A Delightful Arrangement by Cecilia Gray

Blurb

Phillip has a duty to marry Francesca. He has always protected his former neighbor and childhood companion, and now that she is of marriageable age, he will give her what she needs most – a real home where she is welcome and wanted.

Unfortunately for him….she is done with being dutiful.

After years of being an obedient daughter to a hateful father, Francesca jumps into her first Season. Francesca is ready to dance every dance, flirt with every bachelor and snatch what she wants most – a man she loves who will make her swoon.

Unfortunately for her…he now sees making her swoon as his duty, too.

And Phillip takes his duties very seriously.

My Perspective

As i mentioned in The Christmas Bake Off by Abby Clements, i am reading short stories to break up reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. This is book 1 of the Gentlemen Next Door series by Cecilia Gray.

It was a free eBook that i downloaded however from the beginning i was a little perturbed because in the acknowledgements it said; “Monica – thank you for the sexy bits. Seriously.” Immediately my radar went up.

I began reading and nothing was crossing my lines however even though there weren’t necessarily steamy sex scenes happening, everything felt very sexual. Anyway i know this is terrible, however i started to skim read to see if later on there was a sex scene (that sounds awful, like i’m looking for the sex scenes – which i am but it’s to avoid reading them!) and i was correct, one of the later chapters was a very steamy sex scene (basically the whole chapter and as it’s a novella, the story is only a few chapters long!). So I’m afraid that i stopped right there.

I can’t really review her novella, however i will say one thing. I felt like the whole story was revolving around sexual tension (i did properly read two chapters). It wasn’t just a book with a sex scene in it, it was a steamy book – not my cup of tea. I can handle a bit of sexiness but when it’s the essence of the book – no.

Well, i guess back to Anna Karenina 😉

It’s A Small World After All…

Every time someone says “It’s a small world” i think of the ride at Disneyland. My Dad took me there when i was around six/seven and i loved It’s A Small World. I made him take me on it over and over again. I’m pretty sure he was quite sick of it by the end of our trip!

Anyway yesterday at work, after i handed a customer her parcel, she opened it in front of me and i was extremely surprised to see a hard-copy of Charles Yallowitz book, Legends of Windemere! I told her i had a copy of it as an eBook and she replied that she follows his blog and was interested in his self publishing journey. I then informed her that i too followed his blog. We were speechless! Two fellow bloggers in our small, country town? And within the same network? It certainly is a small world!

Anyway you can check out her blog here; Minuscule Moments of Inspiration.

I’ll have to be careful of what i say from now on about where i live and my customers 😉

Wanda’s amazing Amazon Reviewers

I joined!

writerchristophfischer

Do you love to read?

Do you have an active account on Amazon?

Do you want to pay forward some Indie author love?

Then this is how you can do it —

Ask to join this closed group:

Wanda’s Amazing Amazon Reviewers

We will accept you. Were a bit crazy and we have a loon or two but we love them all the same.
Once in the group see the top pinned post. These are the books we are featuring. We need help on those books ASAP.
Every Friday all the authors in the group gets to ask for reviews on their books above and beyond the featured authors…. thus you can fill up your Kindle for free.

All we ask in turn is for you to leave a minimum of 21 words on Amazon telling other readers if you loved, liked or hated the book. That is it. From…

View original post 92 more words

The Christmas Bake Off by Abby Clements

Blurb

With Christmas just around the corner, the residents of Skipley village are gearing up for the annual bake off, and tensions are high.

Winning means a lot to everyone involved – talented cake-shop owner Katie dreams of baking stardom, Rachel wants to prove she’s more than a stay-at-home mum, and John hopes his culinary skills will impress the woman he loves.

But when the judges discover that some cakes have been tampered with, the villagers’ loyalties are called into question – whose ambition would stretch to sabotage, and why?

The Christmas Bake-Off is an exclusive taster from the author of Meet Me Under the Mistletoe. This ebook edition also includes bonus recipes for cinnamon cookies and vanilla and almond biscuits.

