Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Hairlarious Cat Tails with Sharon Kleve

 

Hairlarious Cat Tails
SRK Productions, November 18, 2020,108 pp
Amazon $1.99 and Print $20.33

About the Book
Hairlarious Cat Tails makes a beautiful table top book filled with creative insights and beautiful images. It provides a much-desired glimpse into the minds of our most mysterious of loved ones--cats.

What makes cats climb into tiny spaces? Why do they sleep that much? And, most of all, how can we give them a good life? They may seem low-maintenance but thoughtfulness about where you put their water, how warm or cool they like to be, what name to choose and how to groom them properly will make a life-changing difference.

With understanding, affection and respect, your cat will be healthier and very content. I don’t know about you, but that makes me very happy…

My review

From the calming, healing effect of a cat’s purr to the hunting instinct to terrible puns (my favorite is “hiss”terical), Kleve’s very sweet picture book of cats will surely please all feline fans. 

Essentially a coffee table book in print, lovely photographs accompany fun facts, cat commentary, and pithy sayings such as “Time spent with cats is never wasted.” Allergies? You might be surprised to learn about an intriguing study from the National Institutes of Health.

This is a surefire fun book especially for family trivia night, or simply to spout a fact to impress your friends or colleague. Thoroughly enjoyable and great gift.

About the Author

Sharon Kleve was born and raised in Washington and currently lives on the Olympic Peninsula with her husband and two cats. When not writing, and working full-time, she can usually be found either curled up in her recliner with her cats and a good book or in the kitchen making baking sourdough bread or bagels.

Sharon is a multi-published author of contemporary romance published in eBook, paperback, on audio and translated into foreign languages. She has written New Adult and Romantic Suspense, but what brings her the most joy is writing Romantic Comedies.

She loves giving her characters the happily ever after they deserve--with a few laughs and maybe a few bumps and bruises along the way.


Friday, December 11, 2020

Virtually Yours at Christmas with Clare Revell

 



Virtually Yours at Christmas
Clare Revell

December 1, 2020, Holiday Christmas Extravaganza
Romantic novella from Pelican Book Group
99 cent special

buy on

About the Book
It All Began With A Typo...

While working from home, accountant Carlyle Stevenson is told to contact a client ASAP and berate her for not filing her accounts for several months. Since the request is urgent, Carlyle fires off the email and sits and waits for the client to answer the video conference. Too bad he sent the invite to the wrong person.

Being stuck at home is nothing new for Kristen Lawson. She usually works out of her garage or kitchen. She's in the middle of making a new batch of candles for her online business when she receives the email marked urgent. Even though it's not her accountancy firm, she clicks the link and begins the call.

What begins as an honest mistake blossoms into something more, but can a socially distanced relationship ever get real?

My review 
Finally! A very, very sweet short inspirational romance that is responsible during this nasty current 2020 pandemic. Finding your soulmate is tough enough…but during a stay-at-home order? Yikes!

Revell’s latest precious tale also features our favorite heroes and heroines from her charming British town where pretty much everybody knows somebody who knows somebody, we meet a bookkeeper working mostly from home who types in a wrong email. Who knew there were two Kristens? And when the “wrong” Kristen answers Carlyle, it’s a call that goes in all the “right” directions…except for his tendency to keep showing up. And knowing things. Is Carlyle the real thing? Or just some creepy stalker…

Told through both of their viewpoints, Virtually Yours at Christmas is a sweet addition to the Headly Cross series. Love never gets old, no matter how you find it.My review

About the Author
Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town in England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, and her three children. Writing from a early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fanfiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American, the books contain British language and terminology.
The first draft of every novel is hand written.

She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars.

She can be found at:
http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarerevell/
https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellAuthor
https://twitter.com/ClareRevell
http://telscha.blogspot.co.uk/


Tuesday, December 8, 2020

A New Hope for Christmas

 


A New Hope for Christmas

Erin Stevenson

PBGroup Christmas Holiday Extravaganza

Holiday romance, 89 pp Ebook

Dec 1, 2020

 $2.99

Buy on Amazon, BN, Publisher book store

About the Book

This Christmas, Two Lost and Broken Families Need Restoration.
Sam Jarrett was just starting to explore spiritual things when his world was shattered. Now, he's completely turned his back on God. Laura Preston is a devoted believer, leaning heavily on her faith to get her through each tortured day.

