Category Archives: Reviews
VIRTUAL TOUR ~ BREAKING A LEGEND by Sarah Robinson
Released Sept 29th, 2015
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“I really appreciate it, but you don’t have to give it to me for free,” Clare’s brow furrowed as she took the membership card from the spunky redhead.
“Oh, please, girl. I used to work busing tables at O’Leary’s Pub when I was in high school. Is Cian still in charge over there?” She smiled back as she continued putting Clare’s information into the gym’s computer system.
“Yeah, he’s my supervisor.” Clare nodded at the woman, slightly mesmerized by how piercing and blue her eyes were in contrast to the bright red wavy hair that flowed down most of her back.
“Then believe me, these self-defense classes can be written off as a work expense on next year’s taxes.” Both women snickered. Clare leaned against the counter, enjoying the interaction, since she hadn’t made any friends around her age in the three weeks she had lived here. Clare felt a pang of regret slice through her as she wished that an irritating boss was the only reason she needed self-defense classes.
“I’m Casey Kavanagh, by the way.” The redhead reached out her hand to Clare, who accepted it happily.
“Clare—well, I guess you already know that.” Clare pointed toward the driver’s license that Casey was still holding. Casey just smirked and waved her hand nonchalantly.
“So—Kavanagh? You’re part of the family who owns this place?” Clare tried not to sound like she was prying, but she was curious. She’d heard that name all over town since she got here.
“Yeah, my uncle owns it. Started it up back in the late seventies. It’s been remodeled lately, but we definitely still have the old-school reputation.”
“Oh.” Clare nodded, not sure what that meant or what to say.
“Here, you can have this back. I think I have everything in here now.” Casey handed her the license. “The thirty-day trial membership begins today, and then we can talk about different types of plans after you’ve had a chance to try out our various amenities and classes.”
“Thanks. Do you think I could have a peek around? See where the locker rooms are and stuff like that?” Clare tucked her driver’s license back into her wallet along with the new membership card, then stuffed the wallet into the small brown purse that was slung over her shoulder.
“Hell, yeah! Come on, let me give you a tour. Welcome—officially, this time—to Legends!” Casey popped out from around the back of the counter, motioning for her to follow.
Clare watched the bouncy, energetic woman in amusement as she followed her, feeling slightly overdressed in her knee-length red dress and thigh-high black boots, compared to Casey’s black yoga pants and neon-green long-sleeved tee.
“Okay, so here are the locker rooms. Men over there, women right here.” Casey started to point toward various doors they passed as the hallway opened up into a large room with an open floor plan.
“The entire far side of the room is pretty much for the fighters, not really anything but testosterone and ball sweat over there.” Casey slid her arm around Clare’s elbow to pull her along.
Clare giggled at Casey’s remarks and took in the view of dozens of men on weight-lifting machines, standing in front of weight benches, and in the rings. She had to agree, there was definitely a lot of testosterone in here.
“But over here is where things are a bit less noisy.” Casey led Clare to a side hall that opened into several small classrooms. A few of the rooms were filled with people doing group exercises; Clare recognized a yoga class and a spinning class.
“All the classrooms are walled in by windows, but the glass is so thick that you can’t hear all the noise from the rings.” Casey indicated an empty classroom that was at the back wall of the gym.
The door they entered through was set in a wall of all glass, just like the back wall of the room that gave them a view of the street. Clare strode toward the back wall, loving the openness and the view of pedestrians passing by.
“Yeah, that’s my favorite part, too,” Casey said.
“What, people watching?”
“Of course! People are weird, which is fun,” Casey quipped, joining her at the window as they stood side by side.
“See, there’s an example of weird right there.” Casey pointed at a behemoth of a man crouching on the sidewalk with a large dog next to him.
“That’s my cousin, Rory, but he’s more like a brother. He works here sometimes, used to be a fighter but got hurt in the championships last year. Almost couldn’t walk again since his leg pretty much split in two. A year later, not only is he walking, but there he is crouched down, feeding a damn street dog.”
Clare watched more closely, and now she noticed the second dog. In front of both the man and the larger dog beside him was a smaller, frail-looking pup. It couldn’t be more than twenty pounds, although it seemed like it should be much bigger. The dog’s ribs were poking out of its side as Casey’s cousin slowly fed him a sandwich. He was careful to hold his hand out flat and she could see his lips moving from his profile, realizing he was probably coaxing the dog to accept the food.
“I think that’s sweet. I was studying to be a vet before I moved here.” Clare’s voice was soft as she admired the man’s kindness toward the stray.
