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:
Under One Roof by Samantha Tonge
What I am reading/listening to now:
The Lost Dreamer by Lizz Huerta
What I’m reading /listening to next:
A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham
How did your last week go and what are you reading this week?
Vibes & Feels by Sarah Skye (Unlikely Pairings, #2) Publication date: February 22nd 2022 Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance
Synopsis:
THE SEQUEL TO SIPS & STROKES!
Falling for your enemy never felt so good.
Marco Woodruff has hit rock bottom. He drunkenly propositioned his ex-girlfriend at his own wedding rehearsal dinner just over a year ago and ended up dumped and jobless with a broken nose. He’s been the pariah of his social circle ever since. Now, he’s trying like hell to change for the better.
Morgan Paulsen loathes Marco. He’s nothing more than the douchebag who broke her best friend Lily’s heart. He’s also the last person in the world she expects to help when she finds herself in a crisis. Her ailing grandma needs a full-time caretaker, something she can’t afford. So when Marco offers to look after Gram for free, Morgan takes it as a sign from the universe and reluctantly accepts under one condition: that they never tell anyone about their arrangement.
But Morgan quickly realizes Marco has a completely different vibe these days. The sweet guy who whips up homemade meals for her Gram and happily escorts her to bridge club definitely isn’t the douchebag she remembers. She’s falling hard for the tall, dark, and handsome hottie who kisses like a demon and rocks out to BTS and Taylor Swift. Marco is equally smitten with beautiful, badass Morgan. Never in his life has he felt so content and comfortable than with her. Never did he think he was capable of feeling so much for somebody.
Soon they’re falling hard into total bliss and blazing passion. But if they make it official, Morgan will lose her best friend forever. Can she come clean to Lily? Can Marco prove that therapy and cutting out his toxic family have really changed him? Or will being open about their love ruin everything?
Sarah Skye is the nom de plume of romance authors Sarah Smith and Skye McDonald. Sarah and Skye met on Twitter as fledgling authors seeking critique partners. That turned into a brilliant friendship, a joint podcast (Quick & Dirty Romance Podcast), and now a novel.
Sarah Smith (Faker; If You Never Come Back; Simmer Down) is a copywriter-turned-author who wants to make the world a lovelier place, one kissing story at a time. Her love of romance began when she was eight and she discovered her auntie’s stash of romance novels. She’s been hooked ever since. When she’s not writing, you can find her hiking, eating chocolate, and perfecting her lumpia recipe. She lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband and adorable cat Salem.
Skye McDonald (The Anti-Belle Series) is an author and personal development coach. Skye’s Anti-Belle series feature sassy GRITS (Girls Raised In the South) learning to love themselves before they can claim their happily ever after. (Spoiler: they always do!) Her coaching method uses fitness and life skills to teach individuals to do the same. When not writing sexy books or cheering for you to live your best life, Skye can be found out on a new adventure, usually with her pup at her side.
Sabrina and the Lady by Sonya Lawson (The Comus Duology, #1) Publication date: February 25th 2022 Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Synopsis:
A tyrant occupies the Fae Palace and the only woman who could stop him is hiding in Kentucky, drinking wine with a Milton scholar. But that might be a good thing.
Sabrina, a small-town academic, spends her days teaching and hanging out with the kind but somewhat mysterious best friend she met a few years ago. Her life is steady, maybe even a little dull. Until her friend’s family arrives. Suddenly, Fae is no longer a fictional place. Magic is real. And, oddly enough, Sabrina’s knowledge of a 1634 play may hold the key to saving Nin and her realm.
Nin landed in Kentucky after escaping her captor, the tyrant she once loved. The human realm is calming for her, with moments of joy, but she hates how she hides who and what she is from Sabrina. When Nin’s family unexpectedly arrives at her greenhouse, a series of events force her to share her secrets and grapple with her place in Fae — past, present, and future.
Sabrina and Nin must trust in their friendship, themselves, and John Milton’s Comus to survive in Fae and save the realm from ruin. If they cannot, terror and destruction will reign far beyond the Fae Palace gates.
