Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Blog Tour/Review: The Other Side of the Bridge by Camron Wright



The Other Side of the Bridge, by Camron Wright
2018, 304p, Fiction
My Rating=4 Stars
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher, which did not affect my review in any way



Two coasts. Two strangers.
And a bridge that silently beckons them both.

Katie Connelly has lived in San Francisco all her life. Her late father made his career on the Golden Gate Bridge, and the many stories of how he saved jumpers still haunt her. And now her job assignment is to write about the history of the bridge—a history that includes a secret journal about a promise ring and a love story that may be the answer to her unresolved sorrow.

Meanwhile, Dave Riley, a marketing executive in New York, has sorrows of his own. Grasping at straws after tragedy strikes his family, he decides to follow a daydream that has turned into an obsession: to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge on a motorcycle on the Fourth of July.

Does the bridge somehow mysteriously hold the answers both Katie and Dave are looking for? Or will they find something completely different when they get to the other side?

I loved The Rent Collector and was looking forward to reading this book. Katie Connelly lives in San Francisco and is dealing with the loss of her father. She's a researcher and comes across a journal which she feels compelled to investigate further. Dave Riley lives in New York and is dealing with a recent tragedy of his own. He's been dreaming about riding a Harley-Davidson across the Golden Gate Bridge and just might be able to make that dream a reality.

Katie and Dave were characters I enjoyed getting to know. They were flawed and relatable, and looking for hope in the situations they each were in. I like reading stories where two completely separate storylines merge together. These storylines didn't merge in quite the way that I expected. The story moved slowly and some of Dave's scenes were a bit long for me. I wanted a little more excitement but that's not what this book is about. It's about love, loss, grief, healing and self-discovery. There are some deep life lessons that are summed up well in the end.

While I can't say that I loved this book, I did like the overall message! It's a book I would recommend to anyone looking for a fresh perspective on life.


Camron Wright was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has a master’s degree in Writing and Public Relations from Westminster College.

He has owned several successful retail stores in addition to working with his wife in the fashion industry, designing for the McCall Pattern Company in New York.

Camron began writing to get out of attending MBA school at the time, and it proved the better decision. His first book, Letters for Emily, was a Readers Choice Award winner, as well as a selection of the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild. Letters for Emily has been published in North America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Korea, the Netherlands, and China.

His next book, The Rent Collector, won Best Novel of the Year from the Whitney Awards and was a nominee for the prestigious International DUBLIN Literary Award. The Orphan Keeper won 2016 Book of the Year, Gold accolades in Multicultural Fiction from Foreword Reviews, and was winner of Best General Fiction from the Whitney Awards. He newest book, The Other Side of the Bridge, will be released in March of 2018.

Camron lives with his wife, Alicyn, just south of Salt Lake City at the base of the Wasatch Mountains. He is the proud father of four children, all girls but three.

Monday, March 26, 2018

Release Day: My Sister's Intended by Rachael Anderson


Happy Release Day to My Sister's Intended by Rachael Anderson.
We're celebrating with a $50 Giveaway!


My Sister's Intended by Rachael Anderson

For as long as Prudence can remember, it has been understood that her sister will one day wed the eldest son of their nearest neighbor. Such an alliance will benefit both families and bring a great deal of joy to all parents involved.

Unfortunately, Prudence has never been able to feel as joyful. She believes her sister is mad to consider marrying a man she hardly knows, even if he will one day make her a countess. Titles and wealth shouldn't factor into matters of the heart, and as an aspiring romance novelist, Prudence cannot fathom how anyone could even think of settling for less than love. She certainly wouldn’t, and she doesn't want her sister to either.

Unable to stand by and do nothing, Prudence sets out to help the awkward couple discover the best in each other with the hope that they will eventually find love. What she neglected to foresee, however, was the possibility that she might fall in love with Lord Knave herself.


Excerpt

When Prudence lifted her eyes to his again, they sparkled with a challenge. “I was going to save this question until later so as not to shock you from the get-go, but I really do need to know . . . What does it feel like to kiss a woman?”

