Wow! Is the only word I can think of to describe this book. After taking nearly a month to read my last book the fact that at less than 36 hours into this book I was already about 150 pages in was huge. This was the book that if I could actually manage to stay up all night reading, I would.
“A Page Turner” is an understatement for this book. This was a keep you on the edge of your seat kind of book, waiting to see what was going to happen next. What secret would be revealed next. The characters had so much depth to them. I am glad I read this book it really brought be back to reading just at a time when I was adrift in my reading.
The Bookstore on the Beach : A Novel
Brenda Novak
On Sale Date: April 6, 2021
9780778361053
Trade Paperback
$16.99 USD
448 pages
About the Book: For fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Mary Kay Andrews, comes New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak’s newest standalone work of women’s fiction, a big, sweeping novel about family and the ties that bind and challenge us. In this novel, three generations of women from the same family share a house and work together at a bookstore in Colonial Beach over the course of a summer.
How do you start a new chapter when you haven’t closed the book on the last one?
Eighteen months ago, Autumn Divac’s husband went missing. Her desperate search has yielded no answers—she still has no idea where he went or why. After being happily married for twenty years, she can’t imagine moving forward without him, but for the sake of their two teenage children, she has to try.
Autumn takes her kids home for the summer to the charming beachside town where she was raised. She seeks comfort by working alongside her mother and aunt at their quaint bookshop, only to learn that her daughter is facing a life change neither of them saw coming and her mother has been hiding a terrible secret for years. And when she runs into Quinn Vanderbilt—the boy who stole her heart in high school—old feelings start to bubble up again. Is she free to love him, or should she hold out hope for her husband’s return? She can only trust her heart…and hope it won’t lead her astray.
About the Author:
Brenda Novak, a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, has penned over sixty novels. She is a five-time nominee for the RITA Award and has won the National Reader’s Choice, the Bookseller’s Best, the Bookbuyer’s Best, and many other awards. She also runs Brenda Novak for the Cure, a charity to raise money for diabetes research (her youngest son has this disease). To date, she’s raised $2.5 million. For more about Brenda, please visit http://www.brendanovak.com.
It took me a while to get into this book but once I did I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. (Personal Note: I think it was just me and not the book that was the hold up.). This book was a nice breath of fresh air during all things COVID.
The backdrop of this book is College Graduation weekend. And how a blended family copes with everyone coming together for the twin graduates. This book I’m sure is a great example of what a college graduation is like for a blended family (but personally I have no experience with that).
For me it’s almost 15 years since my college graduation so this book took me back a little. With graduations taking a new look this year because of COVID it was nice to have this book as a reminder of what they used to look like. I say this a lot but it is true a lot, this was a book I would not normally have picked up on my own but I am so glad I read it.
Wendy Francis is a former book editor and the author of three novels: The Summer Sail, The Summer of Good Intentions, and Three Good Things. Her essays have appeared in Good Housekeeping, The Washington Post, Yahoo Parenting, The Huffington Post, and WBUR’s Cognoscenti. Born and raised in the Midwest, she now lives outside of Boston with her husband and son.
Book Summary:
The drama is hot and the drinks are flying in Wendy Francis’s witty, warm, and quirky family drama, BEST BEHAVIOR (Graydon House; May 5, 2020; $17.99 USD). Heartfelt and relatable, Francis cleverly portrays the nuances of a less-than-perfect but more-than-loving blended family in all its messy glory.
Meredith Parker and her husband Joel have been dreading the weekend of their twins’ college graduation. Not only does it mean that Dawn and Cody are flying out of Meredith’s nest to live in Chicago and North Dakota, but it also means Meredith will have to deal with her insufferable ex-husband, Roger, his pompous parents and his new wife Lily, so young she could be the twins’ sister! But Meredith is willing to be the Jackie O. of college graduations. She can handle that for three days, can’t she?
Meanwhile, Dawn, who has spent a lifetime cleaning up after her ‘golden boy’ brother, discovers a mess even she may not be able to get Cody out of. He’s been acting weird last the few weeks of school; picking up smoking, breaking up with his girlfriend, but this… this is definitely a problem. She needs to figure out what’s going on with her twin before he really ruins his life.
Chapter 1
On Thursday morning, the temperature outside is seventy-one degrees and climbing while Meredith Parker considers which of a thousand recommended places she would like to visit before she dies. Not that she’s anticipating dying anytime soon, but she needs a distraction. She figures she has already seen at least a handful—Yosemite (breathtaking, as advertised), Niagara Falls (overrated in her opinion ‒ and cold), and San Francisco (lovely, with a charming hippie vibe). It’s the exotic locales that have eluded her over the past forty-six years, places like Tahiti or Rome or the Swiss Alps. Although, come to think of it, Meredith doesn’t really care for skiing, so she can probably cross the Alps right off her list. But Rome would be nice—all that history and pasta—and wine! A cheap fare must be available on one of those best-deal websites, if she searches long enough. Yes, she’s fairly certain she can persuade her husband, Joel, that Rome should be their first-ever international destination, the new green pin on their Where Have You Been? map that hangs on the wall in the den. That is, of course, once the kids have settled into their new homes.