**Get the extras from the world of The Comus Duology here!**
AUTHOR BIO:
Sonya Lawson (she/her/they) is a recovering academic currently writing fantasy and other forms of speculative fiction. While she remains a rural Kentuckian at heart, she currently lives in the Pacific Northwest. She fills her days with writing, editing, reading, walking old forests, and watching sitcoms or horror films. You can find more information about current projects and upcoming releases at www.sonyalawson.com.
Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate in Under One Roof by Samantha Tonge.
Under One Roof
One forgotten discovery will change three women’s lives for ever…
Robin hasn’t been home for decades. After running away to London, she never expected to see her cantankerous mother, Faye, again. But when Faye has a fall, the two women are thrown together once more.
The years apart have not made their hearts grow fonder and the ground between them is unsteady. Then Robin finds an unopened scroll – the last of the treasure hunts her much-missed father used to take them on every Sunday. A hunt he believed might change everything.
Yet, not even this gift from her beloved father can smooth the way until Robin’s daughter, Amber, arrives to meet her grandmother for the first time. Amber is determined that the decades-old mystery be solved.
Can a 30-year-old treasure hunt really ‘change everything’?
I have come to expect well-written and entertaining books from Samantha Tonge, but this one is special. There is unexpected depth in this very easy-to-read, seemingly simple story of three women, representing three generations of one family.
Robin ran away from home when she was 16 and, although she did see her mother Faye once when her own daughter Amber was born, it wasn’t enough to break through the animosity and bridge the gap between them. Now, 48-year-old, divorced and recently made redundant Robin is asked by her Uncle Ralph to go back to her home village in greater Manchester to take care of Faye who has had a nasty fall. You’d think Robin’s mother would be grateful for having someone to look after her for a few weeks until her cast comes off and her bruises fade, but no, Faye doesn’t want any help or support, especially not from her estranged daughter who left her in the summer when Faye’s husband/Robin’s dad passed away. But Robin isn’t the same firey teenager with little life experience- she has matured and learned how to deal with challenging situations and a lot of this experience has come from being a mother herself. When her sweet, smart, outspoken, independent, eighteen-year-old daughter has a bit of a crisis with student accomodation, the simplest solution is to move in her grandmother’s house and get to know Faye and the secrets her family holds.
I loved the way the story focused on the three main characters (a bit more on Robin and Faye) which allowed the author to really develop them and dig deep into their feelings and their motivations. All of this without becoming too long and boring. There is a wonderful treasure hunt with its enigmatic clues- the last gift left by Robin’s father to the two people he considered most precious in the world. Of course, Faye and Robin do need Amber’s help to not only with the mysterious anagram, but also with their own uneasy mother-daughter relationship. There are also great references to 80s (including some fashion gems a lot of readers are going to sigh over nostalgically). And there are Dear Debbie! letters written by teenage Robin that bring a bit of levity and show how difficult it is (some say impossible) to give life advice to a teenage girl. The secondary characters are memorable in their own way- e.g. Tara, Yul, Blanche, even absolutely adorable Hoover…They do not take away from the protagonists, but rather add and enhance their stories by providing valuable details that let us understand what happened and empathise.
While my own family is nothing like Robin’s, reading this book brought back a lot of memories from when my grandmother was still alive and I could observe her relationship with my mother and realise for the first time in my life why my mother behaved in certain ways.
A well-written, thought-provoking, compelling and entertaining read from a very talented author who keeps delighting her fans with every new release. Highly recommended to anyone who likes stories about families in general and mother-daughter relationships in particular, life, time, second chances, forgiveness and understanding.
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
Author Bio –
Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK and studied German and French at university. She has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris as part of the Opening Crew, and has travelled widely. She enjoys family time, baking and walking and always knew that one day she would write. Samantha finally took the plunge seriously in her late thirties, and hasn’t stopped since. Under One Roof will be her sixteenth book and she has also sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines.
Samantha’s uplifting stories are about identity and self-discovery, about friendships and communities. She enjoys creating diverse characters and writing about relatable issues that make the reader feel it’s not just me. Her books have hit the AmazonUK overall chart Top Ten position twice and she has won two awards.
Love on the Line 2 by Kirsten Fullmer (Women at Work, #2) Publication date: February 4th 2022 Genres: Coming of Age, New Adult, Romance, Young Adult
Synopsis:
In part two of this extraordinary love story set in the hot, humid, summer of the wide-open mid-west, egos and emotions collide. Andy and Rooster find their romance in peril when job-related stress, injuries, and extraordinary weather conditions interfere with their relationship, both at work and at home.
