Weekly Winners

We have winners at SOS Aloha!

RWA in San Diego - The Army Comes Flying Along to North Island- Girlygirlhoosier wins a book choice from my convention stash.

Viva Las Vegas for the Arm Chair Traveler

- Ladbookfan wins a book choice from my convention stash.

Spotlight on Alison Aimes - Washington Loves Readers Luncheon

- Denise wins a book choice from my convention stash.

State of Romance with Sylvia Day, Victoria Aveyard, and Laura Trentham

- Booklady wins a book choice from my convention stash.

The Best Cheer - Shout Out in Books

- Di wins a book choice from my convention stash.

Aloha to Jenn McKinlay and VANILLA BEANED

- Natasha wins a book choice from my convention stash.

Winners, please claim your prize by sending your mailing address to sos.aloha@yahoo.com.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Aloha to Jenn McKinlay and VANILLA BEANED - Book Review

In the eighth in the New York Times bestselling series, the Fairy Tale Cupcake crew goes double or nothing in Vegas...

Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura are taking a gamble by opening their first franchise of the Fairy Tale Cupcakes Bakery, so where better to hit the jackpot than in Vegas? Business manager Tate Harper has lined up a meeting with Holly Hartzmark, a former showgirl who’s looking to bring Mel and Angie’s sweet treats to Sin City, but Mel isn’t so sure she’s ready to hand her recipes over to a complete stranger—especially one as brash as Holly.

But after the potential bakery location gets blown up, Mel begins seeing another side to Holly—one that reminds her very much of herself. Determined to help a kindred spirit, Mel sets out to discover who is trying to keep the bakery from cashing in. But with a murderous mischief maker on the loose, the odds are stacking up against a happy ending for Mel and her friends.

Lady luck please let the dice stay hot - Elvis Presley, Viva Las Vegas

Melanie Cooper gave up a lucrative career in Corporate America to open her own cupcake bakery in her hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona. She shares her dream with two school friends - Angie DeLaura and Tate Harper. In the previous seven books, they created sweet treats while solving murder mysteries. The status quo changes when Tate proposes marriage to Angie and expansion to Melanie. Neither proposition sits well with Melanie. She is happy for her friends' couplehood, but wonder how the wedding and franchising will impact the cupcake business that feeds her current contentment.

When the trio travel to Las Vegas, mayhem follows them during their meeting with a prospective franchise licencee. VANILLA BEANED follows the typical cozy mystery path - a few red herrings, laugh out loud comedy, and predictable climatic action where the killer is unveiled. VANILLA BEANED stands out with its Vegas setting. McKinlay checks off every cliche of Sin City. Mel, Angie, and Tate check into the fictional Blue Hawaiian in the middle of an Elvis convention. While Angie and Tate are absorbed in Vegas' distractions, Melanie and Holly forge an unexpected friendship, tackle the ongoing mystery and bond over vanilla cupcakes. VANILLA BEANED leans towards character development of series regular Melanie and new addition Holly at the expense of the cozy mystery. I learned more about Melanie's unspoken fears about her future and Holly's desire for a "regular" life, making the characters more likable through their emotional conflicts.

VANILLA BEANED offers elements of Lucy & Ethel, Stephanie & Lulu, and Gracie Hart & Sam Fuller - slapstick comedy of two girlfriends as they bumble through the investigation. VANILLA BEANED kept my attention even though the murder mystery was weaker than previous books. 

VANILLA BEANED will tease fans of the series with a long standing unresolved issue (no spoilers here).  As such, I recommend readers new to the series to start with Book 1, SPRINKLE WITH MURDER, to appreciate the plot twists in VANILLA BEANED.

As a fan of the series, I was satisfied with VANILLA BEANED as an comfort read with familiar characters. McKinlay also includes recipes of cupcakes featured in the story. What's not to love about cupcakes?!?!

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous

I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash. To enter the giveaway,

1. What employment would you seek in Vegas - showgirl? dealer? waitress?

I'd probably be the tour guide to Hoover Dam.

2. Comments are open through Saturday, April 23, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, April 24.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Hoover Dam

Public Domain (link)

Aloha to Laura Drewry and OFF THE HOOK (Fishing for Trouble)

Welcome to The Buoys, a West Coast haven where love comes in with the tide. Perfect for readers of Jill Shalvis and Susan Mallery, the Fishing for Trouble series features three unforgettable brothers—each of whom is a great catch.

Major league pitcher Liam O’Donnell knows his best days are probably behind him, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to retire and become a fishing guide. Still, after all the time he’s spent chasing his dreams, he owes it to his brothers to pull his weight around the lodge. The Buoys is their father’s legacy, and they can’t let some developer take it from them. The one snag Liam isn’t counting on is a blast from the past: his ex-wife.

The moment Kate Hadley steps out of the seaplane, she knows this assignment is going to be trickier than she thought. She has to persuade the owners to sell—and one of them is Liam O’Donnell. Ten years ago, she made the biggest mistake of her life when she married Liam during a fling in Vegas. Now he’s her only lifeline in the middle of nowhere. Kate’s trying to keep things cool, but Liam just reminds her of the scorching few nights they spent together—and tempts her to make new memories that are just as steamy as the old.