Sam battles God's prodding through Laura's gentle, caring spirit. When another tragedy strikes on Christmas Eve, Sam is sure that God has completely deserted him. Laura tries to show Sam that God loves him and has been there all the time, but how can Sam trust when he has no faith?

A New Hope for Christmas is a story of restored faith in a God who never leaves us, even when we can't see or feel Him near.

 

My Review

If you’re like me, an easy crier, you’ll love this short, inspirational holiday romance. By the end of chapter two, it’s a wonder whether life can go on for these two hurting souls. A loving dog, their kids, and a precious set of grandparents attempt to guide these fragile hearts back into the light of healing and faith. In the spirit of Christmas, sometimes the best advice is what the pastor teaches Laura and her daughter about how to get through one day at a time: find one thing to be thankful for, and one person to help. But how can they help the thoroughly heart-broken Sam and his young son? Told in alternating viewpoints, this gentle story is sure to touch every romance reader’s heart.

 

About the Author

Writing is like breathing to Erin. Stories are running through her mind during most of her waking hours, and by the time she sits down at the computer, the words flow and time ceases to exist. Erin was raised in Illinois and has lived in many places in the U.S., including on both coasts, but is a Midwest girl at heart. She spent many years as an educator from pre-school through college levels, and currently works in training and internal communications for a major global corporation. When she's not writing, Erin loves spending time with her children and grandchildren, and playing in the garden (which equates to mostly pulling weeds) at her central Iowa home. Her secret indulgence is plain M&Ms.


Friday, December 4, 2020

Mistletoe Movie Star by Stacey Weeks

 

Mistletoe Movie Star

Stacey Weeks

PBG Christmas Holiday Extravaganza

White Rose Publishing, December 1, 2020, 121 pp

Ebook $3.99

Buy on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Publisher store 

About the Book

Mistletoe Meadows is built around the magic of Christmas. As jingling sleighs cart rosy-cheeked lovers around the Mistletoe Mile, Charlene's holiday dream is more complicated than photo-edited perfection. She proposes a compassion ministry initiative called the Gingerbread House but struggles to convince the town that their need for a homeless shelter is real.

Famous for his made for TV holiday movies, Jonas longs for a happily-ever-after that isn't as neat and tidy as his scripted films. Partnering with Char to champion her ministry invigorates him with a new purpose and provides an excuse to spend time with the girl he never forgot. But when they embrace three young sisters fighting to stay together while living on the streets, their project becomes deeply personal.

Together, they must prove to a town reluctant to see anything other than holiday perfection that the greatest gift of the season isn't found under a tree.

 

My Review

When former summertime friends reunite as adults, they rekindle more than friendship.

Char, the town veterinarian is on a mission to save more than critters. The plight of the homeless has touched her soul and she proposes remodeling the unused firehouse into a shelter to the city council which gets immediately voted down.

Jonas, who’s managed to establish himself as a B movie romantic leading man, is in town to settle his late grandparents’ home farm. He rapidly loses any fight against returning to his movie star life when he realizes Char, his long-lost love, has not only settled in town, but has a heart big enough to rescue any kind of stray. Will that also include him?

As they explore their feelings and work to encourage town Grinches to grow their Christmas hearts, the plight of the homeless touches everyone in a uniquely precious way. Told in alternating perspectives, this sweet, short, inspirational holiday romance will boost your spirits.

