THE GLITTERING HOUR Review & giveaway

An unforgettable historical about true love found and lost and the secrets we keep from one another from an award-winning author
Selina Lennox is a Bright Young Thing. Her life is a whirl of parties and drinking, pursued by the press and staying on just the right side of scandal, all while running from the life her parents would choose for her.
Lawrence Weston is a penniless painter who stumbles into Selina's orbit one night and can never let her go even while knowing someone of her stature could never end up with someone of his. Except Selina falls hard for Lawrence, envisioning a life of true happiness. But when tragedy strikes, Selina finds herself choosing what's safe over what's right.
Spanning two decades and a seismic shift in British history as World War II approaches, Iona Grey's The Glittering Hour is an epic novel of passion, heartache and loss. (Synopsis from Amazon)

My Thoughts on THE GLITTERING HOUR

5 Stars

There’s good fiction, which is a nice break; a bit of down time.

Then there’s great fiction, which transports you to another time and place. Great fiction makes you feel deeply and strongly. The characters become like family or friends to you. Great fiction can take you above the clouds and down into the depths. Makes you laugh out loud for numerous reasons (that can be embarrassing depending on where you are) and break your heart, resulting in copious tears (we’re talking ugly crying- equally embarrassing).

THE GLITTERING HOUR is great fiction; dare I say brilliant fiction.

If brilliant fiction is what you desire, look no further than Selina and Lawrence’s tale and prepare to be swept away.

I was given an ARC by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. Thoughts and views expressed are my own.

What do you require for your fiction to be brilliant? Answer & be entered to win a hardback copy of THE GLITTERING HOUR.  Due to shipping costs this giveaway is open to US addresses only.

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IONA GREY is the author of the award winning Letters to the Lost. She has a degree in English Literature and Language from Manchester University, an obsession with history and an enduring fascination with the lives of women in the twentieth century. She lives in rural Cheshire with her husband and three daughters.

THE LONG CALL Review 3 stars

In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his estranged father’s funeral takes place. On the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too.  

Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.

The case calls Matthew back to the people and places of his past, as deadly secrets hidden at their hearts are revealed, and his new life is forced into a collision course with the world he thought he’d left behind. (synopsis from Amazon)

My thoughts....3 stars

THE LONG CALL, Ms. Cleeves' return, is bound to delight many current fans and garner more.

Distinctive, detailed characters, strong sense of place, and tight plotting tick the top 3 boxes on my list, though not necessarily in that order.  Not figuring out the who, what, & why, ahead of time is a bonus.

Despite these elements THE LONG CALL wass easy to put down & forget about.  

Why didn't I like it more?

Personally speaking, there wasn't a connection with any of the characters. I didn't dislike them, I simply didn't care. It was a detached, distant reading experience for me. No engagement at all.

So, while it ticked most of my boxes THE LONG CALL missed the most crucial mark.

I received an ARC via NetGalley, my thoughts and opinion are my own.

TO HELL WITH JOHNNY MANIC Review

John Manis, aka Johnny Manic--charming, stylish, impulsive, and reckless--is racked with guilt over the secret he doesn't dare tell. 

Marilyn Dupree, passionate and volatile, has too much money and the wrong husband. 

Johnny and Marilyn have a chemistry like nitrogen and glycerine, and that makes Detective Lou Eisenfall very uneasy.
 

A twisting tale of deception, murder, and psychological suspense, Johnny Manic is a throwback to the classic crime fiction of Raymond Chandler with added overtones of the multilayered Fight Club and Gone Girl.

My Thoughts.....

Readers are introduced to Johnny Manic aka Tom Gantry aka John Manis losing money like there's no tomorrow in Vegas. 

Down to the last ten thousand he buys a home tech service business from The Kid and tries to lose & calm himself in a small town in California wine country. 

Too bad Marilyn lives there too. 

The minute Johnny sees Marilyn it's evident he's fighting a losing battle. Kipling was so right. From that point on Johnny's life goes from bad to worse; a slow motion train wreck.

TO HELL WITH JOHNNY MANIC is so noir my mental movie was in black & white.
Deeply flawed characters possessing few, if any, redeeming qualities. Every face is a mask. Put 'em in a bag, shake 'em up & see who comes out alive. 

If noir is your thing you don't want to miss TO HELL WITH JOHNNY MANIC. You aren't likely to be disappointed.

