Loving The Bad Boy by Autumn Miller (Rags to Riches, #2) Publication date: March 22nd 2022 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Synopsis:
A coming of age love story about a bad influence, sweet vengeance, and a whole lot of heart.
Millie
My father – the Earl of Amhearst – intends to marry me off to a man I can neither love nor tolerate. He invites potential suitors to the Marriage Games, a series of tasks to complete before one is declared the winner. The prize? Me. Trapped by circumstances, my only way out of this farce sees me walking into tattoo parlours and sex clubs, looking for a suitably tattooed man that my prejudiced father will hate on sight. Except, while the man I find will undoubtedly rile my father’s blood, forcing him to rethink his humiliating plans, the heavily inked, handsome bad boy I set my sights on makes my blood hot for entirely different reasons. He’s all I want in the entire world. Too bad he’s only my fake boyfriend.
Mal
Being propositioned by a gorgeous young woman wearing the shortest dress known to mankind was the last thing I expected tonight. But whatever the terms, I’m game. Enrage her up-tight father? Done. Be her pretend lover? Try and stop me. Wear a tux and attend a lavish party for the country’s elite? I’m there. A few days after I agree to her plea for help I find out who she really is – Lady Amelia Harrington-Scott, heiress to the indecently wealthy seat of Amhearst. But Millie doesn’t know that I met her father – a long time ago. That he tainted the only good thing I ever had in my life. That he embodies everything I hate about the peerage. He’s my enemy, which makes her my enemy, too. But I didn’t know our story would be so much more than revenge, Millie right at the heart of it. And I am blown away.
This is the second book in the Rags to Riches series. Although this is a standalone book, I strongly recommend that you read Marrying the Heiress first to avoid any spoilers and get maximum reader enjoyment. The characters featured in MTH will feature again here, their storyline extended within Loving the Bad Boy.
Mature content. Please refer to the foreword or Look Inside feature.
Autumn Miller lives in Norfolk, England. She studied French and German at university in London, and ended up in marketing. As part of her degree she lived in Karlsruhe, Germany for a year, where she travelled extensively.
When she’s not writing, she’ll be engrossed in a book, catching up with friends in the pub, or cleaning up after a husband, three children and a dog. Failing that, she’ll be dreaming up meet-cutes, gorgeous men and sassy dialogue.
Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Murder On Oxford Lane and a huge thank you to Tony Bassett for his guest post today!
About the book:
Murder On Oxford Lane
The peace of a Midlands village is upset when local businessman Harry Bowers doesn’t return from choir practice. More concerned than the man’s own wife, it would seem, investigating officer Detective Sergeant Sunita Roy becomes convinced he has met a sinister end. There is no trace of the man – just a litany of evidence of an ailing marriage and a nose-diving business venture. In charge of her first serious case, DS Roy will struggle to win the respect of her colleagues – in particular, her Brummie boss, DCI Gavin Roscoe. All that whilst fighting off the attentions of an increasingly desperate suitor.
Who had it in for the chorister? And is Roy tough enough to break down the defences and prejudices of Middle England? MURDER ON OXFORD LANE is the first book in a series of crime fiction titles by Tony Bassett.
The days of the fictional English male detective bustling round quiet country villages solving murders are almost certainly numbered. Books featuring popular characters like Morse and Barnaby will, of course, always sell extremely well.
But writers new to the crime genre like myself have to accept such characters may be a dying breed. This is why, in such a competitive market, anyone wishing to write crime novels with any chance of success has to be more inventive.
As a result, I have been planning for some time to make the main protagonist in my forthcoming book a female detective from a West Bengali background.
I have carried out some research into the subject. I am familiar with A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee and other excellent works by this author. But his books concern the 1920s and are set in Kolkata. I don’t know at present of any modern-day crime fiction set in the UK with a West Bengali main character.
Step forward Detective Sergeant Sunita Roy, a twenty-five-year-old law graduate who, I’ve decided, is set to make waves as a new recruit at a Midlands CID department.
My first book featuring Sunita Roy is called Murder On Oxford Lane. It was published in January. Its sequel, The Crossbow Stalker, was released four weeks later.
Both books are set in Warwickshire and Worcestershire. This is an area which I believe has been rather overlooked by crime writers. It offers an author the chance to cover both rural crime and urban crime in the UK’s second city.
Sunita, whose family come from Kolkata, has a younger sister called Tulika, who is a trainee solicitor. Their parents hail from Leicester. She is enthusiastic, hard-working and has a razor-sharp mind.
