*Review* War and Peach by Susan Furlong

Synopsis:

Nola Mae Harper is too busy restocking the jars of preserves and chutney flying off the shelves of her shop, Peachy Keen, to keep up with all the gossip about the upcoming mayoral election, but she does know the debate is sure to be a real barn burner. 
Local farmer Clem Rogers claims he has a bombshell that could take small business owner Margie Price out of the running. But before Clem can reveal his juicy secret at the debate, his actual barn goes up in flames--with him inside of it. The town casts its vote against Margie, but Nola isn't convinced the hardworking woman is capable of murder. Now to clear Margie's name Nola will have to work fast under pressure, before Margie gets taken in by the fuzz... 

Book links:

Amazon

Goodreads

My Review:

5 out of 5 stars

★★★★★

War and Peach is the third book in the Georgia Peach mystery series.  This was my first book by this author and I never felt confused or like I was missing any information even though I haven't read the previous two books yet.  War and Peach is going down as one of my favorite reads so far this year.  I really enjoyed the characters in this book.  Each one has their own unique personality.  They are very well developed so you can get a good feel for who you are reading about.  I especially liked Nola and her love for her family.  Carla really caught my attention also.  I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing more about her and how she continues to grow as a person. The mystery hooked me from the beginning and kept me interested until the end.  The author did a wonderful job at keeping me guessing as to who the murderer was.  Each suspect seemed guilty in different ways.  I went back and forth several different times as to who I thought was guilty.  When the murderer was revealed I was completely surprised since it was someone I hadn't suspected at all.   Another thing I really enjoyed about the book was the Southern Girl Secret listed at the beginning of each chapter.  Being a southern girl myself, I thought those were a really fun addition to the book.  The recipes included in the book all sound delicious so I'm definitely going to be giving them a try sometime!  

About the Author:

During her writing career, Susan has worked as a freelance writer, academic writer, and novelist. Her short work has appeared in several national publications including Woman’s World magazine. Currently she's busy working on The Georgia Peach Mysteries, soon to be released from Berkley Prime Crime. She has also continued the New York Times bestselling Novel Idea Mysteries, starting with the fourth book in the series, under the pen name Lucy Arlington.

You can visit Susan Furlong's website here.

*Cover Reveal* Garden of Goodbyes by Faith Andrews

Cover Design: Marisa-rose Shor / Cover Me Darling

Release Date: March 13, 2017

Synopsis

Loss, betrayal, addiction . . . on their own, each of these heartaches can break you, but mix them all together and the concoction will ruin you. When I closed the door on my past I didn’t expect it to come back and haunt me. But when you’re the sole person who can save the only man you’ve ever loved, you rush through that door, face your fears, and pray for the best. Only, anything good has been long forgotten. In its place is destruction, devastation and enough regret to last a lifetime. I was appalled when she called for my help. I went willingly in hopes to make things right. But I never expected this. A broken man, a hopeless future, the beginning of the end. She’s to blame for the mess of a man in front of me and I’m to blame for walking away. Can things ever go back to the normal the three of us once knew? Or am I too late to fix the damage we’ve caused together?

 

Goodreads

     

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About the Author

Faith Andrews is living out her dream right outside the greatest city in the world, New York City. Happily married to her high school sweetheart, she is the mother of two beautiful and wild daughters, and a furry Yorkie son named Rocco Giovanni. When she’s not tapping her toes to a Mumford & Sons tune or busy being a dance mom, her nose is stuck in a book or she’s sitting behind the laptop, creating her next swoon worthy book boyfriend. Coffee addict, lover of wine and cheese, and sucker for concerts and Netflix, Faith believes in love at first sight and happily ever after.    

Connect with Faith Andrews

Newsletter Sign Up: http://bit.ly/2lJQ9RM

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Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2lsMaX6

Goodreads Author Page: http://bit.ly/2lDQZzb

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Twitter: http://bit.ly/2l5M72L

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Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2ma0tA8

 

*Release Boost* Switch by Adriana Locke

Title: Switch

Series: Landry Family #3

Author: Adriana Locke

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Release Date: February 20, 2017

Blurb

Mallory Sims is late for her first day of work.

After spilling her tea, she discovers she has no gas in her car. Add that her arm keeps sticking to her dress from syrup left on the console of her car, flustered feels like an understatement.