I was provided an ARC by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

5 Stars

ONLY EVER YOU Excerpt & giveaway

***

After I left her and CJ with Lucinda, I spent the weekly staff meeting wondering if Rachel was the same warrior I’d loved or if she was more the woman who’d held her laptop to her chest as if she needed protection.

I was obsessed.

I had to know.

Her text came in as I was leaving the meeting.

I need to check that we’re kidding

Before I could finish typing a response, I caught her coming out of the bathroom with her laptop under her arm.

Alone. Me and her. Nothing between us but the question of who we were and how we fit.

“Seb, I—”

She didn’t have a chance to finish. I crowded her back into the bathroom and locked the door behind us.

“Kidding about what?” I said.

“About getting married.”

“Why would that even be a question?”

“Our parents have been in negotiations about it.”

My mother couldn’t keep herself from talking if she tried, and I was her favorite subject. 

“It might be a little soon for marriage, but—”

“Soon? I don’t like you seeing what I do for a living while you’re in a glass-walled office overlooking the ocean. I mean, I’m not marriage material, and the odds are that’s never going to change.”

“I don’t see why a date’s off the table.”

“Do you know what’s going to happen if we date?”

The list of possibilities was as long as my arm. I could have counted them off, from “We decide we hate each other” to “We end up in bed.” But I didn’t, because I was still trying to figure her out.

What did she want to hear?

With her wide eyes and parted lips, what did she want? Did she have a fondest wish where I was concerned? Was she leaning forward? Was her expression soft and yielding?

My mind spent too long deciding what to say, so my body spoke for me.

I kissed her hard and was met with teeth and stiff resistance. It was a kiss I’d wanted since I’d had hairless armpits and a voice somewhere in the low soprano range. I’d dreamed about it. Fantasized about it. Thought about it so hard in the middle of the night I could practically feel it.

But never, ever in my fantasies did she push me away so hard I fell back against a towel dispenser, watching her face twist into surprised rage as the machine spit out a ragged rectangle of brown paper.

“That was—”

“Messed up. I know.”

“Then why? What is wrong with you?”

She was livid, just like she would have been. Just like she should have been.

The tiger within Rachel was in there, and my attempt to tease her out had probably alienated her. She’d be right to never speak to me again.

“I’m sorry,” I said with my hand on the door lock. “I misread you. It won’t happen again.”

I started to open the door, but she held it closed.

“If we date, my mother’s going to get her hopes up that I’m going to settle down. And I’m sorry, Seb, but if we break up while she’s in chemo, it’s going to crush her.”

“You don’t even know if she’s sick again.”

“You’re right.” She pointed a rigid finger at me as if I were her mother. “I’m going to make her tell me.”

“You’re really beautiful when you’re telling it like it is.”

She slid her hand off the door. Having been called out, the warrior was sent into hiding.

No. I wouldn’t accept that. I wouldn’t allow it.

“Let’s just go out and catch up,” I said. “Saturday.”

“Can’t. Saturday’s the soonest I can talk to Mom.”

I unlocked the door. “I’m sorry about . . . the thing.”

“Kissing me?”

“No, wasting paper towels. Of course kissing you.”

“Next time, give a girl a little warning.”

Next time? Her eyes darted to the door. Was she calculating the distance to her getaway? Or making sure it was closed?

“How about now?” I asked.

“Now what?”

“Fair warning. Now.”

I stepped a little closer and put my hands on her arms. Not right away. I let them hover an inch away before touching her to give her the chance to move away. A chance I was sure she’d take.

“Seb, really?”

But she didn’t move away.

Not this time. When I laid my hands on her biceps, she leaned in to me just a little. I smelled the floral lotion on her skin and a hint of cool water on her breath.

“Really.” I slid the laptop from her arms and placed it on the counter. “This is your warning.”

You’re doing this. I cannot believe you’re doing this.

“It doesn’t feel like a warning,” she said, and again—I noted—she didn’t move away.

“Flashing red lights.” My lips brushed her cheek, heading for her mouth. She felt better than I ever imagined. “A buzzer, maybe.”

“Just a kiss?” she asked, her lips moving against mine.

Before I could consummate what she was agreeing to, I was smacked by a swinging door.

“Oh!” CJ said. “I’m sorry! I was looking for you.”

