Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Review of A Secret Christmas Wish by Cathy McDavid

On Tour with Prism Book Tours


Welcome to the book tour for A Secret Christmas Wish by Cathy McDavid! Today I'm reviewing the book for you. I shared an exclusive excerpt at Candrel's Crafts, Cooks, and Characters as well. I hope you enjoy and download your own copy! Be sure to check out the rest of the tour and best of luck entering the giveaway!


A Secret Christmas Wish
(Wishing Well Springs #3)
By Cathy McDavid
Contemporary Romance, Clean Romance
Paperback & ebook, 384 Pages
October 26, 2021 by Harlequin Heartwarming

The magic of Christmas
Could make her wish come true!

A small-town Christmas wedding. What could be more romantic? Unless you’re a plus-one for hire like single mom Maia MacKenzie. Too bad handsome cowboy Brent Hayes is her new coworker—and completely off-limits! Neither of them can afford to lose their job…or invest in a relationship. But when she sees Brent’s adorable connection with her young son, Maia can’t help wishing for a Christmas miracle.



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**My thoughts**
This is another series by Cathy McDavid that I have been enjoying. And I especially love the stories that take place around Christmas. This one is a bit different, though. It's not all light and airy like the holiday romances we are used to seeing. In my opinion, this one was a lot more realistic. 

Sure, our main characters develop a quick attraction to each other. They slowly build up a friendship that develops into stronger feelings. The way that Brent responds to Maia's toddler son is amazing (and vice versa). But there are greater issues going on here. Brent suffers from depression and it has a tendency to rear its ugly head. At first he is resistant to suggestions of help and feels like more of a failure or that he can handle it on his own. But that isn't necessarily the case when it comes to depression. Sometimes you need help, especially when that darkness creeps in. We get to see some of the before, during, and after of these depressive episodes. And I think it happens more than many of us like to admit.

Maia has some understanding because she suffered from postpartum depression. She has a strong support system that also wants to be supportive of Brent. And a support system is crucial. She also knows that she is willing to weather the storms and thinks that she and Brent will be able to work things out.

You also get a look at how family relationships can have an impact on a person's mental health. And most importantly, you can see how love and support are so beneficial. It's quite a roller coaster and a journey that these two have to go on. But I loved watching them both grow throughout the story. And I commend Cathy McDavid for tackling this subject in her book. 

So again, it isn't necessarily that super light and airy holiday romance, but it's still a good Christmas romance story. It's a familiar story. And I continue to look forward to more installments of this series.

Thank you to the author and Prism Book Tours for my requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


Other Books in the Series


About the Author


In the third grade, NY Times, USA Today and Amazon bestselling author Cathy McDavid made it her goal to read every Black Stallion book ever written. Who knew such an illustrious ambition would eventually lead to a lifelong love of all things western, owning a stagecoach pulled by six mules, and a career writing contemporary romances for Harlequin? With over 50 titles in print and 1.3 million-plus books sold, Cathy is also a member of the prestigious Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll. This “almost” Arizona native and mother of grown twins is married to her own real-life sweetheart. After leaving the corporate world six years ago, she now spends her days penning stories about good looking cowboys riding the range, busting broncs, and sweeping gals off their feet — oops, no. Make that winning the hearts of feisty, independent women who give the cowboys a run for their money. It's a tough job, but she’s willing to make the sacrifice.


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Ends November 17, 2021



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Saturday, November 6, 2021

Simplest Baby Book In The World Giveaway (Ends 11/25) 3 Winners! #Simplestbaby @HomeJobsByMom

Simplest Baby Book in the World


Parenting is tough. But we're hoping that this giveaway will make life a little bit easier on you. Three winners! Best of luck entering!


Welcome To The Simplest Baby Book in the World Giveaway!

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Raising a baby can be complex and stressful—and parents are overwhelmed with dense and inconsistent information from too many sources. The Simplest Baby Book in the World provides sought-after information from leading medical professionals in an “Instagrammable” format!

