July 2020 – "You Have Your Hands Full!"

Posted on July 28, 2020July 28, 2020 by Maureen

Hairpin Curves by Elia Winters: Release Day Blitz!

Book Details

About the Book:

Title: Hairpin Curves

Author: Elia Winters

Length: 320 pages

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Imprint: Carina Press (Carina Adores)

On-Sale: July 28, 2020

Format: Trade Paperback *also available in ebook and audiobook formats.

Price: $14.99 U.S.

ISBN: 9781335146656

Book Description: RITA® Award—winning author Elia Winters delivers a sexy, playful frenemies-to-lovers road-trip romance.

Megan Harris had hopes of seeing the world, but at twenty-five she’s never even left Florida. Now a wedding invitation lures her to Quebec…in February. When her ex-friend Scarlett offers to be her plus-one (yeah, that’s a whole story) and suggests they turn the journey into an epic road trip, Megan reluctantly agrees to the biggest adventure of her life.

A week together in a car is a surefire way to kill a crush, and Scarlett Andrews has had a big one on Megan for years. The important thing is fixing their friendship.

As the miles roll away, what starts as harmless road-trip games and rest-stop dares escalates into something like intimacy. And when a surprise snowstorm forces Megan and Scarlett to hunker down without the open road as distraction, they’ve got a bigger challenge than making it to the church on time: facing the true nature of their feelings for each other.

Posted on July 28, 2020July 26, 2020 by Maureen

The Friend Scheme by Cale Dietrich

Matt’s father is the head of an organized crime family, and now that Matt is 17, he’s expected to join the family business. But Matt just wants to be normal and not have to worry about the retaliatory attacks that could come at any moment from their rivals.

And then Matt meets Jason and finds him utterly fascinating. He’s not supposed to have friends outside the “family”, but as their friendship grows closer—and the possibility of something more than friendship emerges—Matt tries not to worry about whether or not the whole thing might be a setup.

Posted on July 28, 2020July 26, 2020 by Maureen

The Mall by Megan McCafferty

New Jersey: 1991

Cassie Worthy’s senior year spring did not go as planned—she got mono and missed prom and graduation and a bunch of other stuff. But now she’s better, and she’s starting her job at the America’s Best Cookie store with her amazing boyfriend of two years. They’re going to spend the summer working at the mall together, and then head up to NYC together for college.

And then almost immediately, everything goes wrong. Cassie finds herself dumped, jobless, and wondering what happened. Our intrepid heroine has pick herself up, find something to do all summer, and most importantly, realize that plans can only go so far.

Posted on July 28, 2020July 26, 2020 by Maureen

Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Rowan Roth has spent her four years of high school locked in a bitter feud with Neil McNair. They compete over EVERYTHING.

Finally, it’s the last day of senior year, and Rowan is determined to beat McNair at Howl, the city-wide scavenger hunt that takes students all around Seattle. There’s a $5k prize waiting at the end.

There’s also a catch—while everyone is going around collecting clues, they are also playing a game of Assassin: elimination means being out of the game.

When Rowan realizes that some of the students—annoyed by her and McNair’s constant one-upmanship of each other—are planning to collaborate and take the two of them out, she has no choice.

So that’s how she and McNair team up together, going all over the city, and getting to know each other for the first time. Maybe they’ll become friends, or—maybe, just maybe—even more than friends.

Posted on July 28, 2020July 18, 2020 by Maureen

Would I Lie to the Duke by Eva Leigh

Jessica McGale is a hustler. She knows her family’s soap business would be an instant success, so when she travels to London as part of her lady’s companion duties (side hustle), she takes the opportunity to find a shop on the exclusive Bond Street to sell her soap.

Everybody loves the soap, but there’s one hitch: there was a fire on the farm, so they don’t have the means to fulfill orders and none of the shops are interested in investing in a business without the certainty of profiting from it.

Jessica hears about a Business Bazaar, wherein wealthy investors listen to pitches and then invest in promising products and ideas. Unfortunately, the bazaar is invitation-only; inventors can’t walk in off the street. So Jessica does what any rational person would do: she pretends to be a wealthy widow interested in investing and formulates a plan to drop subtle hints about McGale Soaps.