Then she sees her new boss.

Graham Landry is the epitome of NSFW in his custom-fit suit, black-rimmed glasses, and a look so stern her libido doesn’t stand a chance. Being flustered is just the start of her problems.

Her punctuality is only the start of his. With a pink slip in hand, he’s been waiting on his new secretary to show up only to let her go. Then she rushes in with her doe eyes and rambling excuses, smelling like bacon and lavender. The termination paper falls to the side as she falls in his arms.

This is a disaster in the making. Not because of his pinpoint exactness or her free spirit, but because when they’re together, the sparks that fly threaten to burn the whole place down.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

Excerpt

Her skin is pale and creamy, a soft framework for the deep chestnut hair cascading across her shoulders. A dress the color of moss in the summer showcases toned arms and a long, lean line from her shoulders to her calves. A thin rope belt cinches her trim waist, one that I can imagine digging my fingers into.

I clear my throat. “Can I help you?”

With something besides getting out of that dress?

“I think you probably can,” she breathes, then blushes a pretty shade of pink. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. What I mean is …”

She’s flustered. It’s adorable and sexy at the same time. I should say something, interject, help her out, but I don’t. I like this entirely too much.

“I’ll stop talking now.” She flashes me a pretty smile, one that catches my attention in ways it shouldn’t at eight-sixteen a.m. Taking a step towards me, the toe of her shoe catches on the water bottle she didn’t pick up and she comes barreling my way.

Before I know what’s happening, I reach out and catch her under a spray of loose leaf paper.

“Omph!” she heaves as she lands in my arms and I’m surrounded by a sweet, earthy scent.

I should let her go. I should back away, direct her to the front desk to get directions to wherever she’s going, and retreat to my office. Regardless of how sexy her breasts feel pressed against me or the way her ass pops as my fingers lace together at the dip at the bottom of her spine, I have things to do today. Important things. Lots of them. Even if I can’t pinpoint one at the moment.

Large, nearly golden-colored eyes peer up at me. They’re crystal clear, almost like I can see all the way to the depths of her soul. They’re incredible tones of the purest gold and I can’t look away.

The feel of her body against mine sparks something inside me—a carnal, visceral reaction that’s led by feeling rather than intellect. “Are you okay?” I ask, trying desperately to use the brainpower I’m known for in most circles and not the cock I’m known for in others.

“I think so.” She pulls her gaze away from mine. A connection is actually snapped between us and I’m almost certain she feels it too because her features fall. “I’m just running late …”

Hell. Fucking. No.

I’m afraid to ask the next question. If the answer is what I think it is, I’m going to kill my little sister.

Also Available

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AUDIBLE

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Free in Kindle Unlimited

Author Bio

USA Today Bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.

She resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather's nice and there's always a piece of candy in her pocket.

For sneak peeks, giveaways, and more, please join Adriana's Facebook Group, Books by Adriana Locke, or her Goodreads group, All Locked Up.

Author Links

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / TWITTER

GOODREADS / INSTAGRAM

PINTEREST / NEWSLETTER / AMAZON
FACEBOOK GROUP / GOODREADS GROUP

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*Release Blitz* Silenced by Leddy Harper

Title: Silenced

Author: Leddy Harper

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: February 22, 2017

Blurb

Haunted by a photographic memory, I couldn’t escape the worst night of my life.
The blood they shed.
The pain they endured.
The evil that still walked free.
It was all I saw. Those memories, my childhood—the images.

Silenced and scarred.

But nothing lasts forever.
Torment turned to blinding rage. Hate sought revenge, which pursued death.
Then there was life.
The moon.
Rylee Anderson.

I had to choose...

ADD TO GOODREADS

My Review

4 out of 5 stars

★★★★

Wow, what a book.  This is definitely a book that is going to stay with me for a long time to come.  My heart hurt so badly for Killian.  He endured some horrible, tragic things and there were some really tough and difficult things to read through.  I really enjoyed Rylee's character and watching her connection with Killian grow and change as they got older and grew up together.  They had amazing chemistry, like they were just made for each other. 

