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RECOMMENDED READ ~ Must Love Babies by Lynnette Austin
One of my favourite reads this year to date is MUST LOVE BABIES by Lynnette Austin
~ Tracy : BLP
This baby’s not the only one in need of a cuddle…
Brant Wylder is a bachelor and loving it! He’s in Misty Bottoms, Georgia, property-hunting for his vintage car repair shop when he gets the call. His sister’s been in an accident, and Brant has to drop everything and take care of his five-month-old nephew. That’s the end of the bachelor lifestyle.
Bridal boutique owner Molly Stiles is all business all the time, until she sees that Brant’s in trouble. In this Southern town, nobody ever has to go it alone. And besides, how can she resist that beautiful baby in the arms of a beautiful man…?
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Molly stood beneath a magnolia tree, her face tipped to catch the moonlight. The breath caught in his throat, and for one fanciful second, Brant imagined a mythical princess or fairy.
He shook his head. The woman was real, and he wanted a dance, wanted to hold her in his arms. A little flirting? Harmless.
Stepping out of the shadows, he made his way to her.
“Beautiful night, huh?”
“Perfect.” Slowly, she turned, a smile on her face.
“How about a dance?”
She hesitated.
“I’m not asking for a lifelong commitment, sugar. Just a single dance under the stars. The night’s made for dancing.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
He caught her hand in his, amazed at its softness against his work-roughened one. “In the interest of full disclosure, I’m not the world’s greatest dancer, but you shouldn’t lose any toes.” He glanced at her sequined stilettos, showcased by her cocktail-length dress. “Don’t know how you even walk in those, let alone put on the miles you do, but I have to say that all mankind is grateful.”
Smiling, Molly peeked at her shoes. “They’re awesome, aren’t they?”
He nodded. “You can dance in them?”
“I could run a marathon in these.”
“Okay, then.” The moon shone through Spanish moss that dripped from the live oaks, forming a lacy pattern on the dewy grass.
Kelly Clarkson’s “A Moment Like This” played over the sound system. Reaching the dance floor, Brant slid an arm around her waist and drew her in, breathed in her scent. He swung her out and brought her back in one smooth motion, felt her quick laugh in the pit of his stomach. The music slowed when the band segued into John Legend’s “All of Me,” and he drew her close.
Molly fit perfectly in his arms. She lived in Georgia and he in Tennessee, and that made her safe. And if the plans he and his brothers were working on panned out? Still nothing to worry about since she lived in Savannah. When she rested her head against his chest, he wondered if she could hear the rapid thump of his heart. Ms. Molly was hot, hot, hot.
His hand slid a little lower, and without missing a beat, she relocated it to her waist.
Molly smelled of a midnight garden with just a touch of naughty. His body responded, and he willed himself to think about something else. “How’s the city?”
“Savannah?” She shrugged. “I live in Misty Bottoms now. I opened a bridal boutique. Today’s bride was my first.” She grinned, dimples creasing her cheeks.
The dance ended, and he reluctantly released Molly. “I’m driving back to Tennessee tomorrow.”
“Speaking of driving, thanks for taxiing the last of the rehearsal dinner’s partiers home last night. I heard they celebrated pretty hard at Duffy’s.”
“No problem.”
“I need to stop at my car before I go back inside. I left the little silver heart I attach to the bridal gown’s garment bag in my glove box.”
Brant walked beside her in the soft night air, a hand at her elbow, while the band played Blake Shelton’s “God Gave Me You.”
He lowered his head. “Before we call it a night, I’d love to see the rose garden our friend Cole salvaged.”
“What a mess, but after a lot of hard work it’s incredible again.”
The scent of roses surrounding them, they strolled through the yard. In the silver light of the moon, the flowers glowed and took on an almost magical, fairy-tale illusion. The house shimmered and welcomed, like the true Southern lady she was. Interlacing his fingers with Molly’s, peace enveloped Brant.
They wandered across the expanse of lawn and through the blooms in comfortable silence.