The man stood and stretched a bit, opening up the other half of a bagged sandwich and then settling himself on the curb by the thin dog, who seemed more trusting of him now. In his new position, Clare could see more of his face and she realized that it was the same burly yet handsome man she had flirted with at O’Leary’s last night.
Of course, that was before he had broken her boss’s nose.
She felt a stirring in her abdomen as she watched him, her mouth slightly parting. The brown pup cautiously took a few steps to him, then sat and placed his head in Rory’s lap. Clare felt a glow as her heart warmed at the sight.
“I’m so not an animal person, but Rory would help a goddamn rat if he found one. That bigger dog there is his shadow, Ace. Barely ever see the two of them apart.” Casey stepped away from the window.
Clare hesitated, watching Rory and Ace for a moment longer, then pulled herself away to go follow her new friend. It had been a while since she had thought about her previous career aspirations, and a wave of sadness passed over her as she thought of the different trajectory of her life now. Maybe now that she was starting over, she could go back to school, she found herself hoping.
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She is married to a local police officer who is just as much of an animal rescue enthusiast as she is. Together, they own a zoo of rescue and foster animals.
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BLOG TOUR ~ THE SWEET SPOT by Stephanie Evanovich
other—base with her. A successful entrepreneur who’s built her business from scratch, Amanda doesn’t need a Prince Charming to sweep her off her feet. And a curvy girl who likes to cook and eat isn’t interested in being around the catty, stick-thin herd of females chasing Chase and his teammates.But Chase isn’t about to strike out. A man who isn’t interested in playing the field, he’s a monogamist who wants an independent woman like Amanda. His hopes rally when she discovers that squeaky-clean Chase has a few sexy and very secret pre-game rituals that turn the smart, headstrong businesswoman on—and into his number one fan.
Then a tabloid discovers the truth and turns their spanking good fun into a late- night punch-line. Is Amanda ready to let loose and swing for the fences? Or will the pressure of Chase’s stardom force them to call it quits?
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“Cold Creek Grill. How may I help you?” She answered the phone as if her day was right as rain. She was a business woman, first and foremost.
“I need a reservation for tonight,” a gravelly voice barked into the phone. The caller was either on a cell phone with a bad connection or had a mouth full of marbles.
“Of course sir, what time are you looking for?”
“Seven,” he said impatiently and Amanda pictured him running to catch a subway.
“Let me make sure I have that available,” she told him, trying to buy time while she booted up the computer at the podium a few feet away. She moved the phone to the other side of her head, forgetting it was a war zone and her hair crackled near her ear.
“Trust me, sweetheart, you have a table available.”
“Sir?” She didn’t know what to be more offended by, his use of the word sweetheart or the underlying threat that she better be able to seat him. And she determined he was just some arrogant blowhard who was sitting with his feet up on his desk overlooking the water and a fat stogy in his mouth.
“A superstar is having dinner at your restaurant; you don’t want to make him wait.”
“All of our guests at the Cold Creek are VIPs Mr…?”
“Maybe I should speak to the owner?” he cut her off and she thought she heard more spit squish out of the end of his cigar.
“I am the owner. My name is Amanda Cole. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”
“Don’t seat us someplace high traffic like near the front. He’s not there to be an advertisement. You’ll get your photo op.”
It sounded so scathing, like she was some sort of a bistro whore looking to make a buck, as if she would be interested in taking a picture with him in the first place. Supreme Court justices and past presidents dined at the Cold Creek without incident. “Mr. What-ever-your-name-is, I’m not only concerned for the comfort of our guests, but the safety of my staff. And we have had some high profile guests in the past. Several are regulars.”
“Yeah, yeah, I heard that. That’s why I’m calling. But lady, you never had anyone this big,” he said with an air of superiority that was nothing short of skin crawling. At least he had upgraded her to lady.
If he wasn’t being such a total jack-ass, she might have taken him more seriously. “Would you like to tell me who he is, so that I might inform security?” she said with overt sarcasm. He could either take being spoken to in kind, or he would start to ream her out and she would hang up on him and he could dine elsewhere, bad business or not.
There was a pause and she thought he may have hung up on her first. But then he said, “No. Better you don’t know till he gets there. Someone tips off TMZ and the night’s a bust. And he brings his own security”
“Will they be joining you for dinner?”
His laugh was particularly smarmy. “They’re not paid to eat.”
So he wasn’t only rude, he was also a tyrant. “That’s fine, sir, they can stand guard with mine.” Only hers were imaginary. She no longer cared if the computer was ready. It was a Weds, they were rarely fully booked, and this man and his famous guest seemed intent on dining there. He was probably going to be more aggravation than anything else, even if he was only half as self-important as his representative. “You’re all set, dinner for two at seven. Would you like to leave me a name or is there a code word or what?”
