PERSONAL THOUGHTS

Quick Fall by Michelle Dayton

October 17, 2018

Thank you for joining the Review & Excerpt tour for QUICK FALL by Michelle Dayton! We can’t wait for you to read this spicy, sweet, ‘opposites attract’ romance. While you’re here, make sure to snag Book 1 of the Tracy Brothers series, FAST RIDE, while it’s on sale and enter to win a $25 gift card!

Title: Quick Fall

Author: Michelle Dayton

Published: October 8, 2018

Publisher: Self-published

Series: Tracy Brothers #2

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Justin Tracy, the perennial life of the party, is used to being teased by his friends about his success with the ladies. Not that he’ll ever get serious with one. Why should he? His life is absolutely perfect the way it is. But at his brother’s bachelor party, a drunken bet about his womanizing skill gets a little out of control. Before he knows it, his friends have invited his new tenant – a woman he’s never even met – to go to his brother’s wedding with him.

Single mom Maddy Trainor has just moved back to Chicago, ready to reclaim her life and conquer the city. Maddy’s determined to get her new business off the ground and build a happy home for her son, Teddy. She didn’t expect a gorgeous landlord, but ogling Justin Tracy is definitely a bonus to her new apartment.

Justin intends to apologize to Maddy for the out-of-the-blue wedding invitation and get gone, but his new neighbor turns out to be funny, whip-smart, and sexy as hell. Why not take her to the wedding for real? Just as friends, of course. To Maddy, the wedding – one night of champagne and dancing with a self-admitted Peter Pan – sounds like amazing no-strings fun. But the sparks that blaze between the two of them can’t be contained to one night. And two people who think they have life figured out are about to realize they know nothing about love …

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Quick Ride Excerpt

Ding!

Justin caught her hand and pulled her out of the elevator before the doors even had a chance to fully open. “I’m all the way at the end of the hall.”

He was walking too fast for her sore feet; she tripped in her heels. “Wait. Slow down. My feet. Blisters.”

He assessed the complicated gold sandals. “How long does it take to get those off?”

Given the tiny buckle on the ankle strap … with the way her hands were shaking… She sighed. “Two minutes.”

He grinned, mischief sparking in his eyes. “That’s two minutes too long.” Without another word, he lunged forward and threw her over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold.

Maddy shrieked. She’d never been picked up literally by a man before. Upside down, she felt both ridiculous and ridiculously feminine. Uncontrolled laugher—her noisy, high-pitched kind—bubbled out of her mouth. She wouldn’t have thought she could move from unspeakable arousal to hysterical laughter in the space of five seconds, but apparently that’s what Justin did to her.

“Almost there,” he called.

Another thirty seconds and he carefully set her down. She clung to his shoulders until she stopped quivering. Eyes sparkling, Justin inserted the key card into the lock. “After you.”

“Oh,” she breathed. The room was so pretty. Dark wood furniture, a crisp, white duvet on the bed, and an incredible view of Michigan Avenue.

“The hotel sent up a bottle of champagne as a thank you,” Justin said. “Can I pour you a glass?”

“Please.” She’d stopped drinking at the wedding once the dancing had started. Since that was more than three hours ago, she was stone-cold sober now. And since the laughter had subsided and the fact that she was in a hotel room with a man was sinking in, a glass of liquid courage would be very welcome indeed.

Although … she wasn’t nervous, actually. There was nothing to be nervous about. She was a grown woman whose child was perfectly safe. For once, her legs were shaved and her bikini area was waxed. She was with a no-strings-attached man, but one who was genuinely kind and committed to his family. Someone funny. Someone trustworthy.

Justin handed her a glass of champagne and finished removing his bow tie.

Someone unbelievably gorgeous. Someone who wanted her badly, if his hungry expression was anything to go by.

She set her champagne glass on the nightstand and slowly turned. “Unzip me?”

Meet Justin’s older brother, Garrett Tracy!

FAST RIDE is on sale for $.99! Grab your copy today!

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About Michelle Dayton:

There are only three things Michelle Dayton loves more than sexy and suspenseful novels: her family, the city of Chicago, and Mr. Darcy. Michelle dreams of a year of world travel – as long as the trip would include weeks and weeks of beach time. As a bourbon lover and unabashed wine snob, Michelle thinks heaven is discussing a good book over an adult beverage

Follow Michelle: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon | BookBub

The Search for the Stone of Excalibur by Fiona Ingram

October 17, 2018

I am a children’s author, but up until a few years ago, I was a journalist and editor. Something rather unexpected sparked my new career as an author—a family trip to Egypt with my mother and two young nephews. We had a great time and I thought I’d write them a short story as a different kind of souvenir…. Well, one book and a planned book series later, I had changed careers. I have now published Book 3 (The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper) in my MG adventure series Chronicles of the Stone, with many awards for the first book, The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, and a few for Book 2, The Search for the Stone of Excalibur, and one already for Book 3! I also teach online novel writing for aspiring authors and I find that very satisfying. Relaxation time finds me enjoying something creative or artistic, music, books, theatre or ballet. I love doing research for my book series. I love animals and have written two animal rescue stories. I have two adorable (naughty) little dogs called Chloe and Pumpkin, and a beautiful black cat called Bertie.