 

About the Author

Stacey Weeks is the multi-award-winning author of Glorious Surrender (2016), inspirational romances The Builder's Reluctant Bride (2016), Mistletoe Melody (2018), and inspirational romantic suspense novels In Too Deep (2017), and Fatal Homecoming (2019). Stacey lives in Ontario where she speaks at women's conferences, teaches writing and bible study workshops, and writes about the things of the Lord. www.staceyweeks.com


Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Carol James and Redeeming Christmas

 


Redeeming Christmas

Carol James

PBGroup Christmas Holiday Extravaganza

December 1, 2020, Romantic Novella, 111 pp

Ebook $3.99

Buy on

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble

Publisher site 

About the Book

Novelist Olivia St. Madeleine is intrigued by a handsome and mysterious stranger she sees when she's Christmas shopping. Who exactly is he, and what is his story?

Gabriel Winter definitely has a story. One he's been running from for years. He's renovating a house next door to a friendly and persuasive grandmother, who is, unbeknownst to him, Olivia's Nana. Through Nana's insistence, Liv helps Gabe wallpaper and paint, and in return Gabe fulfills one of Liv's secret childhood dreams.

But past hurts and secrets threaten to drive them apart rather than draw them together. Will they find the courage to share their secrets with each other and with God, and allow Him to redeem Christmas?

 My review

I adore a little bit of reality check in my romantic fiction. And not mincing situational reality with saccharine. We’re all broken—all of us—and we know it. How we face it shows our true character. This author knows how to pack a lovely punch in a short story. Like your good reads in little bites around the holidays? Redeeming Christmas is a perfect fit.

 Gabe is one of those rare creatures, a humble rising star entrepreneur, while Liv is a novelist who views the world through internal description. Told through both their eyes, their budding romance starts innocently during a holiday shopping event. When they realize they’re temporary next-door neighbors, one precious grandma who’s been praying for them before they were born, takes off her velvet gloves, knows how to use a cell phone, but makes sure Liv carries her pepper spray during their home decorating adventures.

 Of course everyone is too good to be true—on the outside! That’s what makes awesome romance. It’s the twists on the inside of the heart and the depth of reality that make this charming tale more than a gooey peppermint mocha at Christmas. Absolutely delightful for the dedicated inspirational romance reader. Just right amounts of everything packed in a lovely story.

 About the Author

Streams in the Wasteland, Redemptive Romance by Carol James:

Carol is an author of inspirational fiction. She lives in Lilburn, Georgia, a small town outside of Atlanta, with her husband, Jim, and a perky Jack Russell "Terrorist," Zoe.


Friday, November 20, 2020

Love Stumbled In with Nancy Bolton

 


Love Stumbled In by Nancy Shew Bolton
In the midst of tragedy and uncertainty, love stumbles in.

Inspirational Romance from Prism Lux, November 13, 2020

172 pp

About the Book:

In the years of World War I and the flu epidemic that followed, American society and its people underwent profound changes. Carrie and her adopted family are not spared these changes and tragedies, yet what can they do but continue on the best way they can? As Carrie comes of age, she is faced with a future very different than the one she hoped for. She gave her heart, only to have it returned back to her and now she must search herself to find a new direction or give in to the temptation to simply give up and let circumstances dictate her life.

Judd has spent his young adult years coping with the aftermath of war injuries and profound family losses. With no time to grieve or recover, he is thrust into the role of family head and pours himself into steering his brothers and Carrie to adulthood while also seeing to the needs of the family farm. Like Carrie, his losses have caused him to grow cold towards God, leaning only on himself to bear the weight of his responsibilities. The pressure has forged a resolute hardness in him and an unwillingness to be close to anyone. The life journey of both is in need of new direction, if they will choose to take a chance and step toward it.

Enjoy this Excerpt:

Her mind wandered back to days spent with Mama, watching her cook, and sharing the small triumphs while she learned. Memories warmed her and loosened her tongue. “I wish she could know how good I am at it now. With her gift for pies and cake, and mine for bread, maybe we could’ve run a bakery together. That would’ve been wonderful.”

Lucas rumbled out an indeterminate sound. “Two women running a bakery? Never heard of that.”

Carrie’s wistful, nostalgic mood shattered. How backward. Was Jesse the only man in this family with any foresight?

Quenching a sharp retort, she kept her voice airy. “It’s the twentieth century, in case you forgot. Women can do pretty much anything these days. Vote, get a job. Why, I read a story the other day about women policemen in California.”