Rachel snatched up her laptop and walked out. CJ raised an eyebrow with good reason, since I was in the ladies’ room. I left, and we all gathered in the hall.

Awkward.

“Well,” Rachel said. “Thanks for showing us your tedious financial-sector company.”

“Thank you for coming,” I said and let them walk away. I could have done or said much more, but not without getting her into trouble. She glanced back at me when they turned the corner, as if she wanted to make sure I was still there.

***

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Rachel knew exactly what turning thirty would be like. She had a plan, after all. First college, then a climb up the professional ladder. Love, marriage, children. All of it was on the schedule.

The cheap Hollywood apartment wasn’t on the list. Neither was the string of heartbreaks. Or the effect her mother’s cancer had on her career.

It’s hard to stay practical and on point when everything takes a left turn.

Enter Sebastian, the nerd across the street. The boy she defended when he couldn’t defend himself. The best friend she promised she’d marry if life didn’t go according to plan.

Not only is he successful, confident, and gorgeous, but he also still has their handwritten marriage contract.

No one goes through with childhood wedding pacts.

That’s crazy.

But their families might just be crazy enough to rent a hall and set a date. All Rachel and Sebastian have to do is fall in love.

CD Reiss is a New York Times bestselling author. She still has to chop wood and carry water, which was buried in the fine print. Her lawyer is working it out with God, but in the meantime, if you call and she doesn’t pick up, she’s at the well hauling buckets. Born in New York City, Reiss moved to Hollywood, California, to get her master’s degree in screenwriting from USC. In case you want to know, that went nowhere—but it did give her a big enough ego to write novels.

Reiss is frequently referred to as the Shakespeare of Smut, which is flattering but hasn’t ever gotten her out of chopping that cord of wood. If you meet her in person, you should call her Christine. Text cdreiss to 77948 to get a notification whenever she has a new release.

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MONTAUK by Nicola Harrison Review & Giveaway

Montauk, Long Island, 1938. 

For three months, this humble fishing village will serve as the playground for New York City’s wealthy elite. Beatrice Bordeaux was looking forward to a summer of reigniting the passion between her and her husband, Harry. Instead, tasked with furthering his investment interest in Montauk as a resort destination, she learns she’ll be spending twelve weeks sequestered with the high society wives at The Montauk Manor—a two-hundred room seaside hotel—while Harry pursues other interests in the city.

College educated, but raised a modest country girl in Pennsylvania, Bea has never felt fully comfortable among these privileged women, whose days are devoted not to their children but to leisure activities and charities that seemingly benefit no one but themselves. She longs to be a mother herself, as well as a loving wife, but after five years of marriage she remains childless while Harry is increasingly remote and distracted. Despite lavish parties at the Manor and the Yacht Club, Bea is lost and lonely and befriends the manor’s laundress whose work ethic and family life stir memories of who she once was.

As she drifts further from the society women and their preoccupations and closer toward Montauk’s natural beauty and community spirit, Bea finds herself drawn to a man nothing like her husband –stoic, plain spoken and enigmatic. Inspiring a strength and courage she had almost forgotten, his presence forces her to face a haunting tragedy of her past and question her future.

Desperate to embrace moments of happiness, no matter how fleeting, she soon discovers that such moments may be all she has, when fates conspire to tear her world apart…

There's a hardback copy giveaway shared with Manic Readers where a feature was posted 6/5/19. Comment on either blog (leave your email so you can be contacted if you win) to be entered. Winners will be chosen by random drawing. Sorry, due to shipping costs giveaway is Continental US only. Contest ends @12am est 6/11/19.

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My Thoughts...3.5 stars

After the death of her brother Beatrice leaves Vassar before graduating and returns home to Pennsylvania try to help her parents cope with the loss. After a time her father encourages her go live her life. Beatrice moves to New York, gets a job, and meets handsome, rich Harry Bordeaux. 

Harry sweeps Bea off her feet, makes the loss of her brother less painful, and gives her a new life of privilege. Now, several years into their marriage they remain childless and are beginning to drift apart. Bea is expected to use her summer in Montauk to help further Harry's ambitions and make nice with the other rich ladies staying at The Manor.  But here's the rub, Bea doesn't really fit anywhere lately.

The loss of her brother and her continued childless state weigh heavily on Bea. The former occasionally felt overplayed and the latter, in keeping with the times, is understandable. She doesn't fit with the "idle" rich wives and soon becomes friends with Dolly. A bit of an outlier herself, but Dolly knows well how to play the game.

