Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Aloha to Laura Trentham and SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE



From award winning author Laura Trentham comes SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE, a novel about starting over, finding your way back home—and falling head over heels. . .

Ella Boudreaux has a lot to prove to her family, friends, and foes—and to herself. So when her marriage ends she decides to invest her energy and money into a place that brings back some of Ella’s happiest memories: the Abbott brothers’ garage. Maybe, if she puts her mind to it, she can teach skeptical, stubborn Mack Abbott how to make the business a true success. Which would be a lot easier if the hunky mechanic didn’t make her motor run quite so fast…and hot.

Mack was furious when his brother, Ford, sold his share of the business. He’s in no rush to team up with a wealthy divorcée who shows up to the garage in stilettos—and the longest, sexiest legs he’s seen in forever. But Ella’s grit and determination won’t quit…and soon Mack can see that she’s been down a few rough roads herself. Neither Mack nor Ella can deny the fierce attraction that’s revving up between them. Could it be that true love has been in the backseat all along…and they’ve finally found the key?


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An award-winning author, Laura Trentham was born and raised in a small town in Tennessee. Although, she loved English and reading in high school, she was convinced an English degree equated to starvation. She chose the next most logical major—Chemical Engineering—and worked in a hard hat and steel toed boots for several years.

When not lost in a cozy Southern town or Regency England, she's shuttling kids to soccer, helping with homework, and avoiding the Mt. Everest-sized pile of laundry that is almost as big as the to-be-read pile of books on her nightstand. 


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Laura is hosting a giveaway at this link .... and offers an excerpt from SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE:

“How the—” Mack caught the curse in his hand. “You’re not a mechanic, Ms. Boudreaux.”

“Call me Ella.” At his stony stare, she shrugged and continued. “You don’t need another mechanic. You have plenty of mechanics. What you need is someone to market you.”

“And you know enough about cars to do that?” His skepticism hit her like a kid pulling her pigtails behind the monkey bars. Annoying.

She shouldn’t rise to the bait. Unfortunately, her mouth was less mature than her mind, and she reeled off facts her brother had recited with pride.

“That Datsun 240Z you were under? It’s a seventy-three with a 2.4-liter straight-six and side-draft carburetors. It can hit sixty in 8.2 seconds with 151 horsepower. Top speed is a hundred twenty-five miles per hour. Not that anyone should be driving that fast on parish roads.”

He looked . . . stunned. She confined herself to a small self-satisfied smile. She had a feeling nothing much surprised Mack Abbott, or if it did, he made sure the world didn’t realize it.

“How did you . . . How do you know all that?”

“That’s not important. What is important is that I can help you.”

“We don’t need help.” He shook his head and re-chinked the breaks in his wall of grump.

“Yes, you do.”

“No, we don’t.” The playground-level annoyance continued with his childish denials.

“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes, probably not helping to diffuse the situation.

“Name your price.”

“That’s not how this is going to work, Mack.”

“I say how things are run and done in this garage. Not you, Ms. Boudreaux.”

“I have a quarter stake and an equal voice.”

“Except, we handle things democratically around here and my brothers will have my back. Every. Single. Time.”

Dangit. He had her there. Pushing against Mack was like trying to move a mountain. She glanced at the twins. If she couldn’t move Mack, then she’d have to go around him. She wanted to stalk out and slam the door, but forced herself to mosey as if she wasn’t bothered at all by the situation or the man. He followed her to the door. She stopped with one foot out and one in. The breeze caught her hair, and she tossed her head to get it out of her eyes.

“You might vote me down, but at least give me a chance to be heard.”

“Name your price,” he repeated in a growly, grizzly voice that was meant to grind down her dissension.

Where she found the gumption she didn’t know, but she gave his cheek two pats and said, “You can’t afford me, tough guy.”

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Saturday, July 28, 2018

Aloha to Diane Kelly and THE LONG PAW OF THE LAW (Paw Enforcement Book 7) - ARC Review

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Texas police officer Megan Luz and her K-9 partner Brigit have come a long way, baby.

A BUNDLE OF JOY. A DOG-EAT-DOG WORLD. . .

