Book Review, Books, New Release, Romance, series, Uncategorized

New Release! Sugarcoated, book 1 in a new series by Erin Nicholas!

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5 of 5 scrumptious stars

I love Erin Nicholas. Her books are the perfect combination of sweet and sexy. This lady knows how to write, and her characters never have conflicts that are the result of a stupid misunderstanding. The strife that their relationships go through – and overcome – comes from a more organic place, and it always makes SENSE. I always roll my eyes in disgust when one character in a story overhears the other, or discovers something on their laptop, or finds out something important before their significant other has the opportunity to tell them. Erin Nicholas could have done any of these things in Sugarcoated, which is the first book in her new Hot Cakes series. But she DIDN’T.  And I love her for it.

Sugarcoated is the story of Zoe and Aiden. They’ve known each other since they were kids; they grew up together. Aiden is Zoe’s brother Cam’s best friend, and he practically lived with them after his mom passed away. Zoe runs the bakery that has been in her family for many years. Aiden is back in town after moving away to run a very successful business with four of his best friends. He’s back for two reasons: because he loves Zoe and wants to have a future with her, and he and his friends are buying the pastry factory that Zoe and her family sees as their number one competition. It’s a very interesting premise for a story, and Erin Nicholas handles it so well.

I just loved this book. It was so well-written, and the storyline was fun, and sexy, and sets up nicely the rest of the books in the series. If you haven’t read her Sapphire Falls series, that is definitely the place to start. There are enough books in that series to get you through this lockdown quarantine business!!

Buy Sugarcoated on Amazon

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New Release! Code of Honor by April White, Cipher Systems Book 2, a Smartypants Romance book

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Code of Honor, an all-new standalone in the romantic suspense Cipher Security series from April White, is LIVE!

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A painting, a panic room, a thief, and her lover … whose job is to catch her.

There are three things you need to know about Anna.

1) She’s a bounty hunter with adrenaline junkie habits,

2) She’s the “awkward” twin, and

3) She’s a thief – kind of.

Darius designs security systems for Cipher Security, and the strange and remarkable woman he met the night the painting was stolen is as intriguing a mystery as his hunt for the thief is.

But the lady has no filter, and she knows she can’t lie to the man who looks like a Disney Prince and kisses like fairytales are true, so she runs from the one person who may actually see her as the heroine of her own story.

‘Code of Honor’ is a full-length contemporary romantic suspense, can be read as a standalone and is book #2 in the Cipher Security series, Knitting in the City World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

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Download your copy TODAY!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2Fn0o6Y

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About April White

April White has been a film producer, private investigator, bouncer, teacher and screenwriter. She has climbed in the Himalayas, survived a shipwreck, and lived on a gold mine in the Yukon. She and her husband share their home in Southern California with two extraordinary boys and a lifetime collection of books.

Her first novel, Marking Time is the 2016 winner of the Library Journal Indie E-Book Award for YA Literature, and all five books in the Immortal Descendants series are on the Amazon Top 100 lists in Time Travel Romance and Historical Fantasy.

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Find April White online

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Website: https://aprilwhitebooks.com/

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Books, New Release, Romance, series, Uncategorized

New Release! Sugarcoated – Book 1 in a new series by Erin Nicholas

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“You can always count on Erin Nicholas for fun, sexy contemporary romance.”―Melissa Foster, New York Times bestselling author

Sugarcoated, an all-new sexy and laugh-out-loud standalone romance from New York Times bestselling author Erin Nicholas, is out now!

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She’s his best friend’s little sister. He’s known her all his life. He’s practically part of the family. There is nothing either of them could do to surprise the other at this point.

Then she showed up in his bedroom in lingerie and asked him to take her V-card.

Now, that was a surprise.

Aiden is pretty sure Zoe was equally surprised when he told her no.

To say that he didn’t handle it well would be a massive understatement. Almost as massive as the amount of work he’s going to have to do now to convince her that he wants her. Forever.

Right after he tells her that he’s bought the company that’s her bakery’s biggest competitor.

Maybe if he tells her he’s in love with her first, that will help sugarcoat the whole we’re-rivals-in-business-now thing.

So, first “I’m in love with you”, then “take off your clothes”, then “I’m now your business adversary”.

Piece of cake.

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Download your copy today!

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Excerpt:

“What?” she asked, her eyes wide and blinking. “You thought I’d just be waiting around for you to come back?”

“Yes!” It was the wrong answer, he knew, even as he said it. But it was true.