From the parking area, he heard the sound of engines starting, of tires crunching on the long drive. “Looks like it’s about time for lights-out. We’d better head back so you can finish up.”
A slight breeze caused Molly to shiver, and happy for the excuse, Brant wrapped an arm around her and pulled her a little closer, surprised when she didn’t pull away.
Reaching her yellow-and-white Mini Countryman, he made to open her door, then changed his mind, leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, one that should have been impersonal. Friendly. Instead, fire shot through him.
He pulled back, unsure whether he should be relieved or horrified that the expression on her face mirrored his own stampeding feelings. Clearing his throat, he said, “I’m taking care of a few loose ends in the morning, then heading back to Tennessee. And I already said that, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did. The kiss was nice, thanks, but you don’t need to worry. I won’t show up naked at your hotel door.”
His breath caught.
She grinned, and he understood she knew exactly the effect she was having on him.
“I—” His phone vibrated. “Whoops. Sorry, but I’d better take this. My brothers probably forgot something. Organization isn’t their strong suit. If you’ll excuse me.”
“Sure.”
“Hello? Dad?” As he spoke, he made his way to a gnarly old oak. His father’s voice was gruff, almost as if he’d been crying. Panic grabbed Brant by the throat. “What’s wrong?
BLP REVIEW ~ Tracy
I know from some reviews that I’ve read that this wasn’t everyone’s cuppa but I have to say I loved Must Love Babies!!!!
Brant Wylder was settled and happy living his bachelor life and working with his brothers.
Molly Stiles has a solid plan of getting her business up and running and not getting married ’til she’s at least 30.
Then they met and things went to pot where their plans were concerned.
This was a slow brewing, sweet romance with two likable main characters, a fun supporting cast and of course, baby Jax, who was a show stealer! With all that you would expect from a small town by way of support, help and a little bit of helpful interference, this was a great read that I definitely recommend reading.
I haven’t read any of the books that this series has spun from – this was in fact my first Lynnette Auston read and I’m really looking forward to more in this series as well as going back to check our the authors earlier works.
This gets 5* from me!!
About the Author
Once upon a time, a handsome prince walked up to the Tastee Freeze window and asked the lovely princess—who was working there to earn money to redecorate the castle—for a chocolate milkshake and a date. She said yes to both, and they lived happily ever after.
Okay, maybe I embellished a little—the princess didn’t actually live in a castle—but it’s no wonder I write romances with their happy endings. My prince and I are still together.
We had one beautiful son whom we lost in 2006. Aaron brought untold love and happiness into our lives. He was one of those brave firefighters who run into the flames as others are fleeing.
Dave and I both grew up in Pennsylvania’s Alleghany Mountains. From there, we moved to New York, then to the Rockies in Wyoming. Presently we divide our time between Naples, Florida’s beaches and Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
I have a Master’s in Educational Leadership and taught middle school language arts before leaving it to write full-time. My books have finaled in Romance Writers of America’s national Golden Heart Contest, PASIC’s Book of Your Heart Contest, and Georgia Romance Writers’ Maggie Contest. My books written as Lynnette Hallberg include Enchanted Evening from Kensington, Moonlight, Motorcycles, and Bad Boys,Chantilly Lace and A Pretty Face, and Night Shadows from The Wild Rose Press, and Just A Little White Lie from Carina Press.
I love books and have closets full of them as well as two well-supplied ereaders. Nothing makes me happier than losing myself in my characters’ worlds. Besides reading and writing, I enjoy traveling. I’ve visited all fifty states with the exception of Alaska and have traveled extensively throughout Canada, Mexico, Europe, Africa, and Central America—always on the lookout for new characters or a new story.
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BOOK TOUR ~ Claimed by her Cougar (Cougar Creek Mates Shifter Romance Series #1) by Felicity Heaton
New York Times best-selling paranormal romance author Felicity Heaton is here today for the book tour of her new shifter romance release, Claimed by her Cougar, the first book in her brand new Cougar Creek Mates Series.
Set in her popular Eternal Mates world, Cougar Creek Mates takes you into the deep Canadian wilderness to a secret place that’s home to a cougar shifter pride led by four sexy brothers, each guaranteed to steal your heart and set it racing!