A large lump formed in Brand’s throat, and his mouth went dry. What the deuce? She had promised not to ask questions that would make him uncomfortable, but already he wanted to flee like a frightened kitten. How could he possibly explain how it felt to kiss a woman?

Brand searched his mind for a way to avoid answering until he heard a snicker escape her lips. She was laughing at him. Him! Hildebrand Ethan Cannon, Viscount Knave—a man at least eight years her senior and a great deal higher in social standing.

Unbelievable.

“You are teasing me,” he said, hoping it was true. If she’d posed the question to make him squirm—and perhaps make him more inclined to answer her other questions—then she wouldn’t be expecting an answer.

She shook her head, still smiling. “I’m afraid not, my lord, although I did find the look of terror on your face vastly amusing.”

“I’m glad I could entertain you.”

“I hope you will be equally glad to instruct me on a few things as well. The first scene in my book will include a kiss, and I have no idea how to describe the experience. Do a woman’s lips feel warm or soft or even moist? Would your pulse quicken? Aside from touch, what other senses are engaged? How would it make you feel and what would you notice when you held a woman in your arms?”

If she thought he’d appeared terror-stricken before, there would be no word for how he looked now. Did she earnestly expect him to answer such questions? Surely even she knew how inappropriate it would be to discuss such things, her being an innocent.

“I cannot say,” he finally muttered.

Her brow puckered in confusion. “Have you never kissed a woman, my lord?”

Brand was sorely tempted to lie and say he had not, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Any man of six-and-twenty who had never experienced a kiss would be laughed out of his manhood. Women were expected to remain innocent until married. Men were not.

“Yes, I have kissed a woman,” he finally admitted, “but I have no intention of discussing any of the details with you.”

“Why not?” she asked, her large brown eyes blinking at him curiously. “Would you rather I invent the information?”

“Yes.”

She obviously didn’t appreciate his retort because she scowled. “Can you not tell me at least a little?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because a kiss could never be described with any sort of accuracy, at least not by me. It involves too many feelings and sensations and complexities of thought. If you wish to know what a kiss feels like, you’ll have to experience it for yourself.”

Too late, Brand realized his mistake. Her expression became contemplative, as though she was actually considering doing just that. Good gads, had he really just encouraged an innocent young woman to go hunting for a kiss? Who would she ask? A groom? Stablehand? The next peddler that came to town?

“I think you are right,” she said at last. “I really must experience a kiss for myself if I am to describe it with any sort of accuracy.” She blinked up at him with that innocent expression again. “Will you kiss me Lord Knave? No, how silly of me. You are to marry my sister, so that would never do.” She pursed her lips for a moment before musing, “Perhaps one of the footmen would be kind enough to show me how it’s done.”

Kind enough? Brand could think of a great many reasons a footman would comply with such a request, and kindness did not factor into any of them. Brand would kiss her himself before he allowed a footman near her.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. “Perhaps I can try to explain what it feels like after all.” Better that than having her chase after a footman.

“But you only just said you couldn’t do it justice,” she pointed out. “I realize I sound dreadfully forward, but I really must know, and experience is the best teacher, is it not?”

“No, it isn’t,” he lied. “And you are not going to kiss a footman.”

“Then who? Felix or Lionel, perhaps? I’m fairly certain I can convince one of them to do it, if given the opportunity. The question is how to go about it?”

It was plain to see by the firm set of her jaw that she would not rest until she had experienced a kiss of her own. She didn’t seem to care who did the deed, only that the man did a thorough job of it. A quick peck on the lips wouldn’t satisfy her curiosities.

“Perhaps I could send a note to Felix and ask him to call on me,” she continued to muse. “We could take a stroll through the maze in the gardens. There is a hidden alcove on the south side, which could be quite perfect. We would have to evade Ruth, obviously, but—”

“Devil take it,” Brand growled as he pulled her to him. Her quick intake of breath was the only sound she made before his mouth covered hers.




Author Rachael Anderson

A USA Today bestselling author, Rachael Anderson is the mother of four and is pretty good at breaking up fights, or at least sending guilty parties to their rooms. She can’t sing, doesn’t dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating.




