This blog is for those 18 and older.

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Secrets Hidden in the Glass by Cate Beauman

 Callie Davis wants nothing more than a way out of her rich life created by world renowned glass art.  Amazing that a gift of talent can result in anxiety and the need to flee.

Leaving the glam of Manhattan, Callie rents a cabin on a quiet, touristy island in Massachusetts.  Maybe she'll get her muse for art back or disappear into a world she's not known.


Her new landlord is more than a plumber who fixes her sink but also the town sheriff.  She can't get around Carter Island without his influence.  Nate Carter is either related to or knows everyone.  He wants to get to know the beautiful visitor.

Couldn't imagine a couple getting along any better at first sight.  Yet, Callie has secrets from her childhood that keep appearing in her attempts at art and to fit in with the locals.  She's leery of getting into a relationship as she digs for answers of her past.

Which, might I add, would be the perfect tension in the romance, but that strain is missing in the story.  Nate has no reason to not pursue their relationship, and Callie constantly decides it's okay to continue.

I love a good relationship, although in a story I want to be on the edge of my sofa wondering how they're going to make it work.  Callie's origins and job are up in the air, but not her romantic feelings.  Nate cannot imagine letting Callie out of his arms, even with her unknowns and former lifestyle.  

The romance is solid, but if you're interested in answers to the side problems, it's an enjoyable read.

Happy reading,

Dawn


  



  

Sunday, April 24, 2022

WYATT'S WAY (Last Chance #7) by Lexi Post has released! #ContemporaryRomance #CowboyRomance #RomanceSeries

 

Wyatt's Way

(Last Chance #7)

by Lexi Post

After the loss of his grandfather, Wyatt Ford is homeless and rudderless when he lands at Last Chance Ranch with the last of their horses. His mood is anything but pleasant, so when he inadvertently hurts the feelings of the sweetest woman in town, he’s determined to make it up to her. But she has a backbone, which attracts his full attention, and he finds himself willing to go the extra mile for her. That is, if she’ll let him.

Alyssa Parker, Ms. Parker to her third-grade students, has a strong moral compass, a strict code about only dating locals, and a goal to purchase her very own home. Her interest in Mr. Ford is fleetinguntil he comes to her rescue. Just when she thinks her cowboy hero seems too good to be true, she discovers his biggest fear, one that looms large between them.

Wyatt knows letting Alyssa go is the right thing to do for her, but it’s the worst move he could make for himself. It means tackling his past on his own. But even if he comes out a winner, what good will it do him if he’s lost the woman he loves?

Buy Links:

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Amazon UK 

Amazon AU   

Amazon CA   


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. From hot paranormals to sizzling cowboys to 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 will never see her without a hat.

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Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Am I A Perfectionist?

 


        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
I have a news flash….well, it isn’t a news flash to anyone who knows me well…I struggle with perfectionism (and yes, I do mean struggle). The words “it’s good enough” don’t enter into my vocabulary very much.
Here’s an example. I’ve been working on my query letter for The Maverick and Miss Miller, getting it ready for submission. It’s a short letter—only one page so how many times have I gone through it? Read it and tweaked it? So far, it’s twelve…and I’m still not happy with it. It’s not “perfect”.
Same thing with the synopsis. At last count, it’s eight…and I’m still tweaking. We’re not even going to talk about the manuscript itself. At this point, I can tell you there are no spelling mistakes, no missing words (because your brain will fill in what’s missing), no obvious, glaring grammar issues and I know it’s as clean and as well-written as I can make it so at what point do I say “yeah, they’re ready, just submit the darned thing”?
It’s the same with my work life. I struggle for that perfectionism knowing full well I’ll never achieve it…and still, I try. And try. And try. I hate making mistakes. It actually hurts my soul to do so. I'll read a report five or six times before I submit it. The same with important emails (and yet, I still manage to hit all my deadlines). 
This striving for perfection is in my home life, too. When I clean, I clean. It’s not a “spit and polish” like my mother always said, it’s full-bore, from top to bottom.
I think it goes back to my childhood and the lessons taught (one would think, at my age, I would have "tweaked" those lessons, but no, they're hard-wired now). “Always give 110 percent” and “A job worth doing is worth doing well”.
Okay, I’m ready. I’m just going to load everything up and hit that submit button! I’m going to do it. Right now…
No! Wait! Let me do just one more read through… 

Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

Saturday, April 16, 2022

Last Chance Series Books 1- 7 by Lexi Post

 

Last Chance Ranch, created for rescued horses, home of rescued hearts.

