Tag: book-review-blog
Let it Snow : Book Review/Recommendation
December is just around the corner and my heart is lit up like a Christmas tree because it’s time for all the snowy, holiday romances to serenade me while I sit ensconced in a warm quilt, with a cup of hot chocolate and “I am dreaming of a white Christmas” playing in the background. (Yes, I am the queen of long sentences. If I ever decide to write a book, my editor would be in for quite a tough ride)
Anywhoooo, I cannot go on without spreading a little cheer. So, if you’re like me with a warm, toasted and slightly melted marshmallow of a heart, I have a beautiful book recommendation for you! You might remember this one from it’s cover release that I posted some time back! Well, I went ahead and read it because the cover had me hooked.
It’s called Let it Snow by Cassie Cross and here’s my no-spoiler (well, a little spoiler), honest-to-god review.
It has got, in no particular order:
- Best friends (adorable ones at that) growing to realise they’re in love but scared of sabotaging their friendship.
- A road trip of dreams.
- Cut short by a blizzzzard ensuing in being snowed in, in a nondescript town.
My only complaint from this book is that the character descriptions at the very beginning are too stereotypical. We have the ex-jock (career ended due to an injury), muscular, handsome, knows-how-to-cook guy who loves to take care of his best friend, one who forgets to eats veggies, is stuck in an overworked, underpaid situation and loves all things Christmasy.
Other than that, I am happy to report that the Grinch’s heart really did grow three sizes on reading this. It is definitely a good way to get into the holiday spirit!
Please let me know if you do read it so that I can discuss it with you, because eeeeeep, ’tis the season to be jolly.
(People looking for a longer, detailed review can please email me. I did not know how to write more without spoiling anymore of the story here.)
Book Cover Reveal : Let It Snow by Cassie Cross
Halloween’s over and done with. All the tricks for 2020 seem to be exhausted. All that’s left are treats and more treat as the festive season approaches. Yes, I can be found singing Christmas Carols in the middle of the day while arranging my favourite snowy, holiday-ey movie playlists. Are you dreaming of a white Christmas too?
Well, then I have a little treat for you along with some well earned Christmas cheer.Today we have the cover reveal for Cassie Cross’ Let It Snow!
Continue reading “Book Cover Reveal : Let It Snow by Cassie Cross”Book Excerpt Reveal: Stefanie London’s Kissing Lessons
It’s been a minute since I’ve posted about my first love, books. What better way to restart than a light-hearted romance read!
Today , as part of an excerpt tour, I bring to you Stefanie London’s KISSING LESSONS! Check out this gorgeous new romance below and keep your eyes peeled for an honest review by next weekend.
Title: Kissing London
Author: Stefanie London
Genre: Contemporary Romance
About Kissing Lessons:
Welcome to Kissing Creek, where everything has a romance-themed pun for a name and love is lurking around every corner…
Audrey Miller doesn’t believe in happily-ever-after, so she is definitely living in the wrong town. But she’s never getting out of Kissing Creek, because playing pseudo-mom for her younger siblings doesn’t leave time for much else. She’ll do anything to make sure they don’t end up stuck like she is, working as a barista in a college town, serving Pink Passion mochas with Chocolate Smooch donuts.
Then Ronan Walsh, a new young professor and walking cliché, right down to the elbow patches on his blazer, steps in for a coffee and into her life. She knows his type—intelligent and charming, yet sweet as a cinnamon roll, the sort of man she’s inevitably attracted to but is always out of her league. So why does someone like him have any interest in a worker bee with no future?
Her bland-as-oatmeal existence has nothing to offer, but Ronan’s temporary teaching position is only a stepping stone on his way to somewhere else. He isn’t here to put down roots, Audrey’s roots are firmly planted—neither of them is looking for love. And maybe that’s just perfect.
But in a small town called Kissing Creek, sometimes love can be impossible to avoid…
Get Your Copy:
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Exclusive Excerpt:
Audrey cocked her head. “You know, we’ve been warned about people like you.”
“People posing as professors.” She waggled her finger at him and made a teasing, tutting sound.