“You are so full of yourself!” She frowned. “You actually thought I’d be waiting around, pining for you, didn’t you?”

Maybe not crying herself to sleep every night, but thinking about him? Yeah. Fuck. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind for more than a few hours at a time. “It’s only been five months,” he said. “Is it really crazy for me to think that you didn’t get your virginity ‘taken care of’ yet?”

“Exactly! It’s been five months!” she said.

“You went twenty-five years without sex, and you couldn’t go five more months?”

“Well, it’s not like you gave me an IOU!” she shot back. “I had no idea when you were coming back, and I assumed your answer would have still been no. So yeah, I moved on, Aiden.”

“Who was it?” he asked, noting his tone was suddenly a little ominous.

“I’m not telling you that.” She looked at him like he was insane.

“Tell me, Zoe.”

No.”

“I’ll find out. This is Appleby. I’ll probably know by the end of tonight.”

“You won’t.” She lifted her chin. “I can promise you that.”

“Bet I do.”

“Why do you really even care? Now you don’t have to do it.”

“Because you’re mine.”

Yeah, shit. See, he’d known that was the wrong answer to give. Guys didn’t go around claiming women like they were property or possessions. He knew that. He’d never had that urge before. This woman was strong and independent and confident and certainly didn’t need him for anything.

But the idea of another man touching her,

seeing her naked, making her feel the ultimate pleasure, made his blood boil.

She stood, just staring at him. Then she picked up a cake ball. And threw it at him. It hit him square in the red tie and bounced back onto the table.

“You’re a jerk.”

Yeah, maybe he was. A nice guy would probably just take all her explanations and excuses about why they shouldn’t be together and admit his idea was crazy.

He didn’t say anything. He didn’t wipe away the sticky crumbs the cake ball left on his tie. He picked up the ball and rounded the worktable.

Her eyes widened, and she backed up as he came closer. He kept going. Until her back was against the front of the fridge.

He didn’t say a word as he stopped right in front of her, lifted his hand to cup her face, and leaned in.

Aiden ignored her hands on his chest. She wasn’t pushing. She wasn’t pulling him closer either, but she wasn’t trying to get away. She wasn’t lifting her knee to his balls. She wasn’t saying no.

He stared into her eyes for a long moment. She could stop this. He knew she knew that.

She didn’t.

So he kissed her.

About Erin Nicholas

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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).

Connect with Erin:

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Smartypants Romance – New Release – Beef Cake, Donner Bakery book 4, by Jiffy Kate

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I was all in with this slow burn romance that had me laughing and swooning from cover to cover” –Author Andrea Johnston

Beef Cake, an all-new small town contemporary romance from Jiffy Kate, is LIVE!

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If opposites do actually attract, then Gunnar Erickson and Frankie Reeves take the cake.

Frankie Reeves is complicated, even though she won’t admit it. She fills her days working as an ER nurse, taking care of her mom, and searching for the father she never knew. Anything else has no place in her perfectly compartmentalized, purposefully simple life. Attachments? No thank you. She has no time for that.

Gunnar Erickson recently moved to Green Valley to train at Viking MMA with his brother Cage. Being the youngest of the Erickson clan, he’s always felt like he has something to prove, and now that he’s finished with college, it’s his time to shine. But before he can step into the ring, a freak accident sends him to the ER and into the care of one Frankie Reeves.

While he’s immediately smitten, she pretends to be unfazed by this six-foot-three, two hundred and thirty-pound beef cake. Gunnar sets out to prove to Frankie that, not only does she like him more than she wants to admit, but he’s not the uneducated, brute she assumes he is. To Frankie, he’s the worst kind of complication, but that doesn’t make it easy to stay away.

‘Beef Cake’ is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #4 in the Donner Bakery series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

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Download your copy TODAY!

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About Jiffy Kate

Jiffy Kate is the joint pen name for Jiff Simpson and Jenny Kate Altman. They’re co-writing besties who share a brain. They also share a love of cute boys, stiff drinks, and fun times.

Together, they’ve written over twenty stories. Their first published book, Finding Focus, was released in November 2015. Since then, they’ve continued to write what they know–southern settings full of swoony heroes and strong heroines.

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Find Jiffy Kate online

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Book Review, Books, Kindle Unlimited, New Release, Romance, series, Uncategorized

Book Review: New release “Damn Wright,” book 2 in The Wrights series by Skye Jordan

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The first ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) team I was ever a part of was Skye Jordan’s, back when she was writing her Rough Riders hockey novels (which I LOVED). I’m happy to still be reading and reviewing her books, although it’s been a while for me. Somehow I missed the first book in this series, So Wright, and I can’t wait to read it!