While there were times it was easy to empathize with Bea there were also times it was difficult to like her. My favorite characters were actually Dolly and Elizabeth, a young mother and laundress from the village.

Bea's choices, often selfish (but don't we all do that on occasion), and refusal to listen to sound advice have repercussions far beyond anything she could've imagined. The ending dovetails perfectly with those decisions and any other would have been disappointing, at the very least.

MONTAUK does a primo job of reflecting the societal norms and strata of the time. The village of Montauk, The Manor, all of it is brought to life.

If you enjoy history and realistic flawed characters there's a good chance you'll enjoy MONTAUK.

A copy was received from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Born in England, Nicola Harrison moved to CA where she received a BA in Literature at UCLA before moving to NYC and earning an MFA in creative writing at Stony Brook. She is a member of The Writers Room, has short stories published in The Southampton Review and Glimmer Train and articles in Los Angeles Magazine and Orange Coast Magazine. She was the fashion and style staff writer for Forbes, had a weekly column at Lucky Magazine and is the founder of a personal styling business, Harrison Style. Montauk is Harrison's debut novel.

Terry Spear's SEAL WOLF SURRENDER excerpt & giveaway

She took hold of Brock’s free hand and pulled at him. “Come on, honey. We need to get back to the celebration.”

Brock looked down at her and smiled and squeezed her hand.

She felt her face flush with heat. She hadn’t dated in more than two years, and she had to admit Brock was total hotness.

The last guy she’d gotten close to had turned out to be using her. He’d wanted to get insight on her parents’ successful garden nursery in Wichita Falls so that he could start his franchise garden shop and get rid of his competition. After she figured that out, she’d had trouble trusting men’s motives, though she hadn’t met any eligible wolves in Amarillo after their move there. She hated feeling that way, but it only took one lousy rat to prove not everyone could be trusted. She’d felt so bad because her parents had suffered too, not just her.

She heard footsteps behind her and was worried that the wolf was following them.

“Don’t worry about it,” Brock whispered in her ear, then pulled her to a stop and kissed her, turning their bodies so he could see who was following them. Still, he got into the kiss, as if he really was her honey.

Well, she was totally into going along with the game, since she’d started this anyway. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into the kiss, tonguing him as his body pressed against hers. Hard muscle and the stirring of an arousal. She almost laughed at turning him on so quickly, but that would have ruined the ruse.

Their pheromones were zinging all over the place, calling for more, and she was surprised at the intensity of the intrigue between the two of them.

He smiled at her, almost looking a little sheepish, his eyes a bit glazed. Then he pulled her away to walk to the Humvee. She was dying to know if he saw Marek behind them, but if the other wolf was following them, he hadn’t walked past them when they’d stopped to kiss.

Brock slipped his arm around her as they walked to an elevator and got on and pushed the button for the second floor. She didn’t say a word, thinking Brock was going to the wrong floor so the guy wouldn’t learn what he was driving. And what his license plate number was. When the elevator opened on two, Brock punched the button for the third floor. When they reached that floor, he pushed one.

He smiled roguishly down at her. Natalie chuckled. She really didn’t believe it would work, but if the guy was trying to follow them, he’d be running up and down the stairs. When they reached their floor, they headed for their row and soon were in the Humvee and on their way. She was trying to see if the guy had figured out which vehicle Brock was driving. She noticed Brock glancing in his rearview mirror too.

“Do you think he’ll suspect something more since we were trying to evade him?” she asked, worried that it might have been a little obvious.

“He already suspected you took his bag. I was trying to prevent him from learning who I am and where I live. Which would mean he might follow you there too. That’s a lot of money to lose. He wouldn’t know I’m with a pack here or anything about me. So he doesn’t know the kind of danger he could face if he followed us out there. More than anything, I worry about you and when you need to go home. He won’t know your address or name unless he tries to follow you home, and that could be a problem.”

She hadn’t had anyone but her parents to worry about her in a long time, so she really thought the world of Brock for caring. “But I won’t have Marek’s money. Not after we burn it tonight.”

“He won’t know that. And he’d probably figure it would be easier to get the truth out of a lone woman than it would be when you have me at your side. If he didn’t make it to our parking garage level and see my vehicle and the license plate, he might hang around the airport, thinking you’ll be going to Amarillo soon.”

