Book Review: Tales of Arilland by Alethea Kontis

Tales of Arilland, by Alethea Kontis
2015, 196p, Fairy Tale/Fantasy
My Rating=3 Stars
Source: Received a copy via Prism Book Tours for an honest review



2015 Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award Winner

In the fairy tale realm of Arilland, stories are told at children's bedsides--and not the stories you think you know.

Tales of Arilland is a collection of fairy tales, presented in the magical topsy-turvy way that only Alethea Kontis can do. Discover the story of Bluebeard's first wife ("Blood From Stone"), what really happened to Snow White in those dark woods ("The Unicorn Hunter"), how dangerous the Little Mermaid might have been ("Blood and Water"), and just how far Little Red Riding Hood was willing to go ("Hero Worship"). Included in this collection is "Sunday," the original novelette that inspired the award-winning novel Enchanted, as well as "The Cursed Prince," the previously untold history of Prince Rumbold of Arilland…and more.

Woodcutter enthusiasts will rejoice at this opportunity to delve into the secret worlds beyond Kontis’s intricately woven fantasy novels. And if you are not a fan yet, you will be!

I'm glad I was warned before I started reading this that it was darker. A couple of the stories in the beginning were weird and well, dark. My least favorite story was "Blood and Water," which was about a siren who was raped and then started killing men. There were other dark ones and, even though I didn't like the subject matter, they're still well written. There were also stories about unicorns, wolves, mermaids and Jack Woodcutter.

I loved the stories that were told towards the end of the book! "Sunday" reminded me why I enjoyed "Enchanted" so much. "The Cursed Prince" was a story about Rumbold that hasn't been told before and gave more insight into his character. The final story is the original Chapter 20 of "Dearest" and the author includes a spoiler warning not to read it if you haven't yet read "Dearest." I loved those stories and wanted more! Because of the content in some of the early stories, I would only recommend this to more mature readers. If you enjoy fairy tales, Alethea Kontis is an author whose work you must read and "Enchanted" is a great place to start! 

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Alethea Kontis is a princess, a fairy godmother, and a geek. She’s known for screwing up the alphabet, scolding vampire hunters, and ranting about fairy tales on YouTube.

Alethea’s published works include: The Wonderland Alphabet (with Janet K. Lee), Diary of a Mad Scientist Garden Gnome (with Janet K. Lee), the AlphaOops series (with Bob Kolar), the Books of Arilland fairy tale series, and The Dark-Hunter Companion (with Sherrilyn Kenyon). Her short fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared in a myriad of anthologies and magazines.

Her YA fairy tale novel, Enchanted, won both the Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award and Garden State Teen Book Award. Enchanted was nominated for the Audie Award in 2013 and was selected for World Book Night in 2014. Both Enchanted and its sequel, Hero, were nominated for the Andre Norton Award. Tales of Arilland, a short story collection set in the same fairy tale world, won a second Gelett Burgess Award in 2015.

Born in Burlington, Vermont, Alethea currently lives and writes on the Space Coast of Florida. She makes the best baklava you’ve ever tasted and sleeps with a teddy bear named Charlie.You can find Princess Alethea on her YouTube channel, all the social media, and at her website: www.aletheakontis.com.

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Book Review: Trixter by Alethea Kontis

Trixter, by Alethea Kontis
2015, 144p, YA Fairy Tale/Fantasy
My Rating=5 Stars
Source: Received a copy via Prism Book Tours for an honest review



Trix Woodcutter is the long prophesied Boy Who Talks to Animals. He’s also a foundling prankster scamp who places his family under a sleeping spell so that he can run away from home. Compelled by a vision of his dead birthmother, Trix departs on the eve of a Great Catastrophe, only to find himself caught in the maelstrom. Armed with little more than his wits and the wisdom inherent in all fey-blooded youth, Trix confronts a legendary Animal King, faces off against a ghostly feline, rescues a damsel in distress, and discovers more about himself than he ever wished to know.

And this adventure is only the beginning.

It was fun to learn more about Trix Woodcutter! In the beginning, he's running away from home after his birthmother appeared in his dreams and called for him. Trix is able to talk to animals, which helps him in his travels. He meets interesting people and animals and has quite the adventure.

