Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Waiting on Wednesday (93)

https://www.wishfulendings.com


Winterwood
By: Shea Ernshaw
Release Date: November 5, 2019
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Book Synopsis:

From New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep comes a haunting romance perfect for fans of Practical Magic, where dark fairy tales and enchanted folklore collide after a boy, believed to be missing, emerges from the magical woods—and falls in love with the witch determined to unravel his secrets. 

Be careful of the dark, dark wood… 

Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even. 

Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it’s this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman—the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago—and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he’d been missing. 

But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver’s presence. And it’s not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest, and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn’t know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own—secrets he’ll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn’t the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago.

For as long as there have been fairy tales, we have been warned to fear what lies within the dark, dark woods and in Winterwood, New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw, shows us why.

Why I'm Eagerly Waiting:

I love stories about witches, and this one sounds so good!  Also, I think the book cover is beautiful.  I want this book so bad!!!

What Are You Waiting On?

Blog Tour & Giveaway: Life and Other Inconveniences by Kristan Higgins


Life and Other Inconveniences
By: Kristan Higgins
Release Date: August 6, 2019
Publisher: Berkley Books
Add to: Goodreads
From the New York Times bestselling author of Good Luck with That comes a new novel about a blue-blood grandmother and her black-sheep granddaughter who discover they are truly two sides of the same coin. 

Emma London never thought she had anything in common with her grandmother Genevieve London. The regal old woman came from wealthy and bluest-blood New England stock, but that didn’t protect her from life’s cruelest blows: the disappearance of Genevieve’s young son, followed by the premature death of her husband. But Genevieve rose from those ashes of grief and built a fashion empire that was respected the world over, even when it meant neglecting her other son. 


When Emma’s own mother died, her father abandoned her on his mother’s doorstep. Genevieve took Emma in and reluctantly raised her–until Emma got pregnant her senior year of high school. Genevieve kicked her out with nothing but the clothes on her back…but Emma took with her the most important London possession: the strength not just to survive but to thrive. And indeed, Emma has built a wonderful life for herself and her teenage daughter, Riley. 


So what is Emma to do when Genevieve does the one thing Emma never expected of her and, after not speaking to her for nearly two decades, calls and asks for help?

Excerpt:

When I called Genevieve back and told her we were coming—including Pop, who would be staying elsewhere—there’d been a long pause. “Thank you,” she finally said.
“On one condition, Genevieve,” I said. “You do not mention money or inheritance to Riley. Not a whisper, not a hint. I don’t want you dangling your bank accounts in front of my daughter and snatching them away if she uses the wrong fork.”
“By which I assume you’re referring to the fact that I didn’t fund your teenage folly.”
“Teenage folly? You mean your great-granddaughter? Yes. This summer isn’t about the money. It’s us giving you a chance to make amends, and you making me Hope’s guardian.”
“How very gracious you are, my dear,” she said, and I heard a slurp. Five o’clock somewhere.
But she agreed, and here we were.
My clients, the ones I saw in person, were fine with me leaving for two months. I’d TheraTalk with most of them; two were about done anyway, and said they’d call me if they needed me. I’d had to give up my office space, though; luckily, a classmate from my PhD program had sublet it. Once I got back, I’d have to find another space, but I’d deal with that later.
Pop had found himself a little apartment over an antiques shop on Water Street. I was unspeakably grateful that he’d be nearby. He’d always hated Genevieve, who had viewed my mother as insufficient wife material for her wretched son.
Then again, she had a point. My mother had taken her own life. Maybe Genevieve had sensed something, even back then. She was many things, but she wasn’t stupid.
We crossed the Connecticut River, then the Thames. “There’s the Coast Guard Academy, Pop,” I said, pointing. He was an Air Force man himself, but he nodded. We went through Mystic, and I remembered going to the aquarium with Jason on a date. Or a field trip, maybe, but we’d held hands. Kissed in the dim light of the myriad fish tanks, and it had felt like the most romantic thing in the world.
He knew we were coming, of course. He was excited, he’d said on the phone. Talked about being separated, wasn’t sure where things were headed there. The boys couldn’t wait to meet Riley in person, though they knew her from Skype and phone calls.
My heart leaped into overdrive when, just before we hit Rhode Island, Charles exited the highway and entered the land of stone walls and gracious houses, tall oaks and two-hundred-year-old farms. The woods and fields gave way to narrower streets, and we went over the bridge that led to the borough.
Welcome to Stoningham, the sign said.
I found that I was holding my grandfather’s thumb, same as I had when I was little, back before my mother died, when seeing my grandparents was the happiest thing ever. He gave my hand a squeeze.
“Oh, my gosh, this town is so cute!” Riley said.
And it was. The sky was Maxfield Parrish blue, the lights of the Colonials that lined the streets glowing in what seemed to be a welcome. People were out, walking their dogs. At the library green, some kids tossed a football. As we came onto Water Street, Riley exclaimed over the little shops and restaurants. “There’s a cafĂ©, Mom! Hooray! Oh, and an ice cream place! Even better!”
I smiled, but my stomach cramped again. It felt like I had never left.
The town hadn’t changed much. Still adorable with its colorful buildings and crooked streets. I caught glimpses of Long Island Sound as we drove, smelled garlic and seafood. Would Genevieve have dinner for us? Would she hug me? I swore if she made Riley feel one iota of shame, we’d be out of Connecticut forever.
Charles turned onto Bleak Point Road, where the most expensive houses in town sat like grand old ladies, weathered and gracious. All had names, which Riley read aloud as we passed.
“Thrush Hill. Summerly. Wisteria Cottage. Cliff View. Pop, we have to name our house when we get back!”
“Name it what? Crabgrass?” Pop asked.
“That’s kind of perfect, actually,” I murmured, having gone to war many times with weeds in our small yard.
“Oh, Sheerwater! We’re here!”
The iron gates (yes, gates) opened, and we turned onto the crushed shell drive. Sheerwater had ten acres of land, the very tip of Bleak Point, and it looked like a park, with beautifully gnarled dogwood trees on either side of the driveway, their intertwined branches making a tunnel of white blossoms. Spring was late this year.
We rounded the gentle curve, and my hands were sweating now.
“Holy guacamole,” my daughter breathed. “It’s even prettier than the pictures!” In the rearview mirror, I saw Charles smile. Beside me, Pop stiffened. He’d never been here, of course.
There it was—my grandmother’s twenty-room cottage, pristine and gracious and lit up like the fires of hell.



About the Author:

Kristan Higgins is the New York Times, USA TODAY, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of 18 novels, which have been translated into more than two dozen languages and sold millions of copies worldwide. Her books have received dozens of awards and accolades, including starred reviews from Kirkus, The New York Journal of Books, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and Booklist. Her books regularly appear on the lists for best novels of the year. Kristan is also a cohost of the Crappy Friends podcast, which discusses the often complex dynamics of female friendships, with her friend and fellow writer, Joss Dey. 

The proud descendant of a butcher and a laundress, Kristan lives in Connecticut with her heroic firefighter husband. They own several badly behaved pets and are often visited by their entertaining and long-lashed children.







Monday, July 29, 2019

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Smokescreen by Iris Johansen



Smokescreen
Eve Duncan #25

By:
Iris Johansen

Publisher:
Grand Central Publishing

Release Date:
July 30, 2019

Add to:
Goodreads

Book Synopsis:
In this pulse-pounding thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen, forensic sculptor Eve Duncan journeys to Africa to help families torn apart by a violent attack deep in the jungle--but she may be putting herself in more danger than she knows. 

A journalist shows up on Eve Duncan's doorstep with a plea for help. Jill Cassidy has just come from a small African village with a heart wrenching story: half the villagers--many of them children--have been killed in a horrific attack by guerilla soldiers, the bodies burned beyond recognition. Now, the families desperately need Eve's help to get closure and begin to heal. 

But when Eve arrives in the remote jungle, she begins to suspect that Jill's plea may have been a cover story for a deeper, more sinister plot. Isolated and unsure who she can trust, Eve finds herself stranded in an unstable country where violence threatens to break out again at any moment and with only her own instincts to rely on if she hopes to get home to her family alive . . . 

#1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen is back with one of her most exhilarating and dangerous adventures yet in this "riveting" high-stakes thriller (Publishers Weekly).



Book Excerpt:
Prologue

Headlights! 

Jill Cassidy’s fingers stabbed into the mud as she saw the light spearing the darkness on the road ahead. The vehicle was going slowly, but they’d never see her on this side path. She had to get to the main road. But she had no shoes, and every muscle was aching, throbbing. She’d tried to get to her feet and walk as soon as she’d heard those bastards leave, but she was too weak. She had only managed to crawl slowly, painfully, through the jungle. 