Lucas sputtered out a laugh. “You just called them policemen. Wouldn’t they be policewomen?”

She scowled at his smirking expression. “Ha-ha. You know what I mean.”

About Nancy: Nancy Shew Bolton is a wife, mother of five grown sons, and grandmother to a boy and girl. Ever since she learned to write, she would jot down her thoughts and impressions in little snippets of inspiration in the form of poetry, song lyrics, or short essays.

Social Links: 

On Twitter

Amazon Author Page

Group Blog

GoodreadsPage

Facebook Page

Books webpage: https://nancyboltonbooks.com/

$5.99 ebook

Buy at

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

At 50% off: Love Stumbled In : Pelican Book Group Christian Fiction, Illuminating fiction


Tuesday, November 17, 2020

New from Keely Brooke Keith Uncharted Freedom



Uncharted Freedom 
Book 9 in the Uncharted series
Keely Brooke Keith

Nov 17, 2020
Edenbrooke Press
Near future dystopian fiction
$4.99

Buy on
Amazon
 

About the Book
When she finds the perfect place to hide from one past, another finds her.

Naomi McIntosh is running from her family’s oppressive expectations and the despicable man her father has demanded she marry. Renaming herself to live incognito, she takes a housekeeping job at the Inn at Falls Creek and promises God this false identity will be her last.

When shepherd James Roberts goes home to the Inn at Falls Creek for his sister’s wedding, he doesn’t expect the woman who once broke his heart to be working there. No matter how much he wants to be with Naomi again, he can’t go along with her charade, especially since he is trying to persuade his father to make him the heir.

Though Naomi yearns for a future with James, if she confesses her deception to everyone, her estranged fiancé will find her. And the longer James goes without telling his family the truth about Naomi—and their growing relationship—the further he jeopardizes the inheritance. But just when their relationship looks promising, the inn proves to be a poor hiding place from Naomi’s past.

Meanwhile, in Good Springs…Connor Bradshaw wrestles with the overseers’ decision to preserve the Land’s pacifist ways. His desire to build a defense system for the Land keeps him up at night, secretly scanning for radio transmissions from the warring outside world. His training to be a village overseer will require him to lay down his weapons, but a voice over the radio waves ignites his worst fears.


My review
After getting to know the Land through a dozen novels, I look forward to getting to know the inhabitants even more. Although there are ties to previous novels and there is some sequence, the books can be read as stand-alones. In this story, we learn more about the Falls Creek inn family, the Robertses, as they struggle with long-standing patriarchal tradition. The eldest son, Revel, has already declared he will not take over running the inn, but complications other than tradition are involved in this society of loosely connected communities on a large island.

When the new housekeeper arrives in Falls Creek, she brings more secrets and unrest. Naomi, a young woman attempting to hide, and James Roberts, the second son who longs to have a place at home, have a history. As in Keely Keith’s other novels in the saga, the conflicts are gentle but thought-provoking. Underlying currents of more disruption to this 1860-era culture untouched by the increasingly dystopian outside world continue to intrude in this outwardly idyllic society.

Well-done story-telling of a time-caught faith-based culture lost in a shroud of mystical gray-leaf trees whose magical healing powers provide ample reason for invaders to plunder the defenseless colony. Unless the only person ever to successfully land and stay in the Land, former Lt. Connor Bradshaw, can convince the naïve elders danger exists. The people must be proactive to protect themselves from the ruthless, plagued outside world. Several narrators meld their voices of quiet romance amid turmoil in this latest addition to the saga of the Land Uncharted.

About the Author
Keely Brooke Keith writes inspirational frontier-style fiction with a futuristic twist, including The Land Uncharted (Shelf Unbound Notable Romance 2015) and Aboard Providence (2017 INSPY Awards Longlist). Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, Keely was a tree-climbing, baseball-loving 80s kid. She grew up in a family who moved often, which fueled her dreams of faraway lands. When she isn't writing, Keely enjoys teaching home school lessons and playing bass guitar. Keely, her husband, and their daughter live on a hilltop south of Nashville, Tennessee.