I loved getting more of the story of the Woodcutter family, and especially learning more about Trix. There were twists and turns along the way and the ending definitely left me wanting more! It's a short book, but was so much fun to read and I had a hard time putting it down. Ms. Kontis does a great job telling a story that is entertaining and whimsical. I love her writing and creative mind and am looking forward to reading whatever she comes up with next! 

 Amazon * Barnes & Noble

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Alethea Kontis is a princess, a fairy godmother, and a geek. She’s known for screwing up the alphabet, scolding vampire hunters, and ranting about fairy tales on YouTube.

Alethea’s published works include: The Wonderland Alphabet (with Janet K. Lee), Diary of a Mad Scientist Garden Gnome (with Janet K. Lee), the AlphaOops series (with Bob Kolar), the Books of Arilland fairy tale series, and The Dark-Hunter Companion (with Sherrilyn Kenyon). Her short fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared in a myriad of anthologies and magazines.

Her YA fairy tale novel, Enchanted, won both the Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award and Garden State Teen Book Award. Enchanted was nominated for the Audie Award in 2013 and was selected for World Book Night in 2014. Both Enchanted and its sequel, Hero, were nominated for the Andre Norton Award. Tales of Arilland, a short story collection set in the same fairy tale world, won a second Gelett Burgess Award in 2015.

Born in Burlington, Vermont, Alethea currently lives and writes on the Space Coast of Florida. She makes the best baklava you’ve ever tasted and sleeps with a teddy bear named Charlie.You can find Princess Alethea on her YouTube channel, all the social media, and at her website: www.aletheakontis.com.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * YouTube

Cover Reval: The Daydreamer Detective by SJ Pajonas

Today is the cover reveal for The Daydreamer Detective by SJ Pajonas. This cover reveal is organized by Lola's Blog Tours.

The Daydreamer Detective (The Daydreamer Detective #1)
By SJ Pajonas
Genre: Mystery/ Cozy Mystery
Age category: Adult
Release Date: 31 march 2016

Blurb:

Luck? Forget it. Mei Yamagawa is fresh out of it. She's just been downsized from her 3rd job in five years and her bank account is dry. Now, to keep her head above water, she must leave Tokyo and move back to her rural Japanese hometown. And there's nothing worse than having to face your old rivals and ex-boyfriends as a failure while starting life over as a farm girl.

But when her best friend's father is murdered, and her best friend is named the main suspect, Mei turns her daydreaming ways towards solving the crime. Between dates disguised as lunches with the town's hottest bachelor chef, searching for clues, and harvesting sweet potatoes, Mei has a lot of non-paying work cut out for her.

Will she catch the killer before her bad luck turns worse? Or will she fry in the fire with the rest of her dreams of success?

You can find The Daydreamer Detective on Goodreads

Pre-order here:

Amazon

About the Author:

Stephanie (S. J.) is a writer, knitter, amateur astrologer, Capricorn, and Japanophile. She loves foxes, owls, sushi, yoga pants, Evernote, and black tea. When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about writing or spending time outside, unless it’s winter. She hates winter. Someday she’ll own a house in both hemispheres so she can avoid the season entirely. She’s a mom to two great kids and lives with her husband and family outside NYC. They have no pets. Yet. When it comes to her work, expect the unexpected. She doesn’t write anything typical. Find her online at http://www.spajonas.com.

You can find and contact SJ Pajonas here:

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Book Review: Two for the Holidays by Ekta R. Garg

Two for the Holidays, by Ekta R. Garg
2015, 130p, Contemporary Fiction
My Rating=3 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the author for an honest review



A medium gets ready for one of the biggest days in her career speaking to the dead. An elf accepts an unusual assignment and faces his past. Two stories about people tied to holiday-themed professions. Two stories about the reality of life's hardships in the last quarter of the year. Two stories for the holidays.

The first story, "Take A Breath": Marisa Bellini has traveled to a tiny town on Halloween to help people contact the dead. She’s built an empire on the idea that she can talk to ghosts…but can she really? Sometimes even Marisa isn't sure.