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Thursday, November 4, 2021

Review of Trusting the Rancher With Christmas (Three Springs, Texas #2) by Cari Lynn Webb

On Tour with Prism Book Tours


Welcome back to Three Springs, Texas! I know I was excited to come back! Read all about it in my book review and also check out the rest of the tour before you download your copy. Best of luck in the giveaway!


Trusting the Rancher with Christmas
(Three Springs, Texas #2)
By Cari Lynn Webb
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 384 Pages
October 26, 2021 by Harlequin Heartwarming

A visit for the holidays

Brings love for a lifetime

Cattle rancher Evan Bishop is desperate for Paige Palmer’s help. The veterinarian is in Three Springs for the holidays, but the single dad hopes she has time to save his ailing livestock. Paige is up for the challenge, though not quite up to resisting the cowboy’s rugged charm and his darling devotion to his little girl. Can Paige learn to trust the rancher before the countdown to Christmas ends?



(Affiliate links included.)


**My thoughts**
I was so excited to go back to Three Springs, Texas. I fell in love with the small town in the first book and even more so in this book. But don't worry, you do not need to have read the first book to appreciate this one.

Paige and Evan both come from broken-hearted backgrounds and are not quick to trust anyone in the love department. And yet from the very beginning, they are drawn to each other and you know that they are the missing pieces from each other's puzzles. You know that Evan's daughter Riley also senses it with how quickly she takes to Paige, even though she really wants to find her bio mom. And then the same with the animals on Evan's ranch.

I appreciated their slow burn as they cautiously got to know each other and found some common ground thanks to the animals. Those are the kinds of relationships that are built to last. And at the same time, they both grew so much.

I also enjoyed catching up with old friends from The Texas SEAL's Surprise. There are plenty of great people in this small town. Their quirks are what make them so charming. And I'm already looking forward to the next book.

Thank you to the author and to Prism Book Tours for my requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Other Books in the Series

The Texas SEAL's Surprise
(Three Springs, Texas #1)
By Cari Lynn Webb
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 216 Pages
August 24, 2021 by Harlequin Heartwarming

New town…

New set of problems

Suddenly single—and pregnant—Abby James hopes Three Springs, Texas, will give her the fresh start she craves. But five minutes in and she’s already clashed with a former Navy SEAL on horseback. Wes Tanner might be devastatingly handsome, but Abby has no time for romance. Especially with a man intent on leaving town. Abby wants to plant some roots…and falling for the tempting Texan could upend all her plans!

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About the Author


Cari Lynn Webb lives in South Carolina with her husband, daughters and assorted four-legged family members. She's been blessed to see the power of true love in her grandparent's 70 year marriage and her parent's marriage of over 50 years. She knows love isn't always sweet and perfect, it can be challenging, complicated and risky. But she believes happily-ever-afters are worth fighting for. She loves to connect with readers. Visit her at her website.



Tour Schedule


Tour Giveaway


One winner will receive a $45 Amazon gift card & complete 5 print book set of The Blackwell Sisters series (US only)

Ends November 10, 2021


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Interview with Lord Enki from Day Unto Night by TammyJo Eckhart

 


I love character interviews! Today author TammyJo Eckhart is interviewing Lord Enki from her book Day Unto Night. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. There's also an excerpt to read before you download your copy. Remember to let the author know what you think as you follow the tour for even more AND ask Lord Enki your own questions. Best of luck in the giveaway!



A Sumerian child named Ningai survives the murder of her entire family and cries out to her people’s gods, who answer her prayer in an unexpected way. Now, as the first of the Akhkharu, the living dead, Ningai embarks on a journey across the millennia to rebuild what she lost. The best of her offspring must maintain some shred of goodness to prove worthy to their Child-Mother while fighting the deadly impulses of their kind. Join their journeys across time in a series of interconnected stories from the earliest cities to a brutal future where humans are mere pawns in the hands of near gods. Like all of us, Ningai and the best of her children will stop at nothing to protect her family. Can they succeed before they lose what’s left of their humanity, or will all of humanity become enslaved to the Akhkharu forever?


Read an excerpt:

I remember running.