And with the thought of her children’s imminent departure, Meredith’s throat tightens. What’s the use? she thinks. No number of mental hijinks will make her forget the real purpose of today’s trip. She, Joel, and her mother, Carol, are tracing the familiar route up from New Haven to Boston, as they have dozens of times before, the trees beyond the window zipping by in a curtain of emerald green.
But this weekend will be different.
Because this weekend marks the twins’ college graduation, an event that seemed impossibly far away only a few years ago, even a few months ago. Tomorrow her babies, the ones she used to cradle in each arm, will accept their hard-earned diplomas and officially step out into the great wide beyond, otherwise known as Adult Life.
Last night, when she’d gone to her neighborhood book club, the room had been abuzz with excitement over the upcoming weekend. “You must be bursting with pride!” her friend Lauren exclaimed. “I can’t believe that Cody and Dawn are already graduating. It’s so exciting.” And Meredith had nodded, as if she, too, were in a state of shock over this improbable fact.
It’s true that she couldn’t be prouder of the twins, but the moment is bittersweet. Soon, Cody will be off to Bismarck, North Dakota, to teach high school history, and Dawn is headed to Chicago to work at an advertising firm. Her kids will be so far away, they might as well be moving to Bangkok. Even though she knows it’s irrational, Meredith is racked by the feeling that after this summer she might never see her children again.
Admittedly, she is at a corner, or more specifically, at a crossroads in her life. Images of a two-year-old, chubby Cody racing into her arms or of a young Dawn asking for “one more good-night tuck-in” swim through her mind. She can still feel those small arms wrapped tightly around her, the love so palpable she used to think her heart would leap from her chest to theirs. How is it possible that her babies are graduating from college this weekend?
With Lauren’s comment, Meredith had cast her gaze around the book group (who, truth be told, rarely ever discussed the book at hand) and realized with a start that the difference between her own life and that of her friends’ suddenly stretched before her like a giant yawning chasm: Meredith was about to say goodbye to her kids once and for all, while her neighbors still had years of child-raising ahead of them.
Lauren had offered her an affectionate pat on the shoulder, as if she could read Meredith’s thoughts, and handed over a generous pour of chardonnay, which Meredith accepted gratefully. Maybe, she allowed herself to consider, Lauren was right. Maybe the graduation weekend would be exciting, as pleasing as a perfectly folded fitted sheet. Tuck this person into that corner, that person over there, smooth it, smooth it, and everyone would get along swimmingly.
Given her patched-together, hybrid family, though, Meredith sincerely doubts it. Her ex-husband, Roger, will be bringing Lily, his new wife of six months. And as fine as Meredith is with the idea of Roger’s remarrying after all these years, his new marriage somehow feels forced, as if he has just purchased a new set of golf clubs that he’s eager to show off to the rest of the family.
“I know. It’s crazy, right?” Meredith had managed to get out after swallowing her wine. “The twins are officially all grown up.”
Lauren, a corporate attorney, has two young girls, six and eight, whom Meredith adores and dreams of kidnapping one day (she tells herself it wouldn’t really be kidnapping, though, since they’re all neighbors, and obviously she would do Lauren the courtesy of asking before moving the girls into her own home.). As it is, she helps out with the girls whenever she can, usually after school when Lauren works late and Meredith is already back from her shift in the NICU. The girls have her pegged for a softy and know full well that she will buy them ice cream, bake chocolate chip cookies on a whim, and watch every terrible mermaid movie that’s available for streaming. They call her “Auntie,” which makes her heart swell and break simultaneously.
Some days she wishes she and Joel had tried for their own children way back when, even though the timing was off—they didn’t meet till Meredith was in her late thirties—and there would have been a considerable age gap, more than a decade, between a new baby and the twins. But at least she would still hear young voices in the house, would have someone to ferry to ballet practice or help with a book report. As exhausting as it could be some days (that Taj Mahal built out of marshmallows for fifth grade nearly killed her), she misses the maternal responsibilities she was once counted on for, feels the lack like an unfamiliar brittleness settling into her bones.
Theoretically, she understands that the twins flew the coop four years ago when they left for college. But that was different. The kids continued to call every Sunday night, and she and Joel could drop by on the odd weekend. Luckily, both children had decided on the same college in Boston, making spur-of-the-moment visits ridiculously convenient. But traveling so far away for jobs where she might see them only once or twice a year for Thanksgiving and Christmas? She honestly doesn’t know how—or if—she can handle it.