“Posing?” Ronan literally studied the very things which made people who they are—the very fiber of their motivations and morals. He would never scam someone. But this wasn’t the first time someone had questioned him because he was younger than average. “I’m a professor at Harrison Beech College. I don’t have my faculty card yet, that’s all.”
“You really thought you could get one past me by trying to look the part?” She shook her head. “The elbow patches were a good attempt, but don’t you think they’re a little cliché?”
Now she was insulting his fashion choices? He blinked. “What’s wrong with elbow patches?”
“It’s like you Googled ‘what do professors wear?’ and then bought the first thing you saw.” She bit down on her lip as if stifling a laugh.
Everyone was looking at him now, but Ronan had always been impervious to embarrassment. Maybe it was years of growing up with his Irish grandmother who was as blunt as a hammer.
Although he had Googled that exact question on his first day as a professor in his late twenties. He’d been more insecure back then, feeling the age gap between him and his colleagues and his lack of life experience like a weight around his neck. These days he’d learned to hold his own, academically and personally.
And he damn well liked his elbow patches.
About Stefanie London:
Stefanie London is a multi award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romances and romantic comedies.
Stefanie’s books have been called “genuinely entertaining and memorable” by Booklist, and “Elegant, descriptive and delectable” by RT magazine. Her stories have won multiple industry awards, including the HOLT Medallion and OKRWA National Reader’s Choice Award, and she has been nominated for the Romance Writers of America RITA award.
Originally from Australia, Stefanie now lives in Toronto with her very own hero and is currently in the process of doing her best to travel the world. She frequently indulges in her passions for good coffee, lipstick, romance novels and anything zombie-related.
Connect with Stefanie:
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Happy #ReleaseDay to Take the Bride by Carly Phillips
We are beyond excited to be sharing this release from Carly Phillips with you today! TAKE THE BRIDE is part of the Knight Brothers series and it is releasing as part of 1001 Dark Nights. It just went live today! Check out an excerpt and book trailer from the title below. Click here to grab your copy now.
Purchase your copy of TAKE THE BRIDE today!
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About TAKE THE BRIDE:
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Carly Phillips comes a new story in her Knight Brothers series…
She used to be his. Now she’s about to marry another man.
Will he let her go … or will he stand up and take the bride?
Ryder Hammond and Sierra Knight were high school sweethearts. Despite him being her brother’s best friend, their relationship burned hot and fast…and ended with heartbreak and regrets.
Years later, she’s at the altar, about to marry another man.
He’s only there for closure, to finally put the past behind him.
But when the preacher asks if anyone has a reason the couple shouldn’t wed, she turns around and her gaze locks on his.
Suddenly he’s out of his seat.
Objecting.
Claiming.
And ultimately stealing the very pissed off bride and taking her to a secluded cabin.
He wants one week to convince her they’re meant to be, to remind her of the fiery passion still burning between them.
When their time together is up, will she walk away and break his heart this time, or will he finally have the woman he’s wanted all along?
Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.
Add TAKE THE BRIDE to your Goodreads TBR here!
Purchase your copy of TAKE THE BRIDE today!
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU
Excerpt:
A cellist played Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” as Sierra Knight’s bridesmaids, her maid of honor, and the flower girl made their way down the aisle in a large church located in the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Sierra couldn’t see the procession but she’d been at the rehearsal, and she knew what was happening in the sanctuary of the church. From behind closed doors, where she stood with her oldest brother, Ethan, the deep strains of the string instrument reverberated around her, her heart beating hard and fast in her chest.
She smoothed a hand down her fit-and-flair style wedding gown with lace and beading that she’d loved the moment she’d slid it on. The cathedral-length veil in tulle was matched by the long train flowing behind her. She’d never felt more beautiful… or more nervous.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” Ethan asked, obviously reading her nerves as he put a hand on her trembling arm. “The car’s out front, the engine’s running,” he said, half joking, but she heard the serious note in his voice.
As her oldest brother, he was the father figure she’d always needed since their own parent never lived up to the role. Although Alexander Knight was sitting in one of the pews up front with wife number four, he wasn’t the man Sierra wanted walking her down the aisle. He hadn’t earned that honor nor had he seemed insulted that he hadn’t been asked to play the traditional role.
She thought about Ethan’s question, swallowed hard, and nodded. “Jason is a great guy,” she said, meaning every word.