There was another pause, and once again Amanda was given the false hope that he may have hung up and saved her from a night of inconvenient distractions at the very least. But then she heard him on the other end, it sounded like a snort.
“You’re spunky, kid,” he told her. “Name under Alan Shaw. I’ll be there at 6:50. I don’t like to wait either. And make sure there are good steaks on hand, he’s a meat-eater.”
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a few small-budget movies, all in preparation for the greatest job she ever had, raising her two sons. Now a full-time writer, she’s an avid sports fan who holds a black belt in tae kwon do.
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REVIEW & RECOMMENDATION ~ Brave the Heat (The McGuire Brothers #1) by Sarah Humphreys
Blurb:
The only fire he can’t put out…
Jordan McKenna is back in town, and Fire Chief Gavin Maguire’s feelings when he sees her after all these years are as raw as the day she left. Then he was just a kid wearing his heart on his sleeve. Now he spends every day trying to atone for the tragedy he couldn’t prevent.
Is the torch he carries for her…
Jordan’s life has not exactly worked out the way she expected. A divorced mother of two with a failed acting career, Jordan’s biggest concern about coming back to Old Brookfield was seeing her first love. But when a series of suspicious fires breaks out, Jordan and Gavin realize that dealing with the sparks between them may be the least dangerous of their problems.
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BLP Review – Tracy
I’m a sucker for a second chance at love story – and one that is packed with action and intrigue as well as a hit of heat and romance definitely piques my interest!!!
Jordan runs back to the place the people that she ran from to escape her abusive father years ago – it broke her to leave it all behind but she made the best of things, even if it meant never seeing the boy she loved. Now she returns to lick her wounds after a divorce and to begin a new life with her two little girls.
The hurt and heartbreak that Gavin suffered when Jordan left years ago is understandable but his need and resolve to take care of her and her daughters, regardless of what happened in their past, was instinctual and nigh on unstoppable.
The story moved along quite quickly and the mystery surrounding the fires was interesting and kept me guessing through the read.
The supporting characters were all really likeable and I’m looking forward to finding out more about Gavin’s family!
‘Brave the Heat’ was a really good read. I liked both Gavin & Jordan from the outset and from the get go hoped that they could rekindle their love and passion – but with a series of fires and mysterious goings on happening all around them I began to wonder if they would get the chance to work things out and get to know each other again!
Sara Humphreys started this new series with, what was for me, a 5* read that I would definitely recommend and I can’t wait to get my hands on more of the McGuire Brothers!
About the Author:
Sara Humphreys is the award winning author of the Amoveo Legend series. The third book in the series, UNTAMED, won two PRISM awards–Dark Paranormal and Best of the Best. The first two novels from her Dead in the City series have been nominated for the National Readers Choice Award. Sara was also a professional actress. Some of her television credits include, A&E Biography, Guiding Light, Another World, As the World Turns and Rescue Me.
She loves writing hot heroes and heroines with moxie but above all, Sara adores a satisfying happily-ever-after. She lives in New York with Mr. H., their four amazing sons, and two adorable pups. When she’s not writing or hanging out with the men in her life, she can be found working out with Shaun T in her living room or chatting with readers on Facebook.
For a full list of Sara’s books please go to her website.
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RELEASE DAY BLITZ ~ Uneasy in New Orleans by Carol Carson
It’s a Big Easy Mystery with Uneasy In New Orleans
UNEASY IN NEW ORLEANS has everything you love about the French Quarter, delicious food, sexy men, mystery, gossip, trouble, and dead bodies…Well maybe not all of what people love about the city. However Finnigan Jones is dealing with all of these things and more. UNEASY IN NEW ORLEANS is the first in a new series called the Big Easy Mysteries from multi-published author Carol Carson.
To learn more about Carol Carson and her books check out her new website!
Giveaway:
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About UNEASY IN NEW ORLEANS
FINNIGAN JONES HAS A PASSION FOR COOKING AND A PECHANT FOR TROUBLE.
Dead bodies aren’t on Finn’s New Orleans walking tour of cemeteries and haunted houses. Ditto disappearing bodies. Now she has to explain to Detective Jack Boyle how her missing corpse has turned up in the Mississippi putting her smack-dab in the middle of a murder investigation.
Unfortunately, another of Finn’s odd jobs is taking questionable photos for Jack’s PI brother, Tommy. After she snaps shots of a dubious pair of lovebirds, they stalk her, then kidnap her. Now Finn’s dealing with two lunatics intent on killing her. Or driving her crazy. She’s not sure which.