“Great.”

“Well, if he does come after you here, he’ll be one sorry wolf.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t have tried to lose him.”

“Oh, I’ll go after him. He’s made the mistake of coming here. I’ve got his name, his scent, and I’ll run a check on him. As long as that’s his real name, I can run him down. I’ll definitely be escorting you to the airport when you leave and be watching out for the guy.”

“Right. You’re a PI. I keep forgetting. Do you ever do bodyguard work?” She never thought she’d be asking a perfect stranger if she could hire him as her bodyguard until this was resolved. But she didn’t want to bring this business home with her and get her parents into the middle of it without having some additional protection.

Brock smiled at her. “In the line of duty as a SEAL, yeah. As a civilian, not yet. But I’m up for hire for anything you might need.”

Anything? Lighting her fire further? She felt she needed to fan herself.

“God, I can’t believe I just came to a wedding and found I have to hire a bodyguard. I will never, ever again grab a bag at the airport baggage claim without checking the name tag on it first. My concern is when I leave here, he might have people watching for me on my return to Amarillo. They won’t know my name, but he could send a description. Then my parents could be at risk, if the criminal followed me home. I’m not into all this cloak--and--dagger stuff. So I don’t know what to expect.”

For a shifter with no interest in she-wolves...he sure is territorial.

Wolf shifter and former Navy SEAL Brock Greystoke isn't interested in she-wolves. The last one in his life ambushed him with the intent to kill. So when he's tasked with helping his cousin's friend get to a wedding, he has no intention of getting involved with her...

She-wolf Natalie Silverton has inadvertently crossed a group of dangerous criminals, and she's in dire need of a bodyguard. Good thing Brock is there to protect her. At every turn, their work—and play—brings them closer to catching the criminals and to each other, but Brock will have to get them out of this alive if he has any hope of winning Natalie's heart.

SEAL Wolf Series:

A SEAL in Wolf's Clothing (Book 1)

A SEAL Wolf Christmas (Book 2)

SEAL Wolf Hunting (Book 3)

SEAL Wolf In Too Deep (Book 4)

SEAL Wolf Undercover (Book 5)

SEAL Wolf Surrender (Book 6)

What Readers Are Saying About Terry Spear:

"Great paranormal romance with depth and dimension."—Night Owl Reviews for A Billionaire Wolf for Christmas

"Excitement and suspense that will keep readers hanging on tight."—RT Book Reviews for Flight of the White Wolf, 4 Stars

"Striking characters and explosive chemistry."—RT Book Reviews for SEAL Wolf Undercover, 4 Stars

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AUTHOR WEBSITE

GIVEAWAY

5 Copies of SEAL Wolf Undercover

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Lucy Gilmore's PUPPY LOVE Excerpt & Giveaway!

No matter the job, no matter the need

These service dogs in training will always fall in love at first bark.

When Sophie Vasquez and her sisters dreamed up Puppy Promise—their service puppy training school—it was supposed to be her chance to bring some good into the world. But how can she expect to do anything when no one will take her seriously?

Enter Harrison Parks: a rough, gruff, take-no-bull wildlife firefighter in need of a diabetic service dog. He couldn't be a more unlikely fit for Sophie or Bubbles—the sweet Pomeranian she knows will be his perfect partner—but when Sophie insists he give them both a shot, something unexpected happens: he listens. Even better, he keeps on listening, even as Sophie and Bubbles turn his lonely, uber-masculine world upside-down.

As it turns out, they all have something to prove...and more than enough room in their hearts for a little puppy love.

Service Puppies Series:

Puppy Love (Book 1)

Puppy Christmas (Book 2)

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AUTHOR WEBSITE

GIVEAWAY: 3 Copies of Puppy Love

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“You know, now that I think about it, you’re a lot like Sleeping Beauty,” she said, the words popping out before she could stop them.

He blinked, the movement so careful and deliberate it was like watching a video in slow motion. “What did you just say?”

“You’re like Sleeping Beauty,” she repeated. “Gorgeous and grumpy, awakening after a long, deep sleep to find everything overtaken by thorns.”

Considering the decay of the barn behind them, it seemed an apt metaphor. The red paint had long since faded to a burnt pink, the roof sunken in several places. The scent of animals and hay had given way to a more general earthiness.

Just like the house, just like the man, it was a kingdom in ruins.