The character of Sunita Roy is introduced in the second chapter of the book. She has been away visiting relatives in Kolkata with her cousin Daniel. On her return, she is thrust into her first major case – the disappearance of a property tycoon from a sleepy Warwickshire village.
One reason why I have created this character with an Indian and Hindu background is that I have been extremely impressed by the amazing career of Neil Basu.
He is currently an Assistant Commissioner with the Met Police. He has been touted as a possible successor to Dame Cressida Dick.
Here is a man who has quietly risen through the ranks from being a beat bobby to take charge of, formerly, the counter terrorism brief at Scotland Yard and, currently, specialist operations. He is Britain’s most senior Asian police officer.
Like my character Sunita, he was raised in the Midlands. For my research, I approached an Indian association in Kent and I found their members extremely forthcoming and helpful, providing me with information about the way people from West Bengali backgrounds live in Britain – the style of clothing, religion, culture and so on.
Since retiring from full-time work as a journalist in 2015, I have had two Kent-based novels published as well. The first, Smile Of The Stowaway (published by The Conrad Press in December 2018) concerns a Kent couple who discover an African stowaway beneath their motorhome when they arrive home from a holiday in France.
Instead of handing him to the authorities, they shelter him and find him a job. Then he is accused of murdering a work colleague on Guy Fawkes’ Night and the couple campaign to prove his innocence.
My second book, released in 2020 by The Conrad Press, is a spy novel called The Lazarus Charter. It features the same couple as in the first book, teachers Bob and Anne Shaw.
This time Bob Shaw is astonished when he spots a friend at a London Underground station whose funeral he had attended weeks before. Is the man at the station an impostor or did the friend fake his own death?
This book is dedicated to the murdered Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko and the innocent mother of three, Dawn Sturgess, who died from novichok in 2018. The families of both victims have kindly helped to publicise the book.
I first developed an interest in writing while at school and university. There followed a forty-three-year career as a journalist, spent mainly working for the Sunday People newspaper.
On one occasion, while working for the Sunday People, I took an escaped gangster back to prison. I hope that all the knowledge and experience gained during those years as a newspaper reporter will add flavour and realism to my books.
LINK TO MURDER ON OXFORD LANE (Book1)
LINK TO THE CROSSBOW STALKER (Book2)
Author Bio –
Tony Bassett, a former Fleet Street journalist, has written a gripping series of crime novels set in the Midlands.
The first book in the series is called Murder on Oxford Lane. Published by The Book Folks, it concerns the disappearance of a property tycoon from a sleepy Warwickshire village.
Middle-aged DCI Gavin Roscoe and his relatively inexperienced sergeant, DS Sunita Roy, are confronted by suspicious deaths as they struggle to uncover what has happened to the businessman.
The second book in this Midlands crime series, The Crossbow Stalker, will be released shortly.
Tony decided to set this string of novels in Warwickshire and Worcestershire after spending many happy years working as a newspaper reporter in Worcester.
He first developed a love of writing at the age of nine when he and a friend produced a magazine called the Globe at their junior school in Sevenoaks, Kent.
At Hull University, Tony was named student journalist of the year in 1971 in a competition run by Time-Life magazine and went onto become a national newspaper journalist, mainly working for the Sunday People in both its newsroom and investigations department.
His very first book to be published, the crime novel Smile Of The Stowaway, was released in December 2018. It concerns a Kent couple who harbour a stowaway and then battle to clear his name when he is charged with murder.
Then, in March 2020, the spy novel The Lazarus Charter, was released. It involves foreign agents operating in the UK. The book has kindly been endorsed by Marina Litvinenko, widow of the murdered Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, and by Stan and Caroline Sturgess, parents of the innocent mother-of-three poisoned with novichok in Salisbury in 2018.
Tony, who has written at least four other novels which are as yet unpublished, has five grown-up children. He is a Life Member of the National Union of Journalists. He lives in South-East London with his partner Lin.
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. If you’re continuing with WOW, feel free to link those up as well! Find out more here.
And the book I am waiting for is…
From the blurb:
It’s a typical teenage bedroom with posters covering the walls and clothes littering the floor. But the girl lying on her bed, wearing a delicate chain around her neck, is lifeless. A circle of red stains her white vest top and Kim feels a sharp stab of sadness. How had the girl’s mother looked down at her sleeping child and pulled the trigger?
When Detective Kim Stone rushes to the scene of a house fire, she’s shocked to discover it’s claimed the lives of two teenage children and their parents. But this tragedy is not quite as it seems. Each body is marked by a gunshot wound and the mother, Helen Daynes, is holding the gun.
The case sparks painful childhood memories for Kim who suffered at the hands of her own abusive mother. As she begins to untangle the dark web of secrets within the Daynes family, Kim and her team discover Helen had a history of clinical depression. But could it have driven her to murder her loved ones?
