Book Blast: Mending Hearts by Kimberly Krey

Mending Hearts by Kimberly Krey

Logan & Candice, on the verge of divorce, decide to give their marriage one last try.
But will they be able to get past the issues holding them back?

Candice is through with married life and all it entailed: infertility, an adoption gone wrong, and the death of her husband’s twin brother. Now that they’ve been separated for nearly a year, Candice is finally ready to set Logan free. But when he steps back into her life, Candice begins to have second thoughts. Even though she hasn’t fully healed from the heartache she endured over their married years, she can’t fathom the thought of losing him a second time. Can Candice let go of past hurts and give Logan a second chance, or will her fears keep them apart?

Logan has spent the months of separation giving Candice the space she needed. But when he discovers that Candice is about to file for a divorce, he decides he better take action quick. He didn’t spend the best years of his life with this woman, only to let her slip away. Yet just when the opportunity comes again – his chance to finally make things right – an entirely new force threatens to tear them apart.

Will opposition keep the heart-broken couple from getting back together or will they have the strength to break through the barriers, no matter what their future might bring?

Excerpt:

Breaking her own rule now, Candice wandered slightly beyond the light, listening for his footsteps. They came in the soft, squeaking sound of crunching snow. She froze in place, unwilling to make a sound as he neared her. She heard his breathing next, constant and evenly paced, each measure bringing him closer. She turned her back to him, shrunk her neck into her shoulders, and giggled in anticipation, feeling like one of her students at recess.

 

Just as the breaths and footfalls neared, Logan’s strong hands gripped around her waist. The feel of them sending an involuntary thrill to rush through her. Candice ducked her head to one side, tossed the snow over her shoulder, and laughed when she heard him groan.

 

“Aw, man, right in the face.” She could hear the smile in his voice. Couldn’t fight back a grin of her own at the confirmation that she’d gotten him. Logan brought his mouth to her ear, speaking in a throaty whisper. “You’re going to get it.”

 

A mass of goosebumps spread over her arms and legs, the effects of his warm breath and teasing threat making her limbs go weak.

 

He brought her down gently, cradling her as they fell to the snow. And then he was above her, shouldering his weight as their laughter fused into one, glorious sound. A familiar one that made her recall good times spent with Logan.

 

Candice’s mind raced. She didn’t have time to dissect what was happening. Not even a moment to slow things down. His cold fingers found her neck, teased her skin as he brought his mouth close to hers. Bells were going off somewhere in her head. Warning bells. This is not what she’d been working toward all these months. She’d been planning to let go of Logan Emerson forever. But the thought only made her want him more.

 

He leaned in, causing a wild spell of euphoria to spill over her body.

 

So close. So good. She licked her lips, desperate to drown out the distant warning at last. Dying to satisfy the need building within her.

 

Logan ran his parted lips along her ear lobe. More goosebumps.

 

Come on, Logan. Just kiss me before I get ahold of myself.

  Amazon

Author Kimberly Krey

Writing Romance That’s Clean Without Losing the Steam!

I’m a reader of good, clean romance, a lover of family time and Diet Coke, and the ultimate hater of laundry.

I’m not patient enough to enjoy yoga, or tall enough to be great at basketball, but I do love to run – anywhere but on a treadmill. I love the sound of a rainstorm when I have no place to go, the feel of Soft Lips chap Stick on my lips, and the first peek of blue water as we round the mountains toward our favorite getaway in Bear Lake.

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$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 9/29/15

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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Book Review: Working with the Enemy by Brandan C. Hadlock

Working with the Enemy, by Brandan C. Hadlock
2015, 79p, Clean Action Adventure Thriller
My Rating=5 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the author for an honest review



John Case is an ordinary man: he attends church with his family; he mows the lawn; and he pays his taxes. He's also been out of work for months. Two foreign powers want the top-secret missile schematics that someone named Big J has clandestinely auctioned. Intelligence operatives have narrowed their search, and tonight, John and his family will be swept into a terrifying adventure of international espionage and extortion.