One night, while on duty with her four-legged crime-fighting companion, Meg gets an urgent call from her boyfriend Seth, who works for the Fort Worth fire department. A baby girl has turned up at the station with only two clues to her identity: One is a peace-sign symbol stitched into her blanket. The other is a word, written in string: help.

Megan follows every loose thread and, along with Brigit, ends up on a twisted path that leads to the People of Peace compound, the site of a religious sect on the outskirts of the city. Its leader, Father Emmanuel, keeps his followers on a short leash—and his enemies even closer. Could this be the abandoned baby’s original home? And if so, why was she cast out? Now that Megan and Brigit are on the case, the secrets of this reclusive cult are bound to be dug up. . .

Diane Kelly is back with The Long Paw of the Law, the seventh installment in her drool-worthy Paw Enforcement series.

Fort Worth Police K-9 (link)

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. - Buddha

Fort Worth Police Officer Megan Luz and her shelter dog-turned-canine partner, Brigit, returns in the seventh book of  the Paw Enforcement series from St. Martin's Press.  Kelly's unique story telling creates a new sub genre that falls somewhere between cozy mystery and romantic suspense.  Megan tackles "ripped from the headlines" crime while juggling a budding romance with Seth, an explosive expert with the Fort Worth Fire Department.  BTW, Seth's K9 parenter, Blast, is the Beta dog to Brigit's Alpha Dog - who doesn't love it when the tables are turned?

The book blurb is an accurate recap of the action in THE LONG PAW OF THE LAW.  Rather than share how Megan discovers the truth with Divine Intervention, I would like to focus this review on how Kelly has created a "I can't put this down" story.  She rotates the POV in each chapter - Megan's first person POV, Brigit's third person POV (mostly focused on food), and the villain's third person's POV.  This method gave me a wider perspective of the action on the page.  Indeed, I read this book within 48 hours because I wanted to know there was a happy ending.  Just remember, Kelly is a romance author. 

Kelly treated readers to a subplot regarding ongoing petty crime in an affluent neighborhood - kudos to Megan for thinking outside the box to solve it!  Likewise, I learned more about Seth's cranky grandfather, Vietnam Veterans, car shows, and roller derby.  These "extras" further contribute to the "community feeling" that shines through the entire series.  Meg has a talent to solve crime, putting her on track to become a detective. But Kelly's subtle references to American life - fulfilling and challenging - creates a heartwarming read that makes me root for the multicultural characters in her books. 

THE LONG PAW OF THE LAW can be read as a stand alone book.  Yet I recommend reading the series in order to follow how Megan matures as an officer and catches the eye of Seth.  

I received an ARC of THE LONG PAW OF THE LAW from Kelly at the RWA Annual Convention in Denver.  The book is available October 30, 2018 from St. Martin's Press.


Miramont Castle
Manitou Springs Historical Society (link)

I have RWA swag for one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about dogs - do you have a favorite breed? color? name?
While I am a cat servant (as is Megan's roommate, Frankie), I enjoy meeting dogs out and about.  We spotted numerous dogs in Colorado Springs during our preconference sightseeing, including Chuck at the Miramont Castle.  Above is a vintage image of the castle.

2.  Comments are open through Sunday, August 5, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3.  I'll post the winner on Monday, August 6.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

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Friday, July 27, 2018

Aloha to Diana Lloyd and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR BARON - Blog Tour


When Elsinore Cosgrove escapes a ballroom in search of adventure, she has no idea it will lead to a hasty marriage. The youngest daughter of a duke, all she wants is to make her own choices. Now she's engaged to an infuriating, handsome Scottish baron who doesn't even know her name! Using all her feminine wiles, along with advice gleaned from a training guide for hunting hounds, Elsinore is determined to mold her baron into the husband she wants.

Quin Graham is a man with many secrets. If another scandal can be avoided with a sham marriage, so be it. Only his fiancée isn't at all what he's expecting, and the clumsy, curious, and clever Elsinore refuses to be set aside. For reasons he's unwilling to explain, the last thing Quin needs is to fall for his wife.


