This blog is for those 18 and older.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Rent Yourself An Elf by Savannah Scott

 Not too late for a great Christmas story.  Don't forget Easter is just around the corner and the holidays are related!  For whatever reason, I was in the mood to read this.

It's a delightful rom-com, and Noelle has a problem with Christmas.  It's not that she doesn't like it, but rather it was always centered around her grandmother who has passed and left her home for Noelle as an inheritance.

The house is old and needs a few minor repairs.  As a grade school teacher, Noelle has little time to do much more than plan to teach and teach.  She squeezes in a few dinners with her best friends.

They surprise her with an elf because she needs entertainment other than just work.  

His name is Liam.

Liam is a handyman for hire, wearing a Santa hat for the occasion, and appears at Noelle's door to do handywork for two days.  He's too busy and consumed with his trade to think about women.  

Noelle isn't perfect like her sister.  Yet, Liam notices everything good about her immediately.  

The kindling is set for the fire.

When she gets herself in a pickle over needing a date for a family event, let's see if Liam can fill the ticket. 

The match is lit and will the fire burn?!

 It's a feel-good read and can be enjoyed even without decorations and snow for the holiday!

Happy reading,

Dawn


  



Wednesday, March 6, 2024

A Woman to Admire

     

       
Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
        Yesterday, my DH and I attended a birthday celebration for a dear friend. She’s 98. Yes, you read that right. 98! But one would never know that to look at her or talk to her. She doesn’t look 98. Not at all. She doesn’t act it either.
She is young at heart and she is stunning. Beyond beautiful. When we saw her yesterday, her hair and makeup were perfect and she was dressed to the nines and that wasn’t because it was her birthday. She dresses like this every day. She has a collection of hats that she wears whenever she goes out…and not just any hats…these are the wide-brimmed fashionable hats of a bygone era when women wore gloves and didn’t dare step out of their homes without looking their absolute best.
The woman has boundless energy, too. Her own personal fountain of youth, it would seem, hidden somewhere inside. I get tired just watching her! At this age, she is still very active in her community, attending chamber of commerce meetings to help small businesses grow (she was a small business owner at one time), traveling to visit her children and grandchildren (and yes, great grandchildren), posts twice a day (at least) on Facebook (always uplifting, inspirational messages—she calls her Facebook friends ‘her peeps’, which is adorable. She’s adorable!), reaches out to those who need help, and volunteers with hospice and one of the local mental health agencies here.
This is a woman who has lived and lived well. That’s not to say she didn’t have hard times because everyone does, but no one would ever know that in speaking with her. Every hard time was a lesson to be kinder and that’s how she looked at it. She learned that lesson well because she is kindness itself. 
And love. She exudes love…there’s no other way to say it. And I do love this woman. She is no relation. Like I said, a friend, but she has never treated me as anything other than another daughter and my DH as a son.
Did I mention she gives the best hugs? I was happy to receive several of her famous hugs yesterday!
As I watched her greet her guests, moving through the crowd with infinite grace and uncommon style (there were a lot of guests—she is well loved), I thought…not only is this woman someone to admire, but also someone to emulate. She is the grand dame, the matriarch, the queen, and I am so fortunate to be part of her world. Happy birthday, my friend!
Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

Friday, March 1, 2024

FLETCHER'S FLAME by Lexi Post only 99¢ for a limited time!

 

Fletcher's Flame 

(Last Chance Book 3)

by Lexi Post

is now on sale for only 99¢, but only for a limited time.

Can he get her to see her own worth before they both go up in flames…literally?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | AppleBooks | Kobo | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA  

   Dana Wilson has one mission in life – to save animals. Thanks to her life’s calling, she’s developed a distrust of men in authority. So when Bo Fletcher, a cowboy firefighter, decides to appoint himself her bodyguard, her hackles rise.

   Bo’s physical attraction to Dana Wilson has him digging deeper into her personality, a need to understand her burning in his gut. Unfortunately, that’s not the only thing burning. An arsonist appears to be nipping at Dana’s heels and Bo is determined to protect her.

As sparks fly between them, the fires come closer and closer to claiming Dana. Can Bo protect her or will his own words be her demise?

About Lexi:

Lexi Post is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of romance inspired by the classics. She spent years in higher education taking and teaching courses about the classical literature she loved. From Edgar Allan Poe's short story “The Masque of the Red Death” to Tolstoy’s War and Peace, she's read, studied, and taught wonderful classics.

But Lexi's first love is romance novels so she married her two first loves, romance and the classics. Whether it’s sizzling cowboys, dashing dukes, hot immortals, or hunks from out of this world, Lexi provides a sensuous experience with a “whole lotta story.”

Lexi is living her own happily ever after with her husband and her two cats in Florida. She makes her own ice cream every weekend, loves bright colors, and you’ll never see her without a hat.


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Wednesday, February 28, 2024

The Do Over by Sharon Peterson

 My last review was beautiful and serious, so now it's time for a lot of fun.  A kettle full of laughs is necessary to get through the dingy, brown days of late winter.

Perci is a people-pleaser, starting with her mom, and then her boyfriend, Brent, and all others. 

Apparently, Brent is too hard to please. 


I want to tell you, as a reader, how Brent broke-up with Perci, but I can't.  I had to put the book down and wipe the tears of laughter from my eyes.  For Perci, I want to smack him, but I can't deny the humor.  