Skye Jordan is really good at creating story lines that you haven’t read before. In this book, Emma and Dylan have a very complicated history, and those are my favorite kind of stories! When you start reading, you think there is no way that they will be able to overcome their history, and I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that you would be wrong about that. 🙂

There was a moment in this story where one character finds out something about the other character before he/she has a chance to tell them, and I really hate that because I feel like it’s overused. I know that lack of communication is a real thing in relationships, but it frustrates me when characters in books get into trouble because they won’t simply TALK TO EACH OTHER! It turns out okay, of course, but I like when the issue causing conflict for the couple is more natural, and not such a cliche. The ending was a little predictable, but it was still a good read.

Thanks to the author for the opportunity to read and review this book. I’m thinking that the next book is about Dylan’s sister, Gypsy, which will be fun, because I know there must be a good story there!

Purchase Damn Wright on Amazon here, or read for free through Kindle Unlimited!

Book Review, Books, Kindle Unlimited, New Release, Romance, series, Uncategorized

Book Review: Protecting What’s Mine by Lucy Score

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4 of 5 swoony stars

I’m a big fan of Lucy Score! I’ve been on her ARC team for many years, and I love when she writes a new book in a beloved series. It is not necessary to have read the previous two books in this series (Pretend You’re Mine and Finally Mine) about the small town of Benevolence, Maryland. Protecting What’s Mine can be read as a standalone, but this story is a little richer and deeper if you already have connection with the characters from the first two books.

I was so glad we finally get to find out that there’s more to Lincoln Reed than meets the eye. He has hidden depths, and isn’t the player he pretends to be. I really want to go back and read the first two books in this series again, knowing what I now know about the fearless firefighter!

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Linc has met his match in Mackenzie “Doc Dreamy” O’Neil, who has a bit of a history with one of our previous heroes, Aldo Moretta, whose story can be found in Finally Mine. She has quite the background, and no interest in anything long-term, whether it be in the form of a romantic relationship or a home in which to settle down. She resists Linc at first, since she’s only in Benevolence for a short time, but eventually she gives in, because she’s a very smart woman! 😀

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Lucy writes funny, sexy books with lots of depth and heart. One of the things I like best about her is that she never manufactures a conflict for the sake of a conflict. There’s no misunderstanding that causes a stumbling block between the characters. One person never accidentally overhears the other saying something, proceeds to take it out of context and then breaks up with the other person. The conflicts in Protecting What’s Mine usually involve great danger. You usually don’t see it coming, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat.

This wasn’t my favorite of the Benevolence books, but it’s filled with wonderful characters and sexy times and laugh out loud moments, not to mention a beautiful dog named Sunshine! Don’t miss it.

Find Protecting What’s Mine on Amazon where it’s available in Kindle Unlimited

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Book Review: Man Cuffed, Man Hands book 4, by Sarina Bowen & Tanya Eby

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4 of 5 stars

I was very excited to read this book, and unfortunately, I was disappointed. Now, I will say that I was in a grumpy place romantically when I read this book, so I wasn’t really in the right mood for it, so that may color my review a bit.

It was very funny, as all the Man Hands books are, but not as funny as the others in the series. It was an interesting concept: Hot Cop who doesn’t date convinces Hot Neighbor, who is an actress, to be his date for his sister’s wedding. It seemed like it would be a Fake Relationship story, which I would have LOVED, but it didn’t really end up being that at all. There wasn’t a lot of sexual tension, either, because they were like NOPE, not going to have sex; let’s banter about how much we want to have sex; oh, okay, never mind, that rule isn’t that important, let’s have lots of sex. I did really like the banter, because they weren’t hiding how much they would have wanted to have sex if Mac didn’t have his Thou Shalt Not Sleep with Thy Neighbor rule.

There was some interesting family drama, which was unlike I’d ever read before, which caused a few enjoyable surprises. The thing I liked most about the book was all the references to the state of Michigan; being a Michigander, myself, I loved seeing familiar things mentioned.

All in all, I did not like this book as much as I wanted to like it. It was funny and well-written, and worth a read, but it just didn’t live up to my expectations. That, however, will not stop me from reading any and all Sarina Bowen & Tanya Eby books in the future because I’ve pretty much loved everything I’ve ever read from these talented ladies.