With all four books in the series releasing just weeks apart, this is going to be one hot summer.
Check out the book and be sure to enter the awesome grand giveaway happening at her website!
Claimed by her Cougar
(Cougar Creek Mates Shifter Romance Series Book 1)
Felicity Heaton
Having lost his parents and mate in a brutal attack on his cougar shifter pride by a hunter organisation, Rath burns with a need to keep humans off his land and out of his life. He’ll do whatever it takes to protect his pride from them, but when a lone female wanders into his territory, it isn’t a burning need to drive her away he’s feeling and it isn’t his pride that needs protecting, it’s his heart.
Down on her luck, Ivy follows a lead to a spot where she hopes to photograph black bears, but what she discovers there is a mountain of a man who lacks manners and seems determined to drive her off his property, a man who stirs unbidden fire in her veins and a strange sense of home.
With a pride gathering on the verge of happening at Cougar Creek and the air charged with a mating heat, the last thing Rath needs is a human on his land, especially one as beautiful and alluring as Ivy, one who rouses a fierce need to fight for her, but he can’t convince himself to let her go, and that proves dangerous for them both.
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Enter the grand tour-wide giveaway to win one of a $75, $50 or $25 Amazon Gift Card at the Claimed by her Cougar book page.
This giveaway is international and open to everyone, and ends at midnight on August 12th.
Ivy swung her camera left, towards the side of the river she was on, wanting to capture a shot of it with the glacier in the distance and the sun rising above it.
A shape loomed in the mist, disturbing it, and her heart lodged in her throat, a thrill chasing through her as she pressed down on the shutter release, sure it was a bear.
But as the mist parted, it wasn’t a bear that emerged.
It was a man.
A mountain of one.
He moved towards her with a predator’s gait, prowling through the mist that tried to cling to his long powerful jeans-clad legs and the cuffs of his worn dark green fleece, the sun rising behind him casting golden highlights in his thick dark hair. His square jaw, shadowed by stubble, tensed and his stony grey eyes darkened as they narrowed on her.
It took Ivy a moment to realise he was talking to her.
“You’re trespassing” His gravelly deep voice rolled over her, a growl that suited his appearance.
He looked more dangerous than the wild animals in these parts.
A hunter?
She wasn’t sure how she was trespassing. As far as she knew, no one owned the land she was on, and she had done her research to make sure she didn’t accidentally do exactly what he was accusing her of doing.
He lowered his steely grey eyes and his handsome face twisted in a savage expression as they landed on her camera.
“Hand it over” He held his right hand out to her.
Ivy clutched her camera to her chest. Like hell she was handing it over to him. It had cost her thousands of dollars.
“No” She eased back a step and glanced at her backpack where it sat on the bank a few metres behind her, and then at the man.
He looked fit, and as if he belonged in this wild world, and she wasn’t sure she would make it more than a few metres if she tried to run. He would easily catch her. Her heart pounded at that, and she wasn’t sure whether it was out of fear or something else.
Something she was not going to examine closely.
The bear spray on her belt suddenly felt heavy, and she was tempted to use it on him, would if it came to it, even though it was against the law. Diplomacy was always the first weapon she reached for in situations like this though, one that often had the desired effect. He wasn’t the first man to attempt to block her path, and he wouldn’t be the last.
He continued to scowl at her camera. “Why are you here?”
“I’m photographing bears.” She debated showing him the pictures in the hope it would convince him that she wasn’t a threat, but hit two snags.
He would have to get close to her in order to see them, meaning he could easily snatch her camera or her, and she had put a fresh memory card in the camera last night, not wanting to have to scramble for a new one if she ran out of space when photographing bears.
He didn’t look as if he believed her.
Ivy turned towards her bag, heart slamming as she decided to risk it and find the memory card she had with photos on it.
The man was behind her in an instant, closing the distance so swiftly that it tore a shocked gasp from her lips as his left hand locked around her right wrist.