Posted on July 27, 2020July 27, 2020 by Maureen

High Heat by Annabeth Albert: Release Day Blitz!

Book Details

About the Book:

Title: High Heat

Author: Annabeth Albert

Series: Hotshots, #2

Length: 352 pages

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Imprint: Carina Press

eBook On-Sale: July 27, 2020

eBook ISBN & Price: 9781488057069, $4.99 U.S.

MMP On-Sale: July 28, 2020

MMP ISBN & Price: 9781335459510, $8.99 U.S.

Book Description: Annabeth Albert’s Hotshots series continues—the emotions and intensity of Chicago Fire with the raw, natural elements of Man vs. Wild.

Smoke jumping is Garrick Nelson’s life. Nothing, not severe injuries nor the brutal physical therapy that follows, is going to stop him from getting back with his crew. But when a lost dog shows up on his front porch, he can’t turn her away, and he can’t take care of her on his own. Thankfully, help comes in the form of his new sexy, dog-loving neighbor. As they work together, trying to re-home their little princess, Garrick can’t resist his growing attraction for the other man, even though he knows this guy isn’t the staying type.

Rain Fisher doesn’t take anything too seriously. He dances through life, one adventure at a time, never settling in one place for too long. When his hot, conveniently buff, neighbor shows up on his doorstep, dog in tow, Rain’s determined to not just save the adorable puppy, but her reluctant owner as well. He never expects their flirtation might tempt him into stay put once and for all…

Danger lurks everywhere for Central Oregon’s fire crews, but the biggest risk of all might be losing their hearts. Don’t miss the Hotshots series from Annabeth Albert: Burn Zone, High Heat, and Feel the Fire.

My review

High Heat by Annabeth Albert

NB: This review contains spoilers for things that happened in Burn Zone, the first book in the Hotshots series.

Posted on July 21, 2020July 11, 2020 by Maureen

The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel of Windsors, Vanderbilts, and Royal Scandal by Bryn Turnbull

A couple of days ago, I was chatting (via text) with a friend, and I told her that I was reading a book about “the woman before Wallis”.

My friend said, “Freda Dudley Ward?”

I said, “No, she’s in this book, but this one is about the other “Other Woman”.

Like my friend, I was also not aware of Thelma Furness’ involvement with David, the Prince of Wales, but having read this book, I am much more aware—not only of Thelma’s story, but of the Gloria Vanderbilt custody battle.

Posted on July 14, 2020July 11, 2020 by Maureen

André by Jayce Ellis

André heads to the club on a Friday night, meets a younger guy, and enjoys a super hot hookup.

On Monday morning and meets his new intern. Guess who it is?

Yup, that’s right: it’s Marcus, his weekend hookup.

André and Marcus agree to keep things professional while they’re working together on a major project, but that’s easier said than done since they have such strong chemistry.

Posted on July 13, 2020July 4, 2020 by Maureen

An Unseen Attraction by KJ Charles

KJ Charles is one of my favorite authors. I’ve had the books in her Victorian-era queer romance/mystery Sins of the City series on my TBR; I read the second one first a couple of years ago, but now I’m going through the series in chronological order.

Clem Talleyfer’s work has a boarding house manager involves a great deal of predictable routines, which is a good thing, because adapting to changes isn’t easy for Clem. His most favorite part of the day is sharing a cup of tea with Mr. Rowley Green, one of the lodgers.

When one of the other lodgers turns up dead on their doorstep, Clem and Rowley are determined to figure out what happened, it becomes apparent that it was not an isolated incident and they are both in danger.

Posted on July 7, 2020July 4, 2020 by Maureen

Becoming Duchess Goldblatt by Anonymous

I have been following Duchess Goldblatt on Twitter for a long time and I have always enjoyed Her Grace’s stories about life in Crooked Path. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to receive the news that my “wish” for an ARC had been granted.

I thought that this memoir would be a delightful romp through life in Crooked Path.

Reader, I was most mistaken.

What I received instead was the story behind the creation of the Duchess Goldblatt Twitter account, and the very real pain behind one woman’s life changing suddenly, followed by the necessity to navigate through unfamiliar surroundings.