Diana Lloyd, mother of gingers, first of her name, is a stay-at-home wife, a hockey mom, and writer of stories with kissing in them. Diana defends her writing time like a rabid goalie while simultaneously volunteering for things she doesn’t really have time for. Diana is a member of Hearts Through History chapter of Romance Writers of America and was a 2017 RWA Golden Heart Finalist. Her Regency romp, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR BARON, the first book in the “What Happens In the Ballroom” series, is scheduled for publication in July 2018. Connect with Diana on Twitter at @DianaLloydBooks, or give her a shout-out on Facebook at facebook.com/DianaLloydBooks.

Learn more about Diana and her books at diana-lloyd.com.  

Check out links for book reviews and the blog tour giveaway at this link.

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Thursday, July 26, 2018

Aloha to Heidi Betts and ONE WEDDING, TWO BRIDES - Blog Tour


Jilted bride Monica Blair can’t believe it when she wakes up next to a blue-eyed, smooth-talking cowboy in the middle of nowhere and with a ring on her finger. It had sounded like a great plan at the time. Get married, get revenge, and get her money back. So why is she cleaning out stables and trying to keep her hands off the hot cowboy helping her?

Ryder Nash would have bet his best Stetson that you’d never see him walk down the aisle. But when the city girl with pink-streaked hair and a frog tattoo hatches a plan to expose the conman who married his sister, no idea is too crazy. And even though Monica might be the worst rancher’s wife he’s ever seen, he can’t stop thinking about the wedding night they never had.

What was supposed to be a temporary marriage for revenge is starting to feel a little too real...


An avid romance reader since junior high, USA Todaybestselling author Heidi Betts knew very early on that she wanted to write these wonderful stories of love and adventure. It wasn’t until her freshman year of college, however, when she spent the entire night reading a romance novel instead of studying for finals, that she decided to take the road less traveled and follow her dream.

Soon after joining Romance Writers of America, Heidi’s writing began to garner attention, including placing in the esteemed Golden Heart competition three years in a row. The recipient of numerous awards and stellar reviews, Heidi’s books combine believable characters with compelling plotlines, and are consistently described as “delightful,” “sizzling,” and “wonderfully witty.”

Learn more about Heidi and her books at heidibetts.com.

Check out links to book review and blog tour giveaway at this link

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Monday, July 9, 2018

Aloha to L.E. Rico and MISCHIEF AND MAYHEM - Release Day Blast


Welcome to Mayhem, Minnesota, home of the Knitty Kitty, The Little Slice of Heaven Pie Shop, and O’Halloran’s Pub—owned by the four young women known as The Whiskey Sisters.

In the wake of her divorce, Jameson O’Halloran has gone man-vegan. And this is one diet she’s determined to stick with. Even when her long-lost ex-brother-in-law shows up looking like two scoops of double dutch dipped in chocolate… She’s not giving in. Been there and still wearing the messy T-shirt.

It’s been a decade since Scott Clarke left his family and his hometown, never to return. But when tragedy strikes, he finds himself dragged back to the land of gossip, judgment, and the one woman he absolutely, positively, without a doubt can never have. His brother’s ex is off-limits. He just needs to keep repeating that to himself until it sinks in.

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Gracie Award-Winning radio host Lauren Rico is one of the top classical music broadcasters in the country. Her voice is heard nationally on SiriusXM’s Symphony Hall channel, as well as on radio stations in New York City, Charlotte, and Tampa. She’s even been known to accompany travelers as they fly the skies over Thailand, Oman, and China as part of the in-flight entertainment on several airlines. Her love and passion for classical music have allowed her to breathe new life into the stories of the great composers.

And now Lauren is telling some stories of her own…

Lauren hopes to bring classical music to a new audience by showcasing it in twisty, steamy stories that grab the reader and keep them turning pages — and YouTubing the music — into the wee hours.

When she’s not on talking on the radio or typing on her laptop, Lauren enjoys time with her husband and spectacularly spoiled mini-schnauzer.

laurenrico.com
facebook.com/LaurenRicoAuthor
twitter.com/radiorico
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