealing their occupation or last name.
But soon they find themselves reunited on a Special-Ops mission. She is a CIA operative, embedded in a Pakistani village to gain intel on a terrorist. Rad is the leader of the Navy SEALs who has been assigned to take out this powerful terrorist. They reunite after she arrives at the base to share her intel. Readers will think of the Osama Bin Laden take down but also understand how 9/11 plays into the story. Lauren’s parents were on flight 77 as it flew into the Pentagon, the reason she became a spy.
Both Rad and Lauren realize their intense emotional connection cannot interfere with their common goal: take down and eliminate one of the greatest threats to world safety. After they separate, neither knows if they will ever see each other again.
The story involves love, heartache, healing, and hope. Readers will be on the edge of their seat. A bonus is the great job the author does showing military life, the difficult choices faced, and how love, courage, and resolve can conquer all.
***
Presidential Advantage Book Description
Secret Service Agent Clint Brody is tasked with protecting the new First Lady. But the threats he encounters are more complicated than he imagined, and the danger he confronts isn’t what either one of them expected.
When a shy, country girl from Virginia marries a prominent Georgetown attorney, her life is bound to change. But when that attorney is catapulted to the office of President of the United States, she is thrust into the role of First Lady—and uncovers a world of secrets and betrayals that alters everything she once knew.
Due to a twist of fate, Elizabeth Vaughn is forced to leave behind the quiet country setting she loves and enter the nefarious world of politics. After recovering from her initial missteps and negotiating the obstacles of her new public life, she begins to understand the nature of politics.
But as another election approaches, turmoil in the White House intensifies. Leaks. Lies. Deceit. Deception. People she thought were friends desert her and the true character of people she thought she knew is revealed.
When the stakes become life and death, the First Lady uncovers the ultimate betrayal and is forced to come to terms with her own role in the political process. Only with the help of Secret Service Agent Clint Brody, can she hope to find her way out of the danger and discover who can be trusted—and who will do anything to keep control.
Elise’s Thoughts
Her latest novel, switches from the military to political intrigue. It is very realistic showing the dark world of politics with leaks, lies, deceits, deceptions, betrayals, and secrets.
In the plot, readers learn that Elizabeth (Liz) Vaughn always prefers to spend time with her horses, not people. This shy country girl who works on a horse farm met her Prince Charming, a Senator, Ethan Collins, who became Vice-President. After the President dies, Collins is catapulted to the office of President of the United States, while she is thrust into the position of First Lady. At first, she listens to all her advisors, but then realizes she must become more assertive to survive the Washington swamp. She must overcome Camilla, her personal advisor, and the Chief of Staff, Chandler who want to thwart her at every turn. They constantly try to obstruct her good intentions and feed the media news stories that show Liz in a bad light. Knowing she only has her Secret Service Agent Clint Brody as someone she can trust she decides to take matters into her own hands. This works to her advantage as the nation finds her a breath of fresh air.
With her husband Ethan involved in his own presidential duties, Liz realizes their marriage is growing apart. Readers might be reminded of Jack and Jackie Kennedy. Ethan realizes that Liz is helpful in securing voters for the upcoming election. She is no longer the shy person who felt overwhelmed but has a growing confidence that displays compassion. The second half of the book becomes a thriller as Liz and Brody struggle to overcome the many betrayals.
This is a story about a shy Virginian woman who not only survives extremely nasty politics but holds true to her own values. Readers will not want to put this book down with a plot that is a page turner.
***
Elise’s Author Interview
Elise Cooper: The first book does not put journalists in a good light and the last book does not put politicians in a good light.
Jessica James: Yes. I was a journalist, a reporter, and an editor for over eighteen years. The journalist in the story is what I see happening today. She is power hungry, would throw anyone under the bus, and there is some fake news. I am old school and that is not how journalism was when I worked in that occupation. Politicians are just as power hungry and deceitful.
EC: How would you describe the hero, Rad, in Meant To Be?
JJ: Serious, patriotic, devoted, big-hearted, sincere, generous, and protective.
EC: How about the heroine of that book, Lauren?
JJ: Competitive, trusting, calm, reserved, resourceful, friendly, and courageous.
EC: How about their relationship?
JJ: Cautious because of their occupations. They are both wary. They do trust each other and realize there is a chemistry and intensity between them. Both are strong-willed.
EC: How would you describe the hero, Brody, in Presidential Advantage?
JJ: Smart, courageous, stubborn, a professional. He is also calm, reliable, authentic, and a warrior.
EC: How about the heroine of the book, Liz?
JJ: Introverted, kind, naïve, generous, compassionate, and fearless. I based her not on Jackie Kennedy but on Melania Trump who seems uncomfortable when in the spotlight.
EC: What about the advisor Camilla?
JJ: She is evil, malicious, a power grabber, a backstabber, and represents everything people do not like about politics.
EC: What is the theme?
JJ: How money and power create deceit and betrayal.
EC: What about your next book?
JJ:Presidential Advantage was the first book in the “Phantom Force Tactical Series.” In late 2022 the next book will be published, with a working title of Relentless Truth. It has a new President whose child gets kidnapped while at a summer camp. The group is assigned to rescue her.
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.