I ran between their bodies as they did things to her that I didn’t even have words for. I ran over the cold stone floor, slipping on the cooling sticky substance that dripped from my mother’s still body. I ran over the door and my brother’s cold mass trying to block it. I ran over the earth and grass, matted from my father’s slaughter.

I remember running.

I ran until I fell into the Great Water, what you call the Euphrates, but we only called Puranum, and was carried until I could grasp a branch with my hands, tearing at it until my blood also covered the ground as I pulled myself up.

I remember my pain.


Buy on Amazon

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Lord Enki, Would You Answer a Few Questions?
By TammyJo Eckhart ©2021


Q: First, for our readers, would you tell us your name?

A: I have answered to many names.

Q: Do you have a favorite?

A: My original, though you could not pronounce it.

Q: I see. What is it best to refer to you as?

A: (long pause) You may call me as she knows me: Enki. Respectfully.

Q: Lord Enki, then?

A: That will be fine.

Q: Who are you? Where are you from?

A: (Smiles slowly but widely before purposely letting that smile fade into a serious, neutral expression.) Everywhere there is water, there I am. Where there is creativity, there I am. Where there are ideas or cunning, there I will surely be.

Q: Are you confirming the rumors that you are a god?

A: What are gods?

Q: Lord Enki, please, you did agree to answer our questions.

A: I did. I didn’t agree not to ask some of my own.

Q: Touché. I believe that gods are entities that have had a hand in the creation of the universe and in the continual running of that universe. By that definition, are you a god?

A: Ah, by that definition, I’d be a half-god.

Q: Interesting.

A: I certainly am!

Q: How long have you existed?

A: For longer than humans, but not as long as the universe.

Q: Even half-gods existed before humans?

A: By your definition, I’m half-god.

Q: May I move on to more immediate questions?

A: That is really why you wanted to talk with me, after all … Ask your question.

Q: You seem to have a close relation with one of the vampires …

A: No, that’s not the correct term.

Q: Sorry. The Akhkharu. You seem to have a close relationship with one of the Akhkharu. She goes by various names. Ningai, Charity, Ummum. Our readers would like to be respectful and use the best term for her. What should we call her?

A: (Frowns, and the air around the interviewer turns chilly as frozen snowflakes mysteriously form on her clothing and the studio.) Nice try. Ask a different question.

Q: You do have a relationship with this one child. This is correct?

A: I do. I have been her god for many millennia now.

Q: How? Why?

A: She cried out for help. Many of us came. I stayed.

Q: Why did you decide to help this one little girl?

A: She was sincere in her belief and her need. That’s a rare combination.

Q: Did you ever answer to a mortal’s cries before?

A: Once before. The ingrate.

Q: Have you helped anyone since?

A: (Leans forward and gives the interviewer a sad smile.) This isn’t directed at you as an individual. Please understand that. This is about humans now, even after all you’ve seen and heard. None of you have that rare combination. Not even all your insincere prayers together can equal hers.

Q: Might … other gods or half-gods answer our prayers?

A: Answer humans’ prayers? To do what? Take back the world?

Q: I didn’t say that …

A: (They look at each other directly until Enki’s hard stare makes the interviewer turn away from him and the audience.) If there are other gods or half-gods, by your definition, they haven’t helped you yet, so no, I seriously doubt it.

Q: (She starts to shake and weep. Several members of the audience gasp or start to cry softly as well.)

A: (Reaches over and puts a gentle hand on the interviewer’s shaking shoulder.) Come, come. You were allowed to come here because you aren’t one of those fake news blowhards or overly sentimental. Pull yourself together. Ask your final questions.

Q: (Takes a few deep breaths.) Thank you, Lord Enki. Will you stay with the Akhkharu now that they have revealed themselves to the world?

A: (Snorts, but turns from the camera for a moment.) I have never stayed with either them or her. I come when I choose.

Q: One final question, Lord Enki. Is there anything we can do to, ah, appease them?

A: Them? No. (He stands, pushing back his chair, revealing that water has pooled beneath it.)

Q: How do we appease her?