“That would make me the prince, you know,” she said. When he didn’t answer right away, only stared at her like she’d been taken over by body snatchers, she added, “Because I kissed you yesterday.”

That got him to snap to attention. “The devil you did. I was the one doing the kissing.”

She did her best to ignore the force of Harrison’s words—and how forcefully they set off a reaction in her body, setting her pulse thumping in ways that no amount of running could match—but it was no use. There was something so liberating about the way he handled her. Not carefully or delicately, or even like a thing to be cherished, but as a woman of courage.

As a woman of strength.

“They say the Sleeping Beauty story is a metaphor for sexual awakening,” she said, emboldened by this realization. “I wasn’t sure I bought into it at first, but it grew on me after a while. I mean, on top of that whole waking-up-from-a-kiss nonsense, she pricks her finger on a spindle. Have you ever seen a spindle? Like, a real one?”

“Where would I have seen a spindle?” he demanded. “Do you think my dad weaves textiles in his spare time?”

She giggled, unable to picture her second-favorite Parks man going anywhere near a textile. “Well, I’ll save you the trouble. It’s basically ye olde phallus.”

His lips quivered as he fought a smile—the reluctant one, the devastating one, the one she was beginning to realize had the power to change her whole life. “Okay, now you’re just making things up.”

“I’m not!” she protested. “I’m just calling it like I see it. You’re the beauty, I’m the prince, and the spindle is a literary device meant to shame women into chastity.”

“You are no prince, Sophie Vasquez.”

“How dare you? I could totally be the prince.”

“In this story?” He laughed and shook his head. “I don’t think so. Not when you’re so clearly the dragon.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, the laughter in her throat replaced by a sudden swelling of elation. No man—no person, actually—had ever looked at her and seen anything but a petite approximation of her sisters. She was a little less bright, a little less exciting, a little less strong. She didn’t have their confidence or their drive and had long since reconciled herself to a life lived in their shadows.

Until now. Until she squared off against this magnificent, quarrelsome man who looked at her and unhesitatingly drew his sword.

Because I’m so clearly the dragon.

Unable to hold herself back any longer, she launched her whole body at Harrison. She caught him off guard, a fact borne out by his heavy grunt as she hit him with the full force of her weight. He didn’t budge though. He was too much like a rock, too much like a wall. Everywhere her body touched his was hard. He was warmer than he normally was, exertion giving him a heat that almost felt like a glow.

Which was why she didn’t pull away from it. So much of what Harrison said and did was meant to keep her at a distance, but the way his arms came up to catch her worked a number on her senses. For what felt like the first time, he was letting her in.

In was suddenly the only place she wanted to be. Before his reserve could come back up, she cast aside all of her scruples and fears and did the unthinkable.

She kissed him.

She caught him off guard with that too, her lips reaching his while they were still partly open. It was a good thing, because she might not have gone through with the rest of the kiss otherwise. There was something hugely intimidating about attacking a bear of a man with one’s tongue, even if he did look and taste like this one. Besides, he was so much softer than she’d expected.

Oh, his body remained like stone, of course, and his arms were more like a pair of manacles than anything else. Those things were good—those things were great, actually—but nothing could have prepared her for the press of his lips against hers. His mouth was gentle, his tongue, when it slid past hers, like a silken embrace.

It made her yearn to discover the other hidden parts of him, those places where he hadn’t yet turned off against the world. They were all her favorite parts of a man. Not—contrary to popular opinion—the rock-hard abs and rigid cock, but the places were pleasure could be found unexpectedly. The dip of an upper lip, right where the skin began to grow soft. The smooth curve of a well-formed buttock. Any spot where he might let his guard down long enough to admit to being ticklish.

Any part that would cause him to smile.

Katy Evans & MILLION DOLLAR DEVIL's Jimmy Rowan Talks Stunts Feature & Giveaway

H

Hey, girl. Jimmy Rowan here. You might know me from my YouTube channel. Yeah, I’m the guy who nearly gets killed on every video. Say what? You want to know how I got started?

Ahh, long story. Maybe for another day. Or a night with some tequila Cuervo handy. The short is, I’m a daredevil. And I’m good at it. So…imagine my shock when prim and proper Miss Elizabeth Banks comes up to me at a bar, a really seedy, not-her-damn-type bar, and offers me a hell of a lot of money to be her ‘perfect’ freaking man.