She stumbled as he pulled her towards her backpack and twisted her arm in his hand, trying to break free.
The bastard had a grip like iron.
She clutched her camera with her left hand and struggled harder, adrenaline flooding her veins to push her to fight for her freedom as her blood rushed, heart thundering in her throat.”Get off me.”
Screw diplomacy.
Ivy released her camera and seized her bear spray in trembling fingers, yanking it from her belt and aiming it at him. He launched his other hand towards her and snatched the canister before she could depress the trigger, scowled at it and then at her, and started pulling her along again.
“You need to answer some questions.” The dark note in his voice rang warning bells in her head and she kicked him in the shin, sure he would release her.
He just glared at her and kept dragging her along. When she tripped on a rock, he pulled on her arm, raising his above his head so quickly she avoided faceplanting on the ground. A bastard with a grip of iron and the reflexes of a cat.
She refused to thank him, shot him a scowl when he looked as if he was expecting one, and found her footing again, a strange calmness coming over her as she checked her Nikon to make sure she hadn’t scuffed it on the rocks. As soon as she saw it was fine, that odd sense of calm dissipated, her situation flooding back in to shake her all over again.
The man grabbed her backpack, slung it over his shoulder and marched her along the shore, ignoring her struggles as she tried to prise his hand off her, working her fingers under his in an attempt to loosen them.
They didn’t budge.
Bastard.
He was big, stood close to a foot taller than her and his shoulders were twice as broad as hers. His dark green fleece hugged his physique to mock her with his apparent strength. It wasn’t going to deter her. Even the biggest men had a weakness, and she would find his.
Her eyes widened, fighting him forgotten as a clearing came into view, a stretch of grass that spanned at least a hundred metres along the river and ran maybe twice that back towards the mountain. In among the trees, hidden beneath their evergreen canopies, cabins nestled, each of them a different shape and size.
She hadn’t seen any of them in the aerial shots of the valley, had figured the man for a camper, but it looked as if he lived here.
In the middle of nowhere.
“Are you a hunter?” She stared at the back of his head.
He glared over his wide shoulders at her. “No, and I don’t tolerate hunters here either.”
“I’m not a hunter.” She huffed when he still looked as if he didn’t believe her. “I’ll show you proof if you let me go!”
This time, when she twisted free of his grip, he released her, the suddenness of it sending her off balance, so she had to plant her foot out to stop herself from falling over. For a moment, she thought he had released her so she could show him her photographs, but then he stooped, grabbed a silver pail and filled it in the river. He poured it into a white container, and followed it with two more scoops, glared at the container and the small amount of water in it, and then at her, as if it was her fault he was collecting so little.
She realised it was when he grabbed her arm again, pulling her up the grassy slope.
“I thought we were done with the caveman act.” She kicked him in the back of the leg and must have caught him in a sweet spot because his left leg buckled, sending him down onto one knee.
And jerking her with him.
She squeaked as she hit the grass, twisting just in time to make sure her shoulder took the blow and not her camera.
He shoved her arm away from him, his expression stormy as he pushed back onto his feet, and checked his damned water, holding it up and looking a hell of a lot relieved when he saw he hadn’t spilled it. He pulled a cap from the back pocket of his jeans, revealing a heck of a fine backside as he lifted the hem of his green fleece, and screwed it onto the canister.
This time when he started moving, he didn’t grab her and drag her with him. Score one for her.
He scored a point of his own when he said without looking back at her, “I’m making coffee, and I’m feeling generous today. If you want some, and a chance to explain what you’re doing on my land, come with me. If you don’t, get the fuck off my property before I drive you off it.”
Charming.
But the thought of a hot drink, and the sight of smoke curling lazily from the metal chimney on the roof of the log cabin he was heading towards, had her picking herself up, grabbing her bag and following him.
And not only because she wanted to warm up.
She had the feeling that if she could just convince him that she wasn’t here for any nefarious reason, he would let her stay and photograph the bears.
She looked back at the river, and the mist that still swirled above it, eager to return to it in case any bears came to it while it looked so magical.