~ Book Site ~ Author Site ~
~ LinkedIn ~ Blog ~
~ Twitter ~

A modern day adventure as our protagonists search for Excalibur and the treasures it holds! This is a must-read for Middle Graders keen on action, adventure, and Arthurian stories!

Continuing the adventure that began in Egypt a few months prior in The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, cousins Adam and Justin Sinclair are hot on the trail of the second Stone of Power, one of seven ancient stones lost centuries ago. This stone might be embedded in the hilt of a newly discovered sword that archeologists believe belonged to King Arthur: Excalibur.

However, their long-standing enemy, Dr. Khalid, is following them as they travel to Scotland to investigate an old castle. Little do they know there is another deadly force, the Eaters of Poison, who have their own mission to complete. Time is running out as the confluence of the planets draws closer.

Can Justin and Adam find the second Stone of Power and survive? And why did Aunt Isabel send a girl with them? Join Justin and Adam as they search not only for the second Stone of Power, but also for the Scroll of the Ancients, a mysterious document that holds important clues to the Seven Stones of Power.

As their adventure unfolds, they learn many things and face dangers that make even their perils in Egypt look tame. And how annoying for them that their tag-along companion, Kim, seems to have such good ideas when they are stumped.

Book extras include some historical background on King Arthur, the Dark Ages, warfare and weaponry during Arthur’s time, and details on Excalibur. A fascinating peek into the life and times of the real King Arthur, perfect for young time travelers and budding archaeologists. For coloring-in enthusiasts, ten original black and white illustrations including 2 maps make for more enjoyment!

~ Universal Amazon Link ~

Top Ten List:

My Top Ten (in no particular order):

1. Travel – I have been fortunate enough to visit many countries but there are still more on my list.

2. Animals – I love animals and wish I had tons of money to donate to many of the causes I read about. One day, I will!

3. Movies – I LOVE movies. Detective, thrillers, animal feel goods, historical series, adventure, action, marvel character movies, I love it!

4. Books – I LOVE books, of course, and still have many of my old childhood favourites inherited from my parents and grandparents.

5. Music – listening to music, mainly classical and movie themes, is very relaxing.

6. Theatre and ballet – would you believe it I started out studying drama at university, went to drama school in London and mime school in Paris, came back home and ended up in writing and publishing.

7. Writing – not just writing middle grade adventures though. I have an alter ego named Arabella Sheraton who writes Regency romances and has actually written more books than I have. Arabella is the proud author of eight books so far. Do I have a problem wearing two hats? Not at all. I love jumping into a historical fiction romance and having fun.

8. Antiques and collectibles – I have inherited so many beautiful antiques (furniture and collectibles) but that hasn’t stopped me browsing flea markets and antique shops to enjoy the beautiful items of yesteryear and sometimes buy.

9. Friends/family – getting together with good friends is something that can’t be beaten. I love having friends/family over and making a great dinner for us to enjoy.

10.Giving talks on child literacy – I didn’t start off as an expert on child literacy, but after I fostered and later adopted my daughter Mabel (a disadvantaged young African girl) I had to learn pretty quickly because she came to me just about illiterate at age eleven. From my experiences in teaching Mabel to read, I then was asked to address many institutions and groups on the topic. I enjoy helping parents and teachers to get kids to love reading.

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page

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Mrs. Murray’s Ghost: A Piccadilly Street Story by Emily-Jane Hills Orford

October 16, 2018

Mary’s family has moved into a huge Victorian mansion. She loves her gigantic new house, especially her room. But then she begins to meet the house’s other residents.

Mrs. Murray was murdered in Mary’s new house. At first she tries to scare the new residents away, but there seems to be a force connecting the ghost to Mary.

Even the stranded Brownies, the little people who live between the walls, feel that connection. When Mary becomes deathly ill, the Brownies and the ghost team up to try to rescue her, only to encounter a witch and her evil minions. Time is running out. They must rescue Mary from a fever-induced dream world before she is trapped there forever.