Kind of wild, right?

All I have to do is wear her suits and act “civil” – whatever that means.

And I’m having a great time just raking her with my eyes.

This woman is all long legs, pouty lips, and looking all business in a business suit that’s just begging to get rumpled.

Definitely what Lizzy wants me to do is a walk in a park compared to some of the stunts I do. I mean. I’ve thrown myself off tall buildings and pulled my chute way, way past the moment when I should’ve.

I’ve crashed motorcycles on top of cars when I tried to leap over them.

I’ve broken a rib or two, and sometimes several at a time, and I’ve got a good number of black eyes, with no help at all from anyone but me.

With Sexy little Lizzy here, there’s no physical risk at all. Not one you could see anyway, except the one that I never really saw coming.

Damn her.

Damn her and her little big million dollar contract.

Damn this sexy, smart, closet-crazy perfectionist just waiting for more than just a sweep off her feet. Oh man, this girl needs a flat out toss to the ground. And I’m the man up for the challenge. What? You’re shocked? Lady, they don’t call me devil for nothing.

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Heir apparent to her father’s company, Lizzy Banks needs a man. The perfect man. But when the rich “fundbabies” she usually rubs shoulders with prove impossible to hire, she takes a chance on a raw beast of a man salvaged from the wreckage of a bar brawl.

James Rowan earns a modest income as a YouTube daredevil, but he can’t refuse Lizzy’s million dollar deal. As she polishes his rough edges, creating a sophisticated gentleman fit for the highest circles of society, not only does she bring out the perfect man—it’s like she’s making the man of her dreams. How can she resist? Though Lizzy loves seeing James in his clothes—and out of them—he isn’t the kind of man you bring home to Daddy. Her father’s disapproval and the pressure of the campaign have her eyeing the straight and narrow, but Lizzy’s finding it awfully hard to resist the devil on her shoulder . . .

Author Biography

Katy Evans loves family, books, life, and love. She’s married with two children and a dog, and she spends her time baking healthy snacks, taking long walks, and taking care of her family. To learn more about her books in progress, check out www.katyevans.net and sign up for her newsletter. You can also find her on Twitter @authorkatyevans and on Facebook at AuthorKatyEvans.




Website: http://www.katyevans.net

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Mary Wine's WICKED HIGHLAND WAYS Excerpt & giveaway

Brenda Grant has no desire to marry. Ever since her first, horrible marriage she's made herself into a hellion of a woman to keep men from wanting her. But the Campbells, her previous husband's family, are determined to find her a new husband.

Highland Chief Bothan Gunn is smitten by the woman who won't be tamed. It takes all Brenda's willpower to resist the brawny Highlander who takes her to safety. But as they spend time together—and grow ever closer—Brenda finally finds the freedom she's been longing for all along.

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Someone pulled her back, encircling her waist with a hard arm and lifting her right off her feet. It happened in an instant, and Addams was knocked in the jaw with a hard fist as a man grabbed a handful of his doublet front to keep Addams from flying into the wall. His head jerked back and his eyes rolled back in his head before the man who’d laid him flat lowered him to the floor in an unconscious heap.

“He needs a wee nap to think about the tone he was using with ye,” Bothan Gunn informed her firmly.

Brenda didn’t care for the way her heart accelerated. Perhaps if she could have attributed it to fear, it might not have mattered, but she knew that wasn’t the cause. Which only alarmed her more.

She knew the danger of emotions. Aye, she knew it well.

“Chief Bothan Gunn,” she muttered as she caught sight of his captain offering a coin to the cook. The man took it in a blink of an eye before settling down and casting his attention toward the hearth. “Ye should not have followed me.”

Bothan Gunn was a huge man. He’d ducked to make it beneath the roofline and had to stay away from the edges of the kitchen because the roof sloped, preventing him from standing upright. They were still close enough to the border that his kilt did not cause too great a disturbance with the men he’d walked past in the yard. But she knew him for what he was: a Highlander. The English around them might make the mistake of believing all Scots the same, but Brenda knew better, and anyone who took the time to look at Bothan Gunn would see he was far harder than any Lowlander.

Bolder too because he was standing there. Somehow, she wasn’t really surprised. Bothan Gunn had always been a man who wasn’t afraid to reach out and grab what he wanted.

“Did ye think I would no’ come for ye, Brenda?” Bothan asked softly, his lips twitching up into a mocking grin.