Thankfully, no matter what faults she and her ex-husband, Roger, might have had as a couple, their kids have turned out all right—better than all right—and Meredith lets herself relax slightly with this thought now. Dawn, hands down her most difficult child during the teenage years, has blossomed into a bright young woman. Gone are the days when Meredith’s every comment would prompt an eye roll from her daughter. And despite an unfortunate hiccup with the Administrative Board last year, Dawn has managed to pull off graduating with honors. Meanwhile, Cody (Meredith’s lips part into a smile when she imagines him striding across the stage in his gown) is graduating Phi Beta Kappa. Not only that, but he set the school record for all-time rushing yards this fall, leading his football team to their best season in fifteen years. Cody has become a rock star on his small New England campus, and as his mother, Meredith can’t help but feel a bit smug. After all, she was the one who whipped up protein shake after protein shake and lugged him to hundreds of high school practices. She was the one who allowed her lovely den to be transformed into a weight room filled with smelly sneakers and barbells for four years.
If she knows one thing deep in her bones, it’s that she is a good mom, one who has raised hardworking, resilient children. She imagines holding her breath as they parade across Bolton’s commencement stage, much as she did when they took their first ungainly steps across the kitchen floor, Cody wheeling ahead in wide, determined strides and Dawn following a few paces behind, her tongue twisted into a tight coil of determination. Meredith is enormously proud of them, and, quite honestly, of herself. She didn’t abandon her kids like Roger did, when he’d seen fit to put his penis where it didn’t belong. But that was nearly ten years ago, water under the bridge—more of a tepid stream wandering through her mind these days than a charging river.
I have been reading Harlequin Romances off on on for at least fifteen years now. This was the first Harlequin Presents book I’ve read in a while now. But a good romance from time to time is always a must.
When I first started reading this book I really didn’t think I would be that in to it. But in true harlequin fashion, the romance won me over. I still would call it a book I probably would not have picked myself but I’m glad I gave it a chance.
Lorenzo and “Brooke” have a lot of hurdles to work through. And have a non-traditional “real” start to their relationship but in the end love wins. While I enjoyed this book there were some sad parts I felt.
Author bio & book description for THE INNOCENT’S FORGOTTEN WEDDING by Lynne Graham (Presents)
About Lynne Graham: Lynne Graham lives in Northern Ireland and has been a keen romance reader since her teens. Happily married, Lynne has five children. Her eldest is her only natural child. Her other children, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. The family has a variety of pets, and Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collecting allsorts and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.
About THE INNOCENT’S FORGOTTEN WEDDING by Lynne Graham: The Italian husband she can’t remember…or resist!
After a terrible car crash, Brooke can’t remember her own name—much less her wedding day! Finding irresistible Lorenzo Tassini at her bedside—and a gold band on her finger—is shocking.
Honor-bound to care for his estranged wife, Lorenzo whisks her to his luxury Tuscan villa. But Brooke’s nothing like Lorenzo remembers! Her sweetness surprises him, as does the chemistry between them, blazing like never before. Stunned to discover her virginity, Lorenzo must uncover the secrets of the woman wearing his ring…
Excerpt, THE INNOCENT’S FORGOTTEN WEDDING by Lynne Graham
Early the following morning, alarm bells rang and lights flashed from the machinery by the bed. The woman came awake and went into panic, eyes focusing on an unfamiliar room and then on the ar-rival of two nurses, their faces both concerned and excited at the same time. She clawed at the breath-ing tube in her throat because she couldn’t speak and the women tried to both restrain and soothe her, telling her over and over again that the doc-tor was coming, everything would be all right and that there was nothing to worry about. She thought they were crazy. Her body wouldn’t move. She could only move one hand and her arm felt as if it didn’t belong to her. How could she possibly have nothing to worry about? Why were they talking nonsense? Did they think she was stupid?
The panic kept on clawing at her, even after the doctor arrived and the breathing tube was re-moved. He kept on asking her questions, questions she couldn’t answer until she couldn’t hide from the truth any longer. She didn’t know who she was. What was her name? She didn’t know why she was lying in a hospital bed. She didn’t have a last memory to offer because her mind was a blank, a complete blank. It was a ridiculous relief to receive an approving nod when she evidently got the name of the Prime Minister right and contrived to name colours correctly.
‘What happened to me?’ she whispered brokenly, her breath rasping. ‘Have I been ill?’
‘You were in an accident.’ The doctor paused there, exchanging a glance with the staff surround-ing the bed.
‘What’s my name?’ she asked shakily.
‘Your name is Brooke… Brooke Tassini.’ The name meant absolutely nothing to her, didn’t even sound slightly familiar.