He disappeared into the cabin.
Ivy forced herself to follow him, nerves rising again as she approached the small building. A voice whispered not to go into it, that he was luring her in there for nefarious reasons of his own and that she should just leave now before it was too late.
He had been rough with her, forceful.
She had no reason to trust him, to believe he wouldn’t hurt her or abuse her.
He appeared in the window to the right of the open door, paused at his work and looked up at her, his grey eyes looking more blue in the light. His dark eyebrows drew down and he moved, disappearing from view for a heartbeat before he appeared in the doorway.
“Have a seat out here if it will make you feel more at ease.” His bass voice curled around her, a hint of warmth in it now, and in his eyes too as he gazed at her, his irises appearing more gold than grey now.
A trick of the light?
She eyed the two wooden chairs on the deck, and then peered into his cabin as he moved back into it, at the log burner against the left wall of it. It was warmer in there, but the thought of going inside had her nerves rising so she settled herself on the chair below the window and put her pack down by her feet.
Her focus strayed to the river as she waited, and it was hard to resist snapping a few shots of the valley as the sun rose higher. The way he had reacted to her photographing the valley had her holding off though, afraid that if she dared to take any more pictures that he would kick her out and her chance to photograph the bears she was sure came to the area would be lost.
He emerged from the cabin to her right and set a chipped white mug down on the table beside her. The coffee was black, and she preferred hers white, but she was damned if she was going to mention it. Steam rose off it, luring her in with the promise of warmth, and she grabbed it and lifted it to her lips, and breathed in the aroma.
A contented sigh swept through her.
While he lacked milk and manners, he had good taste in coffee, clearly made it using grounds and not instant granules.
She would have thanked him if he hadn’t chosen that moment to speak.
“So, you have your coffee, where’s my proof?” He remained standing, a glowering tower of muscle and menace, his eyes dark and stormy again as he fixed her with a hard look and nursed his own cup of coffee.
Clearly the caffeine hadn’t improved his manners.
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Book 2: Captured by her Cougar
(coming 18th August 2018)
(coming 8th September 2018)
(coming 29th September 2018)
BLP REVIEW ~ Tracy
I’ve loved Felicity Heaton‘s writing style, world building and character development since I the first book I read by a lady who is definitely in my top 5 author list!
Claimed by her Cougar is the first book in the new Cougar Creek Mates series which is a spin from the fab Eternal Matesseries by Ms Heaton.
I liked the change of setting for this series; while I love that a lot of the action in the EM series took place in London, I loved the descriptions of this new setting. The addition of the hated Archangel organisation, in a slightly different vein, was interesting too.
Rath was kinda what you’d expect of one of Felicity leading men – I do adore her kinda busted and gruff heroes. On first meeting him he comes across as a total arse but as the book progresses and we find out his secret, and why he is so distrusting of outsiders, you can understand his attitude and it helps that his reaction and attraction to Ivy starts softening his view and demeanor
Ivy was a determined lady who was passionate about her job and couldn’t understand why Rath had such an issue with her being around. She’d been badly burned by someone she had trusted and the last thing she needed was another man dictating what she could and couldn’t do. She was also desperate to make a success of her current assignment so she could move on to bigger, more important work. How would she react if and when she eventually found out what he was hiding.
Rath tries to deny to himself that Ivy is his fated mate and while she has no idea of what’s really happening between them she knows there is something more to the attraction and feelings she has for him.
As ever, the story was well written, engaging and you could so easily imagine the settlement that was Rath’s home from Felicity’s description. The heat between the pair was combustible, even when they were trying to fight it. With action, suspense and sexy shifters, this book had me caught from the first chapter.
I’m really looking forward to the other books in this new series and to seeing more of Rath and Ivy as well as his brothers, one of whom we were introduced to in ‘Claimed’
A solid 5* recommended read – even if you haven’t read the Eternal Mates series, or indeed any of Felicity Heaton’s previous books, this is easily a standalone and a great place to introduce yourself to some fabulous #PNR story telling.
Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you’re a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.
If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.
If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:
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