A: No, no, no. You’ve already asked your final question. But I might take questions from the audience. (He turns his storm-colored eyes to you.)



TammyJo Eckhart, PhD, is the published author of science fiction, fantasy, contemporary, horror, and historical fiction. Her non-fiction works covering subjects ranging from history to alternative sexuality to relationship advice and the challenges of trauma recovery. She holds a PhD in Ancient History with doctoral minors in Gender & Sexuality and Folklore. Her blog, The Chocolate Cult, has been the go-to guide for chocolate lovers since 2009. She loves visiting conventions as well as organizations to read, sell books, or share her experiences and insights on various topics in the form of lectures or workshops.

https://www.tammyjoeckhart.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thechocolatepriestess/

Dr. TammyJo Eckhart’s Edgy World @thetammyjo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Worlds-of-Tammyjo-Eckhart-497503123647950/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/102009.TammyJo_Eckhart

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/thetammyjo/



TammyJo Eckhart will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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Wednesday, November 3, 2021

The Photograph (A Detective India Hargreaves Mystery) by L.E. Luttrell

 


Gotta love a good crime mystery, don't you agree? So check out this excerpt from The Photograph, a Detective India Hargreaves Mystery by L.E. Luttrell and then download your own copy. Be sure to leave questions and comments for the author as you follow the tour. Best of luck entering the giveaway!




In a quiet Sydney suburb, soon-to-be-married Sonny Day sets off on his bike to catch the train to work. He never makes it to the station. After his fiancée Chrys reports him missing, DI India Hargreaves launches a low-key investigation.

Weeks later, a man’s body is found, mutilated and buried, on a nearby building site, but it’s not Sonny, and with no solid leads, both investigations stall…until a letter arrives from Sonny, claiming he’s met someone else.

Chrys insists Sonny wrote it under duress. She convinces India to investigate further, beginning with the photograph that came with the letter and ending in Scotland and the discovery of more mysterious deaths. But two questions remain unanswered. Whose body was buried on the building site? And where is Sonny Day?

Read an excerpt:

At the window, he stopped and peered in. The room was in darkness, and he wasn’t able to make out much. He’d wait a minute until his eyes adjusted.

He was just about to check it again when he felt the ladder begin to move. Looking down, he could see a man standing below him with his hands on the ladder. The man looked like Lachlan, which he thought very strange because he didn’t think Lachlan was able to walk. Perhaps he’d misunderstood. Greer had said he’d been in an accident, but she didn’t say how disabled he was. Gordon had seen the wheelchair and the stair lift being installed and made an assumption about Lachlan not being able to walk. Maybe he could hobble around.

“Is that you, Lachlan?” he asked.

“Aye,” the man said before pulling the ladder away from the wall and knocking it sideways.

Gordon screamed as he fell, clinging to the ladder in the hope the terrace railings would halt the fall. The ladder hit the railings, somersaulted over them and smashed him against the brick boundary wall before it bounced off and dropped into the garden, flinging him aside like a rag doll.

Before he lost consciousness, Gordon managed to turn his head and look back up to the terrace where the ladder had been leaning against the wall. He expected to see Lachlan or someone who would come to his rescue, but there was no one there. He hadn’t imagined him, had he?


Book Links:
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About the author:

L.E. Luttrell was born in Sydney, Australia and spent the first 21 years of her life there before moving to the UK. After working in publishing (in the UK) for a few years she went on to study and trained as a teacher. From the 90s she spent many years working in secondary education, although she’s also had numerous other part time jobs. A frustrated architect/builder, L.E. Luttrell has spent much of her adult life moving house and wielding various tools while renovating properties.

L.E. Luttrell currently lives in Merseyside England, but also spends time travelling between Liverpool, Wales (UK) and Australia when there is not a Covid crisis.

https://www.facebook.com/leluttrell

Twitter: : @LLuttrellauthor

Website: www.lelutrell.com and sign up the the VIP list to receive a FREE BOOK



L.E. Luttrell will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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Review of A Love Unexpected by Leah Brunner

On Tour with Prism Book Tours


It's a classic tale of a marriage of convenience turning out to be so much more. Read my full book review of A Love Unexpected by Leah Brunner and then download your own copy. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour, including my author interview over at Candrel's Crafts, Cooks, and Characters. Best of luck entering the great giveaway!