‘Your husband will be here very soon.’ Brooke’s eyes widened to their fullest extent in shock. ‘I have a husband?’
For some reason, the nurses smiled. ‘Oh, yes, you have a husband.’
‘A very handsome husband,’ one of the women added.
Brooke stared down at her bare wedding fin-ger. She was married. Oh, my goodness, she was married. Did she have children? she asked. No…no children as far as they knew, they said, and a tinge of relief threaded through the panic she wasonly just holding at bay. Then she felt guilty about that sense of relief. She liked children, didn’t she? But it was scary enough to have a husband she didn’t remember—it would be simply appalling if she had contrived to forget her children as well.
I love a good series and I’m always willing to start a new one. While most books in a series can be read alone, I prefer to start at the very beginning and get to know the characters and the backstory. So before I started reading this book, since it is book two, I made sure to read the first book, For The Twin’s Sake.
With that being said after reading the first book I couldn’t wait to start reading this book. Personally I had a little bit of a hard time getting into this book (but I really think it was just me). Once I did get into it, I really enjoyed it. Heck I wish I could spend time on the “Dawson Family Guest Ranch” or someplace like it.
I just love these characters. Daisy Dawson is just so much fun and hard not to love and Harrison McCord while at times is a little frustrating, he too is a love able character. This series is the first books I have read by Melissa Senate and I can’t wait for the rest of the series and to check out more books by her.
Author bio & book description for WYOMING SPECIAL DELIVERY by Melissa Senate (Harlequin Special Edition)
About Melissa Senate: Melissa Senate has written many novels for Harlequin and other publishers, including her debut, SEE JANE DATE, which was made into a TV movie. She also wrote seven books for Harlequin’s Special Edition line under the pen name Meg Maxwell. Melissa’s novels have been published in over twenty-five countries. She lives on the coast of Maine with her teenaged son, their sweet shepherd mix, Flash, and a comical lap cat named Cleo. Visit her website MelissaSenate.com.
About WYOMING SPECIAL DELIVERY: Their feuding fathers never could have predicted this…
He came to claim the Dawson Family Ranch…but was Daisy Dawson’s heart part of the deal?
Harrison McCord was sure he was the rightful owner of the Dawson Family Ranch. And delivering Daisy Dawson’s baby on the side of the road was a mere diversion. Still, when Daisy found out his intentions, instead of pushing him away, she invited him in, figuring he’d start to see her in a whole new light. But what if she started seeing him that way, as well?
Excerpt, WYOMING SPECIAL DELIVERY by Melissa Senate
A letter from the author:
Dear Reader,
The nine-months-pregnant single heroine of Wyoming Special Delivery, Daisy Dawson, is one of six siblings and the only female. But when she goes into labor on the side of a Wyoming road in the dead of summer without a cell phone or a spare brother, she’s beyond grateful when the handsome, mysterious guest at her family’s dude ranch turns up—and delivers her baby boy.
But Harrison McCord has a secret reason for staying at the Dawson Family Ranch. A reason Daisy will not like one bit. Bringing her newborn son into the world, though, changes everything for the both of them.
I hope you enjoy Daisy and Harrison’s story. Feel free to write me with any comments or questions at MelissaSenate@yahoo.com and visit my website, melissasenate.com for more info about me and my books. For lots of photos of my cat and dog, friend me over on Facebook.
Happy spring and happy reading!
Warmest regards,
Melissa Senate
Excerpt, WYOMING SPECIAL DELIVERY by Melissa Senate
Late the next afternoon, Daisy stood in the farmhouse nursery with Noah and Sara and gasped as she looked around. She gently put down Tony’s infant carrier and unbuckled him, carefully cradling him along her arm as she stepped around the room. The nursery sure looked different than it had a day and a half ago. She’d had the basics of the room set up for a couple months now—the crib, the dresser with its changing pad, the glider—all gifts from Noah a few days after she’d told him she was pregnant. But now there were surprises everywhere. In one corner was an adorable plush child’s chair in the shape of a teddy bear for Tony to grow into. And someone had stenciled the wall facing the crib with the moon and stars. Tony’s name was also stenciled on his crib, which was Sara’s handiwork. And there were stacks of gifts in one corner that she knew were baby clothes and blankets and burp cloths. She wouldn’t have to buy anything for Tony for a long time.
“Ford and Rex did the moon and stars,” Noah said. “For novice stencilers who had to read the instructions twice and watch a tutorial, they did a great job.”
“And Zeke and Axel hit up BabyLand and bought that adorable polka-dot rug and the yellow floor lamp,” Sara added. “I didn’t even go with them to make sure they didn’t buy anything weird or clashing, and what they picked out is absolutely perfect.”
The room was so cozy and sweet. “You guys are going to make me cry,” Daisy managed to say around the lump in her throat as she surveyed the nursery. She used her free hand to swipe under her eyes.