Andrea has come to understand working outdoors in inhospitable climates and is thriving in her role as assistant bending engineer. She and Rooster have moved in together and are starting a new job. Although exhausted, Andy is glad to be working with Grandpa Buck again, even though it limits her time with Rooster. She’s missed the other hands too, and she is very curious about the new coating foreman; an intelligent, confident, and independent young woman. So is her friend, Nick. Andy also finds herself befriending a neighbor at the RV park, the wife of a welder on the line. Seeing a girl her age as a mother has Andy wondering about her own future. Could she manage to pipeline and be wife and mother too?
As always, pipeline construction is interrupted by delays, fraught with fatigue, and contingent on the weather. Caught up in a world of egos, Andrea and Rooster struggle to maintain their workload while finding time for each other after hours. When a serious on-the-job accident tips the scale of leadership, Andy and Rooster are thrown into conflicting positions. If stress at work, little time for love, and their reputations in danger wasn’t enough, Andy’s parents show up to complicate things further. Rooster is determined to prove himself capable of his new position, and Andrea isn’t about to let Buck down; will their fledgling romance pay the price? The couple has their horns locked in battle and they can’t let go, but they need each other, especially now. Both will have to make sacrifices and take a chance on ruining their credibility in order to stay together.
Kirsten is a dreamer with an eye for art and design. She worked in the engineering field, taught college, and consulted free lance. Due to health problems, she retired in 2012 to travel with her husband. They live and work full time in a 40′ travel trailer with their little dog Bingo. Besides writing romance novels, she enjoys selling art on Etsy and spoiling their three grandchildren.
As a writer, Kirsten’s goal is to create strong female characters who face challenging, painful, and sometimes comical situations. She believes that the best way to deal with struggle, is through friendship and women helping women. She knows good stories are based on interesting and relatable characters.
Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Unforgettable by Ruth Loten. Today I’m delighted to present an extract from this new release.
About the book
Unforgettable
There are first loves and there are last loves. But what happens when they overlap?
Tom Blythe falls in love quickly. He fell for Olivia the first time they met. The same thing happens when he meets Grace. The problem is: Tom is still in love with Olivia.
Pulled in two different directions, Tom has a choice to make. He knows he’s unhappy, but is that enough for him to forget the vows he made? Both women have difficult pasts and Tom is desperate to help them, but at what cost?
Can he let Olivia go and commit his future to Grace? Or will the pull of the past prove too strong?
This extract comes from the opening section of Tom and Grace’s story and gives an insight into Tom’s state of mind at the time they meet. He’s a work from home parent to three children – Theo, Xander and Elodie and he’s not been having the easiest time.
That morning had been particularly challenging and after dropping Elodie off at the pre-school and walking the boys round to their respective classrooms, I trudged home, head down, hands thrust deep into my pockets, ignoring the beautiful spring day around me. In my world everything was bleak and blanched of colour. When I reached the front gates, I paused, one hand on the cold metal of the door handle, immobile, unable to make the final movements that would take me up the drive and into the empty house that was silent and leeched of life.
Thoughts of the empty cereal bowls and breakfast detritus that lay piled in the sink like mountains of misery, islands in a dirty grey sea, waiting to be loaded into the already groaning dishwasher, filled my head. I could feel the panic rising and I quickly tamped it down, coercing the bile back. I took a few deep breaths, forcing the nausea to retreat from its determined assault. Waves crashed over my head and I was back in the swimming pool nightmare of my childhood. The water was heavy, keeping me trapped below the surface, until finally, gasping for breath, I broke free. An insistent buzzing noise filled my ears, bringing me back to myself. My leg was vibrating; no, not my leg, my pocket. My phone. I scrabbled around for it, fumbling fingers through layers of clothing and finally located it, just as it stopped ringing. Eoin.
I’ll call him back later, I promised wearily.
‘Are you OK, Tom?’