The second story, "The Truth About Elves": Curtis, an elf, sets the record straight. No, elves don’t have pointy ears, they aren’t three feet tall, and they don’t live at the North Pole all year long. When Curtis gets a special assignment from the big man himself, though, he learns that Christmas magic has the power to transform everything he’s known for the last decade.

Come spend the holidays with Marisa and Curtis, and join the Stories in Pairs journey!

I've enjoyed Ms. Garg's stories in pairs. She started out having two separate books which would come out a few months apart, each telling half the story, and has now gone to the format of one book that tells the entire story. I like this format better. I would tend to forget the stories so would really need to read them back to back, anyway.

Marisa is a medium who has a TV show which she's in danger of losing. It's Halloween and she's taken her show on the road to help boost her ratings by helping grieving families speak to their loved ones who have passed on. She has experienced loss in her life which leads her to choose this career. There is a gray area as we learn the behind-the-scenes workings to make her look authentic, but there are unexplained things that occur as well.

After a devastating loss, Curtis is now an elf. Most of the year, he holds down meaningless jobs until he goes to the North Pole to help prepare for Christmas. This is a big year for him and he is given an assignment that is life changing for him. This story moved slowly as we got the details of what his work included at the North Pole, but weren't given much in the way of his tragic past. It took until the end to learn the extent of what had happened in his life and his reasons for staying away for so long fell kind of flat to me.

So, overall, I didn't enjoy this book as much as her others. It had a little more of a depressing feel to it and I just didn't connect to the characters. There's also supposed to be a connection between the two stories and I just didn't find it this time. This is an author whose work I have enjoyed in the past and I will continue to read her stories as she writes them. This didn't hit the mark for me, but I'm sure she will win me back over in the future!

Amazon

Click on the covers to learn more about her other books and to read my reviews:

Since the start of her publishing career in 2005 Ekta has edited and written about everything from health care to home improvement to Hindi films. She has worked for: The Portland Physician Scribe, Portland, Oregon's premier medical newspaper; show magazines for home tours organized by the Portland Home Builders Association; ABCDlady.com; The Bollywood Ticket; The International Indian; and the annual anthologies published by the Avondale Inkslingers, based in Avondale, Arizona.

In 2011 Ekta stepped off the ledge and became a freelancer. She edits short stories and novels for other writers, contributing to their writing dreams. She is also a part-time editor for aois21, and she reviews books for her own book review blog as well as NetGalley, TypeReel, and Bookpleasures.com.

Prairie Sky Publishing serves as the publishing arm of Ekta's professional writing blog, The Write Edge (thewriteedge.wordpress.com). When she's not writing, Ekta is a domestic engineer--known in the vernacular as "a housewife." She's married, has two energetic daughters who keep her running, and she divides her time between keeping house and fulfilling her writing dreams.

 Website * Facebook * Twitter

Blog Tour/Review: Caribbean Crossroads by Connie E. Sokol

Caribbean Crossroads, by Connie E. Sokol
2012, 270p, Clean Contemporary Romance
My Rating=3.5 Stars
Source: Received a copy for an honest review



New college grad Megan McCormick just got dumped. Hard. Swearing off men and relationships, Megan is coaxed into performing on a cruise ship where she meets the star performer, Bryant Johnson. Handsome and charismatic, he looks like trouble, but she can't deny the intense attraction between them. Urged to find a wife and run the family lumber business, Bryant is torn between his family's expectations for his life and his own. However, when he meets spunky, but love-skittish Megan McCormick, settling down doesn't look so bad. Just when Megan begins to trust again, and Bryant makes some big decisions regarding his future, her former fiance returns with a malicious surprise, taking Megan and Bryant to their own CARIBBEAN CROSSROADS.

Megan recently got out of a heartbreaking relationship and isn't ready for another one. Her friend, Jillian, convinces her to join her as a performer on a cruise ship. She meets Bryant, one of the star performers, right away. She's not interested in him and doesn't encourage him at all so it was kind of interesting that he kept pursuing her.

When I was younger, I wanted to work on a cruise ship so I wouldn't have hesitated if a friend had asked me to do that. I loved the cruise ship setting, especially during this time of year. It was a lot of work but they also had a lot of fun. Bryant had history with one particular performer, which made Megan uncomfortable at times.