She couldn’t say she and her brothers were close—well, except for Noah these days—but they were always there for her. And they’d all been there to meet Tony the day he was born. That was the one lucky thing to come out of her nonwedding—her whole family had already been at the ranch.
This place had always held bad memories for all the siblings, but after inheriting the ranch from their father, they’d all invested in rebuilding and renovating and reopening the Dawson Family Guest Ranch. Noah had done the lion’s share on his own; Daisy had been too pregnant to help much when she’d arrived a few months ago, and the four other Dawsons couldn’t get away from the ranch fast enough.
Ford had once said hell would freeze over be-fore he’d come back here, a sentiment shared by the other three brothers as well, but Ford, Rex, Axel and Zeke had surprised Noah and Daisy at the grand opening this past Memorial Day weekend. And now Axel was staying at the ranch for a bit. That meant three out of six Dawsons at the ranch at the same time. It was a start. And Daisy was going to run with it.
I’m not going to lie, when I first heard about this blog tour I was so excited. I love Holiday reads and I was going to be so good and read all of them. Well now here I sit one book read, one book started (but bearly) and the four others staring at me waiting for me to read. Life always seems to get in the way of my best laid plans.
Right now I will feature all six books and review the one I do have finished and posts reviews for the other five as I finish the books.
Author Bio:New York Times Bestselling authorMaiseyYates lives in rural Oregon with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer spirit.
Book Summary:
As snowflakes fall in Gold Valley, Oregon, will this rugged cowboy finally win the woman of his dreams? Cowboy Caleb Dalton has loved single mom Ellie Bell, and her little daughter, Amelia, for years. But since Ellie is his best friend’s widow, Caleb’s head knows Ellie will always be strictly off-limits. If only his heart got the memo.Sowhen Caleb discovers that Ellie has a Christmas wish list—and hopes for a kiss under the mistletoe—he’s throwing his cowboy hat into the ring. If anyone’s going to be kissing Ellie and sharing this magical time with her and her daughter, it’s him. Ellie has dreaded the holidays since losing her husband. But this year, she’s finally ready to make some changes. She never expects the biggest change to be the heart-stopping kiss she shares with Caleb. For almost five years, Caleb has been her best friend, her rock, her salvation. This Christmas, can Caleb prove he’s also the missing puzzle piece of Ellie’s and Amelia’s hearts?
USA TODAY bestselling author Sheila Roberts takes readers to a small, snowbound town, where a young woman fights to save her family’s charity that brings Christmas to families in need, and a stranded millionaire loses his heart and finds the true meaning of Christmas.
Sometimes you need to look beyond the big picture to see what really matters
Olivia Berg’s charity, Christmas from the Heart, has helped generations of families in need in Pine River, Washington, but this year might be the end of the road. Hightower Enterprises, one of their biggest donors since way back when Olivia’s grandmother ran the charity, has been taken over by Ebenezer Scrooge the Second, aka CFO Guy Hightower, and he’s declared there will be no more money coming to Christmas from the Heart.
Guy is simply being practical. Hightower Enterprises needs to tighten its belt, and when you don’t have money to spare, you don’t have money to share. You’d think even the pushy Olivia Berg could understand that.
With charitable donations dwindling, Olivia’s Christmas budget depends on Hightower’s contribution. She’s focused her whole life on helping this small town, even putting her love life on hold to support her mission.
When Guy’s Maserati breaks down at the edge of the Cascade foothills, he’s relieved to be rescued by a pretty young woman who drives him to the nearby town of Pine River. Until he realizes his rescuer is none other than Olivia Berg. What’s a Scrooge to do? Plug his nose and eat fruitcake and hope she doesn’t learn his true identity before he can get out of town. What could go wrong?
Author Bio:
Sheila Roberts lives on a lake in the Pacific Northwest. Her novels have been published in several languages. Her book, Angel Lane, was an Amazon Top Ten Romance pick for 2009. Her holiday perennial, On Strike for Christmas, was made into a movie for the Lifetime Movie Network and her novel, The Nine Lives of Christmas, was made into a movie for Hallmark . You can visit Sheila on Twitter and Facebook or at her website (http://www.sheilasplace.com).
Author Bio:Jennifer Snow lives in Edmonton, Alberta with her husband and four year old son. She is a member of the RWA, the Alberta Writers Guild, Canadian Authors Association and SheWrites.org. Her first Brookhollow book was a finalist in the Heart of Denver Aspen Gold contest and the Golden Quill Award. More information can be found athttp://www.jennifersnowauthor.com.