Man Hands series

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Book Review: New Smartypants Romance Release Crime and Periodicals, Green Valley Library book 2

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4 of 5 nerdalicious stars

Any book that has a reference to my favorite literary hero, Samwise Gamgee, gets a thumbs up from me! This was my first Nora Everly book, and she has earned a reader for life. There was so much to love in this book.

1. So. Much. Nerdiness! Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars…and some that even I didn’t know, and I consider myself to be pretty nerdy. Sabrina is an uber-nerd, she doesn’t apologize for it, and I could really relate to that!

2. Single dad. I love a good single dad story, and one where said dad accepts and loves the child/ren of the woman he adores is even better. Wyatt is a fantastic hero, and I really enjoyed his relationship with his own children, as well as his extended family.

3. Special needs child. This may seem like a weird thing to be a plus, but when you’re the mom of a special needs child yourself, it means a lot to see one as a main character. Sabrina’s nephew, Harry, who she is in the process of adopting, is on the spectrum, so his special needs are different than those of my son. But all special needs moms/dads are on the same team.

4. All the Winstons! If you have read Penny Reid’s Winston brothers series, then you will love this book. (And if you haven’t, I’m surprised you even found your way to Crime and Periodicals. Get yourself a copy of Truth or Beard, immediately! You won’t regret it.) Sabrina runs into Winstons everywhere she turns, much to her chagrin, and almost every time, their interactions end up being embarassingly and unintentionally hilarious!

5. A main character with anxiety. I don’t think Sabrina ever puts an official diagnosis to her anxiety issue, but it is a major part of her life. My daughters struggle with anxiety to differing degrees, and it was informative and interesting to see the way it affected Sabrina’s everyday interactions. She works hard to overcome it, making it a big part of her storyline and character development.

6. I love a story that can make me laugh one sentence and tear up the next. This is one of those.

You don’t have to have read any of the other Smartypants Romance books to enjoy this one. In fact, I read Green Valley library book 3, Prose before Bros, before I read this one. (Review earlier in the blog! Check it out!) The books in the Smartypants Romance collection are written by different authors, and the storylines do not overlap, so you can start anywhere. I’d totally recommend Crime and Periodicals!

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Book Review, Books, Romance

Review of The Magnolia Chronicles: Adventures in Modern Dating by Kate Canterbary

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5 of 5 funny and relatable stars

I can tell how good a book is by how many times I use the highlight feature on my Kindle. For this book, I highlighted 32 passages. 32! I think it’s probably a record! And these were just the passages that resonated with me. If I also highlighted all the times that this book made me laugh out loud, that number would be much higher.

I’ve only read a few of Kate Canterbary’s books, and I’ve enjoyed them all, but I think this is my favorite so far. It was originally released in her newsletter as a serial, but I have zero patience, so I waited until it was released as an entire book before I read it. I am currently in the same boat as Magnolia was at the beginning of the book: trying to find a good man. As she says at one point, “It shouldn’t be this difficult.” And yet, it is! Every woman (and man) has their dating horror stories, and many of Magnolia’s made me laugh out loud, and others made me cringe while also being grateful I haven’t had to deal with the men she that had!

Of course, the story delves a bit into the fantasy realm, when she finds not one, but TWO good men to date, and they are are ok with her dating both of them at the same time. (But I guess that’s why we read, to escape reality! 🙂 ) I don’t hold this against her, though, because given the opportunity, I’m sure I’d do the same thing!

The book is so cleverly written (many chapters begin with the words “my date was…” ), and so funny, (“The weekend rolled around but I forgot all about baking. It was probably a blessing in disguise since my sweet breads only rose about half of the time. That seemed like a fair statement on my ability to function as an adult too: fifty percent meeting expectations, fifty percent blobbing around like thick, doughy uselessness.”) and so relatable (“dating was draining my soul.”)

I also enjoy that her books are based in Boston, unlike so many stories that take place in New York. Don’t get me wrong, I love NYC, but the change in venue is refreshing. There’s just something so fun about a woman who has a tiny dog named Gronk! I’ve read some other reviews, and one problem some readers had with it is the lack of actual sexy times, which KC is VERY good at writing. I don’t think this book suffered from their omission, but I was surprised by it.

I am looking forward to reading it again, and I’ve also been inspired to read the rest of the Walsh series. (I’ve only read the first one, Underneath It All, and part of the second, The Space Between, as well as a separate standalone, Coastal Elite, which is actually the KC book that started it all for me!)

Buy The Magnolia Chronicles