She could do this, she told herself desperately as she forced herself to propel her body through the mud on the path. The pain wasn’t as bad as it had been when they’d first left her. Ignore it, think about the story. Always think about the story. It wasn’t the pain, it was the shock that was causing her to shake and feel so weak. 

The shock and this gentle, warm tropical rain that had started to fall just as she’d finally managed to pull herself together and force herself to move. Strange that warm rain could make her feel this cold. So gentle, she thought dazedly. Why on earth had that word occurred to her when there seemed to be no gentleness left in her world? 

The headlights drew closer. 

She had to get to the road before the car passed her. 

She tried to move faster. 





Early Praise:

"Riveting... Readers will keep guessing about the complex characters' underlying motivations as the plot races toward the stunning conclusion." 

 --- Publishers Weekly, starred review 

"In SMOKESCREEN, Johansen's Eve Duncan must outwit a vicious psychopath in the middle of the jungle. I really enjoyed this rip-roaring thriller." 

 --- Catherine Coulter, New York Times bestselling author of Paradox 

"From thriller writer extraordinaire Iris Johansen comes a pulse-pounding excursion into a war torn nation, where forensic sculpture Eve Duncan heeds a journalist's call to assist in identifying a village's dead after a horrific massacre, only to discover more sinister plots may be lurking behind the journalist's call for assistance." 

 --- CrimeReads.com 

"Propelled by a muscular narrative and elaborate subplots, Johansen's latest complex Eve Duncan thriller reliably pivots on the cerebral battle of wills among its robust characters."

 --- Booklist 

"SMOKESCREEEN is supercharged, combustible and totally addictive. There's no one like Iris Johansen!"

 --- Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author 

 "A master storyteller, Iris Johansen brings characters to life like no other. A tension filled novel...her plot is intricate, her characters compelling. SMOKESCREEN is great fun."

 --- Robert Dugoni, New York Timesbestselling author 

 "Dive into the explosive world of Iris Johansen, where villains get exactly what they deserve and the good guys - eventually - win the day. That's a world I want to live in!"

 --- Tami Hoag, #1 New York Times bestselling author 

"Johansen keeps readers on the edge of their seats."

 --- Booklist 

 "Just by seeing the Iris Johansen name....you know [it] will be an explosive, unforgettable story." 

 --- Suspense Magazine



About the Author:

Iris Johansen is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 30 consecutive best sellers. Her series featuring forensic sculptor Eve Duncan has sold over 20 million copies and counting, and was the subject of the acclaimed Lifetime movie, The Killing Game. Along with her son Roy, Iris has also co-authored the New York Times bestselling series featuring investigator Kendra Michaels. Johansen lives near Atlanta, Georgia.




Saturday, July 27, 2019

Stacking the Shelves & Sunday Post (39)

Hosted by:  Tynga's Reviews
Hosted by:  Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer


This week I continued my binge reading of the Kate Daniels Series!  Books four, five, and six were fantastic!  I hurt my back mid-week, and my daughter got strep-throat.  So we stayed home most of the time.

Last Week on the Blog:
*The Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag
*Fake Date (Dating #1) by Monica Murphy (WOW)
*Million Dollar Marriage (Million Dollar#2) by Katy Evans (Blog Tour & Review)


I am participating in two different blog hops where I am  giving away (2) $10 Amazon Gift Cards! Click Here if you're interested in entering the Summer Romance Hop and/or the Christmas in July Hop!

Purchased:
Kindle Books-
Add to Goodreads
Add to Goodreads
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Won:
I won this beautiful autographed finished copy of The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey from Teresa@ Readers Live 1,000 Lives in her 7th Blogoversary Giveaway! 
Add to Goodreads

For Review:
Kindle Books-
Add to Goodreads

Thanks to: Teresa@ Readers Live 1,000 Lives, Entangled Teen, and Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours!

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Blog Tour: Million Dollar Marriage (Million Dollar #2) by Katy Evans


Million Dollar Marriage
Million Dollar #2

By:
Katy Evans

Publisher:
Montlake Romance

Published:
July 23, 2019

Source:
eARC from publisher in exchange for a honest review

Book Synopsis:

From New York Times bestselling author Katy Evans comes a hot romance about two strangers and their race to fall in love. 