She’d been with Jason Armstrong, a lawyer, for over a year and she knew him well. They’d met through friends and begun dating soon after. He had a calming presence and he catered to her every desire. He was a kind, decent man.
“I know I’ll have a good life with him,” she reassured her brother, glancing at his strong jaw, which he’d set as he narrowed his gaze.
“I married a woman I thought I knew,” Ethan said, digging into his own pain to make sure Sierra was okay. “Mandy wasn’t who I believed she was. I just want you to be sure you want to marry him.”
Ethan had recently lost his wife to an accidental drug overdose, then gone on to find out she’d been having an affair and stealing from the family company to subsidize her drug addiction. He was not only grieving, he was coming to terms with the betrayal.
But his words now were coming from an honest and good place, one of love. “Don’t get me wrong,” he continued. “I like Jason. We all do,” he said, referring to her two other brothers, Parker and Sebastian. “But are you passionately in love with him?”
BOOK TRAILER
“Carly Phillips is one of my favorite authors for steamy, contemporary romance!” — Jennifer Probst, New York Times Bestselling Author
“Curling up with a heart-pounding, sexy, wonderfully crafted Carly Phillips novel is always a treat!” – Kristen Proby, New York Times Bestselling Author
“Read Carly Phillips for a guaranteed hot, sexy, sizzling chemistry, a book full of emotional impact and characters you’ll love.” — Jill Shalvis, New York Times Bestselling Author
“Carly Phillips is synonymous with red-hot romance and passionate love.” Lauren Blakely, #1 NY Times Bestselling Author
“Carly Phillips can take you to romantic places you haven’t yet dreamed of!” Robyn Carr, # 1 NY TimesBestselling Author
“Hot heroes, serious passion and characters with emotional depth.” Bella Andre, NY Times Bestselling Author
“An incredibly sexy contemporary romance that’s impossible to put down!” Rachel Van Dyken #1 NYT Bestselling Author
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About CARLY PHILLIPS:
Carly Phillips is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of over 50 sexy contemporary romance novels, including the Indie published, Dare to Love Series. She is happily married to her college sweetheart, the mother of two nearly adult daughters and three crazy dogs. Carly loves social media and is always around to interact with her readers.
Connect With Her:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Reader Group | Twitter | Bookbub
#Book #CoverReveal : Orphan Dreamer and the Missing Arrowhead!
Today we have the cover reveal for J. Nell Brown’s Orphan Dreamer and the Missing Arrowhead! Check it out and pre-order your copy today!
Title: Orphan Dreamer and the Missing Arrowhead
Author: J. Nell Brown
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: May 23rd
About Orphan Dreamer and the Missing Arrowhead:
One boy.
One girl.
One mission: to protect their home—Earth—from its previous occupants. Where will you live if these two kids fail? Daniela and Cillian were born on the same day, but an ocean separated them until destiny introduced an orphan boy to a depressive schizophrenic girl inside her chaotic dreams.
Is the orphan boy real? If he’s not real, does it matter to Earth’s survival?
Begin the Orphan Dreamer Saga, a transcontinental and fantastical sweeping love story spiced with thrills and comedy where ANNE OF GREEN GABLES meets THE DA VINCI CODE in the WAR ROOM. A twist of fate alters Daniela’s dreams, the destiny of an orphan boy, and the future of humanity in an epic journey that defies time, taking the reader from 1018 B.C. into a future of “what if’s.”
What if Indiana Jones were a naïve girl born into a close-knit family in the South—a girl destined to solve her own Da Vinci Code, but who would rather simply overcome the provincialism of her community and find her own Anne-of-Green-Gables-style bosom friend?
Meet the Orphan Dreamer, Daniela Rose Cavanaugh—a thirteen-year-old ordinary girl destined for the extraordinary—in the prequel to the Orphan Dreamer Saga, ORPHAN DREAMER AND THE MISSING ARROWHEAD.
Pre-Order Your Copy Today:
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Exclusive Excerpt:
I killed him.
After my thirteenth birthday, I murdered my best friend—my only friend—Ethan.