I enjoyed Bryant's character but had a harder time with Megan. I wanted to shake some sense into her. It was too bad she didn't really have someone to turn to that would give her good advice (although, to be fair, her friend Jillian did her best). The situation with her ex-fiance was weird and he was a big jerk, so she lucky to be rid of him. 

Once they left the cruise ship, the book really slowed down for me and I started to get tired of Megan's back and forth. We got bits and pieces of her story and once it was all revealed, it was more understandable why she acted the way she did, but it made me a little crazy in the meantime. It picked up a little more toward the end and I liked how it ended! I love that this book is clean and it will make a great summer read (or, a good winter one, when you're ready for it to be summer already).

Only $1.99 on Amazon!

Amazon

Connie Sokol is a mother of seven, and a favorite local and national speaker for over fifteen years. She is a TV core contributor "Studio 5 with Brooke Walker" and a national blogger for www.ksl.com. She is one of seven female hosts of The Living Room, an online value-based radio show where they dish on life, loving, and learning (www.fromthelivingroom.com). Mrs. Sokol is a bestselling author who has written 14 books, including her fiction: Christmas Kisses: An Echo Ridge Anthology, and Caribbean Crossroads; and her nonfiction: What Every 6th Grader Needs to Know, Faithful, Fit & Fabulous, Simplify & Savor the Season, Create a Powerful Life Plan, and 40 Days with the Savior. Mrs. Sokol marinates in time spent with her family and eating decadent treats. For her TV segments, blog, podcasts and more, visit www.conniesokol.com.

Website * Facebook * Twitter

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Tour Schedule:

Feb. 22: My Book a Day / Bookworm Lisa

Feb. 23: Mel's Shelves / Katie's Clean Book Collection

Feb. 24: Empower Moms / Rachelle Writes

Feb. 25: Singing Librarian Books / Why Not? Because I Said So

Feb. 26: Brooklyn Berry Designs / Peggy Urry 

Book Review: Landry in Like by Krysten Lindsay Hager

Landry in Like, by Krysten Lindsay Hager
2016, 231p, Clean YA Contemporary Fiction
My Rating=5 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the author for an honest review



Things seem to be going well in Landry Albright’s world—she’s getting invited to be on local talk shows to talk about her modeling career, her best friends have her back, and her boyfriend Vladi has becoming someone she can truly count on…and then everything changes.

Suddenly it seems like most of the girls in school are into hanging out at a new teen dance club, while Landry just wants to spend her weekends playing video games and baking cup-cakes at sleepovers. Then, Yasmin McCarty, the most popular girl in school, starts to come between Landry’s friendship with her best friend Ashanti. Things take a turn when Yasmin tells Vladi that Landry is interested in another boy. Can Landry get her relationships with Ashanti and Vladi back or will she be left out and left behind?

This is the third book in this series and is my favorite one so far! Landry is in eighth grade, trying to figure out where she fits in and feeling nervous about starting high school next year. She has "friends" who belittle her modeling career and will stab her in the back if it helps them get ahead. The popular girl in school, Yasmin, doesn't like her at all and has a crush on her boyfriend. Yasmin comes between Landry and her best friend, Ashanti, and also her boyfriend, Vladi.

What I like is that Landry is somewhat affected by what happens but doesn't go overboard in the drama department. She finds a way to cope with what's happening without losing herself in the process. She's not looking to grow old too soon. Some of her friends want to hang out at a new teen dance club but Landry would rather hang out with them in a more casual setting, where they can play video games and bake cupcakes. The author does a great job writing an authentic story while showing how a young girl can handle herself in some difficult situations. I'm enjoying Landry's journey and hope there will be more to come!

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Other books in this series (Click on the covers for more information and to read my reviews):

Author Krysten Lindsay Hager

Krysten Lindsay Hager is an obsessive reader and has never met a bookstore she didn’t like. She’s worked as a journalist and humor essayist, and writes for teens, tweens, and adults. She is also the author of the Landry’s True Colors Series (True Colors, Best Friends…Forever?, and the soon to be released, Landry in Like) and her work has been featured in USA Today and named as Amazon’s #1 Hot New Releases in Teen & Young Adult Values and Virtues Fiction and Amazon’s #1 Hot New Releases in Children’s Books on Values. She’s originally from Michigan and has lived in South Dakota, Portugal, and southwestern Ohio. She received her master’s degree from the University of Michigan-Flint.