If you've been looking for thrilling, clean, family adventure, this is it!

John Case is an average family man who has six kids and is trying to make ends meet. One ordinary night, his life takes a sharp turn. He is kidnapped and believed to be someone named Big J who has sensitive information which he will be paid well to give up. The stakes are high as he furiously works to figure out how to get himself and his family out of this dire situation.

This book held my attention from the beginning and didn't let up the entire time! It's a short story but it moved fast and there was a lot going on. There were quite a few characters involved and I felt like they were developed well enough for this type of story. The ending didn't wrap everything up and the very end has kept me thinking and developing a theory on what's really happening. There's more story to be told and there are characters I want to learn even more about.

What I love the most about this book is that it's clean! If you enjoy reading thrillers, this is a book you will want to pick up. I'm looking forward to reading more!

Amazon 
(Free on Kindle Unlimited)

About the Author:

Brandan Hadlock was born in the Four-Corners area of the southwest, the son of two of the greatest parents one could have. He grew up in sunny Arizona. Thankfully, (as he remembers) he was in the mountains when the temperature in Phoenix hit 122 degrees Fahrenheit. His future wife lived briefly in a near-by city, but they weren't blessed to meet until years later when they were both living -- yes, in the mountains (of Utah).

His interest in writing may have been sparked by two second- or third- grade teachers who said he'd write the next Star Wars®(Thanks Ms. Livingston and Ms. Bea). In junior high he helped edit and publish the school's literary magazine and was an editor and writer for the school newspaper (if his memory is correct). In college, as part of a class project, he contributed to a freshman survival guide and a writing handbook.

He'd love to hear from his readers. You can contact him at bchadlock@bjamble.com.

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Book Review: Frankie Dupont and Science Fair Sabotage, by Julie Anne Grasso

Frankie Dupont and the Science Fair Sabotage, by Julie Anne Grasso
2015, 127p, Middle-grade mystery
My Rating=5 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the author for an honest review



Frankie Dupont is less than impressed when he has to attend the Sustainable Science Fair with Kat and Amy. Upon his arrival, he learns that Amy's brothers have had their robotics chip stolen.

Keen to recover the chip, Frankie questions the kids in the competition, but everyone seems to have a motive.

When baffling clues start rolling in via “Snap-Goss” instant messages, Frankie realises it will take all of his detective muscles to solve this case.

An illustrated mystery for ages 8-12

This is the third book in this series and it's my favorite one so far! Frankie attends a Sustainable Science Fair with Kat and Amy. He's not thrilled, but once he gets there, there's a mystery to solve! 

Amy's brothers, Angus and Archie, have been sabotaged. Their robotics chip for their project was taken as payback for something they did. As Frankie starts his interviews, we learn that Angus and Archie have played lots of pranks so there are plenty of suspects! The prize is $300 and two science camp tickets so there are plenty of reasons why someone might not want them to win. 

It was fun to follow Frankie's investigation into who stole the chip. He's serious about becoming a detective and since he's so young, some adults don't really take him seriously. Frankie is determined to prove he is capable of figuring out what happened. He follows the clues no matter where they will lead him in the end. 

These books are quick and fun to read. They are perfect for young readers who enjoy mysteries and quirky characters. The first two books dealt with Enderby Manor and some of those characters are mentioned in this one but it mainly deals with the children at the science fair. This is a series I have enjoyed reading and am looking forward to reading his next adventure, which takes place on a luxury cruise liner!

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With a background in pediatric nursing, Julie Anne Grasso spent many years literally wrapping children in cotton wool. Every day she witnessed great courage and resilience from the tiny people she cared for, which inspired her to write stories to encourage and inspire them.

She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband Danny and their little elf, Giselle.