Book Summary:
In Alaska, it’s always a white Christmas—but the sparks flying between two reunited friends could turn it red-hot… If there’s one gift Erika Sheraton does not want for Christmas, it’s a vacation. Ordered to take time off, the workaholic surgeon reluctantly trades in her scrubs for a ski suit and heads to Wild River, Alaska. Her friend Cassie owns a tour company that offers adventures to fit every visitor. But nothing compares to the adrenaline rush Erika feels on being reunited with Cassie’s brother, Reed Reynolds. Gone is the buttoned-up girl Reed remembers. His sister’s best friend has blossomed into a strong, skilled, confident woman. She’s exactly what his search-and-rescue team needs—and everything he didn’t know he craved. The gulf between his life in Wild River and her big-city career is wide. But it’s no match for a desire powerful enough to melt two stubborn hearts…
Author Bio:USA Todaybestselling author Sarah Morgan writes hot, happy, contemporary romance and women’s fiction, and her trademark humor and sensuality have gained her fans across the globe. Described as “a magician with words” by RT Book Reviews, she has sold more than eleven million copies of her books. She was nominated three years in succession for the prestigious RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America and won the award three times: once in 2012 forDoukakis’sApprentice, in 2013 for A Night of No Return and in 2017 for Miracle on 5thAvenue. She also won the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award in 2012 and has made numerous appearances in their Top Pick slot. As a child, Sarah dreamed of being a writer, and although she took a few interesting detours along the way, she is now living that dream. Sarah lives near London, England, with her husband and children, and when she isn’t reading or writing, she loves being outdoors, preferably on vacation so she can forget the house needs tidying.
Book Summary:
This funny, charming and heartwarming new Christmas novel is USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan at her festive best!
In the snowy perfection of Aspen, the White family gathers for youngest daughter Rosie’s whirlwind Christmas wedding. First to arrive are the bride’s parents, Maggie and Nick. Their daughter’s marriage is a milestone they are determined to celebrate wholeheartedly, but theyare hiding a huge secret of their own: they are on the brink of divorce. After living apart for the last six months, the last thing they need is to be trapped together in an irresistibly romantic winter wonderland. Rosie’s older sister, Katie, is also dreading the wedding. Worried that impulsive, sweet-hearted Rosie is making a mistake, Katie is determined to save her sister from herself! If only the irritatingly good-looking best man, Jordan, would stop interfering with her plans… Bride-to-be Rosie loves her fiancé but is having serious second thoughts. Except everyone has arrived—how can she tell them she’s not sure? As the big day gets closer, and emotions run even higher, this is one White family Christmas none of them will ever forget!
Blog Tour Assets /CHRISTMAS IN SILVERSPRINGS BrendaNoval
CHRISTMAS IN SILVER SPRINGS
Author:Brenda Novak
ISBN:9780778308256
Publication Date:October 29, 2019
Publisher: MIRA BOOKS
BIO:Brenda Novak, aNew York TimesandUSA TODAYbestselling author, has penned over sixty novels. She is a six-time nominee for the RITA Award and has won the National Reader’s Choice, the Bookseller’s Best, theBookbuyer’sBest, and many other awards. She also runs Brenda Novak for the Cure, a charity to raise money for diabetes research (her youngest son has this disease). To date, she’s raised $2.5 million. For more about Brenda, please visit http://www.brendanovak.com.
BOOK SUMMARY:
Come home to Silver Springs for the holidays, where broken hearts learn to love again…together.
So much for forever. When Elle Devlin’srockstarhusband ditches her on his way to the top, she takes her two daughters to her sister’s place in Silver Springs for the holidays, hoping family can heal her broken heart. But comfort comes in unexpected packages when she crosses paths with Tobias Richardson.
The moment Tobias spots Elle, he recognizes a sadness he knows all too well. After spending thirteen years in prison paying for his regretful past, Tobias is ready to make amends, and maybe helping Elle is the way to do it. But offering her a shoulder to cry on ignites a powerful attraction, and a desire neither saw coming.
Fearing her reaction, Tobias doesn’t divulge his ex-con status, let alone the shameful details.Sowhen Elle’s ex shows up in Silver Springs and reveals the truth in a bid to win her back, Tobias is sure he’s lost her for good. But, just maybe, this Christmas he’ll receive the forgiveness—and the love—he deserves.
Author Bio:New York Times bestselling authorRaeAnneThayne finds inspiration in the beautiful northern Utah mountains where she lives with her family. Her books have won numerous honors, including six RITA Award nominations from Romance Writers of America and Career Achievement and Romance Pioneer awards from RT Book Reviews. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.raeannethayne.com.
