HOW TO SEDUCE A BAD BOY by Traci Douglass is a contemporary romance with an entertaining heroine who wants major life changes by her 25th birthday and a bad boy hero home from the service.
Melody Bryant loves being a librarian in her hometown, but
she wants to break out of the stereotype. Her 25th birthday is in a
few weeks and she has decided it is time for a makeover, which also includes
her personal life. She has only every loved one bad boy who is her brother’s
best friend. Before he left for the Army eight years ago, she offered him her
virginity and was turned down. Now she has plans to get rid of her virginity
and seduce the bad boy.
Adam Foster has always had a bad reputation in his hometown.
He was abandoned by his mother and his father was a drunk. Lucky for him he
made a friend who saw past his family and befriended him as a brother. He was
entranced by his friend’s little sister and was always protective. After eight
years, he is home and building up the car repair shop he and his friends always
dreamed of owning. When Melody comes to him and asks for his help with men,
what else can he do but agree to date her himself to protect his friend’s little
sister once again.
Melody has five weeks before her birthday to lose her
virginity and get the bad boy she has always loved.
I really enjoyed Melody and her journey of change. I cheered for her to finally get her man. Adam was a not-so bad boy whose protectiveness of Melody made him endearing, but I would have preferred much less inner dialogue on how he was not good enough for Melody. The plot is not new and had no new twists, but it was fun to watch this relationship develop. The chemistry between these two was well written without explicit sex scenes. An entertaining romance read that has secondary characters with the potential for future spin-off books.
Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.
Today’s Feature Post and Book Review is for Carolyn Brown’s upcoming release THE MAGNOLIA INN. Below you will find a message from a character from the book, an excerpt from the title, my book review and info about the author. At the end of the post, you will also see a Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card and a digital copy of the book.
Enjoy and as always good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway!
***
Dotty Welcomes Readers to The Magnolia Inn
Good morning to all y’all. Thank you for inviting me to your
site today to tell you a little about The Magnolia Inn. I’m so
excited about this book. The characters became like family to me as I was
writing it. Today, I have Dotty with me. She’s one of the four ladies—Sugar,
Dotty, Lucy and Flossie—who’ve been fast friends since their youth. I’m going
to turn this microphone over to Dotty now, and leave the rest of the post to
her.
Hello, folks, I’m Dotty Beauchamp—half Texan, half
Louisianan and all sass. I own the Tipsy Gater bar that sets right on the Big
Cypress Bayou near Jefferson, Texas. When my good friend, Sugar, told me that
she was going to give half of The Magnolia Inn, the bed and breakfast that her
family had owned for generations, to her niece, Jolene, I thought she was bat
crap crazy. When she said that her husband, Jasper, was giving the other half
to his wimpy nephew, Reuben—well, I figured Reuben would sell his half the
minute the ink dried on the papers.
I was right! The little weasel sold out his part of the inn
to Tucker Malone. We—that would be Lucy and Flossie and me since Sugar was
already off in that big ass RV touring the United States—had heard that he was
a tortured soul. And dear hearts, we damn sure believed the rumor. He was the
best of the best when it came to carpentry work, and from what we heard he only
hit the bottle on weekends, but still we didn’t want our precious Jolene in
living in that inn with him.
I really didn’t want to hire Jolene when she came to the bar
looking for work, but I needed help and she sure enough needed a job. I figured
I’d take some flack for it from Sugar, Lucy and Flossie, and I did—believe me I
did. But Jolene and I both lived through it.
When we met Tucker for the first time, we were sure that the
rumors had been right. His wife had died in an automobile accident a few years
back. She’d gone to our church so we all knew her very well, and we’d met
Tucker a few times when he showed up at church with her. When she died, he
turned to the bottle and lost his important job on the police force over in
Dallas. It was rumored that he came to our part of the world to be near her
grave site. Poor man, he wore the guilt like a heavy shroud and just couldn’t
seem to get past it.