A Love Unexpected
(Under Kansas Skies #1)
By Leah Brunner
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 224 Pages
May 21, 2021 by Leah Brunner Publishing

My one and only goal has always been to make it to congress. I’ve got it all: the looks, the brains, the connections… Except I missed one glaring requirement: a wife.

The conservative voters of Kansas don’t trust an unmarried man. Which means I need a bride. Immediately.

The lovely Odette Hastings seems to fit the bill. She’s a wholesome small-town girl, and most importantly, in need of cash. I’ll give her the money to take care of her elderly parents, and she’ll be the political arm candy I need.

The only problem is Odette is a little too beautiful, a little too intelligent, and much too distracting. I have to keep my eye on the prize. Even when I’m starting to think there might be something I’d rather have more…



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**My thoughts**
I have to admit that I had a bit of a hard time getting into the book at first because of it being told in first-person. I am not a fan of that kind of play-by-play storytelling, but I also know that it doesn't bother others at all.

I kept pushing through because I enjoyed the overall story. It's a trope that I'm finding to be increasingly popular again - the whole marriage of convenience and then they fall in love. [I'm trying to ignore that it is a politician doing it because that means he is lying! But I digress ... ] What this book had going for it was it's not like they had a sudden snap of the fingers quickly leading them into a steamy bedroom scene. Their progression felt a bit more natural and realistic to me. And it really felt like they were working on a true foundation that included friendship and not just lust. That was a bit of fresh air in this genre.

I was a little thrown off by her parents buying into their romance story and quick marriage, though. I don't know see how they could have been that naive. But I guess stranger things have happened. 

I did like the characters and would be curious to see what happens to them in the future. This is the author's debut novel and I know more stories are coming featuring other characters from this book. I think she shows some promise and will continue to grow as a writer.

Thank you to the author and Prism Book Tours for the requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.



About the Author


Leah writes romance full of witty banter and lovable characters. She spends most of her time writing... and also petting her Maine Coon. 
 
Although she's a Kansas girl at heart, Leah is a proud Air Force spouse and currently resides in Northern California with her husband and three children. 
 
Her parents always told her she lived in her own little world and was oblivious to reality. The real world was simply too boring for Leah, writing is how she enjoys sharing her little world with others.

 
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Tour Giveaway


One winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of A Love Unexpected (signed print to US, ebook outside the US)

Ends November 10, 2021



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Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Review of Red Velvet Crinkles and Christmas Sprinkles (Christmas Cookies) by Maria Imbalzano

 


'Tis the season for all of the Christmas warm and fuzzy romance stories! Read an excerpt today from this novella and then download your own copy. I also have my review for you. Be sure to let the author know what you think in the comments section and follow the tour for even more. Best of luck in the giveaway!



Competitive, work-obsessed Bella Simonetti has just been fired from her high-paying job at a Manhattan law firm. At an all-time low, she returns home and helps her parents at their small-town gift shop, but the business is failing and may not make it past the Christmas holidays.

Successful landscape architect Dean Jackson is like a son to Bella's parents. But he's a persistent annoyance to her—he seems to have forgotten his unforgivable blunder thirteen years earlier.

When Bella transforms her parents' gift shop into a cookie cottage, Dean's generosity and magnetic smile are hard to resist, and those feelings of unrequited adolescent love come rushing back. But can Bella let go of the past and accept Dean for the man he is today?


Read an excerpt:
There came that half-teasing, half-serious smile. To avoid it, she started pulling Christmas balls hung on red-and-green silk ribbons from the large box she’d brought out.

“I can help you hang those in the window. I hid the hooks above the molding last year so we don’t have to remove them every year.”

“Clever.” Her sarcastic tone couldn’t be mistaken.

“We’ll need a ladder,” he determined. “I’ll get it from the back, then you can hand me the balls, and I’ll attach them.”