Purchase Links

US: http://amzn.to/2kOcEpa

UK: http://amzn.to/2mejRf3

CA: http://amzn.to/2m9KViZ

AU: http://amzn.to/2lxijgm

Author Bio

Leddy Harper had to use her imagination often as a child. She grew up the only girl in a house full of boys. At the age of fourteen, she decided to use that imagination and wrote her first book, and never stopped.

She often calls writing her therapy, using it as a way to deal with issues through the eyes of her characters.

She is now a mother of three girls, leaving her husband as the only man in a house full of females.

The decision to publish her first book was made as a way of showing her children to go after whatever it is they want to. Love what you do and do it well. Most importantly Leddy wanted to teach them what it means to overcome their fears.

Author Links

FACEBOOK

GOODREADS

AMAZON
WEBSITE

*Release Blitz* Silenced by Leddy Harper

Blurb

Haunted by a photographic memory, I couldn’t escape the worst night of my life.
The blood they shed.
The pain they endured.
The evil that still walked free.
It was all I saw. Those memories, my childhood—the images.

Silenced and scarred.

But nothing lasts forever.
Torment turned to blinding rage. Hate sought revenge, which pursued death. 
Then there was life.
The moon.
Rylee Anderson.

I had to choose..

Add it to your TBR: http://bit.ly/2kC6kfZ

PURCHASE TODAY

Available on Kindle Unlimited

US: http://bit.ly/2m5WUS

UK:http://bit.ly/2mjYyUK

CA: http://bit.ly/2l5WJhCA

Excerpt

Sweat dripped down the side of my face, collecting in the collar of my shirt. The heat was almost unbearable, but I didn’t want to be inside. Mom was away for work again—this time for a full week—and Dad was stuck in front of the television set watching another football game. I hated it when Mom was gone, because my dad didn’t really know how to handle me. He had no problem bonding with my brother, but where I was concerned, he acted completely clueless. So Sundays became the day I’d take a book and sit in the back yard beneath a tree.

     I brought my water bottle to my lips when something caught my attention near the privacy fence, separating the houses in the neighborhood and the wooded area behind it. It ran up the side yard, offering us seclusion to the house next door. The young woman who lived there often had guests over, which made my parents uneasy. But now, someone was in her back yard, climbing her fence.

     No…not just someone.

     A boy.

     His stick-straight hair, the color of sand, hung to the middle of his ears. But I couldn’t see his face. He had his back to me as he climbed, just before jumping over to the side filled with trees. His black T-shirt was a blur. He was there one second and gone the next.

     I stared at the barrier, wondering if I could climb over and follow him. I knew everyone in the neighborhood, but I’d never seen him before. I glanced over my shoulder and waited a moment, just to make sure my dad or my brother weren’t on their way out. When I noticed no movement beyond the sliding glass door, I jumped up and ran as fast as I could. Without second guessing it, I began to scale the tall slats of the wood.

     Once I made it to the top, I looked down and realized it was much higher on the other side. I’d never been in the wooded area before, and for a second, I contemplated just going back to my yard. I thought about my book I’d left beneath the tree and my father who might’ve gone looking for me. But then I remembered the boy—and I so desperately wanted to find out where he came from.

     Curiosity got the best of me.

     I swung my leg over and, with the pace of a sloth, I used the wood between the slats to lower myself to the ground. Standing on my feet again, I searched through the trees, hoping to spot the boy with blond hair and a black shirt.

     But he was nowhere.

     I carefully walked farther into the trees on the soft dirt, keeping as quiet as possible. I didn’t want to venture too far, because I worried I wouldn’t be able to make it back to my house. From this side, I couldn’t tell which house was which. So I made sure not to deviate too far from behind my back yard.

     It felt like an hour, but realistically, it was probably closer to five minutes before I decided to give up. I thought it might’ve been better to have just waited until he came back. I turned around, ready to head home, when I spotted him.

     Or…he spotted me.

Continue Reading: http://www.leddyharper.com/single-post/2016/12/28/Exclusive-Excerpt-for-Silenced

My Review

4 out of 5 stars

★★★★

Wow, what a book.  This is definitely a book that is going to stay with me for a long time to come.  My heart hurt so badly for Killian.  He endured some horrible, tragic things and there were some really tough and difficult things to read through.  I really enjoyed Rylee's character and watching her connection with Killian grow and change as they got older and grew up together.  They had amazing chemistry, like they were just made for each other.  