With Book 7, Wyatt's Way coming out next week, it's a great time to catch up on the first 6 books in the Last Chance series.

Christmas with Angel  #1

Trace's Trouble  #2

Fletcher's Flame  #3

Logan's Luck  #4

Dillon's Dare  #5

Riley's Rescue  #6

Wyatt's Way #7 available for preorder. Releases April 21st


Every character has their own special horse, but there are many more rescued horses that these cowboys and cowgirls care for. That they have caring hearts is obvious because of their work with horses, but getting those hearts to open up to their greatest potential is a challenge.

For Wyatt, he may overcome his past, but what good will it do him if he loses the woman he loves in the process? 

I hope you enjoy Last Chance Ranch 😊 

Always, Lexi

www.lexipostbooks.com 

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowlings)

 Some books I love, and some I savor!  This I do both.

Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott bring suspense and the elusive romance in line throughout their mystery in London.

Strike (called by his last name due to constant mispronunciation of first) is a wounded war hero turned private investigator and hot as a sizzling iron.


  

He picks up a cold case of a former Playboy Bunny turned doctor with suspicious death circumstances.  His beautiful partner, Robin, is on the trail with him.  

Strike does his best to ignore the lurking emotional feeling he's experienced with Robin.  Not too hard most of the time since his aunt, like a mother to him, is dying and their caseload is maxed.  

Robin is doing the same, ignoring the attraction to Strike while she goes through a divorce along with extensive work hours.  

The cold case highlights former police inadequacies and a strange connection to tarot cards and astrology.  

Galbraith pulls the reader in as if you're living the story and can feel the energy expended with each dead end and lead in the case and romance.  I just hope that Strike and Robin figure it soon!

Happy reading,

Dawn   

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

The Lost City

    

    Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
    What shall we talk about today? There’s nothing really happening here (other than the usual stuff). I am still working on The Maverick & Miss Miller (actually finished ripping out and re-writing the last few chapters…it’s better I think). I did miss my self-imposed deadline, but I’m waiting for the new stuff to come back from critique.
        It’s been beautiful here in Arizona, but truthfully, I haven’t had much time to enjoy our beautiful weather…and that’s okay. I’d much rather finish this story (I have several others just waiting to be worked on).
        Oh, I know what I can talk about! The DH and I went to a movie. At a movie theatre! Something we haven’t done in a long (long, long) time. We saw The Lost City and I have to admit that I loved it. Reminded me of Romancing the Stone, which is a favorite movie of mine.
        The ticket price wasn’t too, too bad (I paid the senior price…when did I become a senior?!?!?) and the popcorn was just the way I like it (must have popcorn at the theatre though I shouldn’t have had as much as I did).

        If you’re a fan of Sandra Bullock, which I am (she looks fabulous, by the way, but then, she always looks fabulous), and a fan of Channing Tatum, which I am (OMG, Channing Tatum’s butt…need I say more?), by all means, see this movie. There’s physical comedy (if you’ve read my blogs before, then you know I’m a-pie-in-the-face, slip-on-a-banana-peel kinda gal), snappy dialogue (I’d heard a lot of the dialogue was ad-libbed), funny situations (did I mention Channing Tatum’s butt?), and a surprise appearance by Brad Pitt. I laughed. A lot. So did other people in the audience (particularly the guy who sat two rows away from me…he let out a couple pretty loud guffaws, which was funny in itself…his wife (I assume she was his wife) kept trying to shush him but he was having none of that.
        It was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon and let me take a break from both the day job and the writing.
        Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!
Marie