I turned to see Mrs Barlow from next door, a slight frown creasing her already well-lined face. I had no idea how old she was, but she looked like Miss Marple; lined face and fluffy hair and the same air of vague amiability that concealed a core of solid steel. I’d once had the pleasure of witnessing her berating a group of youths who’d dropped their crumpled crisp packets and half-eaten sandwich carcasses by the war memorial. She was magnificent: walking stick waving wildly above her head, she was a vengeful nemesis of wrath and retribution as they ducked and dived out of its path. Unsteady on her feet she may have been, but her aim was true as she swung the stick around her, scattering them like skittles as they scrambled to collect the remains of their makeshift picnic.
I forced my face into the semblance of a pleasant expression, my stooped shoulders rearranging themselves.
‘Yes thanks, Mrs B. Just one of those weeks, you know?’
She nodded sympathetically and patted my shoulder.
‘I had weeks like that when I lost my George,’ she said. ‘But it will pass. The bad days always do.’
I nodded, a weak parody of a smile smuggling its way onto my mouth, then slithering away again the moment her front gate closed. She didn’t understand of course. How could she? I decided the washing up could wait. It would still be there this afternoon and by then I might feel more able to face it. Unlocking the front door, I went inside only long enough to retrieve my car keys and wallet, then slid into the driver’s seat and set off with no real consideration of where I was going, only knowing I needed to get away from the house and its suffocating aura of misery. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d stepped through its door and actually felt happy.
I depressed the accelerator, shifting through the gears and the fleeting idea, What if I just kept pushing? flashed through my mind. For a long half second, I fantasised about the crunch of crumpled metal, jagged blue shards sticking out like the wreckage of a ship at low tide, of my head slamming into the windscreen, scoring its pristine surface with thin trickles of life, like cracked riverbeds in a summer drought. And then I thought of the children. My foot shifted infinitesimally on the pedal and the moment had passed; I was ashamed it had ever existed.
A brown tourist sign caught my eye and a few metres up the road, I turned into a narrow, fence lined road. The car bumped its way down the track, throwing me from side to side as the wheels ground deep furrows into the surface. One rotation crushed the gravel, the next sent it spinning out of control, until it lay exhausted, waiting for the next set of tyres to come along and fling it to a new resting place. I knew how it felt and I sympathised.
For some time after I switched the engine off, I sat in silence, listening to the sounds within it; the faint ‘tick tick tick’ of my watch, measuring the seconds as they passed relentlessly by and the distant buzzing of an omniscient helicopter flying overhead, observing the patchworked landscape below where people and vehicles scurried from one place to the next. Caught up in their own concerns, they spared little attention for the insignificant people they passed, seeing only the superficial, heedless of the pain beneath the smiling masks presented to the world. The occupants of the helicopter would be able to see my car, ant-like, below them, unaware of the miserable creature it contained. I watched as the remnants of the previous night’s rain trickled down the windscreen, dividing it unevenly down the middle and I reflected idly that it rather neatly echoed my life; one half before ‘this’, the other half after. I hated feeling like that, so dissociated from everything around me, as though I was observing my own life, rather than living and experiencing it as a fully functioning human should do.
Author Bio – A former teacher, Ruth’s first writing memory is for her writer’s badge in Brownies but her MA in Creative Writing probably trumps that. One of the founders and editors of the digital literary and visual arts magazine, Makarelle, she has been published in various anthologies and is usually found in her study, mainlining coffee and frantically pinning editorial notes onto a noticeboard. In November 2019, Ruth was appointed Writer In Residence at Brightlingsea Lido. Although she has written a number of books for children and teenagers, this is Ruth’s debut novel for adults.
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
A Blessed Darkness by Elexis Bell Publication date: February 22nd 2022 Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Synopsis:
A dark connection. A deadly responsibility.
Sparks fly when Elairie, a mixed-blood elf living on the edge of society and serving as a night guard, meets her latest prisoner. Strange auras surround them, and a magical gravity draws her to him, despite what her associates might say about his race. But the connection they share comes with a dark side.
When Beluroan learns that he and his guard are Blessed Ones, hand-crafted by the Gods to stop a madman from recreating the Blood Magic of old, his veins run cold. Threatened with a return to the magical slavery such magic commands, fear grips him, and memories of his childhood Master fill his mind.