Then Kim uncovers a tiny, vital clue in Helen’s bedroom that throws the investigation wide open. Could someone else have killed the Daynes family?
With the case only just underway, a deadly threat is made to Kim’s own life. Years ago, she rescued two little girls from the clutches of a dangerous psychopath who has just escaped prison and is coming for her.
A witness protection officer glued to her side, Kim must bite back her fear, as she keeps digging into the Daynes’s background and soon hits upon a shocking secret from Helen’s past that could crack the case. With the remaining family members in danger, Kim is under pressure like never before.
The monster circling Kim raises the stakes when he threatens the life of another innocent victim. He’s leading Kim straight to him. Forced to go against direct instructions from her superiors, will that one fateful decision cost her more than her job?
An absolutely nail-bitingly tense page-turner that will have you gasping out loud. You won’t come up for air until you’ve reached the twisty, breathtaking ending. Fans of Karin Slaughter, Mark Billingham and Robert Dugoni will love Six Graves.
Happy Publication Day to The Resting Place by Camilla Sten!
From the Blurb:
The brilliantly chilling follow-up to this winter’s buzziest debut thriller, The Lost Village.
A spine-chilling, propulsive psychological suspense from international sensation Camilla Sten.
The medical term is prosopagnosia. The average person calls it face blindness—the inability to recognize a familiar person’s face, even the faces of those closest to you.
When Eleanor walked in on the scene of her capriciously cruel grandmother, Vivianne’s, murder, she came face to face with the killer—a maddening expression that means nothing to someone like her. With each passing day, her anxiety mounts. The dark feelings of having brushed by a killer, yet not know who could do this—or if they’d be back—overtakes both her dreams and her waking moments, thwarting her perception of reality. Then a lawyer calls. Vivianne has left her a house—a looming estate tucked away in the Swedish woods. The place her grandfather died, suddenly. A place that has housed a dark past for over fifty years.
Eleanor. Her steadfast boyfriend, Sebastian. Her reckless aunt, Veronika. The lawyer. All will go to this house of secrets, looking for answers. But as they get closer to bringing the truth to light, they’ll wish they had never come to disturb what rests there.
A heart-thumping, relentless thriller that will shake you to your core, The Resting Place is an unforgettable novel of horror and suspense.
CAMILLA STEN has been writing stories since she was a young girl. In 2019, she published the now internationally acclaimed, hair-raising novel The Lost Village. Rights for The Lost Village have been sold to seventeen territories around the world including film and TV. An ever prolific author, Camilla is already working on her next psychologically intense suspense novel, all while travelling the world and putting the finishing touches on the first part of her dark and atmospheric YA series.
Love You Wrong by Julia Kent (Love You, Maine, #0.5) Publication date: March 28th 2022 Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance
Synopsis:
Two young do-gooders working to change the world find friendship and maybe more in a cutthroat business, but when the stakes are higher than they ever imagined, will a betrayal bring them together—or ruin everything?
Kellan “Kell” Luview is a new man. He left his tourist-trap small town and his dad’s business behind in rural Maine for a position at an environmental policy think tank in Washington, D.C. More comfortable climbing trees than talking about them, he’s determined to stretch his wings as he builds a new life with an ambitious girlfriend and smart friends who are just as dedicated as he is.
Despite his love for his work and the excitement of D.C., he feels pulled in too many directions when his girlfriend Alissa starts acting weird, his best friend Rachel needs an embarrassing, public rescue, and his mom hints that things are not going well at home in Luview–“Love You”–Maine, where every day is Valentine’s Day.
As a shocking betrayal shakes the very foundation of everything he believes in, Kell must decide who to trust, who to challenge, who needs him most—and figure out fast whether Rachel’s warnings about his girlfriend are credible.
Or yet another tactical maneuver in a city founded on them.
Unraveling the mystery of who to believe pits Kell against Rachel in a battle where the truth is uncertain and hearts are just collateral damage as ambition rules over feelings.
But Kell’s had enough.
More than enough.
Time to decide what kind of man he is—and who to trust.
Love You Wrong is a novel-length prequel (40,000 words), introducing New York Times bestselling romantic comedy author Julia Kent’s new Love You, Maine series. If you love rom coms about friends who are meant for more, deep intrigue, big misunderstandings, tests of loyalty, and small town/big city clashes, then pick up this prequel and try out a new-to-you series.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. Since 2013, she has sold more than 2 million books, with 4 New York Times bestsellers and more than 21 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French, German, and Italian, with more titles releasing in the future.