Blog Tour March 28th to April 12th


Release Day Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Code or $50 in Paypal Cash

Ends 4/13/18

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Monday, March 12, 2018

Blog Tour/Review: In Spite of Lions by Scarlette Pike



In Spite of Lions, by Scarlette Pike
2017, 242p, Clean Historical Fiction
My Rating=4 Stars
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the author, which did not affect my review in any way



How does a young lady of means escape her high society fate? By booking passage on the first ship to Africa and promptly tossing her petticoats overboard! Now Anna's trading London's luxuries and restrictions for the wild unknown. Of course, shedding her old life would be much easier without the disapproving looks of a handsome sea captain and the demons in her past haunting her from worlds away.

I liked how this book started out. There's some mystery to Anna and why she's on a ship headed to an unknown destination. She's running from something but we don't yet know what. Towards the end of her voyage, she learns that she's headed to Africa and a very different way of life than what she's used to. I liked that it wasn't obvious where this story would go.

I loved the characters in this book! Anna met some interesting ones in Africa who I enjoyed getting to know. Captain Dunna was mysterious. She didn't have a high opinion of him and I was interested to hear his story. There were a few chapters that told the story from his POV, which also helped to get to know him better. There's some romance, but it is a small part of the story.

I enjoyed this book! It started out strong to me and then slowed some while she was adjusting to life in Africa. There came a point when it picked up again and I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Just to learn that there is definitely more story to be told. I'm looking forward to reading the next book!



Scarlette Pike grew to lackluster maturity on the banks of the Virgin River in Southern Utah. After her fair share of wandering she realized that historical fiction had always been in her suitcase. Following a desperate prayer and a simple idea, she began to write a historical fiction novel. She was drawn to African explorers David and Mary Livingstone and David's one and only convert: Chief Sechele. The mix of Victorian etiquette and African survival inspired her and she wrote "In Spite of Lions" in a tiny, tiny apartment in central freezing Utah. She plans on writing the sequel in a real grownup house with better heat.

Friday, March 2, 2018

Blog Tour/Review: Check Me Out by Becca Wilhite



Check Me Out, by Becca Wilhite
2018, 368p, Clean Contemporary Romance
My Rating=2.5 Stars
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, which did not affect my review in any way



Greta loves her job as assistant librarian. She loves her best friend, Will, the high school civics teacher and debate coach. She even loves her mother despite her obvious disappointment that Greta is still single.

Then she meets Mac in the poetry section of the library, and she is smitten. Mac is heart-stoppingly gorgeous and showers her with affection, poetic text messages, and free hot chocolate at the local café where he works. The only problem is that he seems to be a different person in his texts than in his face-to-face conversation.

When the Franklin Library is threatened with closure, Greta leaps into action. She arranges for a "battle of the bands" book jam, hosts a book signing by a famous author, and finally, stages a protest that raises more than a few eyebrows.

Through it all, she slowly realizes that it is Will, not Mac, who she turns to for support and encouragement. Mac has the looks; Will has the heart. How can she choose between them?

Check Me Out is a contemporary romance--with just a hint of Cyrano de Bergerac--that reminds us that it is what's on the inside that matters most.


I love the Proper Romance line and I thought this was a book I would enjoy. For some reason, though, it was difficult for me to get into. I'm still struggling to pin down why. I'll start with this: I had a hard time liking the main character. Her reasons for liking Mac were shallow (basically, he's extremely good-looking). He's the cousin of her best friend, Will, who "gifted" him to her for her birthday. The best friend Will is heavy and Greta gets upset at others for judging him for his weight yet that seemed to be a factor for her not being interested in him. She works in a library that is struggling to stay open and goes to great lengths to save it, but I found myself not really caring about that storyline and skimmed over it.

So, did I like anything? I love the cover! Will was an easy character to fall in love with. I enjoyed the dialog, but it wasn't enough to overcome my other issues. There are people that this book will appeal to; unfortunately, I don't fall into that category this time.



Becca Wilhite loves books - reading and writing them. By day, she teaches high school English. By night, she's a wife and a mom. In between, she squeezes in wordplay.