OH, FUDGE (Hot Cakes Book #5, Prequel Boys of the Bayou Book #6) by Erin Nicholas is a steamy rom-com novella bridge book between two of her contemporary romance series. This is a bridge book and foreshadows the coming romance in “Four Weddings and a Swamp Boat Tour” (Boys of the Bayou Book #6), but this novella rom-com does not end with a HEA. This book can be read as a standalone novella, but I believe it will be more enjoyable if you have read other books in the series.
Paige Asher loves her family, but she wants to live her life on her own terms. In a small town this is extremely difficult. She has her own yoga business, is financially stable, a vegetarian and owner of many cats. Everyone around her is married or in love and they do not understand how she can be happy single and only allowing one-night stands.
Then she has a scorching one-night stand with a hot and sexy Cajun who is a friend of a friend. Paige cannot quit thinking about him and she is surprised that she continues to text him when he returns home.
Mitch Landry loved his trip to Iowa and the sassy and sexy blond he just cannot quit thinking about even though she believes in no-strings-attached sex just like him. He is even more surprised that he is still texting her six months later.
Is this the feeling that all the other Landry’s talk about? Is he falling in love?
I enjoyed this fun crossover novella bridge book. You get more in-depth backstory on why Paige feels the way she does and it makes her more relatable. I love Mitch, like all the other Landry boys, and this novella hints that there is something deeper involved in his belief of his place in the family. While you know you will eventually get your HEA, these two will not go about it in the traditional way. As in all the books in both series, the sex scenes are extremely explicit and steamin’ hot, but I do not feel they are gratuitous.
This is a hot and fun novella and I am looking forward to the rest of Paige and Mitch’s story.
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About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Erin Nicholas has been writing romances almost as long as she’s been reading them. To date, she’s written over thirty sexy, contemporary novels that have been described as “toe-curling,” “enchanting,” “steamy,” and “fun.” She adores reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines, and happily ever afters.
Erin lives in the Midwest, where she enjoys spending time with her husband (who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books), her kids (who will never read the sex scenes in her books), and her family and friends (who claim to be “shocked” by the sex scenes in her books).
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on the Buoni Amici Press Release Blitz for THE RED DOOR (A Love in Limestone Novella) by Emery Jacobs.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, the author’s bio and social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway. Good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway and enjoy!
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Book Description
There’s a bar on the outskirts of Limestone, Louisiana that serves an unusual type of whiskey. Some call it magic. Others claim it’s a scam. Yet rumors of its mystical properties keep people coming in from far and wide.
Luck.
Wealth.
Happiness.
Health.
These wonders can be found by those who believe… and take a shot.
Ten o’clock in the morning, New Year’s Day. Two down-on-their-luck strangers enter The Red Door Bar. Both are searching for a miracle. What they find when they reach the bottom of that glass will eventually change their lives forever.
THE RED DOOR (A Love in Limestone Novella) by Emery Jacobs is a perfect little contemporary romance novella that tugged at my heart and left me with a smile on my face.
The Red Door Bar is on the outskirts of Limestone, Louisiana and they serve an unusual whiskey. Some believe it is magical while others believe it is a scam, but people come from far and wide to take a shot.
At ten o’clock in the morning on New Years Day, Evie walks into The Red Door Bar with her last twenty dollars and finds one other patron. Bennett is in the bar to be alone and wants nothing to do with the beautiful chatterbox. Even though both are at a low point in their lives, they agree to meet for a date once again on the next New Years Day.
Fate has the two running into each other over the next year when they need each other the most. Will they ever get the timing just right for both of them?
I read this wonderful romantic novella all in one sitting and was sorry to have it end. Ms. Jacobs manages to fill this short story with a realistic couple who have to get through so much to obtain their HEA. Evie and Bennett have me cheering for them from page one and the writing has me feeling as though they could walk right off the page.
I highly recommend this novella!
***
Author Bio
Emery grew up in Southern Arkansas and has lived most of her adult life in Northern Louisiana. She spends her days working as a Nurse Practitioner in rural health and her nights reading, writing, and occasionally sleeping.
She loves real life romance…lots of angst and heartbreak, but always a happy ending.