She has a change in her romantic relationship, changes her job because she works with Brent, and the other life changes are all done by keeping a sense of humor in life. 

Perci, in her late twenties, is my kind of woman.  She loves her forget-the-rules grandma, loves chocolate, and is working on the idea of loving herself.

Hot-Man-Next-Door, Nate, gets involved.  And a good thing he does.  He's accidentally what Perci needs and wants and should have.  With all the sudden changes in her life and happenings in the family, Nate pulls Perci through with the best of kisses and tulips (two-lips).  Those are kind of the same, but not really:)

Laugh and love,

Dawn


 

Friday, February 23, 2024

YA JUST GOTTA WONDER.

 

Hey gang, hi ya, how are ya?  Good, I hope.  Well, I’ve been MIA because I’ve been working hard, but wanted to stick my head in with a quick, little story that will make you go, “HUH?" 

It did me.  LOL 


I went to the lab the other day for the yearly, much-dreaded, mammogram... and yes, that's the way I look at the machine too...like it's my arch nemesis. Anyway, I’ve done these for many years—probably have not had hundreds of them, but certainly dozens—and they never get any better.  I don’t think the technique has improved one iota since my very first one. 

Now, to be fair, I’m certain the technology and accuracy has improved, but not the technique as experienced from my end. Hence, my firm belief that it is all men behind the development of this method—which I am certain would be significantly improved (fast) if men had to use the same methodology on their “equipment”.  Could someone propose that at the next user meeting…please! 

Okay, I digress.  Since the process has not improved one stupid millimeter, I’m not going to go into detail here—we all get it.  But if you want to see a blog I wrote a few years ago about my mammo, here is a link to that one.  😊  Enjoy…then come back here and read about the head-scratching moment I encountered at this year’s appointment. 

Link to Old Blog Post

Now, as I was saying, I had a WTF moment at this year’s mammo appointment.  All went as it always has—compassionate woman administered the test, reminded me to remove the BB’s, and all was good. But on my way OUT of the clinic, I encountered a handwritten sign in all capital letters, using red ink, taped to the inside of the door that read as follows: 

THIS DOOR EXIT ONLY!

Now, I have to surmise that there was a big problem with this door being used as an entrance instead of an exit—hence, the handwritten sign that someone felt needed to be posted (and with emphasis). 

But I’m not sure the solution, as implemented, truly yields a lot of improvement. 

Wouldn’t you think you would stop more “entering” violators by posting this sign on the outside of the door?  I actually checked outside and there were no signs anywhere…only on the inside. 

HUH!  



I sure hope the person who posted this sign isn’t responsible for anything truly important...like testing or reading results. Perhaps there is a special position for Coordinator of Handwritten Door Warnings. 

One can only hope.

Well, that’s my story, confused and confounding, and I’m stickin’ to it. Hang on tight now ‘cuz we’re gonna go real, real fast!

Love ya,  



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Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Shopping On-line

 


        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
My apologies in advance. This post will contain some ranting and raving.
I’m not sure how you all feel about it, but I absolutely hate ordering things online! I understand the convenience factor of ‘letting your fingers’ do the walking (hahahaha, how many of you remember that advertisement for the Yellow Pages, which I don’t believe are in existence anymore), but I still dislike it. Doesn’t feel so convenient to me (the gentleman at Whole Foods, where they have an Amazon return booth, and I are becoming quite close as I’ve been there many, many times over the past couple weeks...he sees me coming and just grins).
I need to try things on before I purchase, you know? I like going to clothing stores (my favorite clothing stores are now closed, courtesy of the pandemic but there are other that are still around) and feeling the fabric between my fingers…is it soft? Or crinkly and stiff? Looks soft in the picture…looks can be deceiving, as I’m coming to learn. No, it isn’t perfect, standing in front of those dressing room mirrors (which lie…can’t convince me otherwise), but if something doesn’t fit right or look right, I don’t have to buy it to find out.
Also, the models are much taller (and thinner) than I. What looks lovely on a long-legged, wasp-waisted woman doesn’t look so lovely on me. I am short (and yes, I sometimes forget that) not coming anywhere near those five-foot ten-inch beauties (I do look for petite size dresses if they are available). Also, there is no way to stretch the imagination to say I have a wasp waist. No, ma’am. Not sure there is a corset strong enough to give me one, either!
So not having a good time buying things online only to have them delivered, not fit, and have to return them (thank goodness for free returns…I’d spend a fortune sending things back otherwise).
Hmmm, the only things I do not have a problem ordering on line are books. They always ‘fit’ perfectly. And the dogs’ Cosequin. Can’t go wrong there.
Okay, done ranting!
In other news, work on Wife By Surprise is…going fairly well. I had wanted the story to be finished by Christmas, then January, then February, but my characters had other ideas. I also wanted the story to come in at 85K words…again, my characters thought differently so we’re going with what my characters want and frankly, it’s better that way.
And that’s about all that’s going on here. Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

Friday, February 16, 2024

It's your chance to win 25 historical romances and a new eReader!

 


Don't miss your chance to win 25 Historical Romances and a new eReader. Contest ends on February 21st so don't wait! Yes, you may recognize one of these. Just saying ðŸ˜Š