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Release Celebration: Wolfsbane's Daughter by Jennifer Silverwood

On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

Welcome to the Release Celebration for

Wolfsbane's Daughter

By Jennifer Silverwood

Read the exclusive excerpt and enter the giveaway below...

Wolfsbane's Daughter

(A Wylder Tale Novella)

by Jennifer Silverwood

YA Dark Fantasy

ebook, 52 Pages
February 25th 2016

Wolfsbane and his daughter Resha are on a never ending quest in the Wylder Mountains, to wipe out the wolves who destroyed their village. Before their enemies stole everything she loved, Resha cared for little beyond learning how to be a hunter. After, she learned a hunter must be prepared to fight as well as flee. Now she cares for nothing but revenge.

Until she discovers two majikal humans half frozen in the forest. Resha has a choice, to follow her instincts and leave the strangers to the wolves, or save them. Yet the enemy is on the prowl and there is little time for Wolfsbane's daughter to find safe haven before they are discovered.

Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Smashwords

Exclusive Excerpt

There was a time when she did not hate her father, when her only concern was checking her traps and learning knives from Grandfather. But this was before their village on the ridge of Mount Grimm was attacked and destroyed by their enemies. After that she learned a hunter’s claws must be longer and much sharper. A hunter must always be prepared to fight as well as flee, Father said.

“Stay close, Resha!” her father hissed, drawing her attention to their bleak present.

They had been on the run ever since the attack on Mount Grimm. An entire moon had passed since half the village was murdered, including her brother Vilhelm. If any others survived they were hiding deep in the mountains. The beasts had always been a threat to them. But recent attacks alluded to a new hunger, to wipe out the last humans living in the Wylder Mountains.  Some in the village had blamed Wolfsbane and his quest to avenge Grandfather’s death. Those who might still have blamed her family were dead.

Now all that was left to them was this hunt, her first true hunt. Before this she had been little more than a trapper, practicing her knife on the small creatures she found in the woods near their village. Every time she ended a hare or tripe’s life, she felt nothing of the thrill the other children did.

“Sometimes I wonder if you are too soft to be a predator after all.”

Truly, Father’s words resonated with her far more deeply than she wanted them to. A part of her was so much a child. She had never plunged her knife into the heart of a true beast. It was her greatest fear she would fail in a task Vilhelm would have fulfilled without flinching. Now the legacy of vengeance was left to her hands and the dagger Grandfather made for her last moon day.

Resha took a deep breath and watched it hover in the freezing air. The territory they hunted in was new, closer to the lost city than most of their kind had ever dared to trail. Her father, Wolfsbane, said they were searching for signs of man and beast. She watched the way Father crouched and inspected every curve of the path the tracks had made. When she looked down it was difficult to see anything but shadow and snow. Yet she could almost feel the faintest traces of their prey’s footfalls. It was the smell and the warmth Wolfsbane was following now.

Her attention was diverted by a bright splash of red along the roots of a nearby tree trunk. Her stomach clenched at the thought of the berries hanging from those thin branches. Mother told her to forage whenever they came across nuts and rare plant life. Just because they were hunting, didn’t mean she couldn’t savor a morsel. And there might even be a chance she could snatch enough to save for when they made camp. She glanced up, hopeful Wolfsbane would not notice.

She poked through the fur wrappings keeping her palms and wrists warm, making quick work of the winter berries. Meanwhile, she kept her eye on the glow of torchlight up ahead and slipped the rest into the satchel attached to her belt. The juice stained her fingers a faint purplish hue and she licked them, hoping to hide the evidence. Her eyes shut involuntarily as she drank in the sweet taste. A hand grasped her wrist roughly and pulled so she was forced to face Wolfsbane’s grizzled visage.

“Foolish pup!” he growled. “This land is cursed and you are a fool to touch it! Do you wish to fall asleep forever in these woods?” With every word he squeezed her wrist tighter, drawing tears from her eyes.