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Book Blast: The Villain by May Nicole Abbey

The Villain by May Nicole Abbey

A fall and crash

A violent journey through the doorways of time

A villain or hero in the making

Rosemary Mayfield teeters on the brink of ruin. With the murder of her parents she is left the sole guardian of her younger brother and sister. Once a wealthy socialite in New York City, she now finds herself stranded in the untamed wilderness of the American West. When a wounded man comes crashing through her roof, as rough as the savage land, it is against her better judgment to bring him into her home and her heart. But she soon discovers he holds a secret that shatters everything, and she must make a choice, unaware that often destiny hinges on a single moment.

Fresh from an unsavory past and a violent fall through time, Nicolas Ekkridon awakens to find himself cared for by three orphans ignorant of the role he played in their parents’ untimely death. They accept and embrace him, and a lifetime of hardened barriers begin to crumble. On the precipice between good and evil, only Rosemary and her spirited defiance stands between him and villainy. But time and space are against them. As its weaving tentacles envelop them in an indifferent grasp, they are swept into a shattering series of circumstances that threaten the very makeup of their lives. But when time can be bent, nothing is written in stone.

Amazon

Praise for The Villain

There are very few words that can describe what they’ve accomplished in The Villain. Here are a few that come to mind: magnificent, overwhelming, heart-stirring, and a bit frightening at times.

This author team writes some of the best characters I’ve ever read about and weaves them together in such a fascinating web. Each character has depth and an important role in the storyline (and possibly future storylines). Characters who didn’t particularly interest me, at first, became very significant throughout the book. ~Shannon Keith

The Villain is one of those books you pick up and read in one sitting. The kind that surprises you with its powerful and compelling characters and its poignant message. To say that I was surprised at how much the story touched my heart would be an understatement. ~C.J. Anaya

Reading this book reminded me of the television shows I used to watch when I was a kid. “Little House of the prairie” and “Dr Quinn Medicine Woman”. I can confidently say if you enjoyed those shows, you will enjoy this novel. ~Nina Schluntz

Excerpt

“Have you done… very bad things?” I asked, wishing I didn’t have to ask.

His answer was simple. “Yes.”

“And are you going to go on… doing bad things?”

He lay very still, like if he moved, he would be discovered. The man as big and hard as the mountain had a weakness. “The gods of the ancient world punished men terribly for their sins,” he said in a hollow voice, his accent there again, thicker than I ever heard it. “Tortured them for eternity. There was no point in trying to escape.”

I put my sewing down. “We don’t believe in those gods anymore.”

He laughed in a hard, hateful voice. “And why should you? You were protected and cosseted and kept from every sin. What do you have to fear from them?”

“And you like to imagine yourself some sort of wild, dangerous creature, trapped in a dungeon of your own making. You are too stupid to realize there are no locks on the doors. Does it come as a shock that brute force isn’t always called for? Does it horrify you to find some kindness lurking deep in your heart?”

“Kindness!” he repeated bitterly, “I’ve done no kindness to you, my girl!”

“You have!”

He regarded me steadily. “If you knew the things I’ve done, Miss Mayfield, your blood would boil with hate and you’d throw me out the door this moment. And you should.”

My heart stilled. “What have you done?”

He turned away, and I couldn’t see his face. He was closed off. But I felt a shrinking from him, a retreat from a memory.

I pushed my specs up the bridge of my nose and picked up my sewing again. An image filled my mind of the shoe flying across the room. His incense at Benjamin ignoring me. His artless, diffident effort to make up with Emily. Instinct made me say with some gentleness, “Whatever you did, perhaps it’s not as bad as you think it is.” I was frightened even as I said it, but I did not wish it away.

He scoffed, but he looked at me. I saw something inside that good eye hoping to be convinced. He reminded me, I realized suddenly, of Benjamin.

“There is no doubt you’ve done things you shouldn’t. And sure, you can be a pig sometimes. Mother would have been horrified,” I smiled. “But a real scoundrel would have shown himself long before now. You haven’t hurt us. You’ve even been good to us.”