From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men’s room toilet (and he isn’t a billionaire she met in a romantic comedy).
She lives in New England with her husband and three children where she is the only person in the household with the gene required to change empty toilet paper rolls.
She loves to hear from her readers by email at julia@jkentauthor.com, on Twitter @jkentauthor, on Facebook at @jkentauthor, and on Instagram @jkentauthor. Visit her at http://jkentauthor.com
It’s Monday! What are you Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn from Book Date, a place to share and discuss what we’ve read in the past week and what we’re in the middle of or are planning to read this week.
What I read / listened to last week:
Poison at the Village Show (A Martha Miller Mystery#1) by Catherine Coles
Remember Me by Estelle Laure
Summer Nights with a Cowboy (Kittredge Ranch #3) by Caitlin Crews
Bad Penny by Michelle Gorman
What I am reading/listening to now:
A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
What I’m reading /listening to next:
Mr Wrong Number by Lynn Painter with Yesha
The Night Shift by Alex Finlay
and hopefully…Obsidio (Illuminae 3) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff with Yesha
How did your last week go and what are you reading this week?
Hearts on Fire by Christina Berry Publication date: March 24th 2022 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Synopsis:
I never meant to stay. The plan was to fix up the farmhouse, sell it, and leave. Then I met Drew.
I’m a stranger in this place. When a car accident nearly killed me, Mom took me away from my father and this small Texas town. Now, I’m back, and while everyone seems to remember the little girl I used to be, no one knows the woman I’ve become. That’s okay. I’m not here to reconnect or fix what’s broken between my father and me. I’m just here to fix the house I inherited, sell it, and go.
Then I meet Bodhi, the three-legged cat who keeps peeing on my porch. And along comes Bodhi’s dad, Drew, the protective firefighter with rough hands, a smooth smile, and such a dirty mouth.
Drew has a reputation for rescuing strays. Is that what I am, another stray for him to rescue? Or this time, maybe I’ll be the rescuer.
Hearts on Fire is a dual POV, small town, scorching hot, firefighter romance with an HEA. Contains mature language and themes.
Christina Berry writes sex-positive, contemporary romance. Her debut novel, Up for Air, won “Sexiest Consent” in the 2021 Good Sex Awards, as well as the 2021 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal Winner in Romance – Sizzle, and the 2021 Independent Press Award in Romance.
A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Christina is originally from Oklahoma, and currently resides in Austin, Texas. When not writing, she’s usually helping her husband with their never-ending home remodeling adventure or marathon watching British crime dramas.
USA Today bestseller Caitlin Crews returns with an emotional romance in her stunning cowboy series Kittredge Ranch.Traveling nurse Janie Atwood has come to Cold River to uncover old family secrets and maybe, if she’s lucky, find a new home. That the gorgeous, glowering sheriff next door thinks her caring for his elderly neighbor is a nefarious scheme is a bonus. Having never been anything but a good girl, Janie finds Zack Kittredge’s simmering suspicion an excellent reason to try being a little dangerous instead…
Sheriff Zack Kittredge is okay with being… intense. He takes his loner status as seriously as he takes his responsibilities to protect Cold River. And he thinks cheerful Janie might be a threat to the town. But the more he gets to know her, the more he faces the truth—she’s brighter than sunshine and he’s like a moth to her flame. When Janie suggests he could use a few charm school lessons, he surprises them both by accepting. He doesn’t need help. But it’s clear he might need her…
Publisher:St. Martin’s Paperbacks Publication Date: March 29th, 2022
This is my favourite cowboy series! I was so looking forward to this third instalment in the Kittredge Ranch series by Caitlin Crews and it was every bit as enjoyable as I expected it to be.
This time we finally get to know what made the eldest Kittredge brother, Zack, leave the ranch, which he as the first-born son was supposed to inherit and pour all his soul and hard, sweaty, backbreaking work in. There’s no doubt that reserved, broody Zack loves this land and people living on it and he actually loves taking care of horses and the ranch, so why did he decide to become a law enforcement officer and a sheriff? Rest assured, all the secrets will be revealed with the help of a certain red-haired nurse, Janie Atwood, a newcomer to Cold River, Colorado. Ever since she tripped and spilled her snow mocha all over Zack’s shirt, he knows she is trouble with a capital T and to his trained lie-detecting eyes she is hiding something and can’t be trusted.
Janie has been friend-zoned and relegated to an honourable kid sister status numerous times, so when she comes on the gorgeous sheriff’s troublemaker radar, she is so nervous she can’t stop talking total nonsense in his presence. The easiest thing would be to tell him the truth- she took up a position in Cold River because this is the best place to she is look for her family roots, but this is the first time anyone actually thought she was a dangerous, sensual woman, so why not go on with it for a bit?