“Wolfsbane!” her mother interrupted, gripping his arm tightly with her free hand. “You will not harm our last remaining child. She is hungry and we have not stopped for three days. Leave her be.”

They stood together against the torch, the light illuminating the sickly rage in Father’s eyes and the fear in Mother’s. Resha tried not to give into that same fear. Father would only see it as a weakness. He was too deep into the hunt, and addled by grief to know better.

So she lifted her chin and willed her tears to stop. To say anything would only spark his fury again. Instead she kept her eyes locked with his. Mother’s fingers crept higher, resting over both her wrist and her father’s tense grip. His anger faded, and for a moment, Resha saw the love her father had for her. He opened his mouth to speak and hope bloomed in her chest.

That was the moment a chorus of howls rose together like a nightmare in the woods around them. The cries began ahead of them, further up the valley. Often she had heard them in the distance as a small child within their cottage. Never had she heard them so close and so far away from all she knew.

Her breath came in short, violent gasps as her heart pounded in her ears. These were the beasts who stole everything from them, the ones they had been hunting ever since. For the first time, Resha felt the stirring of the hunt in her blood.

The First Book in the Series

Craving Beauty

(A Wylder Tale, #1)
by Jennifer Silverwood

YA Dark Fantasy
Paperback & ebook, 239 pages
October 31st 2015

Vynasha has spent the last four years tending her mother's roses and looking after her nephew. The fire that killed their family has left her scarred and put Wyll on the brink of death. Soon the first frost will come down from the mountains and she knows this winter will be his last.

Until a strange beggar appears on the road, telling her of the majikal Source that can heal her Wyll. With nothing left to lose, Vynasha braves the forbidden Wylder Mountains to seek out a cure and her fate.

A lost kingdom is uncovered by an equally lost girl, but the castle is not abandoned as she believes. Shadows cloaking unseen eyes watch. Tapestries whisper from the hidden corners, wondering if the one to break their curse has come. And a hungry beast waits, ready to devour her soul.

Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Book Depository

Jennifer Silverwood was raised deep in the heart of Texas and has been spinning yarns a mile high since childhood. In her spare time she reads and writes and tries to sustain her wanderlust, whether it’s the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania, the highlands of Ecuador or a road trip to the next town. Always on the lookout for her next adventure, in print or reality, she dreams of one day proving to the masses that everything really is better in Texas. She is the author of the Heaven’s Edge series, Stay and Silver Hollow.

Website│Blog│Goodreads│Facebook│Twitter│Tumblr

Other Books by the Author

   

Release Celebration Giveaway

$20 Amazon eGift Card (Open Internationally)

Signed copy of Craving Beauty, ebook of Wolfsbane's Daughter, & Swag (US Only)

Ends February 26th

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Grand Finale Blitz: A Family Like Hannah's by Carol Ross

On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

Book Tour Grand Finale for

A Family Like Hannah's

By Carol Ross

We hope you enjoyed coming along with us to an Alaskan ski resort and two strong characters who begin at odds, but may just find family and love in each other. If you missed any of the stops, go back and check them out now...

Launch - Intro to the Book

A Family Like Hannah’s is my version of an Alaskan winter - and more specifically - a wintertime in Rankins. On each stop of the tour, I’ve tried to infuse some of this enduring and inspiring winter spirit Alaskans seem to so easily embrace. Hope you enjoy!

Reading Is My SuperPower - Review

"Sweet, clean romance that will still have you reaching for your fan on occasion, A Family Like Hannah’s by Carol Ross takes you through a whole gamut of emotions. From anger and heartbreak to laughter and joy, you will ride the slopes along with a cast of compelling and truly likable characters."

I Am A Reader - Let’s (Really) Get to Know Hannah & Tate from A Family Like Hannah’s

Hannah James – professional skier, owner and manager of Snowy Sky Ski Resort...

Tate Addison – professional snowboarder, businessman, inventor, ski area consultant...

Rockin' Book Reviews - Review

"This was such a delightfully touching tale of possible romance and enduring love amongst life's challenges."

Getting Your Read On - Review

"This book was easy to read and hard to put down. I was drawn in and invested in this story. So good!"