“Maybe I’m biding my time. I’m weak and injured and still need you to look after my wounds.” His tone was a cold blanket.

“In which case, you’d hardly warn me against you. Instead you’d be trying to put me at ease.” My voice was equally cool.

He snapped and threw up his hands. “Oh, I don’t have time for this! The sooner I get away from you all, the better!”

I gathered up my sewing basket and stood.

“The west is a dangerous place. You’re ripe for the picking out here in the wilderness, just waiting for someone to come along and help himself!” He couldn’t help but say.

“What do you care? You just said it yourself, it isn’t your problem.”

His hand balled into a fist. “Rosemary, you can’t just trust people, all right! It isn’t wise! Don’t just let anyone through your door and nurse him back to health, you got that? Don’t let Emily sidle up to him and cry over him and tell him her stories. And Benjamin tries to be angry, but it’s all bluster. He’s easy prey for anyone who gives him attention and sounds like they have some useful knowledge. Don’t just let anyone through that door!”

“We didn’t let just anyone in, Nicolas,” I said simply. “We let you in. And I’m glad.”

About the Authors

Caroline Gregory and Shawnette Nielson are sisters on a mission. Their goal is to write clean, adventuresome romance stories, full of lovely characters, personal growth, truth, and hope. Although they live miles from each other, and are both busy with the daily needs of their respective families, they carve out time each night to put fingers to keyboard and write. Their goal? Twenty completed books. Set all over the world and throughout time, they thrill at the freedom that writing time travel offers them. From Georgian society, to Ancient Egypt and the Wild Western, the possibilities are limitless.

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Book Blast Giveaway

$100 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 9/27/15

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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Book Review: Paperboy by Vince Vawter

Paperboy, by Vince Vawter
2013, 240p, Middle-grade Fiction
My rating=3.5 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the publisher for an honest review



An 11-year-old boy living in Memphis in 1959 throws the meanest fastball in town, but talking is a whole different ball game. He can barely say a word without stuttering, not even his own name. So when he takes over his best friend's paper route for the month of July, he knows he'll be forced to communicate with the different customers, including a housewife who drinks too much and a retired merchant marine who seems to know just about everything.

The paper route poses challenges, but it's a run-in with the neighborhood junkman, a bully and thief, that stirs up real trouble--and puts the boy's life, as well as that of his family's devoted housekeeper, in danger.

This book takes place in Memphis during the summer of 1959. Victor Vollmer is 11 years old. Miss Nellis Avent, who he calls Mam, has lived with his family and taken care of him since he was 5 years old. She also refers to him as Little Man, and we actually don't know his name throughout most of the book. His best friend is Art, who he has nicknamed Rat. We learn early on that Victor has a stuttering problem so he gives people nicknames since some letters are more difficult to sound out than others. 

Rat leaves for a month and has asked Victor to take over his paper route. He agrees and knows that the throwing will be easy but collecting the money every Friday afternoon won't be and has his stomach tied in knots, but he's determined to do it.

It was interesting reading about Victor's stuttering and how that affected him. He got to know the different people on Art's paper route and he changed his opinion on some of them as he got to know them better. It took a while to get to the part about his relationship with the neighborhood junkman, Ara T. Ara T is a bit scary and is generally left alone but Victor has his reasons for getting involved with him.

I read this with my children and we all enjoyed it. They learned that even though Victor outwardly stuttered, he still had so much going on in his head and was just a regular boy. It was fun to discuss with them the days when newspapers were thrown by young boys in the afternoons, typewriters were used and there were no cell phones.

I did enjoy this book but I'm glad I read it with my children so I could do some editing. There is violence and swearing, including use of the "b" word a few times near the beginning. He also has a weird relationship with an older woman who drinks a lot and I wasn't sure where that was going to go. A good coming-of-age story with some content to be aware of!

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About the Author

Retired after 40 years in newspapers. Live on a small farm in Tennessee with my wife and two dogs. Debut novel, PAPERBOY, will be published May 2013 by Random House. Lived 65 years to discover that you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need. Thank you, Mick Jagger.

