Good Elf Gone Wrong by Alina Jacobs

 The perfect story to start off the holiday season!  Atrociously funny and smirk-worthy retribution from the people-pleasing and loveable sister to the opposite sister.

Grace plans everything with an enviable skill, which includes her whole family, her friends', and her work cohorts' events.  She never says no and never fails to perfect all details involved.

Her favorite holiday is Christmas, so it's not a surprise that she plans her wedding for this special and glittery day.  The decorations, food, lighting, music, drinks will all engage the wonderful season, and there will never be too much sparkle.

 That's until Grace finds her sister panting under the Christmas tree with Grace's fiancé.  

Of course, it's Grace's fault.  Everything is her fault because she's the one setting up all activities and gatherings.  It' even her fault when her fiancé proposes to her sister.   

That's the final pinecone from the pine tree.  

Grace is excellent at planning, and the plan is now revenge.

She meets Hudson, the bad boy and not her type, on the bus.  How she got so lucky to hatch a revenge plan with him, she'll regretfully learn much later.  Right now, he's the perfect explosion for her sister, former fiancé, and even her love life.

With all the attributes of the boy who shouldn't meet your mom, Hudson plays the part all too well.  He arrives at Grace's family home dressed in black, uncouth actions, bad language, and cozying up to the sister.  It's all part of the plan.

What isn't part of the plan, is that Hudson likes Grace, yet he has a ghastly second mission that she won't like.  It wouldn't matter, but her heart and mind betray the plan by falling for the bad boy-man.

Now it's time to find out if Grace can get her revenge and if Hudson can fulfill his secondary mission without breaking too many hearts.  Including the melded hearts of the two schemers.

Happy reading,

Dawn

 

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Just a warning...This is a tragic romance.
Nella Oortman is married off by her family to a merchant, Johannes Brandt, at the age of eighteen.  Moving to Amsterdam and becoming the new head of house in a rich home doesn't turn out quite as she expected.
Johannes treats her with respect, although he's rarely home.  Nella is left with a secretive family consisting of Johannes's sister, a house maid, and a black house man.  It is rare in the sixteen hundreds to give a person of color the status and comfort of a home and job.
Johannes gives Nella a wedding present of a miniature house replicating their home.  When Nella is left alone and longing to get to know her husband, she turns to filling the little house and calls on an artist to create the furniture and people.
The artist, or miniaturist, matches the interior of the house strangely with exactness. This includes the current items and those that somehow tell the future.  When a small baby doll arrives for Nella, she wonders if it's her that will be blessed with a child.
More clues that tell the future and aren't understood fill Nella with many questions as to the fate of her marriage, her new family, and the household.
Johannes has his own difficulties with his trading business, his new wife, and his private social life.
Some secrets must be kept hidden and others dealt with.  The strange love circling the Brandt house brings a shattering change to all.

Happy reading,
Dawn

Flirting With Felicity by Gerri Russell

Flirting with Felicity is a delightful story of a little kindness goes a long way.

Felicity Wright has taken her passion of cooking to a grand level as the head chef of an historical hotel’s restaurant.  She’s a people pleaser and loves the fact that she’s able to support herself and her father who needs hourly nursing due to a head injury from a car accident. 

Her main concern is living her life and taking care of her father.  Nothing can change her mind on her responsibilities.

The day the owner of the hotel dies, she’s utterly surprised that he left the hotel in her name.  She hadn’t realized she knew the man.

Everything should be peaches and cream after her inheritance.

In walks Blake Bancroft, the former owner’s nephew and owner of the rest of the chain of related hotels and restaurants.  He’s handsome, he’s kind, he’s ultra-rich, and he wants the restaurant.

Felicity can’t fight Blake’s high power attorneys, so he makes a deal with her.

The deal includes spending a lot of time together and keeping the unwanted hormones in check.

I had fun reading this and chuckling at Felicity’s and Blake’s attempts to keep all things business because we well know that the heart has a mind of its own!  Not only that, but it’s a maze of considerations for both to be happy with the end result in business and love.

Gerri Russell also treats her readers to a collection of Felicity’s recipes.  I did try the homemade mac and cheese.  It was as rewarding as the storyJ

Happy reading,

Dawn  

New Romantic Suspense Release: Kiss the Killer (From the CIA 2)!

“Have you killed anyone?”  Swedish chemist Alina Runesson feared his answer.  Men have died for her.

“Not today.”  CIA Agent Vic Grant responded callously.  Women were not part of his agenda.  

It’s hard to admit they have a connection called love and have to trust it’s not fatal.

 

That's what you'll find in the second of my series, From the CIA!  The ebook's release was yesterday, May 26, three weeks earlier than planned as, amazingly enough, the editing was right on.
The following discussion gives you a taste of the world my agents live in and the people they run into (or kill!) in Kiss the Killer (From the CIA 2).  The paperback is scheduled for July.  Read on to learn more about the spine tingling adventure of Alina Runesson and Vic Grant...   

 

Chemist Alina Runesson lives in Sweden under the government’s witness protection program.  Her look-alike cousin is imprisoned in Baghdad and fiancé killed saving Alina from the same fate.  She cannot love a man because he will die for her, but she needs help to rescue her cousin.

CIA Agent Vic Grant escapes to Sweden to correct the illegal orders of his boss.  Vic plans to recover his agents left by the US to be buried with their assignments.  Sometimes the bad guy has to be killed along the way.  His life is not made for relationships.

Vic and Alina meet by chance and align their missions. 

Tension, frustration, and sparks of passion guide Vic and Alina as they execute their personal goals.  Their itinerary is repeatedly changed according to assaults by double agents and terrorist. 

He kills, she kills, and bodies are left on the side. 

They have a connection called love and have to trust it’s not fatal.

Please read my book, please love my book, and let me know!

Happy reading,
Dawn Kunda