A HOLIDAY BY GASLIGHT: A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS NOVELLA by Mimi
Matthews is a beautifully written Christmas historical romance. The cover is
gorgeous and the novella within will warm your heart and is perfect for the
season.
Sophie Appersett is ever the dutiful eldest daughter. Sophie
and her mother work hard to economize to keep the household running and her
younger sister happy. Both have gone to London for the season. Sophie’s father
is approached by a wealthy man of business to court her and Sophie is willing
to marry outside of her class for the financial benefit of her family.
Mr. Edward Sharpe is instantly taken with the beautiful Sophie and he knows he is fortunate that Sophie’s family needs funds. Ned has worked hard his whole life to improve his circumstances, so he refers to “The Gentleman’s Book of Etiquette” to court Sophie properly, but Sophie does not like the perfect gentleman and breaks with Ned.
Sophie’s father is enraged when he learns what Sophie has
done. Sophie’s mother though is ever practical and has a heart to heart with
her daughter. Sophie is willing to give Mr. Sharpe another chance and invites Ned
to the Appersett Christmas house party with the ground rules that both shall be
honest with each other and they will work to get to know their true selves.
This is a novella that had me finishing it all in one
sitting. Ms. Matthews writes with a beautiful style, accuracy and knowledge of
the Victorian era so that you just fall into the story and feel like you are present.
Ned and Sophie are wonderful characters and the way they fall in love is sweet,
romantic and era appropriate. All the secondary characters are well fleshed out
and add depth to the story and settings. For a novella length story, everything
I could wish for is present and I did not feel slighted at all by the shorter
length.
A wonderful Christmas historical novella that I can highly
recommend.
I am extremely excited to be sharing this Feature Post and Mini Book Review for the new novella BUTTERFLY IN FROST by Sylvia Day. This story is emotionally charged, explicitly hot and sexy and has a twist that threw me for a loop!
Below you will find an excerpt, a book summary, my book review, author bio and social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway. As always, good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway!
***
Excerpt: Butterfly in Frost by Sylvia Day
Roxy bounces on her feet with
excitement. “Les and Marge sold their house.”
I blink. “I didn’t know they were
selling.”
She laughs and heads toward the front
door. “That’s the thing. They weren’t.”
“Wait, what?” I hurry after her as she
steps outside.
I look to the right at my home, a
lovingly restored butterfly-roofed midcentury, then on to the traditional house
just beyond it that belongs—belonged—to Les and Marge. Including Roxy’s,
all three of our homes have unique lots set between the homes that line the
street and the Sound, affording us unhindered views of the water as well as
exceptional privacy—all within a twenty-minute drive of the airport.
Roxy shortens the length of her stride
to allow me to catch up, then glances over at me. “The day after you flew to
New York, a Range Rover pulled into their driveway, and the guy inside offered
them cash to close—and move out—in fourteen days.”
My step falters, and Minnie gets
momentarily tangled in her leash. The dog shoots me what I would describe as an
irritated look, then keeps trotting forward. “That’s crazy.”
“Isn’t it? Les wouldn’t say how much
the offer was, but I’m thinking it was huge.”
We march up the inclined driveway, my head
tilted back to take in the houses scaling the hillside. Designed with big
windows to maximize the view, the homes have a look of wide-eyed wonder. Our
little stretch of the Sound used to be a secret, but with the housing boom
taking over Seattle and Tacoma, we’ve been discovered. Many residences are
undergoing major renovation to suit the tastes of new owners.
Reaching the road, we turn left. To
the right is a dead end.
“Well, if they’re happy,” I say, “I’m
happy for them.”
“They’re overwhelmed. It was a lot to
happen all at once, but I think they’re happy with their decision.” Roxanne
stops when Bella does, and we wait as the two dogs mark one of their usual
spots on the gravel edging the asphalt. There are no curbs on the streets in
our neighborhood and no sidewalks. Just beautiful lawns and a profusion of
flowering shrubs.
“We all tried prying information out
of them,” she goes on, “but they weren’t sharing anything about the sale.” She
gives me a sidelong glance. “But they did share a bit about the buyer.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because Mike and I both think the
buyer is someone famous. A film director maybe. Or an artist. Can you imagine?