But together, their potential power frightens even the Gods. Can they overcome the prejudices marring their land and master their new magic in time to stop the man trying to enslave their country? Or will they succumb to their own power?
Filled with grit and magic, this literary romantic fantasy will take you on a ride.
I’m a nerd with a lot of hobbies and enough sarcasm and swear words to make a sailor blush, though, you’ll never hear a word of it if I’m not comfortable around you. I’ve been an introvert since birth. When I’m writing, though, words come easily.
At the end of the day, I just want to write stories that make people feel something.
Too Far by Lauren Fraser Publication date: February 12th 2022 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Synopsis:
Something needs to change if their marriage is going to work. But how far is too far?
To the outside world, Lia Dahl has it all. Her business is thriving. She has a gorgeous husband and great friends.
Jaxon Dahl is everything Lia had ever dreamed of. Successful, handsome, committed. Marriage should have been the answer to the life she’d always imagined. But three years in and unfortunately, it’s not all smooth sailing. Somewhere along the way, she got lost.
How has she allowed herself to become invisible in their relationship when she is so confident everywhere else? Well, no more.
It’s time for drastic action to get this marriage back on track. This will either be the jumpstart they need or the final nail in the coffin.
Lauren has always been a dreamer, weaving stories to keep herself entertained. Through her stories she can travel anywhere in the world and money is not an object. Now, who wouldn’t want that? Unfortunately, the demands of the real world pushed her dreams to the side for a while.
After talking to her children about going after what they wanted and not letting fear stand in their way, she realized she needed to lead by example and chase her own dreams. She enjoys going hiking, camping and paddleboarding with her husband and two daughters.
Crossroads by Mary Ting Publication date: March 2nd 2014 Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Synopsis:
* * * READERS FAVORITE GOLD AWARD WINNER 2012–YOUNG ADULT * * * Based on dreams the author had in high school-chapter 1 & 2.
Protecting her was his duty. Falling in love was forbidden. Loving her was all that mattered, even if it meant he would be exiled for all eternity.
Claudia Emerson’s life is about to change. It seems like a tragic coincidence when her good friend, who shares the same first and last name, dies in a car accident. Grief brings tumultuous dreams—but these are more than simple dreams. In sleep, Claudia travels to another world called Crossroads. There, she meets Michael, a Nephilim–half angel, half human. Meeting him and being there changes her forever. It marks her as special, and that may not be a good thing. Now fallen angels and demons are after her, and it is up to Michael and the other Nephilim to protect her. Her dreams become a nightmare as secrets are revealed about who she really is and the true identities of the people she loves most.
International Bestselling, Award-Winning Author Mary Ting writes soulful, spellbinding stories that excite the imagination and captivate readers all over the world. Her books run a wide range of genres: science fiction, fantasy, and swoon worthy stories. Her storytelling talents have won her a devoted legion of fans and garnered critical praise.
Mary was born in Seoul Korea and resides in Southern California with her husband, two children, and two dogs—Mochi and Mocha. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Becoming an author was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother. After realizing she wanted to become a full-time author, she retired from teaching after twenty years.
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:
The Kiss Quotient meets Love Potien No. 9 in the next sparkling romantic comedy by Lily Menon.
Lyric Bishop and Kian Montgomery, both graduate students, are best friends and roommates. When Lyric needs help cracking the Sizzle Paradox for her doctoral thesis on sexual chemistry–it seems the more attractive she finds a guy, the less “sizzle” there is when they actually have sex; but why?–Kian, who never has trouble in the bedroom, offers to tutor her on dating tactics. Lyric, being a self-proclaimed awkward potato, accepts the help she desperately needs.
But once the two progress with their “tutoring sessions,” they find that the solution to the Sizzle Paradox might actually be having sex with each other. Which is a problem, because they’re best friends and absolutely, irrefutably nothing else… Right?
**************
Expected Publication Date: June 14th, 2022
Publisher: St.Martin’s Griffin
ISBN 9781250801234, 1250801230
304 pages
Romcom
**************
LILY MENON has always been enamored by romantic comedies and happily-ever-afters in all shapes and sizes. Now she lives in the mountains of Colorado, where she spends her days dreaming up kissing scenes and meet-cutes. When she’s bored, she masquerades as New York Times bestselling YA author Sandhya Menon.
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