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Release Day/Spotlight: Wake-Up Call by Amy Avanzino

Wake-Up Call, by Amy Avanzino
2015, 246p, Contemporary Romance, Series



Sarah Winslow wakes up with a terrible hangover… and a kid in her boyfriend’s bed. She makes the horrifying discovery that, due to a head injury, it’s not a hangover. She’s got memory loss. Overnight, five years have disappeared, and she’s no longer the hard-living, fast-track, ad executive party girl she thinks she is. Now, she’s the unemployed, pudgy, married, stay-at-home-mom of three kids under five, including twins. As she slowly pieces together the mystery of how her dreams and aspirations could have disintegrated so completely in five short years, she finds herself utterly failing to manage this life she can’t imagine choosing. When Sarah meets the man of her dreams, she realizes she’s got to make a choice: Does she follow her bliss and “do-over” her life? Or does the Sarah she’s forgotten hold the answers to how she got here… and how she can stay?

Amazon

Excerpt:

Kofi turns back to me. His stutter returns. He finally manages to spit out, “Can you tell me what you did yesterday?” The only thing I know for sure is how brutal this headache is. I attempt to reconstruct the events of last night’s drunken debauchery. The memories are fragmented, like piecing together a dream the morning after.

“I…um…oh yeah, I interviewed for that promotion I’ve been talking about for weeks, which went really well by the way. I’m pretty sure I got it.” I stop, concentrate harder. “Afterward, I must have met up with the girls for happy hour, like every other Friday for the past four years.”

Kofi’s mouth falls open. I think back on the night, but nothing jumps out as odd: the drinks went down in the usual way. My girlfriends and I covered the typical topics: men, fashion, office gossip, and celebrity current events. When the spirits took us over, we took over the dance floor. I remember Jo-Jo dancing to a seven count rather than the conventional eight. Piper’s good judgment was lost somewhere between the funky chicken and the robot. Celia was jiving and using her hand as a microphone, lip-syncing with the house band. It appears in my recall, however, that I was an expert dancer. I shrug my shoulders. “I must’ve blacked out after that because I don’t remember coming here.”

Kofi stares at me hard. “Are you serious?”

“Yelling isn’t helping, Kofi.”

“I’m not yelling,” Kofi says. He looks me firmly in the eyes. “I think we have a problem. Nico told me you fell when riding his skateboard yesterday. You hit your head, maybe you...” His voice trails off. Instinctually, I put my hands up to my head. I pat around. I feel a bump the size of a golf ball beside my ear. When I touch it a blinding pain shoots through me and momentarily paralyzes my entire body. “Ow!” I cry out. Then a tingling takes over, similar to the sensation after hitting my funny bone, but it’s inside my skull. Kofi rushes to my side. He guides me to the bed and lowers me down gingerly.

“Did you say Nico was riding a skateboard? You mean Grandpa? He just got a hip replacement. He can’t even bocce ball anymore.”

“You haven’t been to a happy hour in, well, forever.” Kofi speaks slowly and maybe even a little sadly. “Last night we watched The Hunger Games: Mockingjay on DVD. We were in bed by nine.”

“Wait a minute…this is a prank.” This must be another one of Kofi’s jokes, although I’m not really sure how it’s funny. “You totally had me going for a second. Bravo.” I applaud his originality, creating his own Hunger Games title, Mockingjay, that’s detailed. “Where’d you get the kid? He’s a good little actor. Did you rent him? Did you drug me to get me here? That’s a little bit excessive, but man, you really had me going there for a while. I almost believed you.” I wait for him to break into laughter and say “Gotcha!” Instead he holds a poker face for an unbearably long time. Kofi rubs his forehead as though trying to gather his thoughts. “I’m going to call the doctor.”