There’s so much lovely tension, good, old-fashioned flirting and banter when Janie announces Zack needs a school of Charm. Fair enough, even his loud and interfering siblings think he is gloomy, intense, and is suffering from a Saint Zack/ hero complex. Nobody has ever seen him date anyone in the county and it’s true, he hasn’t…by choice.
Janie, on the other hand, despite all her blend-into-walls, sensible clothes and practical shoes, is considerate and easy-going. As a travelling nurse, specialising in geriatrics, she has had to fit in in all sorts of families and deal with various conflicts. Janie is excellent at what she is doing and not only because of her medical qualifications and her experience- her heart is in the right place and she really cares for her patients. Janie is a curious mixture of sanguine and emotional, experienced and innocent. Needless to say, when she falls for Zack, she falls hard…And then she also finds out about her notorious ancestor and this adds a new layer to her relationship with our swoon-worthy sheriff.
What I loved about this book the most is first and foremost that everyone is kind and decent. There’s no cheating or malicious gossip. At the heart of the book is the eternal question of parent-children relations, changing expectations, communication and miscommunication- something we can all relate to.
Fans of the series are going to be delighted with the story and the ending that does tie all the loose ends. This is my sixth book set in Cold River and of course I was delighted to see all the familiar faces, but Caitlin Crews doesn’t overload the book with cameo appearances, it can be read as a standalone. You might be surprised at an unusually high number of happy couples (and pregnant women), but it is first and foremost Zack and Janie’s story, and a very enjoyable one. I know I’m not ready to say goodbye to Cold River…Hope Caitlin continues the series – there are so many characters that Caitlin’s fans can’t wait to read more about! Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for the review copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
About the author: USA Today bestselling, RITA-nominated, and critically-acclaimed author Caitlin Crews has written over one hundred books, including Harlequin Presents, Harlequin Dare, and Cold River cowboys. These days her focus is on contemporary romance in all its forms, from small town heat to international glamor, cowboys to bikers to military men and beyond. She currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with a husband who draws comics and animation storyboards, and their menagerie of ridiculous animals.
Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality. It’s all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books (directly from their authors or Netgalley and Edelweiss, books you’re given as gifts, physical copies, ebooks and audiobooks.
NetGalley/Edelweiss/ Blog Tours:
I’ve read so many great reviws of Robert Dugoni’s books by my blogger friends that I just couldn’t resist one and, of course, I need to finish the De Messieres Sisters series by Melissa Foster (finally, it’s Deidra’s turn).
Purchased:
Fingers crossed none of these will spend long time on my gigantic tbr and will quietly move to the read shelf very soon! Here is to wishful thinking 🙂
Happy Reading to all of us!
What did you add to your shelves this week? Do any of these books appeal to you?
Shifted Magic by Heather Renee (Fated to the Wolf, #1) Publication date: March 24th 2022 Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Synopsis:
When a goddess gives you a task, you don’t say no.
Foster Ten years ago, one bad choice lost me my pack. Since then, I’ve been a rogue wolf, and I’m content to stay that way until the Moon Goddess shows up and tells me to find my mate.
One look at her and two things become very clear.
She’s no wolf and…she has no idea who I am.
Andie It’s not every day you find out you’re a witch mated to a wolf. To be fair, I was already beginning to question if magic might be real. I know, it sounds crazy—but what other explanation is there for this strange glowing light coming from my hands?
When a couple of witches attack me, I’m thrust into a life that was stolen. Erased.
Turns out there’s a lot more than magic that’s been waiting for me. All I have to do is take the chance and embrace it.
But can I give up everything I am for a coven and soulmate I never knew existed?
Author’s Note: Shifted Magic is perfect for fans of slow burn paranormal romance with a relatable heroine and swoon worthy love interest. Fans of Helen Harper, BR Kingsolver, McKenzie Hunter, and Annabel Chase will love this shifter romance with humor and heart. This is the fourth series in Heather Renee’s Mystics and Mayhem universe. Recommended for ages 17+. Series do not need to be read in order.
Heather Renee is a USA Today Bestselling author who lives in Oregon. She writes Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy novels with a mixture of romance, humor, and sass. Her love of reading eventually led to her passion of writing and giving the gift of escapism.
When Heather’s not writing, she’s spending time with her loving husband and beautiful daughter, going on their own adventures. She loves to hear from her fans, so visit her website: http://www.HeatherReneeAuthor.com and check out the Contact Me page for ways to connect.
readingtonic 