Because lunatics and smokin’-hot brothers aren’t enough trouble, she’s gossiping, yes gossiping, with a chef ghost at culinary school, cat-sitting her aunt’s six felines and attempting to corral her wayward teenage sister.
All Finn wants is to survive school and become the best chef in the world.
FINN’S LIFE IS ABOUT TO GET EVEN MORE COMPLICATED.
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Excerpt
She heard a faint noise. She wasn’t alone. A tall stranger whose face looked familiar came toward her, his strides long and deliberate. “You the one takin’ pictures of me?”
“No,” she automatically lied.
His tone left little doubt about how he felt about her. ‘Dislike’ would be too kind.
‘Outraged and highly motivated to harm her’ seemed more likely. Which was when she remembered why he looked familiar. Franco, the wandering husband she’d photographed last night in all his pants-around-his-ankles glory. It took a nano-second to register the thought that he shouldn’t have known where to find her before extreme terror kicked in.
Closer to the stairs than Tommy’s office, Finn managed to dash past him in her rarely-worn heels.
He grabbed at her but she ducked. She reached the outer door and twisted the doorknob. He yanked her from behind, and pulled her toward him. A nasty blast of stale breath hit her in the face. The knob slipped from her sweaty hand. She wrenched her backpack off and screamed. She swung it and connected with his head. He grunted and lost his grasp on her.
Finn took advantage of the moment and wrenched open the door. She scrambled out to the landing. With one foot on the first step, he jerked her by the back of her sweater. She screamed bloody murder again and swung around to hit him.
Tommy appeared and yanked Franco up, smashing him in the jaw. The man stood in the tiny space swaying. Finn took advantage. She swung her backpack. This time, Franco sidestepped. And she hit Tommy full force.
He lost his balance, arms cartwheeling in the air as he reached for the rail. He missed and tumbled down the steps, crashing against each riser with a horrible thump until he lay crumpled at the bottom. Franco raced down the stairs, hurtled over Tommy’s prone body, then disappeared up the dark alley.
Finn flew down the steps, her backpack forgotten. Tommy lay at the bottom, his eyes closed, his jaw clenched.
She knelt by his side, her breath jerking in and out. She patted his cheek, and prayed he wasn’t dead. She couldn’t take two dead bodies in one day, no matter how insensitive it sounded.
He opened one eye and squinted at her, his face pinched. “Hell, I, I broke my…damn it all to hell…my damned leg.”
BLP REVIEW ~ Tracy
I’ll start by saying that Uneasy in New Orleans was a fairly decent read but it did leave me wanting – for all I enjoyed the book overall, I felt a little ‘uh, that’s it?!’ when I hit the last page……
From the blurb we had the heroine gossiping with a ghost chef – I love PNR so I would have liked more when it came to these interactions. There was mention of 2 smokin’ hot brothers so I was kinda expecting (and looking forward to) a bit of romance ~ not so much going on there!!
There was some action, a bit of adventure and a little mystery but it all felt somewhat anti-climatic when we got to the bottom of that too!
Finn’s aunt and younger sister were quite fun and were likeable characters.
There were some laughs and lighthearted moments and the writing was pretty good, there were just some things that took the book down a bit in my opinion.
The ex-bf – I couldn’t quite understand why he had made an appearance and that was never cleared up (maybe something that will be disclosed in book 2?!)
There was mention of a third sister – to be honest, I was kind of at a loss to understand why her character was even mentioned for the most part (again, maybe she’ll be more involved in the second book!)
A couple of things happened and I found the outcome to not be quite what I was expecting… I’ve always said when you read a book you sometimes have to suspend belief/reality but given the incidents I felt a more ‘real’ reaction/outcome would have been better!!
I will pick up the second book when it’s released because there was the possible beginnings of something that I’d be interested to see played out – and as I said I did think it was overall an enjoyable read – my only hope is that we get a bit more background and insight into the characters in the rest of the series (and maybe some explanations to things that happened previously that were mentioned but not expanded on!)!!
I rate Uneasy in New Orleans a 3.5*
Author Bio:
Multi-published author Carol Carson was born and raised in central Iowa. She is a former finalist in the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart contest and is an avid bookworm who actually enjoys doing research. Her other passions include travel, American history, the Kansas City Chiefs, the St. Louis Cardinals and dark chocolate. She has lived in Colorado and Kansas, and currently lives with her husband in a log home on the outskirts of St. Louis, Missouri. Write to her at carol.carson@centurytel.net or check out her website.
Connect with Carol: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon
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