But I’m digressing. When we met him we found out that he was
also a Prince Charming. He didn’t have a white horse or a white cowboy hat, or
a crown, but he was so sweet and kind, and he had such a sweet nature, that
pretty soon, we fell in love with him as much as—well, she didn’t know it then,
being as how she had plenty of baggage of her own—but as much as Jolene could
it they’d could get past all the obstacles life kept throwing at them.
I see that my time is up. So let me thank you again for inviting me sit a spell and visit with all y’all. And if you’re ever in Jefferson, Texas, come on down to the Tipsy Gater and I’ll give you a free drink if you tell me that you’ve read The Magnolia Inn.
***
Excerpt: The Magnolia Inn by Carolyn Brown
“Why
is Tucker a tortured soul?”
“He lost his wife, Melanie, a couple of years
ago. She was his whole life,” Lucy whispered. She clucked like an old hen
gathering in her baby chickens. “I just can’t believe he bought half interest
in this place. It takes a people person to operate a B&B, and from what I
hear, Tucker is almost a hermit.”
“I guess we’ve all got our own emotional
baggage,” Jolene said.
“Wait until he hauls his damn sorry ass home
drunk and you’ve got guests in the place,” Lucy declared.
“She loves Jesus, but she still cusses a
little,” Dotty said with a wicked grin.
“He’s a fantastic carpenter. He’s got money to
put into the inn. And I’ll cross the drinkin’ bridge when it happens. And . .
.” She glanced over at Dotty, who shrugged and winked.
“And just so y’all know.” Jolene took a deep
breath. “I’ll be working at the Gator starting Friday night.”
“Lord have mercy,” Lucy groaned. “Have you
talked to Sugar about this?”
“Visited with her last night and was going to
tell her, but . . .”
Lucy threw a hand over her forehead in a
dramatic gesture and then shook a fist at Dotty. “You’re leading our sweet girl
down the path of unrighteousness. Jolene, I’ll give you a job in my place of
business. Full-time with benefits if you’ll quit the Gator right now.”
“I know bartending, and I can only handle
part-time work with the inn, but thank you,” Jolene said and tried to change
the subject. “Do I have the recipe for these cookies in Aunt Sugar’s files?”
“I’m sure you do, chère,” Dotty said. “But now let’s talk about the Easter Tour
of Homes. Surely Sugar mentioned it?”
“Oh, that.” Jolene was glad Dotty had changed
the subject. “She always wanted to be included in it but figured the Magnolia
was too far out of town.”
“It might be, but we want to add it this year,”
Lucy said.
“It’s, what, like three months from now?” Jolene
asked.
“Yes,” Tucker said from the doorway. “We’ll
have it ready by then.”
Jolene felt heat rising from her neck to her
cheeks. How much had he heard? She motioned to the coffeepot and then to the
cookies. “Come on in and meet my friends.”
“Always ready for cookies and coffee. I’m
Tucker Malone.” He stuck his hand out toward Lucy.
Her expression said that she’d rather be
sticking her hand in a rattlesnake pit, but she put her frail hand in his. “You
probably don’t remember us, but we remember you from when you used to come to
church with your wife. I’m Lucy Rogers. I own Attic Treasures, an antique store
in Jefferson.”
“Jolene told me that a couple of you ladies own
antique shops. That’s wonderful.” Tucker brought her hand to his lips and
kissed her knuckles. “I’m right glad to make your acquaintance, ma’am. I hope
to do some business with y’all as we work on this place. We’d like to keep the
antique ambience but use modern things like tubs and showers to make things
nice for our guests.”
From Lucy’s expression, Jolene could’ve sworn
she’d rather have been shaking hands with the devil. “Well, I’ll be sure to
give you a real good price on anything that you can use.”
He turned to settle his crystal-clear blue eyes
on Flossie.
“I’m Flossie Simmons, and I own Mama’s Place in
Jefferson. My antiques are better than Lucy’s.” She winked. “And since Jolene
is like a daughter to all of us, I can beat any deal Lucy would give you.”