Katie's Clean Book Collection - Review

" I love that this isn't just an easy, fluffy story, but had some real filling to go along with it, while maintaining a lighter feel--it wasn't heavy. What a perfect recipe for a great story!"

Colorimetry - Hey, Honey, Let’s Load up the RV and Take the Kids Skiing!

Sure, we saw some of those charming resorts and lodges. From the parking lot. Out the window of our old motorhome. I still can’t believe my dad braved winter weather and treacherous mountain roads in that beast. (Visualize one-step up from Cousin Eddie’s “RV” from Christmas Vacation.) It would only putt along at about 15 miles per hour up the hills, so he would frequently have to pull over and let cars pass. Yep, we were those people. As kids, most of these realities and hazards escaped us. We were just thrilled to be there. For me, there was (is) no place I’d rather spend a winter day than skiing up in the mountains.

underneath the covers - Is the Road to Love Paved with Embarrassing Moments?

Alaskans are pretty inventive with their wintertime endeavors. Luckily, the town of Rankins had already laid a solid foundation for some of the best “meets” between Hannah and Tate. Add a little humor, a lot of tension, some creative license, and I’m excited to bring you a few of my favorite moments from A Family Like Hannah’s...

Thoughts of a Blonde - Review

"This story takes you deep into a small town filled with kind people and history. . . . Tate and Hannah’s ideas for the resort don’t line up very well, so there is tension between them, but there’s also attraction … a lot of it!"

Becky on Books - Review

"A Family Like Hannah’s is a sweet, feel-good romance. . . . This was my first book by this author, but it won’t be my last. It worked well as a standalone. . ."

deal sharing aunt - Interview

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

My ideas always come from my characters. I start by creating a person in my mind. I give them a personality first, including family situation, a job, hobbies, interests, likes and dislikes, and even little quirks. Then I try to drop them right into some kind of action. I add a line or two of dialogue, and I’m off and running. I do love to research my settings also, and often interesting scene ideas will arise from that.

Heidi Reads... - Review

"The characters in this book are vibrant and easy to visualize. . . . I loved the setting of winter in Alaska, especially at a ski resort since I've only been snowboarding twice."

Zerina Blossom's Books - Love, Snow, and Hot Cocoa

When I started writing this story, Hannah’s character was already sitting right beside me - telling me what she wanted to do, what she wanted to say – and what she likes. And Hannah likes hot chocolate...

Wishful Endings - Baby, it's (Really, Really) Cold Outside

Spending the last couple years doing research and just learning fun things in general about this state, I thought it would be fun to show how an Alaskan winter really stacks up.

A Family Like Hannah's

(Seasons of Alaska #4)
by Carol Ross

Adult Contemporary Romance

Paperback & ebook, 384 pages
February 1st 2016 by Harlequin Heartwarming

Starting over is serious business

With her professional skiing career cut short by an accident, Hannah James is putting all her energy into transforming Snowy Sky Resort into something special. There's only one obstacle. Famous pro-snowboarder-turned-consultant Tate Addison has his own ideas about taking the Rankins, Alaska, lodge to the next level. But Hannah won't compromise her dreams. She gets that Tate is trying to create a stable home for his orphaned six-year-old nephew—a boy Hannah already adores. And if she isn't careful, she could also fall for the boy's too-attractive uncle. Is she risking heartbreak? Or do she and Tate really want the same things out of life?

Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Harlequin - Kobo

The Other Books in the Series

Carol Ross is the author of three books for the Seasons of Alaska series for the Harlequin Heartwarming line. She lives with her husband and one loveable miscreant of a dachshund in a small town in Washington close to both the ocean and the mountains. For a complete list of her books, giveaways, and other fun stuff stop by and visit her new website: carolrossauthor.com.

Website – Goodreads – Facebook – Twitter – Pinterest

Tour Giveaway

$50 Amazon eGift Card and an ebook of A Family Like Hannah's (open internationally)

Rankins' Alaska Prize Pack: signed copy of A Family Like Hannah’s, an infinity scarf, gray fluffy mittens, a tin of Starbucks hot chocolate, a coffee mug, and a sterling silver snowflake necklace. (US only)

Copy of A Family Like Hannah's (print if in the US, ebook if outside the US)

Ends February 26th

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