About the Author

Amy Avanzino received a Bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley and a Master's from the University of Washington. She is a former advertising executive, who has spent the last several years writing, while doing extensive hands-on research for her Wake-Up Call series. She's a contributing writer of Hap Scotch, a play performed at the 2008 Frigid Festival in New York, which won two Audience Choice Awards. Amy currently lives in Folsom, California, with her husband and four children.

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Cover Reveal/Spotlight: Christmas Kisses, an Echo Ridge Anthology

Christmas Kisses is a collection from five bestselling and award-winning authors. Set in the snowy town of Echo Ridge in upstate New York, these inspirational romances are sure to delight while you sip cocoa by the fire and listen to Christmas carols.

***Pre-order now for only $.99***

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Win amazing books by each of the authors. Enter below to win - nine different books will be given to nine lucky winners.

Christmas Makeover by Cami Checketts Amazon bestselling author

Chelsea Jamison has been infatuated with Drew Stirling longer than she's loved playing basketball, high-top sneakers, and the Knicks. Unfortunately, all Drew sees is the kid who kicked his trash in the high school free throw contest and not the girl whose heart breaks into a fast dribble when he's near.

Drew makes an unexpected visit home to Echo Ridge and their friendship picks up where they left off as they scheme to make a teenaged boy's Christmas dreams come true. When Chelsea realizes she's fallen for her best friend, she wonders if there is any hope of a relationship with Drew or if she's stuck in buddy-status for life.

The Candy Counter Heiress by Lucy McConnell Amazon bestselling & award-winning author

Someday Reese Gates will own The Candy Counter at Kenworth's; but someday can't come fast enough when the manager threatens to bring in a national candy provider. Reese secretly takes matters into her own hands hoping to save her parents from additional worry and prove herself capable of running the company. Her deception deepens as she ropes computer guru Andy Edwards into helping her expand the business. Reese wanted to shake things up, but she wasn't planning on her heart getting caught in the mix by Andy's stolen kisses. If she can hold it together until after Christmas, then she can reveal her successful online company and her feelings for Andy. Unfortunately for Reese, even the best laid plans can melt like chocolate.

Soda Fountain Christmas by Connie E. Sokol Amazon bestselling author

Keira Kenworth has one focus this holiday season: save her father's old-time department store from bankruptcy. She is not focused on Tayton Wells, the tall, dark, and genius marketing guru from downtown New York, hired to make it happen. He is as doubtful that her nostalgic connect-the-town ideas will succeed as she is about his numbers-first plan. However, it's not just their different approaches that cause sparks to fly. Working together on a fast deadline to save the store before Christmas, the unspoken connection between them grows. But will the tough decisions they face drive them back to their separate worlds, or will they lead to the beginning of love?

Christmas Makeover by Heather Tullis Amazon bestselling author

Jonah Owens thought moving to Echo Ridge to open his art gallery would solve all of his problems. The need to sell his grandma's house adds an unexpected complication. It would be easier if his neighbor didn't have all those farm animals.

Kaya Feidler's family has owned their land for nearly a hundred years--long before the neighbors were there. There's no way she's giving up the animal therapy business she's been struggling to make profitable. She gets a temp job helping Jonah in the gallery. Spending time together is a recipe for romance, but can they overcome their own hangups to be more than friends?

Hope for Christmas by Rachelle J. Christensen Amazon bestselling & award-winning author

Anika Fletcher hates Christmas--its promises of good tidings and hope for the future are as tinseled as the ornaments on Kenworth's Hope Tree. Despite her feelings, Anika wants to maintain her daughter's faith in the magic of the season and gladly accepts a second job working with the handsome Carlos Rodriguez to restore Kenworth's old fashioned soda fountain. Carlos is no stranger to hard times and slowly shares his life of light and joy with Anika as they work together. Just as her fragile soul begins to feel hope again, an ill-timed act of charity changes everything. Anika isn't sure who she can trust or if hope is worth nurturing--especially at Christmas when it's easy to enjoy a kiss and believe love can last longer than the season.

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