Buy Links: Amazon | B & N | Google | iTunes | Kobo

USA Today Bestselling author, Laura Drewry had been scribbling things for years before she decided to seriously sit down and write. After spending eight years in the Canadian north, Laura now lives back home in southwestern British Columbia with her husband, three sons, a turtle named Sheldon, and an extremely energetic German shepherd. She loves old tattered books, good movies, country music, and the New York Yankees.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Laura joins me for a cozy chat ...

Kim: British Columbia! What is your favorite sight, sound, and smell of the Pacific Province?

Laura: Please let me say (and I’m sorry if this offends anyone – LOL) that I truly believe I live in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. I don’t know if I can pick absolute favourites, but some of my favourites are: I love the sight of bears wandering through the bushes near our house, I love the sound of lawn mowers in October, and I love the smell of the ocean.

Kim: Who or what helped you along your path to publishing?

Laura: Honestly, I think every single person I’ve ever met has helped me in one way or another, either directly or indirectly. From my English and writing teachers in school, to the amazing authors I met in different writing groups who are always willing to share their knowledge and experiences with me. I find help and support from my family, especially my sister who reads everything, my husband and kids who put up with a lot so I can do what I love, my agent who’s been with me a long time, and the editors I’ve worked with over the years. The biggest help, of course, are all the readers who, with the simple act of buying and reading a book, helps the writer to write the next one, to improve that much more. It truly is a group effort! J

Kim: What inspired the Fishing for Trouble series and Book One, OFF THE HOOK?

Laura: My husband used to fly in to fishing lodges a couple times a year, so the original idea of setting a series at a lodge started a long time ago, but nothing ever really took. Several years ago, we bought a place up the coast of BC where we go to fish now – it’s certainly not a lodge, just a house in a teeny tiny little town – but it got me thinking again about using a lodge as a setting. I already had the lodge designed in my head and I had the three O’Donnell brothers’ names and a bit of their background, but I didn’t have a story for any one of them.

And then one day I was watching Money Ball for about then twentieth time (LOL) and it suddenly struck me that Liam O’Donnell was a different version of Scott Hetteberg - especially Chris Pratt’s version of him. We were off to the races. 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Laura offers an excerpt from OFF THE HOOK ... 

They were almost to her cabin when she shocked the hell out of him by slipping her hand under his arm and nudging his shoulder with hers.

“You’re still a hotshot pitcher, you know. Don’t talk about that in the past tense.”

Liam blinked hard, then leaned in and pressed a slow kiss against her cheek. Half an inch, that’s how close he was to those soft, warm lips he remembered all too well, but no matter how much he ached to taste them again, he forced himself to pull back and smile down at her.

Besides his agent—who didn’t count, because Liam paid him to say it—Kate was the first and only one to even suggest he might have something left, and if she’d said it any other time or any other way, he might not have believed she was sincere.

But looking at her now, with her foot up on the porch, ready to go inside, there wasn’t the slightest trace of doubt in her eyes, just those damn bits of amber flickering like little beacons.

“I, uh . . .” Blowing out a hard breath, Liam shoved both hands through his hair, locked his fingers together, and took a step back. “I better go. It’d really screw things up here if we woke up married tomorrow.”

“Right. Good thinking,” she said, her mouth curling into a slow, knowing smile. “’Cause I promise you this, I won’t be nearly as nice the next time you divorce me.”

lasvegas.com

Viva Las Vegas for the Arm Chair Traveler

lasvegas.com

I have enjoyed the posts on Facebook and for the RT Booklovers Convention (#RT16) in Las Vegas.  I could not attend this year ... but social media brought Las Vegas to me.

Las Vegas just happened to play a part in my weekend:

- I stopped by a yard sale in my neighborhood and found a Las Vegas Hurricane Glass from the Hard Rock Cafe for a quarter.  Hubby and I collect the HRC glasses (hurricanes, pilsner, and shot) from our travels around the world.  We may already have one from Las Vegas ... but the price was right!

hardrock.com

- I received an Amazon box with cozy mysteries, including Jenn McKinlay's VANILLA BEANED:

Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura are taking a gamble by opening their first franchise of the Fairy Tale Cupcakes Bakery, so where better to hit the jackpot than in Vegas? Business manager Tate Harper has lined up a meeting with Holly Hartzmark, a former showgirl who’s looking to bring Mel and Angie’s sweet treats to Sin City, but Mel isn’t so sure she’s ready to hand her recipes over to a complete stranger—especially one as brash as Holly.

But after the potential bakery location gets blown up, Mel begins seeing another side to Holly—one that reminds her very much of herself. Determined to help a kindred spirit, Mel sets out to discover who is trying to keep the bakery from cashing in. But with a murderous mischief maker on the loose, the odds are stacking up against a happy ending for Mel and her friends...

- I am writing this week's blog today with the TV playing in the background.  John Taffler and the crew from Bar Rescue are visiting Las Vegas ... 

spike.com

Do you believe in coincidences? What are you reading this weekend? What are you watching on TV? One randomly selected commenter wins a book choice from my convention stash. Comments are open through Saturday, April 23, 10 pm in Baltimore. I'll post the winner on Sunday, August 24.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Vegas also boasts the Hawaiian Marketplace on the Strip

with its own statue of King Kamehameha.

The picture above is mine from Waikiki.