~ Universal Amazon Link ~
~ Goodreads ~

Emily-Jane Hills Orford is an award-winning author of several books, including Gerlinda (CFA 2016) which received an Honorable Mention in the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards, To Be a Duke (CFA 2014) which was named Finalist and Silver Medalist in the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and received an Honorable Mention in the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards. She writes about the extra-ordinary in life and her books, short stories, and articles are receiving considerable attention. For more information on the author, check out her website at: http://emilyjanebooks.ca

~ Facebook ~ Goodreads ~
~ Website ~ Twitter ~ Blog ~

Top Tens List:

1.
my family,

2.
my dog
(though he’s really not a thing),

3.
my garden,

4.
chocolate,

5.
books,

6.
piano,

7.
music,

8.
painting,

9.
nature,

10. life

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page

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Murder By Perfection by Lauren Carr

October 15, 2018

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from iRead Book Tours in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

Murder by Perfection by Lauren Carr was a great story, but I didn’t like the narrator of this book. At this point, I have read quite a few books by this author and I have liked them all or at least I think I have. I have listened to several audiobooks as well and this is the first time that I haven’t like the narrator. Since I didn’t like the narrator it was hard for me to listen to this book. I had to listen to his book as I was driving to get through it all because I just found myself bored and annoyed when I listened to it while I was working. For this book, I would recommend just picking up a physical copy of the book and not the audiobook version unless you know that this narrator doesn’t bother you. All in all, I really did enjoy the story of this book and I wait to see what comes in this series.

About The Book

Audiobook Details:

Book Title: Murder by Perfection by Lauren Carr
Series: Thorny Rose Mystery Series (Volume 3)
Genre: Murder Mystery
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: Aug 28, 2018
Narrator: Mike Alger
Length: 8 hours, 32 minutes, unabridged
Tour dates: Oct 8 to Nov 2, 2018
Content Rating: PG (mild violence and sexual suggestion)

Perfection can be a fatal endeavor.

Frustrated with their busy schedules, Murphy Thornton and Jessica Faraday attempt to find togetherness by scheduling a weekly date night. The last thing Jessica Faraday expected for her date night was to take a couple’s gourmet cooking course at the Stepford Kitchen Studio, owned by Chef Natalie Stepford―the model of perfection in looks, home, and business.

When Natalie ends up dead and Murphy goes missing, the Thorny Rose detectives must peel back the layers of Natalie Stepford’s life to discover that the pursuit of perfection can be deadly.

About The Author

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over twenty titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!

Now, Lauren has added one more hit series to her list with the Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries. Set in the quaint West Virginia town of Harpers Ferry, Ice introduces Chris Matheson, a retired FBI agent, who joins forces with other law enforcement retirees to heat up those cold cases that keep them up at night.

Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, and three dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

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Emma’s Dilemma by Donna Hatch

October 15, 2018

Donna Hatch is the author of the best-selling “Rogue Hearts Series,” and a winner of writing awards such as The Golden Quill and the International Digital Award. A hopeless romantic and adventurer at heart, she discovered her writing passion at the tender age of 8 and has been listening to those voices ever since. She has become a sought-after workshop presenter, and also juggles freelance editing, multiple volunteer positions, and most of all, her six children (seven, counting her husband). A native of Arizona who recently transplanted to the Pacific Northwest, she and her husband of over twenty years are living proof that there really is a happily ever after.

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~ Amazon ~
~ Goodreads ~ Twitter ~

Horrors! Emma’s favorite Gothic novel seems to have come true…but reality is not as fun as fiction. The only man she’s ever loved is home from war, but he has changed in a terrifying way. Unless Emma’s wild imagination is wrong, the love of her life is a vampire! Now she must decide if she can love a creature of darkness, or reveal his secret and lose him forever.

This tongue-in-check novella plays with themes of paranormal fiction, but stays in the realm of clean and wholesome historical romance while exploring the power of trust and love.

Dance with a duke, outwit pirates, save a kingdom, and fall in love. Believe in happily ever after.

Praise for Donna Hatch:

“Donna Hatch is one of the masters of clean romance with electric tension and smokin’ hot kisses.” ~ Reading is My Super Power Reviews

“Written with heart and depth, Donna Hatch’s books are absolute must-reads for any fan of swoon-worthy historical romance.” ~ Sarah M. Eden, USA Today best-selling historical romance author

~ Universal Amazon Link ~

Top Tens List:

Donna’s Top 10
Favorite Things to do

Go for long walks
with a friend

Have a tea party

Go to the beach

Build sandcastles

Watch the sunset

Visit gardens

Make ice cream

Hike with my family

Play miniature golf

Read a good book

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page

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Tunes by KC Enders

October 12, 2018

What’s more cliché than falling for a guy in a band or pinning for the one who got away? Find out in TUNES by KC Enders, a Beekman Hills novel where a no-strings spring break fling turns into something more for Gracyn George and rocker Gavin Keller. Fans of A.L. Jackson’s STAY, DRUMLINE by Stacy Kestwick, and authors Jiffy Kate & Winter Renshaw will love this spicy and angsty second-chance romance.