She slitted her eyes at him. “I want to hang the balls. You can do something else.”

“Fine. But it takes two for this job. You don’t want to be going up and down the ladder each time you hang a ball. It’s inefficient.”

He had a point. She’d have to bury her reluctance to work with him at the risk of coming up with some other childish excuse.

Once Dean brought the ladder to the window, she climbed up three steps and took the first ball from him. Not a well-thought-out plan since her butt was now at his eye level.

“Can you stand over here, please?” She pointed to the other side of the ladder.

“It’s better if I stand behind you, to spot you. In case you lose your balance.” His grin emerged, and she gritted her teeth to prevent a growl.

Buy Links
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**My thoughts**
I love holiday romance novels. They are always so warm and fuzzy. And yes, this may be a formulaic plot, but who cares? That's the whole point! Plus as long as each story is written well, the nuances of the characters and their stories make the book its own entity. A bonus is that this one is a novella, so it's shorter than most of its counterparts. I read it in just about an hour or so. Most will read it in an afternoon.

So Bella has come home because she is now without a job and apartment. Naturally, the ex-love interest from high school has been hanging out a lot lately because he helps out her parents at their gift shop in their small hometown. Something happened between them back in those days, so Dean is the last person she wants to see. But the two of them still have a spark that they cannot deny. They just need to resolve this issue from high school. 

At the same time, Bella finds out that her parents' store is struggling. So she engages her marketing and law backgrounds to create a new plan to help them find their way back into the black both during and following the holiday season. At the same time, she keeps finding Dean around ...

Again, it's a bit formulaic, but still a fun read. I enjoyed every moment of reading this book and would dearly love to have the recipe for the famous red velvet crinkle cookies! I feel a baking spree coming on!

P.S. Netflix would enjoy making a movie out of this one, I'm just saying.

I also want to note that this is part of a larger multi-author series but completely stands on its own. 

Thank you to Goddess Fish and the author for providing me with a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


Maria Imbalzano is a retired matrimonial lawyer who now writes full time. Instead of drafting motions, legal memoranda, and briefs, although fascinating, she now spends her days creating memorable characters and taking them on their emotional journeys through her contemporary romance novels.

Her novel, “Unchained Memories,” won the Wisconsin Romance Writers Write Touch Readers’ Award and the ACRA Readers’ Choice Heart of Excellence Award. “Sworn to Forget,” the first of the four-book Sworn Sisters Series was a finalist for the illustrious RONE award as well as the Book Buyers Best Award. Her novellas, “The Blueberry Swirl Waltz” and “A Song For Another Day” each came in first in their category in the National Excellence in Story Telling contest.

Visit Maria at http://mariaimbalzano.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/mariaimbalzanoauthor

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/mariaimbalzano @mariaimbalzano

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Blog Link  http://www.mariaimbalzano.com/category/blog/

Website Link  http://www.mariaimbalzano.com

Goodreads Author Page  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7276749.Maria_Imbalzano

Book Bub Profile page  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/maria-imbalzano

Mailing List Sign Up form  https://mariaimbalzano.com/sign-up-for-my-newsletter/

Amazon Author Page  https://amzn.to/3w8Q9MR




Maria Imbalzano will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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Read an exclusive excerpt from Heirs of Falcon Point by Traci Hunter Abramson, Sian Ann Bessey, Paige Edwards, and A.L. Sowards

On Tour with Prism Book Tours


A lot went down in WWII, and in this story, all comes to a head 80 years later. Read an exclusive excerpt from Heirs of Falcon Point by authors Traci Hunter Abramson, Sian Ann Bessey, Paige Edwards, and A.L. Sowards and then download your own copy to find out what happens! Best of luck in the giveaway!


Heirs of Falcon Point
By Traci Hunter Abramson, Sian Ann Bessey, 
Paige Edwards, A.L. Sowards
Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Suspense, Mystery, Romance
Paperback & ebook, 408 Pages
October 11, 2021 by Covenant Communications

In the early days of World War II, the Lang family lost everything. Eighty years later, it’s time to take it back.