Book Summary:
Hearts are lighter and wishesburna little brighter at Christmas… Elizabeth Hamilton has been lost. Trapped in a tangle of postpartum depression and grief after the death of her beloved parents, she couldn’t quite see the way back to her husband and their two beautiful kids…until a car accident stole away her memories and changed her life. And when she finally remembered the sound of little Cassie’s laugh, the baby powder smell of Bridger and the feel of her husband’s hand in hers, Elizabeth worried that they’d moved on without her. That she’d missed too much. That perhaps she wasn’t the right mother for her kids or wife for Luke, no matter how much she loved them. But now, seven years later, Luke finds her in a nearby town and brings Elizabeth back home to the family she loves, just in time for Christmas. And being reunited with Luke and her children is better than anything Elizabeth could have imagined. As they all trim the tree and bake cookies, making new holiday memories, Elizabeth and Luke are drawn ever closer. Can the hurt of the past seven years be healed over the course of one Christmas season and bring theHamiltonsthe gift of a new beginning?
“Staying for Good” the newest book by Catherine Bybee, I was excited for this book and couldn’t wait for its release. I loved “Doing It Over” and couldn’t wait to read Zoe and Luke’s story. I am not going to lie, it took me a little while to get into this book but once I did Ms. Bybee did not disappoint.
I was first introduced to Ms. Bybee’s books through the Weekday Bride Series. I loved that series and this one too, but this series, A Most Likely to Series, is a far cry from the Weekday Bride Series. In this series, Ms. Bybee tackles everyday struggles with everyday people. Not that it wasn’t fun to get a glimpse at how the better-half lives or might live with the billionaires and movie stars of the bride series
Zoe and Luke were high school sweethearts, who never really got over each other. The stage is set in the first book when Zoe comes back for her ten-year high school reunion only to see the love of her life, Luke, again. With her best friend about to marry his best friend and her uncertainty with her current living situation, Ms. Bybee provides a recipe for love. Of course, there are a few bumps on the road to love for Zoe and Luke, but I would be disappointed if there wasn’t. But in the case of Zoe and Luke sometimes what you are looking for and what you need the most in life are right were you left them.
There were a few times while reading this I wanted to reach through the pages and shake some of the characters. And there were a few scenes I was turning my nose up at, but these things are what makes this book so wonderful and more lifelike. I can’t wait for the third and final book of the series, where the third member of the trio of high school friends finds her Mr. Wright.
CATHERINE BYBEE
BIO:
New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee was raised in Washington State, but after graduating high school, she moved to Southern California in hopes of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Weekday Brides Series and the Not Quite Series. Bybee lives with her two teenage sons in Southern California.
Zoe Brown may have been voted Most Likely to Never Leave River Bend, but the paper-thin walls and suffocating air of her family’s double-wide trailer were not what she wanted for her life. Other than BFFs Melanie and Jo, the only thing that kept Zoe sane during high school was her boyfriend, Luke.
She didn’t just leave, she escaped—turning her back on the shame of her black-sheep siblings and imprisoned dad. Now a celebrity chef in Dallas, she can afford all the things she never could have growing up. But when she returns to rustic, ruggedly beautiful River Bend, Zoe has to face all that she abandoned—including Luke.
While Luke was a refuge for Zoe in the past, he knows they inhabit totally different worlds now. Anchored by his parents and his job as a mechanic in his father’s shop, Luke never felt the urge to leave River Bend—until Zoe’s return.
But when the two rekindle their old flame, Zoe is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: remain in River Bend and confront her past before it destroys her, or say good-bye to everyone she’s ever loved…again, this time for good.
I will admit I loved the Weekday Bride Series so much that I was a little nervous to start a new series of books by Catherine Bybee. I love her books and writing don’t get me wrong but was I going to love these new characters? Well I do! And “Doing It Over” far exceeded my expectations.
Melanie Bartlett has had a rough life dropping out of college and having a child with a man who doesn’t want to be a father, so for her to return to her hometown for her tenth high school reunion comes with some mixed emotions. Ms. Bybee did a great job of catching the essence of a child in the character of Hope Bartlett, Melanie’s daughter, from climbing trees to loving puppies. The first person Melanie meets on her way back into town is handy man Wyatt Gibson. Wyatt is a bachelor and finding love is the last thing on his mind. But all that is about to change once Melanie and Hope Bartlett come to town in “Doing it Over”, the first book in an all new series by Catherine Bybee.
I loved single mom Melanie Bartlett, her daughter Hope and handy man Wyatt Gibson from the start. Add in a whole list of other loveable characters and I couldn’t help but fall in love with River Bend. For me it was like reading a Nicholas Sparks novel with twist and turns along the way but love all the way through. I can’t wait for the second book now. I just wonder which of Melanie’s two best friends will be finding love in the next book of the series.
CATHERINE BYBEE
BIO:
New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee was raised in Washington State, but after graduating high school, she moved to Southern California in hopes of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Weekday Brides Series and the Not Quite Series. Bybee lives with her two teenage sons in Southern California.
One small town. Three close friends. True love to last a lifetime.