My Perspective

This is a cute little eBook that i downloaded for free and read to break up reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

The story is about some of the villagers of Skipley, who are entering in the village’s annual Christmas bake off. Unfortunately disaster strikes when the judges discover sabotage among some of the entries. Who is responsible? And why would anyone in the village do that?

Obviously the story is very short – only three chapters, but from the very first page it felt like i was a part of the village of Skipley. It was well written, interesting and had a great twist. I was very impressed with the author and her ability to draw you in so quickly and feel like you have known the characters your entire life. I was also impressed with the range of emotions i experienced from reading this. Especially in one scene, i don’t know if it annoyed me more because i live in a small village or if he was just a really big pooface!

I hope to one day read her book, Meet Me Under The Mistletoe – as i have great expectations after reading this!

If you’re looking for a short, lighthearted read, then i would definitely recommend this. Plus it’s free – you can’t go wrong!

Forever My Lady by Jeff Rivera

Blurb

Dio Rodriguez grew up on the streets and knew all too well the hard, cool feeling of the barrel of a gun tucked down the back of his jeans. But his hard exterior softened when he met Jennifer. Jennifer understands Dio like no one else and makes him want to be a better man. Suddenly a drive-by shooting lands Dio in a prison boot camp and sends Jennifer to the hospital. When Dio learns that Jennifer is pregnant, he realizes that he must find a way to turn his life around and return to his lady. But can trainee Rodriguez get his act together among the hardcases in prison? And will Jennifer be waiting for him if and when he does?

My Perspective

As you can probably guess from my reblog, i applied to be a beta reader for Jeff Rivera. I just want to say that i am really excited to be a part of this!

Anyway apart from upcoming works that i can’t mention, Jeff sent me a digital copy of his published novel, Forever My Lady, to read and review. I thought i would share my thoughts on it because that’s what i like to do!

The story is about a young man, Dio, who has to serve a sentence in ‘Prison Boot Camp’ while his girlfriend, Jennifer, recovers from a drive by shooting that she was a victim of. Their relationship struggles with getting over what happened, however not just the accident but everything else that lead them to that moment. Will Dio let go of his past and become the man Jennifer needs him to be?

This kind of story is something i would not generally go for however i really enjoyed it. It was well written with my interest being piqued from the beginning. Although the story was slower paced, it held moments of suspense where i was holding my breath.

At first i really disliked Dio’s character because i found him to be selfish and obnoxious with a bit of a victim mentality. However as the story progressed, i really enjoyed seeing his growth, even though he stumbled a couple of times.

I did find that the intermingled Spanish interrupted the flow of reading for me as i am unfamiliar with the language, however i did get used to it and i understand that it makes the story more believable.

I was a little disappointed by the ending, not because it was a bad ending, but because i felt it was rushed. It didn’t do the rest of the book justice, especially as the rest of the book was slower paced – it didn’t really match.

Overall i really enjoyed reading the book and i would definitely recommend it to both males and females, especially if you’re looking for an urban kind of love story.

Beginning of a Hero Goodreads Giveaway!

Legends of Windemere

For the month of May, I am running a Goodreads Giveaway for Legends of Windemere: Beginning of a Hero.  Two free, signed copies of my book will be the prizes for two lucky contestants.

You can join by going to the Giveaway Website.

Please enter the giveaway and spread the word.  Thank you for the support and good luck to everyone.

View original post

Free ebook Today and Tomorrow (It’s a good one too)

I am looking forward to reading it!

readful things blog

   You can find this book FREE today, May 1st and tomorrow, May 2nd by going here

 

I can personally attest to what an amazing and emotional book this is. I recently finished reading it, and fell completely in love with it. If you would like to hear my thoughts on it, you can go here:

Here is the Synopsis:

A PUNCTUAL PAYMASTER travels 70 years through the secrets of the white Thanos family and the black Taylor family, twisted like strands of yarn woven together on a loom.

The wealthy, powerful Nikkos Thanos owns a woolen mill and almost everything else on the north side of Delphi, Missouri, and is the overseer of a fractured society. The brave, judicious Thaddeus “Cousin” Taylor owns a grocery store and a tavern on the south side and carries a past hauntingly shrouded in tragedy. Each man tries to shepherd his part…

View original post 84 more words