Title: Tunes

Author: KC Enders

Release Date: October 1, 2018

Publisher: Self-published

Series: Beekman Hills #2

Genres: New Adult Romance

Word Count: 73K

Format: Paperback & digital

What’s more cliché than falling for a guy in a band?

A no-strings fling is all it was meant to be for Gracyn George. Sun, sand, sex, and then move on. That was before he strummed his way into her life. Each note leaving a tingle in her spine, their lasting melodies burned into her memory.

What’s more cliché than pining for the one who got away?

Gavin Keller has sacrificed far too much to chase after the girl who snuck out in the middle of the night and left him wondering, What if …

No matter how high his star rises or how many sold-out shows he plays, he ends each concert scanning the audience for her.

What was supposed to be temporary becomes a longing neither is willing to let go. After months of trying to move on, can they sync the tunes in their hearts?

Available on Amazon and FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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TUNES Excerpt

Gavin

Gracyn’s gone. She fucking left me in the middle of the night, buck-ass naked and in her bed.

I waited more than an hour for her to come back from wherever she’d scampered off to, almost certain that she’d just gone out to grab us some breakfast. Took a shower and threw on my clothes from last night. Well, my board shorts because my favorite fucking shirt was gone, too.

No Gracyn.

No note.

No shirt.

Nothing.

The sun blazes down on my bare shoulders as I walk back to my shitty motel. It’s petty and stupid, but I’m too pissed off to put on a different T-shirt. It’s the principle.

My fist connects with Ian’s door with three solid thumps. The last thing I want to do is walk in on him getting ass when my chick had taken her fill and bailed on me. No fucking way I feel like dealing with his shit over this. I don’t want to hear it.

“Dude, you good?” I call as I hit the door again.

“S’open,” Nate yells. “Hey, didn’t think we’d see you today. She leaves tomorrow, right? That chick you’ve been hanging with all week,” he asks, looking away from the movie he’s watching, head propped up against the headboard of his bed.

“Fuck, man. Forgot we swapped rooms. I’ll—”

Ian looks up from his laptop and leans back, the colorful tats shifting as he folds his arms across his chest. “Jesus, what did she do? Steal your clothes and skip town?” The disgusted look on his face probably mirrors my own.

The door closes behind me as I cross the room and sit my ass down on the edge of the empty bed. I dig through Ian’s pack for a T-shirt. I pull on the first one I find, not caring if it’s clean, and flop back, staring at the water stains blooming across the ceiling by the bathroom. Hopefully, it’s the shower leaking in the room above us and not the shitter.

What the fuck happened? Why did she leave like that?

“Gavin? Seriously, man, what happened?” Nate’s sitting on the edge of his bed, features twisted in concern.

“I don’t know. I woke up, and she was gone.”

“Gone? Or out for a minute?”

“Gone. Left. Bags packed, including my fucking shirt. Just gone.” No matter how many times I go over it in my mind, it doesn’t congeal into anything that makes sense.

“Shit, man. That sucks balls,” Ian mumbles as he goes back to tapping at his keyboard. “What’re you gonna do? You text her yet?”

If only.

I run my hands through my hair, gathering it in my fists, and blow out a frustrated breath. “I don’t have her number.”

“Wait, what? You spent all fucking week with her. How do you not have her number?”

I roll my head to the side, so he can see just how fucking miserable I am. “I spent all fucking week with her. I didn’t really need it … until now.” Jesus, this is the worst. “What time are we playing tonight?”

“Ten, down on the beach. So … nothing? You got nothing? No way to find her?” Nate asks.

“Fuck. No, not really. Just a general idea of where she goes to school, and … no, I don’t even have a last name. I mean, I’m sure I could try to stalk the shit out of her, but she bolted, man.”

“Yeah … I guess she just wasn’t that into you, man. Fucked the rocker on spring break and went back to her Ivy League boyfriend.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, Ian cringes, gritting his teeth and sucking a breath through them. “Sorry, shit. I didn’t mean …”

“Whatever.” I pull out my phone, hoping there’s a message, but this day is nothing but all kinds of disappointments. I pop my earbuds in and pull up my post-show playlist. I crank some old school ’70s disco to clear my mind. And hopefully drift off to sleep.

Check out these other titles in the Beekman Hill series!

TROUBLES (Book #1)

A chance at true happiness.

Amazon | Goodreads

Amazon → https://amzn.to/2MNfh8u

TWIST (Book #1.5)

A twist that no one can imagine.

Amazon | Goodreads

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About KC Enders:

Karin is a New York Girl living in a Midwest world. A connoisseur of great words, fine bourbon, and strong coffee, she’s married to the love of her life who is also her best friend. The mother of two grown men, she is proud to say that they can cook, open car doors for the ladies, and clean up after themselves (you’re welcome, world). Even though her boys no longer live at home, the three dogs she’s rescued have taken up their empty space.