The Nazis have taken control of Austria, and wealthy widower Leopold Lang faces a difficult decision: join the ranks of the foreign power that has taken over his homeland or flee with his children to safety. Leopold makes his choice—but too late. His family is ripped apart, never to be reunited. But decades later, fate brings together the descendants of this broken dynasty in the place where it all began—Falcon Point.

Anna, Cole, and Tess have never met, each relying on fractured pieces of information to understand their Austrian heritage. But when unforeseen opportunities draw these Lang cousins to Falcon Point, they soon discover they are not alone in their quest to claim the coveted property and the fabled treasure hidden within. Unfortunately, another claimant, one with a much darker heritage, is determined to eliminate the Lang family once and for all.



(Affiliate links included.)


Read an exclusive excerpt:
Cole was never going to make it two years in this job without going insane. Monitoring intelligence coming and going, translating, sitting, typing, daydreaming.

With the possibility looming of finding Falcon Point, of finding his extended family, he suspected he would fall victim to a few daydreams regard- less of where he was working. Technically, his grandfather would be the legal heir to the property, but to be able to give him the gift of knowing what became of his father’s family would be beyond anything Cole could imagine.

He glanced at the clock. Only another hour before he could leave for the day. Could. Had he really transformed from the employee who had to be reminded it was time to leave into the one who watched the clock? Something had to change.

He pushed back from his desk and strode to Gwendolyn’s office, where he

rapped a knuckle on her open door. “Got a minute?”

“Yeah.” Her eyes still on her computer screen, she waved him in. “Did you hear Jac Mesman was arrested in Amsterdam?”

“We’ve been trying to nail him since he took a shot at Congressman Whitestone in Athens. Do you think the arrest will stick?”

“Looks like it.” She looked up and motioned toward a chair. “He was picked up outside a woman’s house for stalking, but earlier in the day, that same woman’s brother was hit by a van. A traffic camera caught a glimpse of Mesman fleeing the scene behind the wheel of the vehicle in question.”

“Who were his targets?”

“That’s the interesting part. Two people were injured in the hit-and-run, Lars Hendriks and Marit Jansen. The authorities think Jac Mesman mistook

Marit Jansen for Lars’s sister, Tess Hendriks.”


Excerpted from Heirs of Falcon Point by Traci Hunter Abramson, Sian Ann Bessey, Paige Edwards, A.L. Sowards, Copyright © 2021 by Traci Hunter Abramson, Sian Ann Bessey, Paige Edwards, A.L. Sowards. Published by Covenant Communications, Inc.


About the Authors

Traci Hunter Abramson was born in Arizona, where she lived until moving to Venezuela for a study-abroad program. After graduating from Brigham Young University, she worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for several years, eventually resigning in order to raise her family. She credits the CIA with giving her a wealth of ideas as well as the skills needed to survive her children's teenage years. She loves to travel and enjoys coaching her local high school swim team. She has written more than thirty bestselling novels and is a seven-time Whitney Award winner, including 2017 and 2019 Best Novel of the Year.




Sian Ann Bessey was born in Cambridge, England, but grew up on the island of Anglesey off the coast of North Wales. She left her homeland to attend Brigham Young University in Utah, where she earned a bachelor's degree in communications with a minor in English.

She began her writing career as a college student, publishing several articles in the New Era, Ensign, and Liahona magazines. Since then she has published historical romance and romantic suspense novels, along with a variety of children's books. She is a USA Today best-selling author, a Foreword Reviews Book of the Year finalist, and a Whitney Award finalist.

Sian and her husband, Kent, are the parents of five children and the grandparents of three beautiful girls and two handsome boys. They currently live in Idaho, and although Sian doesn't have the opportunity to speak Welsh very often anymore, she can still wrap her tongue around, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch still rolls off her tongue.

Traveling, reading, cooking, and being with her grandchildren are some of her favorite activities.