If someone had bet Nell a million dollars that she would be saying “I do” to a complete stranger on national television, she’d have called them crazy, but with her crushing student loan payments sending her deep into the red, she’s out of options. This should be nothing more than a business transaction—until she sets eyes on her groom, and everything changes. 

The game is on the instant Luke spots Penelope “Nell” Carpenter. He’s out for the money, yes, but getting a little dirty with Nell doesn’t sound too bad either. Everyone knows he’s not the marrying kind, so it’s a good thing it’s just for show. God knows he’s the worst guy his pretty wife should pick for real. 

They have nothing in common, but if they want the grand prize, they’ll have to beat out eight other couples. Proving that total opposites attract should be easy enough…as long as they don’t fall in love in the process.

 

Million Dollar Series:
Add to Goodreads
Add to Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Million Dollar Marriage was signature Katy Evans!  I loved every single moment of it!  I am a huge fan of reality television, and my favorite show is The Bachelor.  Million Dollar Marriage was The Amazing Race meets The Bachelor!  I thought this story had such a fun and entertaining premise, and I felt like I was right beside Luke and Nell on their many challenges and adventures with reality television, falling in love, growing as individuals, and as a couple.

I must admit, at the beginning of the story, I was a little worried about Nell's likability.  She came off as overly judgmental, critical, and full of self-importance.  However, Nell really grew on me.  We realize that she has a low self-esteem and a lot of baggage.  Once she starts to address these issues and Luke makes her see her self-worth, she grows so much, and I ended up loving the person that she becomes.  

Luke was an amazing character.  I loved him as a secondary character in Million Dollar Devil, and was thrilled that he got his own book!  He was outgoing, loyal, and the type of guy that helped everyone whenever they needed it.  His heart was huge!  I could feel how much he loved Nell, and any woman would be lucky to be loved and cherished by a man the way that Luke loved Nell.

This story was so fast-paced.  It was filled with fun, romance, adventure, and a breathtaking love story.  I kept hoping it wouldn't end, because I wanted it to go on forever!  All of you Katy Evans fans, or readers that enjoy reality television, and sexy and romantic love stories with a lot of fun and adventure, need to check out Million Dollar Marriage!  It was such a wonderful reading escape!!!







Book Teaser:



Excerpt:

I’m going to lose my lunch. 
It’s the live finale the entire country has been waiting for. The arena is packed to the gills with reporters, cameras pointed at us. Flashbulbs go off, and my future seems to flash through my eyes with them. 
Everything depends on what will happen in the next hour. We could give our answer in a split second, but not now. I know the announcer will drag things out to the point of sheer madness. Recaps of poignant moments from the season, interviews with contestants, performances by “special celebrity guests” who are also fans of the show. 
It’s all meant to build up to the moment of truth. Every one of the people in this arena, every one of the thirteen million people watching at home—they’re all waiting on the edge of their seats with the same question. 
Will they . . . or won’t they? 
I wish to god we could just give our answer and be done. 
He’s so close, but he might as well be a million miles away. Our fingers entwined, he waves at the crowd cheering our names. His hand isn’t the least bit clammy. I manage a peek at him, his chiseled features, his relaxed smile, and my throat catches. 
No wonder the world is in love with him. No wonder he’s been the fan favorite since week one. 
This is it. The end. Or . . . 
I look over at him and say, “Luke . . . I’m not . . .” 
He shakes his head almost imperceptibly. “It’s okay,” he murmurs, his fingers stroking my palm. “Breathe, Penny. Just breathe.” 
So I do. But air is not the only thing I need to make me okay right now. 
We’ve been through so much, more than most couples will go through in entire lifetimes. 
And now we’re about to make the decision that will shape our future. 
To think, seven months ago, I didn’t even know Luke Cross. Three months ago, I despised him. But somewhere along the line, things changed. 
Somewhere along this crazy little adventure we’ve been having, played out on television for the entire world to see, I did what I told myself I’d never do. 
I don’t even know how it happened, but as I look back, it seems so inevitable. Like I couldn’t have stopped it, even if I’d tried. 

But just because it was meant to happen doesn’t mean it will last forever . . .


Purchase Info:
Download your copy today or read FREE in 
Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide


About the Author:

Katy Evans is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her debut REAL shot to the top of the bestselling lists in 2013 and since then 9 of her titles have been New York Times bestsellers. Her books have been translated into nearly a dozen languages across the world.




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