“And I’m Dotty Beauchamp.” Dotty’s southern
accent thickened. “I’m a Louisiana girl from the other side of the Big Cypress
Bayou, and I own the Tipsy Gator. I’ve seen you a few times in my bar. You
always sit on the last stool in the shadows, right, chère?”
“Yes, ma’am, I sure do,” Tucker said.
Jolene was totally blown away. One minute they
were ready to crucify her for letting Tucker live there, and the next they were
flirting with him. Good glory! They had to be seventy or older, and he wasn’t a
day over thirty-seven.
“We should let you two get back to work,” Dotty
said with a broad wink toward Jolene. “And since you’re going to be out of
pocket on Friday night, then Sunday afternoon will be our meetin’ time.”
They pushed their chairs back and paraded
toward the foyer. Lucy stopped at the hall tree for her coat, and Tucker
hurried over to help her into it. “Thank
you for the cookies.”
“You’re welcome. Good luck with all this
remodeling.” Flossie gave Jolene a quick hug and whispered, “I hope you know
what you’re doin’.”
Tucker picked up the last coat from the hall
tree and held it out to Dotty. “It’s been a real pleasure to meet you ladies.”
Jolene sank down on the
bottom step of the stairs and sighed when Tucker shut the door behind the
ladies. Tucker sat down beside her
and propped his forearms on his knees. “So you work in a bar?”
“Ever since I was twenty-one. Until then I did
waitress work,” she answered. “How much did you hear?”
“I got there when Lucy was offering you a job
to quit working in a bar,” he answered.
“Sounds like you heard most of it, then. I’ll
be working at a bar on Friday and Saturday nights. I understand that you drink
a little on weekends.”
He got to his feet. “I’m going to get a couple
more cookies and another cup of coffee to take upstairs with me. And, honey, I
drink a lot on Saturday nights.”
“Just so long as we understand each other.”
Jolene stood up and headed toward the kitchen. “Right now we could take fifteen
minutes off and call it a midmorning snack.”
“Got chocolate syrup?” He followed her into the
kitchen. “For the cookies, the coffee, or the milk?”
“Milk, and then I dip my cookies in it,” he
answered.
The ladies had called him a tortured soul. Jolene stole glances at him as she got out the chocolate syrup. It was a shame that he’d lost his wife so suddenly. He might never get over it, but she sure wasn’t looking forward to dealing with another weekend drunk—like her mother or that last worthless boyfriend.
***
My Book Review
RATING 4 out of 5 Stars
THE MAGNOLIA INN by Carolyn Brown is her new contemporary
second chance romance. It is a sweet romance, which I call a cozy romance
because it is written about adults (not YA), any sex is behind closed doors,
some religion may be included and the focus is on the H/h’s emotional growth or
healing. These books also include a strong family, friends and/or community
support system.
Jolene Broussard grew up with a drug and alcohol addicted
mother. She could not get her mother to change or get help for herself, so she
left when she could. She is carrying a lot of guilt though because her mother committed
suicide after she left. The happy times she had growing up were with her mother’s
older half-sister and her husband at The Magnolia Inn B&B during summer
break from school.
Sugar and her husband are ready to retire and travel across
country, so they leave half of the B&B to Jolene and half to her cousin
Rueben. Sugar has big plans, but no money. Rueben hates his memories of the
B&B and decides to sell.
Tucker Malone lost his wife of 5 years in a tragic traffic accident. He hits the bottle hard. After losing his job as a police officer, he vows to only get drunk on the weekends and starts to build a name for himself as a carpenter. Tucker is informed about the sale of Rueben’s half of the Magnolia Inn and decides to buy in and partner with Jolene.
The partnership is rocky at first, but soon each begins to
understand that they each have deep emotional issues to deal with and dealing
with them together as they remodel the inn seems to work better than dealing
with them alone.
I enjoyed this cozy romance. Jolene is so strong and had to survive
so much. Tucker is rebuilding his life, but he is stuck emotionally until he
meets Jolene. I enjoyed how the changes in their lives and the remodel of The
Magnolia Inn seemed to intertwine. The secondary characters are almost show
stealers in this story. Sugar, Flossie, Dotty and Lucy are good for a laugh,
but also share their wisdom with Jolene. This is an emotional growth story with
a very slow build up to romance. Sex is behind closed doors and only in the
last portion of the story. An enjoyable read.