First Emily, a bestselling author. Then you, a reality-TV surgeon. Now this
guy! Maybe we’re sitting on the new Malibu—beachside living without wildfires
or state income tax!”
The mention of Roxy’s husband, Mike,
coaxes an inner smile. A New York transplant like me, he adds a welcome touch
of the life I left behind to the reality I’ve since created for myself—a
reality that’s just been rocked by the loss of neighbors I like.
“What are the clues you’re working
with?” I ask, deciding to play along. If I’ve learned anything the past year,
it’s to accept the things I cannot change. A tough task for a control freak
like me.
“Les pointed out to this guy that he
hadn’t even seen the inside of the house. The guy said he didn’t need to. He
knew already that ‘the light is perfect.’ I mean, who would say that? Gotta be
someone who’s in visual arts, right?”
“Maybe,” I agree tentatively,
disquieted by the unexpected conversation. The road rises sharply before us,
the incline steep enough to put a little burn in my thighs. “Doesn’t mean he’s
famous, though.”
“That’s the thing.” Her words carry a
note of breathlessness. “Les wouldn’t give numbers, but he did say it was crazy
the guy didn’t just buy that huge compound at the end of the street. That house
is listed for three and a half million!”
My mind staggers at the thought. Les
and Marge have—had—a beautiful home, but it’s not worth anywhere near
that much.
“I think I saw the buyer once through
that big arched window in the living room,” Roxy goes on. “The blonde with him
was a looker. Supermodel skinny with legs for days.”
I’m panting when we reach the top;
Roxy, who hits a gym most days of the week, is not.
A quarter mile farther, there’s a
street to the right leading to Dash Point. Beyond that and straight ahead, the
road slopes back down and around until it’s at water level. Redondo Beach is
there, as is Salty’s, a restaurant on stilts in the water with expansive views
of Poverty Bay and beyond. I’m about to wax poetic about Salty’s seafood
chowder when a runner dashes around the corner at a full sprint. His sudden
appearance rattles me. A closer look makes me freeze midstride. My breath locks
in my lungs.
There are too many things to register
at once, so my mind attempts to absorb the whole man. Dressed only in black
shorts and shoes, he is a visual feast of deeply tanned skin, intricate sleeves
of tattooed art, and sweat-slicked, flexing musculature.
And his face. Sculpted.
Square-jawed. Brutally, breathlessly handsome.
Roxy, now a few feet in front of me,
gives a low whistle. “Hot damn.”
***
About the Book
Title: Butterfly in Frost
Author: Sylvia Day
Release Date: August 27, 2019
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Summary
Once, I would never have
imagined myself here. But I’m settled now. In a place I love, in a home I
renovated, spending time with new friends I adore, and working a job that
fulfills me. I am reconciling the past and laying the groundwork for the future.
Then Garrett Frost moves
in next door.
He’s obstinate and too
bold, a raging force of nature that disrupts the careful order of my life. I
recognize the ghosts that haunt him, the torment driving him. Garrett would be
risky in any form, but wounded, he’s far more dangerous. I fear I’m too fragile
for the storm raging inside him, too delicate to withstand the pain that
buffets him. But he’s too determined…and too tempting.
And sometimes hope soars above even the iciest desolation.
***
My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
Butterfly in Frost by Sylvia Day is a new
contemporary romance novella that is emotionally charged, explicitly hot and sexy
and has a twist that threw me for a loop!
I am writing a mini review because the book summary sets the
novella up well and if I give too much more information, I risk revealing
something that may give away the surprise twist. When I am looking for an
erotic romance, Sylvia Day is one of my “go to” writers and I am so glad I read
this book.
Garrett Frost is a famous artist who is gorgeous, sexy and
wounded. When he moves in next door to Teagan, he could be just what she needs to
move forward with her life or he could destroy her fragile new life and peace.
These two come together in an emotionally charged dance; one
step forward, two steps back, take each day one at a time, do not discuss the
past. Usually I want a longer book to get more in-depth emotions from the
characters, but this novella gave an emotional punch in a short number of
pages. The sex scenes are explicit and smokin’ hot. Crank the air-conditioner!
At first, I felt you needed to read previous books to know what was going on,
but I was wrong. When you hit the twist, it brings a whole new light to the
story and it stands on its own.