Paige Edwards is an award-winning author of contemporary Regency romances with a side-order of suspense. Her stories have debuted in the number-one Amazon spot for Christian fiction and have received national five-star reviews by Reader’s Favorite and InD’Tale Magazine. Her novels appeal to a wide range of readers from Historical Romance to Mystery/Suspense. She holds a degree in interior design and has worked professionally in that field. Due to her strong British roots, Paige’s books are often set in the UK, and she hops the pond whenever she gets the chance. She Is the Lady Paige Edwards when in Scotland, but her favorite title is Grandma. When she needs a break from writing, she serves as president of her area’s Interfaith Community Council, she is fond of digging in the dirt (what some might call gardening), she bikes the battlefields, and she kayaks on the lake.





A. L. Sowards has always been fascinated by the 1940s, but she’s grateful she didn’t live back then. She doesn’t think she could have written a novel on a typewriter, and no one would be able to read her handwriting if she wrote her books out longhand. She does, however, think they had the right idea when they rationed nylon and women went barelegged.

Sowards is the author of multiple historical fiction novels, with settings spanning the globe from the fourteenth to twentieth centuries. Her stories have become Whitney Finalists and won a Whitney Award, reached the number one spot across multiple Amazon categories, received praise from the Historical Novel Society, and been loved by readers from a variety of backgrounds.

She lives with her husband and three children and has called Washington State, Utah, and Alaska home. She enjoys hiking and swimming, usually manages to keep up with the laundry, and loves it when someone else cooks dinner. She doesn’t own a typewriter, but she does own a pair or two of nylons.



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Monday, November 1, 2021

Review of Swipe Right for Murder by Polly Harris


 

Have you ever been worried about the people that you're meeting on those dating apps? I admit that I have had some moments of hesitation. And in this book, she truly has a reason to be worried! Check out my review of Swipe Right for Murder by Polly Harris and then download your own copy to find out what happens! There's also a great giveaway. Follow the tour to catch it all!



DATING IS TOUGH. ESPECIALLY IF THE GUY YOU LIKE MIGHT BE A SERIAL KILLER.

After a devastating heartbreak and a string of short-lived, failed relationships, college student Georgie Itoyama has now decided to approach dating in the same way that she approaches everything else: methodically, logically, and efficiently.

Georgie downloads countless dating apps, determined to find the love of her life as easily as she orders jeans online. And while her love-at-first-sight aspirations don’t exactly come true, she does find someone she likes. Quite a lot.

There’s only one problem. Girls are going missing at Georgie’s university, and all the signs are pointing to . . . him?

But that’s ridiculous. What are the chances that she’s dating an actual serial killer?

Then she matches with Nate. Mysterious, intelligent, and oddly fixated on solving the local disappearances. As Georgie’s relationships deepen with each of her guys, she unwittingly finds herself caught up in the mess that is murder, intrigue, and the nightmare of online dating.


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**My thoughts**

I am of a different generation than the characters in this book, but we did kick off the whole internet dating thing via online chatting. And I remember the paranoia even back then about dating a murderer. A friend of mine actually did, but was a lucky one. So I do understand Georgie's concern once she thinks that Ash may be the serial killer who has been going after the girls on campus. After all, he does have a connection to them all. I'm just not sure if I could have continued to date and hang out with him with that thought.

Then again, if he is a killer, you don't want to tip him off to your suspicious. I just don't know that I would plan anything that was super private without telling a lot of people where I was, checking in regularly. And definitely not out of cell range.

But I can't really know what I would do unless I was actually confronted with that situation., My constant questioning of what I would actually do helped me to stay completely engrossed in this book, though. I needed to figure out the truth and appreciated the twists as they came. 

This was a fun read. But pardon me while I steer clear of the dating apps again for a while.

Thank you to Goddess Fish and the author for a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


Polly Harris is the author of six YA novels and runs her own editorial company where she works on books just like this one. When Polly isn’t writing or editing, she can be found cuddling her cat (professionally known as her editorial assistant), crafting, or swiping through dating apps.

Twitter: @PaulineCHarris

Facebook: Facebook.com/PaulineHarrisEditorial

Email: harrispaulinec@gmail.com



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