***
Author Biography
Carolyn Brown is a New York Times, USA
Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling
author and a RITA finalist with more than ninety published books, which include
women’s fiction and historical, contemporary, and cowboys-and-country-music
romance. She and her husband live in the small town of Davis, Oklahoma, where
everyone knows everyone else and knows what they’re doing and when. And they
read the local newspaper on Wednesday to see who got caught. They have three
grown children and enough grandchildren to keep them young. Visit Carolyn
at www.carolynbrownbooks.com.
A SEASON TO DANCE by Rebecca Heflin is a small town contemporary second chance romance with characters that evoke all of your emotions from high to low and vivid writing that makes you believe you are dancing right along with the heroine. This story is a standalone, but I hope the author will follow the secondary characters in the future.
Olivia James has the work ethic, talent and natural abilities that few dancers are blessed with. She left small town Georgia for a meteoric career in the Joffrey Ballet. After six years as a prima ballerina she has a possible career ending Achilles injury. As she rehabs, her mother dies and she has to return home for her funeral and possibly run into the one boy she has never been able to get over even seventeen years after leaving.
Zach Ryder has risen to Chief of Police in his hometown over the past seventeen years. Even as it broke his heart, he knew Olivia was destined for greatness and would not stop her from leaving all those years ago.Now with Olivia back in town, he does not know if this beautiful woman leaves again if his heart will survive a second departure.
Living in a small town Olivia and Zach cannot help but run into each other. The sparks have never been there with anyone else over all these years. It is apparent to everyone that they still love each other, but will the past repeat itself? Will Olivia stay or go?
Olivia and Zach are wonderful main characters. Zach is mature, supportive, kind and sexy. His father and the whole town are important to him. Olivia has had an amazing career and fame, but now she has to face some life-changing decisions. The secondary plotline of Olivia’s difficulties with her mother’s decisions throughout her life and death adds to the emotional punch. I felt the author wrote this complicated mother-daughter relationship realistically and wove it seamlessly into Olivia’s decisions in regards to her future. The sex scenes are hot, but not drawn out or overly explicit.
I can highly recommend this romance. Olivia’s love of dance shines through and the dance scenes are written with a true knowledge and love of ballet by this author. I found this story very difficult to put down.
Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.
Today I have a Book Blitz and Book Review feature for a great new romantic suspense from a new to me author. Perfume Girl by Vanessa Fewings is impossible to put down! The suspense plot grabs you from page one and the romance is hot, hot, HOT!
Below you will find a description of the book, my book review, the author’s bio and social media info and a Rafflecopter Giveaway. Good luck on the Rafflecopter. I highly recommend you get this book and make sure you have a fan handy!
A stolen formula. A seductive suspect. A dangerous romance.
Raquel Wren’s world has fallen apart. Her husband has divorced her. Close friends have abandoned her. The money has run out. The pieces of a once idyllic life have completely crumbled. And now, the only thing that can save Raquel from total ruin…
…has been stolen.
Raquel is the owner of the small town boutique store Perfume Girl, a quaint location offering bottled scents from around the globe, including her own personal formulas. Creating perfume has been a passion since she was a little girl, but her latest work, a scent years in the making, is her masterpiece. The one that will make her mark on the industry and save her life in the process.
But now it’s gone. Stolen right from her shop. All would be lost if Raquel didn’t feel she knew who was behind the theft. Devastated to her core, she decides to do something about it.
Astor Beauregard is the sexy, enigmatic owner of House of Beauregard, the renowned cologne empire based in the notorious city of South Beach, Miami. It’s within this luxurious kingdom that Raquel will delve to unravel the mystery of the crime, a path that will lead her directly to Astor, sparking an unforgettable passion while uncovering a shocking truth.