I loved this story!
***
Author Biography
Sylvia
Day is the #1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, #1 Sunday
Times, #1 Der Spiegel, and #1 international bestselling author
of over twenty award-winning novels sold in more than forty countries. She is a
#1 bestselling author in twenty-eight countries, with tens of millions of
copies of her books in print. Visit the author at www.sylviaday.com.
The last thing MI6 agent Eli Morgan expected was Pleiades witch Avery Donovan showing up to “rescue” him. Turns out she’s his biggest threat when an unexpected love spell hits them. Now he can’t keep his hands off the woman he vowed never to touch.
But something evil fights to posses Eli’s soul. The only one who can truly save him is his soulmate. Can’t be Avery. What they feel is spell-induced. Or is it?
ONE NIGHT WITH A WITCH (Keepers of the Veil Book 5) by Zoe
Forward is a new paranormal romance novella in the Keepers of the Veil series. This
is a fast, entertaining read to finally bring two soulmates together. This
novella can be read as a standalone, but I feel it is better read in order with
the other books in this series due to the character crossover and the author’s
world-building.
Avery Donovan is one of the seven Pleiades. She can see and speak
to ghosts. Avery has loved Eli her entire life, but due to a tarot reading, she
believes he is the soulmate destined for her sister. For years they have been
there for each other since the death of her parents and sister as they fight
their mutual attraction. Avery has been told that Eli is in trouble in Paris
and she has to be there to save him.
Eli Morgan is an MI6 agent and a druid protector of the Pleiades. While on a mission in Paris, Eli is shocked when Avery shows up and says she is there to save him. Believing that a love spell has been cast, Eli finally gives in and he and Avery come together physically for the first time.
When he sends Avery away to safety, an evil spirit enters
Eli’s body and fights to posse his soul. Now the only one who can save him and
stop his destruction is his true soulmate. Was it a spell that brought them together
for only one night, or is Avery truly the only one for him to save his soul?
This was the first Keepers of the Veil book that I have
read. I will definitely be going back to read them from the beginning. Even
without all of the world-building leading up to this novella, I could figure
out what was happening and not be lost, but I had questions. I would also like
to read more of Avery and Eli’s interactions prior to this story. This is a
fast read that kept me turning the pages to find out if and how Eli would be
saved. The sex is explicit but not drawn out or gratuitous. This is an exciting
witchy world that is definitely worth the read.
***
About Zoe:
Award winning author Zoe Forward is a hopeless romantic who can’t decide between paranormal and contemporary romance. So, she writes both. Her novels have won numerous awards including the Prism, Readers’ Choice Heart of Excellence, Golden Quill, Carolyn Readers Choice Award, and the Booksellers’ Best Award.
When she’s not typing at her laptop, she’s cheering her son on at baseball, chasing the toddler or cleaning up the newest pet mess from the menagerie that occupies her house. She’s a small animal veterinarian caring for a wide range of furry creatures, although there has been the occasional hermit crab.
She’s madly in love with her globe trotting conservation ecologist husband who plans to save all the big cats on the planet, and she’s happiest when he returns to their home base.
RELATIONSHIP RESUSCITATION (The Juniper Court #5) by Jennifer Theriot is a contemporary romance novella. It is a short, easy read with heart. This story is part of the Juniper Court series revolving around neighbors on a cul-de-sac and is easily read as a standalone.
The first couple to live and build on Juniper Court, they are now empty-nesters with their twins gone. Phillip is a successful lawyer and Jayne has a highly popular blog called “Mother to Mother”. Their love and marriage has always been strong, but now Jayne feels it is time to pay more attention to their sexual relationship.
Jayne believes a little competition in the romance department can help spice up their sex lives. Phillip is willing and ready to play. Sometimes though things don’t always go as planned.
This romance is endearing and not the usual story you get to read and enjoy. The H/h are mature and the author writes about real-life situations. Humorous competition, little intimate moments and a sex life that they both enjoy makes this couple so engaging. No sudden change in character to BDSM. This is a sweet, but intimate look at a mature romance that just needs a little resuscitation.
I really enjoyed this novella and definitely recommend it!
Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.