Voted Most Likely to Succeed, Melanie Bartlett ended up anything but. The down-on-her-luck single mom wants a complete do-over—is that too much to ask? With her family long gone from River Bend, strong, independent Mel is as surprised as anyone to end up in the quaint small town she once called home. But with her friends, Jo and Zoe, by her side, and a comfortable room at Miss Gina’s quirky bed-and-breakfast, she just might have turned the corner on a new life.
Wyatt Gibson never liked the big city. River Bend suits the ruggedly handsome builder just fine. Wyatt knows he’s home, even if that means being charmed by the appearance of Melanie and her spunky, adorable daughter. Is Wyatt’s calm devotion—even amid a coming storm—enough to convince Mel she may have found a home to call her own, a family that never leaves, and a true love to last a lifetime?
Praise for Doing It Over
“The romance between fiercely independent Melanie and charming Wyatt heats up even as outsiders threaten to derail their newfound happiness. This novel will hook readers with its warm, inviting characters and the promise for similar future installments.” –Publishers Weekly
“This brand-new trilogy, Most Likely To, based on yearbook superlatives, kicks off with a novel that will encourage you to root for the incredibly likable Melanie. Her friends are hilarious and readers will swoon over Wyatt, who is charming and strong. Even Melanie’s daughter, Hope, is a hoot! This romance is jam-packed with animated characters, and Bybee displays her creative writing talent wonderfully.” –RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars
One of my favorite series of books is the Weekday Bride Series by Catherine Bybee. I love the characters and I like how the characters from previous books make appearances in the newer books. I feel as if they are almost family. So I was super excited when I was given the chance for Southern Belle Charm to be a stop on the Catherine Bybee Seduced by Sunday Blog Tour.
(Link for Tour Wide Giveaway is at the bottom of the page.)
CATHERINE BYBEE
BIO:
New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee was raised in Washington State, but after graduating high school, she moved to Southern California in hopes of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Weekday Brides Series and the Not Quite Series. Bybee lives with her husband and two teenage sons in Southern California.
Meg Rosenthal: Matchmaker by day, realist by night, Meg is not about to get swept away by a charming, darkly handsome businessman in a designer suit.
She’s come to a beautiful secluded resort to evaluate the private island’s potential for her agency, not to ogle its owner. But there’s something about the magnetic man that’s hard to resist, even for a woman who refuses to fall in love.
Valentino Masini: A successful and drop-dead sexy businessman, Valentino is used to having the finer things in life. Yet he’s never wanted someone the way he wants Meg, who’s stirring up a hurricane of trouble in his heart. But just as he decides to convince her to stay, someone else decides it might be time to get Meg off the island…permanently.
Praise for Catherine Bybee
“Suspense, survival, and chemistry mix in this scintillating read in the style of Julie Garwood and Suzanne Brockmann.” —Booklist on Fiancé by Friday
“This is a book nobody should miss, because the magic it contains is awesome.” —Booked Up Reviews on Married by Monday
“[A] wonderfully exciting plot, lots of desire, and some sassy attitude thrown in for good measure!” —Harlequin Junkie on Single by Saturday
A shadow fell over her, drawing Meg’s attention from the nap she was trying to take. It might have been unfortunate that she opened her eyes to find a pair of dress pants, with a rather impressive bulge hiding the sun…but Meg found herself tearing her gaze away to follow the overdressed path to broad shoulders, partially shaven face…dark eyes.
“Mr. Masini.”
“Miss Rosenthal.”
“You’re a little overdressed for the pool, don’t you think?”
The weight of his eyes traveled over her exposed skin. The bikini hid the important parts, but didn’t leave a ton to the imagination. She couldn’t tell if Val’s lips twitched with admiration for what he saw, or disapproval. Either way, she felt a little like a Catholic school girl who’d shown up for the first day of school with the wrong uniform… which had actually happened to her before her parents decided to ignore her grandparents’ suggestion that public school might prove best.
His gaze lingered on her thighs and Meg felt the need to squirm. Instead, she simply called the man out. “You’re staring, Mr. Masini.”
He jolted as if his own personal earthquake woke him. “Please, call me Val.”
“We’re on a first name basis now?”
Val rocked back, placed his hands into his pockets as if he didn’t know what to do with them.
He’d been nothing short of cocky since before she’d arrived…this new look suited her just fine.
“I welcome all my guests to use my name.”
“Yet you don’t go by Valentino. I’d think you’d prefer only friends call you Val.”
“Are we not friends?”
Meg couldn’t help it, she laughed. “Sure, Val, let’s be friends…you can call me Margaret. Miss Rosenthal reminds me of my great aunt who never married.
His eyes laughed even though his lips didn’t. “Don’t you use Meg?”
BIO:
Southern Belle Charm 