It’s on the famous, sun-soaked, salsa-fueled streets of South Beach that USA Today Bestselling Author Vanessa Fewings releases PERFUME GIRL, a heart-racing romance novel that will have readers feeling the heat like never before.
In this new STAND-ALONE novel, a fiery romance is ignited, one that will burn its way to a stunning revelation.
My Book Review:
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
PERFUME GIRL by Vanessa Fewing is a romantic suspense that you will not be able to put down! With an intricate suspense plot that centers around the high stakes world of designer perfumes and a hero that is rich, secretive, domineering and ultra-sexy, you will need to have a fan handy for this one.
Raquel Wren thought she had it all until she came home from her perfume shop early to find her husband in bed with someone else. Now with the divorce, she is about to lose her perfume shop, too unless she can sell her newest creation. Before she has the chance, it is stolen from her shop. What the thief does not realize is that it is not finished. The scent is missing the final ingredient to make it spectacular.
Astor Beauregard is the sexy, exotic head of The House of Beauregard, one of the premier, multi-million dollar perfume houses. Not only is he the owner with his sister, but he is an exceptionally talented perfume chemist. He loves his company, takes care of his family and lives his life in the fast-lane, guarding his heart and his mysterious past. When his sister presents him with a new perfume, he is intrigued and excited.
Raquel believes her formula was stolen by the House of Beauregard. She gets hired by Astor to work on a new scent for men. Raquel is out to find proof of the theft of her perfume and save Perfume Girl. Astor believes Raquel is a corporate thief, but he cannot stay away from her. Neither can completely trust the other, but they have an explosive passion between them that neither can control.
There is absolutely nothing NOT to love about this book. Raquel and Astor are interesting and intriguing from the moment they appear on the page. Both have overcome traumas throughout their lives and when they come together, WOW! Ms. Fewings writes sex scenes that are explicitly hot and sensual without any kink or BDSM. The suspense plot is intricately intertwined throughout the story in perfect balance to the romance with a twist that surprised me at the end.
This is a standalone romantic suspense that I highly recommend!
About Vanessa:
Vanessa Fewings is a USA TODAY bestselling author. Her latest series is The Icon Trilogy, a romantic suspense about Zara Leighton, London’s most brilliant art investigator on the hunt for the notorious thief known as Icon.
Vanessa’s previous novels include the bestselling Enthrall Sessions, a romance series spanning eight books about a woman who gets swept up into Enthrall, L.A.’s premier club that caters to the secret desires of the elite.
Readers can also listen to Vanessa as she hosts the weekly podcast The Romance Show, a captivating podcast featuring authors and industry professionals in the romance world.
Prior to publishing, Vanessa worked as a registered nurse and midwife. She holds a Masters Degree in Psychology. She has traveled extensively throughout the world and has lived in Great Britain, Germany, Hong Kong, Cyprus and the USA.
Born and raised in England, Vanessa now proudly calls herself an American and resides on the East Coast with her husband.
Vanessa can be found on her Facebook Fan Page, and in The Romance Lounge, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Goodreads. She enjoys connecting with fans all around the world.
WILDFIRE AND ROSES by Hope Malory is a sweet contemporary romance. This romance is about a hero and heroine who you know are perfect for each other, but they are established in their careers on opposite sides of the country.
Beasley McLemore is driven to make her landscaping business in the foothills of the Tennessee Smoky Mountains the best. She wants her family and the community to be proud of her. She has always fantasized about her best-friend’s brother because she believes she is too busy to deal with a real relationship. On a rare break from her business, she is in Yosemite to climb El Cap and volunteers when needed for a search and rescue mission.
Will Gregor is a hot-shot smoke jumper and firefighter from California in Yosemite to climb. He volunteers for the search and rescue, too. He is ready and eager to help the park ranger, but is not impressed by Beasley. When Beasley easily assists Will after he falls, his irritation turns into intrigue. Will has just broken up with his long-term girlfriend and even though Beasley is everything he wants in a girlfriend, he is not ready to commit.
Beasley and Will cannot forget each other, but neither is willing to give up their current life situations and locations. Is it best just to forget and move on or can they find a way to be together?