We should have stayed in Gibeah, but I insisted we return to Milweekee Middle School, a prison whose inmates dressed in Keds tennis shoes and OshKosh jeans. Armed with acne, attitude, and squeaky prepubescent voices, my classmates lived to torture Ethan—the one-legged cripple— and me, his nosebleeding friend with the bushy hair.
“By helping him die, you saved Ethan,” my parents told me. Don’t worry. Mr. and Mrs. Cavanaugh of 7112 S.E. 221st Avenue are not sociopaths; they are as normal as parents are allowed to be. Their sympathetic words soothed me, stopping their only child—me—from killing herself too.
About the Author:
J. Nell Brown is an involuntary insomniac who practices medicine and writes in her free time. She writes fiction that paints a human likeness upon the faceless and gifts a voice to the voiceless. Brown is a self-proclaimed nerd and loves all things scientific. Her love of science is reflected in her research at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the site for the development of the atomic bomb. She loves world travel, healthy food, hiking and dogs, especially Faith, her Maltese.
Connect with the Author:
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Enter J. Nell’s Giveway:
Pre-order Blitz for The Pretender by HelenKay Dimon
Today we have the pre-order blitz for The Pretender by HelenKay Dimon! Check it out and preorder your copy today!
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Title: The Pretender
Author: HelenKay Dimon
Genre Romantic Suspense
Release Date: December 26th!
About The Pretender:
They say it takes a thief to catch a thief, and Harrison Tate is proof. Once a professional burglar, he now makes a lawful living tracking down stolen art. No one needs to know about his secret sideline, “liberating” artifacts acquired through underhanded methods. At least until one of those jobs sees him walking in on a murder.
Gabrielle Wright has long been estranged from her wealthy family, but she didn’t kill her sister. Trouble is, the only person who can prove it is the sexy, elusive criminal who shouldn’t have been at the island estate on that terrible night. She’s not expecting honor among thieves—or for their mutual attraction to spark into an intense inferno of desire.
Under the guise of evaluating her family’s art, Harris comes back to the estate hoping to clear Gabby’s name. But returning to the scene of the crime has never been riskier, with their hearts and lives on the line.
Preorder Your Copy Now:
The Pretender
Catch Up On the Series!
The Fixer
The Enforcer
The Negotiator:
About HelenKay Dimon:
HelenKay Dimon spent the years before becoming a romance author as a…divorce attorney. Not the usual transition, she knows. Good news is she now writes full time and is much happier. She has sold over forty novels and novellas to numerous publishers, including HarperCollins, Kensington, Harlequin, Penguin Random House, Riptide and Carina Press. Her nationally bestselling and award-winning books have been showcased in numerous venues and her books have twice been named “Red-Hot Reads” and excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine. She is on the Board of Directors of the Romance Writers of America and teaches fiction writing at UC San Diego and MiraCosta College. You can learn more at her website: http://www.HelenKaydimon.com
Connect with HelenKay:
The Quaint Reading Nook
Hello everyone!
Remember my announcement yesterday about foraying into the big, bad, world of books? (Just kidding, it’s the most beautiful world there is)
In light of the overwhelming support and encouragement extended by most of you (you know you did, don’t ditch me now!), I’ve been an industrious bee today and set up a new blog titled The Quaint Reading Nook. (I’ve hyperlinked it’s about page here for you to go see)
So I’m going to request all of you to please visit it and give it a follow as the first book review will be up tomorrow! Because this venture is very close to my heart, I’m going to say pretty please.
Just so you know, I decided against adding a section here itself because I wanted to keep my own writings separate from book reviews and avoid confusions. Hopefully, I’ve thought this through properly and all of you will reward my love for you and books by supporting the new blog too. You know I won’t be able to do it without you!
Have I whined enough? (I thought I’d finally live up to the name of my own blog today- please don’t disown me! No, really!)
Please know that your feedback matters to me the most and any suggestions for the new blog, which is a work in progress at the moment, will be heartily welcomed and greatly appreciated.
Thank you for reading!
Yours lovingly (and almost sweating in anticipation),
Varnika Jain
Update: I see your likes but I don’t see your follows. I’m watching you. (No, not ominously but more with bated breath and anxiety. Can I just say please again or will you abort this right here? 😓)
Catch up with me on social media-
Moonlighting Scrivener 