About Leddy Harper

Leddy Harper had to use her imagination often as a child. She grew up the only girl in a house full of boys. At the age of fourteen, she decided to use that imagination and wrote her first book, and never stopped. 

She often calls writing her therapy, using it as a way to deal with issues through the eyes of her characters.

She is now a mother of three girls, leaving her husband as the only man in a house full of females. 

The decision to publish her first book was made as a way of showing her children to go after whatever it is they want to. Love what you do and do it well. Most importantly Leddy wanted to teach them what it means to overcome their fears.

Follow Leddy Harper

Facebook / Goodreads / Amazon / Website

*Release Blitz* After You by Stephanie Rose

Title: After You
Author: Stephanie Rose
Release Date: Feb 21, 2017
Add to TBR

After You is the final STANDALONE novel in the Second Chances series.

I had the happily ever after . . . until it was gone.
Three became two. And I was alone.
Our time—my time—was over. Alone was the right way to be. The only way. Life was me, my son, and my memories. Until the day I met someone who turned my lonely existence upside down.
This man made me smile, made me laugh, made me ache for his touch.
But I couldn’t.
He shouldn’t awaken feelings I resolved to bury with my husband. But he did.
I couldn’t let his presence make my heart race. I couldn’t let him into our little world, where he fit so perfectly. I couldn’t want Nick.
But I did.

***

I rescued people. My family relied on me to lend a hand. Everyone thought of me as the fixer, but no one had the first clue how to fix me. Until Ellie.
The freckled beauty’s sorrow was like a well-worn shirt—easy and familiar, difficult to part with—and she wore it comfortably. And though I was hers from the moment our eyes first met, she’d never be mine. I loved her in the here and now, but how did I compete with a ghost?

***

How can there ever be anyone After You?

 

“Nick, let’s sit here.” Jack yanked Nick by the hand down the movie theater aisle and pulled him into a seat. Jack plopped down in a seat next to him adjacent to the wall. So much for my son wanting to sit anywhere near me tonight.

“Perfectly good seat right here.” Nick patted the chair next to him. All the theaters had been renovated with leather recliners. Usually, since my son dragged me to the latest kid movie, it was a real fight to keep my eyes open and not drift off mid-movie. I was sure sitting next to Nick for the next couple of hours would keep me wide awake.

“I can’t wait to see Optimus Prime!” Jack exclaimed through a mouth full of popcorn.

“Me, too! He was my favorite when I was your age.” Nick took a handful from the bucket resting on Jack’s lap.

“Really?”

“And I used to drive a car like Bumble Bee.”

“You did?” I squinted at Nick as I took a slurp of diet soda.

“A yellow Camaro.” Nick’s mouth tipped in a sexy smirk as he pushed his seat back.

I bit my lip to hold in a laugh as the lights dimmed.

“You can wipe that smug look off your face. Chicks loved that car.” Nick whispered in my ear. The hot tickle of his breath against my cheek made goose bumps spread down my neck to my shoulder.

“Did you drive around blasting Metallica in your banana-colored Camaro?” I giggled back. “At least they saw you coming.”

He laughed as the opening credits started to roll. “Women loved my banana.”

I sputtered a cough as I choked on a piece of popcorn. Nick shrugged with a sly grin as he settled into the seat.

I leaned my elbow on the armrest between us, and it grazed Nick’s forearm. I jumped at the contact and jerked my hand into my lap, where it was safe. I was catapulted back to my teenage years when the slightest contact with a boy I liked sent shivers up my spine.

Nick wasn't a boy, though. He was a man—a gorgeous man with unforgettable lips that knew how to kiss a woman stupid. I wanted to touch more than just his elbow. Keeping a level head around him was damn near impossible with adolescent hormones ravaging through my thirty-something body.

Nick laughed at my hands, now frozen on my thigh.

I focused on the screen until Nick pulled my hand back on the armrest.

“We can share, Ella-Jane.” He smirked as he slid his hand against mine and laced our fingers together.

My palms were damp as he brought our joined hands to his lips. He pressed a long, wet kiss to the inside of my wrist.

The bristles of his beard scratched against my skin as goose bumps drifted down my arm. I felt the warmth of his mouth all the way to my toes. My body was enjoying the simple but intimate attention too much at that moment to move my hand.