Besides the sweet romance that does not have any sex until the last chapters, the author has included a mystery in Beasley’s family to be solved. The descriptions of the locations on both sides of the country is inspiring. The family and friends in this story are as interesting and entertaining as the H/h. This is an easy to read book, but at times I felt it should have had an increase in pace in the romance and less secondary characters. There were also a few times I was exasperated by how hard-headed Beasley was during some scenes which I felt slowed the pace, too. Overall though, it was an enjoyable romance read with interesting main characters and family dynamics.
Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.
Today is my turn on the book blitz for THE DOLL COLLECTOR by Joanna Stephen-Ward. Below you will find a book blurb, my book review and the author’s info.
This book was not exactly what I was expecting. It starts out with you following a truly despicable and twisted serial killer, but then it twists into something else. At times darkly funny, sometimes sinister and at times I had to put it down. I believe this will be one of those books everyone will have differing opinions about when they are done.
***
Book Blurb:
Murders that look like accidents. An accident that looks like murder.Book
A couple and their young son burn to death in a house fire.
A girl dies from a nut allergy.
A woman falls under a train during the rush hour.
An accountant falls down the steps to his basement.
Their deaths appear to be accidents but Gloria knows they were murdered because she murdered them. And every time Gloria kills she buys a doll.
But how many dolls will she need to keep her satisfied?
When Gloria takes a room as a lodger her behaviour starts to spin out of control. Gloria wants love and happiness and friendship and she will do anything she can to get what she wants…
***
My Book Review:
RATING: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
THE DOLL COLLECTOR by Joanna Stephen-Ward is a psychological thriller that is twisted and not exactly what I was expecting. You start by following a despicable and vile serial killer, but then the story twists.
Gloria is a jealous, amoral, and sadistic serial killer. If she believes you have more than her, criticize her or just don’t agree with her, you could end up dead and a doll purchased in your honor to add to her collection. She has been evil since she was a child.
Maurice takes Gloria in as a boarder to help with his rent. Maurice does not realize who he has let into his home and Gloria’s delusions have her believing she has finally found a man to love her. But Maurice has secrets of his own and he finds himself becoming more desperate as each situation escalates.
This book started out as I was expecting from reading the blurb, but it quickly turned into more of a psychological thriller with an intertwined second plot-line with more despicable characters that are the cause of Maurice’s secrets and problems. Maurice was pathetic and not in any way heroic. Gloria was emotionally twisted and evil. There are times when I had to put the book down because Gloria and some of her actions disturbed me that much and yet there were also few times when the writing was darkly humorous.
I had a difficult time rating this book. Gloria is a killer to remember and her demise has a twisted justice to it, but then Maurice’s story goes on for a second plot-line resolution. Another ending is added where the second plot-line characters come out ahead or are served justice, but the two endings feel disjointed. I also had a problem with the doll collection. It was a great idea, but I felt it was not utilized enough times by Gloria during the book.
This is a book that I liked, but it had flaws for me. I do believe there will be a lot of discussion/opinions revolving around this book and characters.
***
About Joanna Stephen-Ward:
Joanna Stephen-Ward was born in the Australian outback, and grew up in Melbourne. Her school days were spent dreaming about being an opera singer or a writer. To the exasperation of her parents and teachers she spent her final year sitting at the back of the classroom writing a novel set in WW2.
When she left school she went to an opera school where she was taught drama, movement and language pronunciation and had small roles in the workshop productions. She was not good enough to become a professional opera singer, but the seeds of her novel Vissi d’arte were sown.
She left Australia and spent a year travelling around Europe and the UK. While working in outpatients for the NHS she met Peter and they married in 1985. They lived in Richmond Surrey and she worked at The National Archives, an enthralling place for anyone interested in history or crime.
Having been brought up as a lonely only child, she was astonished to discover in 2010 that she was one of eight children. She and her sister had last been together on a verandah in the outback when they were babies. They had a joyous reunion in Cornwall in 2012.
Joanna has written seven novels and is working on her eighth.