She’d hoped…

Brenda stiffened, chastising herself for the stray thought. She couldn’t afford such things as personal ideas.

Especially with regard to Chief Bothan Gunn. It wasn’t his clan the King of Scotland would hold accountable if she didn’t go through with her wedding.

Duty. So very sharp-edged. She felt like the very word left open wounds as it crossed her soul. She drew in a deep breath, looking at Bothan and the freedom he represented and knowing she had to deny herself.

Deny yerself…what?

Brenda had refused his suit and ignored the stirrings inside herself.

And she would not be acknowledging any of them now.

Not now, when she had duty weighing her down like a heavy yoke.

“I didn’t realize ye were one to waste yer time,” she muttered as she reached into the barrel and retrieved the pitcher. Water drained down from her hand as she fought to maintain her composure. Her tone wasn’t as bored as she would have liked. And the way his eyes narrowed suggested he saw through her pose.

Bothan always had affected her oddly. Of course, tonight she was certain her heart was beating faster because she longed to be free of her English escort and her date to be wed. The response was only natural after all.

Yes, that was why she felt so very breathless.

“Keeping ye from being forced to wed a black-hearted bastard is no’ what I’d call a waste of me time,” Bothan informed her.

He eased closer to her. She caught a glimpse of his blue eyes in the dim light and realized she was savoring the moment, putting off answering him because he was correct—she had no liking for her circumstances.

Still, duty was duty. Bothan was not just a man. He was chief of the Gunns. It was somewhat more than laird because he’d been elected by his fellow clansmen. He didn’t just have their loyalty; he’d earned it beside them. She drew in a deep breath and stood firmly in place.

“Me cousin will be branded a traitor if I do not wed Galwell Scrope.” Brenda forced the words past her lips. “I will not shirk from my duty to me family and laird. And ye would not have me if I did. Yer clansmen would vote against ye if ye brought home a woman who turned her back on her kin. Ye should go now, for there is no reason for ye to stay.”

***

Excerpted from Wicked Highland Ways by Mary Wine. © 2019 by Mary Wine. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

MURDER IN THE CITY OF LIBERTY Review

Hamish DeLuca and Regina “Reggie” Van Buren have a new case—and this one could demand a price they’re not willing to pay.

Determined to make a life for herself, Reggie Van Buren bid goodbye to fine china and the man her parents expected her to marry and escaped to Boston. What she never expected to discover was that an unknown talent for sleuthing would develop into a business partnership with the handsome, yet shy, Hamish DeLuca.

Their latest case arrives when Errol Parker, the leading base stealer in the Boston farm leagues, hires Hamish and Reggie to investigate what the Boston police shove off as a series of harmless pranks. Errol believes these are hate crimes linked to the outbreak of war in Europe, and he’s afraid for his life. Hamish and Reggie quickly find themselves in the midst of an escalating series of crimes.

When Hamish has his carefully constructed life disrupted by a figure from his past, he is driven to a decision that may sever him from Reggie forever . . . even more than her engagement to wealthy architect Vaughan Vanderlaan.

(Synopsis from Amazon)

My thoughts 4.5 stars

Hamish DeLuca, Regina Van Buren, and Nate Reis are complex characters in a world on the brink. Their relationships mirror the complexity of the times and the characters themselves. 

1940's Boston as the world surrounding the United States is at war is vividly depicted.  Hamish, Reggie, and Nate feel it inching closer as the ideologies behind the war loudly rear their ugly heads in their adopted neighborhood. 

These ideas and the hatefulness they spawn combine with the cold hard practicalities of war to create a case that leads Hamish, Reggie, and Nate to the brink.

While Ms. McMillan did a good job picking up the threads and explaining events in the prior (first) book in the Van Buren and DeLuca Mystery series, I was still occasionally frustrated by not having experienced the progression myself. 

This is due to the depth of the characters and their "lives", and is my own fault. My mistake will be remedied in the near future.

MURDER IN THE CITY OF LIBERTY isn't what I'd call a light read; it requires concentration. It's for those times you want to time travel, immersing yourself in another world by becoming someone else, tuning out the here & now completely; live dangerously even if it's only vicariously. 

MURDER IN THE CITY OF LIBERTY is for those times.

I received a review copy from Thomas Nelson via Netgalley. All opinions expressed are mine alone.