Something felt wrong holding Nick’s hand around Jack. When I glanced at my son, he was munching on popcorn and oblivious to anything but the robots on the screen. I smiled at Nick, but he didn’t smile back. Illuminated by the soft flicker from the movie, the heat and yearning in his eyes burned brightly. My breathing quickened as his finger blazed a light caress back and forth over the top of my hand.

For five years, I never so much as glanced in another man’s direction. Now, Nick simply holding my hand melted me into a puddle. It was pathetic but spoke the volumes I couldn’t admit out loud.

Stephanie Rose was born and raised in the Bronx, New York and still lives there with her superhero-obsessed husband and son.

She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business and a day job in marketing, but she always has a story in her head. Her books are full of swoon-worthy men and feisty heroines.

This lifelong New Yorker lives for Starbucks, book boyfriends, and 80s rock. Her voice is often mistaken for a Mob Wives trailer.

Books by Stephanie Rose:
Always You | Only You | Finding Me | Always Us

  

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Mailbox Monday!

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

Here is what arrived in my mailbox over the last week.  

Review books (given via Netgalley, the publisher, or the author) 

Occult and Battery by Lena Gregory

Treble at the Jam Fest by Leslie Budewitz

The Final Vow  by Amanda Flower

Kneaded to Death by Winnie Archer

Pressed to Death by Kirsten Weiss

Death by Chocolate Lab by Bethany Blake

Purchased books (via Amazon)

Birthday Sprinkle Murder by Susan Gillard

Nova by Rebecca Yarros

In my mailbox (provided by the author for review)

War and Peach by Susan Furlong

Bookman Dead Style by Paige Shelton

What did you get in your mailbox?

*Release Blast* Nova by Rebecca Yarros

The only heart he wants is the one he already broke...

NOVA

The Renegades #2

Rebecca Yarros

Releasing February 20th, 2017

Entangled Embrace

The only heart he wants is the one he already broke...

He's Landon Rhodes.

The Renegade they call Nova.

Sinfully gorgeous, broody, tatted-up, professional snowboarder.

Four-time X Games medalist—

Full-time heartbreaker.

They say a girl broke him once—

That's why he's so reckless, so driven, so careless with his conquests.

But I'm that girl.

They can call me his curse all they want.

He and I both know the truth—

He's the one who destroyed me,

And I'm not the sucker who will let that happen again.

***NOVA can be read as a standalone***

“Right. I’ll be quick—you’ve got to be getting cold. My point is that what happened back then...what I did to you. It was wrong. I was wrong. I did the wrong goddamned thing for what I thought was the right reason, and I’m so damn sorry—”

The door opened, and I stepped back in shock. Maybe I should have led with the sorry in the first place.  Rachel stood there, gloriously nude, water dripping down her petal-soft skin, and it took every ounce of willpower from every man in the world to keep my eyes on her face. She openly glared at me then lifted a single eyebrow, bent to grab her clothes off the floor—holy shit, her ass could stop traffic—and walked right past me, her head held high.

My mouth actually watered with every step she took, and I snapped my lips closed to avoid drooling. I barely contained my groan, unsure of what was sexier—Rachel’s perfect body that I knew fit mine like a damn puzzle piece, or her I-don’t-give-a-fuck confidence as her hips swayed down the hall.  I should have known that a bathroom door was no match for her tenacity.

Point made.

My heart sank when I looked closer at her lower back. There was a vague, silvery mark, but no tattoo. She’d had it removed. Erased it. Erased us.

She slammed her bedroom door, and I followed until my head rested against the wood. “Fuck, you are so stubborn,” I whispered, but it came out as more of a compliment than a measure of my frustration.

Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and a lover of all things coffee, chocolate, and Paleo. She is the author of the Flight & Glory series, which includes Full Measures, the award-winning Eyes Turned Skyward, Beyond What Is Given, and Hallowed Ground. She loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for fifteen years.

When she’s not writing, she’s tying hockey skates for her four sons, sneaking in some guitar time, or watching Brat Pack movies with her two daughters. She lives in Colorado with the hottest Apache pilot ever, their rambunctious gaggle of kids, and an English bulldog who is more stubborn than sweet. They recently adopted their youngest daughter from the foster system, and Rebecca is passionate about helping others do the same.

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