The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

I read this book about 4 1/2 years ago and loved it! This past week Lifetime aired a 2 night movie based on this book. It was amazing! It made me happy to revisit these characters and to follow the story of Dinah.


Buy links are below for the book but I'm also including the Lifetime link to watch the full movie online in case you missed it. I HIGHLY recommend it!!!!


Buy:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/red-tent-anita-diamant/1100623351?ean=9781250067999


http://www.amazon.com/Red-Tent-Novel-Anita-Diamant/dp/0312427298/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418261814&sr=8-1&keywords=the+red+tent


Watch:
http://www.mylifetime.com/movies/the-red-tent

Easy Virtue by Mia Asher

I find it kind of humorous that while I've been reading (not a lot) in the last few months the first book that made me want to post a review is by an author with the same name of the last review I did. What a coincidence.




Of course this review starts out with a message to Mia herself:


                              (insert whiney voice)......Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh! Why? Why? Why is this book the first in series & WHY was I not notified before I started reading???????
Even after all these years I cannot get myself trained to check if a book is a stand-alone. {sigh} Unfortunately this one is not........so I am waiting.......which is my favorite thing to do. NOT!
      
                 My motto in life is, "I want what I want when I want it & I want it NOW!"


Anywho........this book! Pretty sure it's not like any other book you've read before. I found it refreshingly honest & while I suspect some people will pass judgment on the main character of Blaire, I did not. I've always said that I need a book to be believable for me to like it. If I don't feel like something could really happen forget it! I imagine that based on the stereotype that there are real-life gold diggers in this life. Therefore, Blaire was believable.


Blaire's life path started as a child in a loveless home and proceeded to a high school student sleeping with a married much older man who just happens to be the father of the girl who bullied her. I would say that payback is a bitch, but when your bully doesn't know what you've done.....yet?......I don't see the point.  Due to her past Blaire doesn't feel that she is a good person. A good person doesn't sleep with married men. A good person doesn't date someone for their money. A good person would feel bad about doing those things. Therefore when she meets someone who makes her feel things she's never felt before, and doesn't want to feel, she is sure that she doesn't deserve him. Deciding that self-preservation is more important than opening herself up to love she walks away straight into the arms of another. Another who has more money than anyone she has ever 'dated'. Another who seems to understand their ground rules, but also seems to want more.


When Blaire is confronted with both men in the same place sparks are sure to fly. Here is where Mia kills me with the 3 most hated words to a reader: To be continued........




http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Virtue-Mia-Asher-ebook/dp/B00QJB2RTG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417922179&sr=8-2&keywords=easy+virtue


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/easy-virtue-mia-asher/1120844397?ean=2940150191174

Becoming Calder AND Finding Eden by Mia Sheridan

Is it just me or do I bring up lists a lot? Probably just me. Anywho.......you know what I'm talking about when I say that there are certain authors on a 'list' where if they wrote it you will read it, right? Well Mia Sheridan made that list for me awhile ago when I devoured every book she had written in 48 hrs. No joke!


With that being said once Becoming Calder came up I dove right in & didn't even read the synopsis. I literally had no clue what it was about except a boy named Calder. Whoa! This book is so original in it's concept that at first I couldn't figure out why I liked it. The plot is really like nothing that I have ever read before outside of the boy meets girl & they fall in love that is at the heart of all the books I love. It's the where, when, why & how of this book that is different. I loved it. No.....really......I LOVED IT!


I hate that I can't really go into details without feeling like I would spoil it for you, but feel free to contact me for an in depth discussion! I have lots of thoughts & feels.


It almost goes without saying that once I was finished that I dove head first (at 9:30pm) into the sequel Finding Eden. I finished in one sitting and I don't regret the major book hangover that staying up late finishing caused. Next to books, movies & food I love to sleep so that was a sacrifice. One well worth it. :D 


I like people who forge their own path & do things a little differently. Outside of the plotline of both books being so unique Mia herself did something unusual with the release of these books. They released on the same day! Did you get that? The SAME DAY! Translation: no waiting to finish the second book because BAM there it is, ready & available for you. She must have worked her tushie off to get both done so that she could have a dual release. I LOVED  that too!


I highly recommend both books & would love to hear what you thought when you finish. It is such a relief to me that Mia gets to stay on my list, and with Becoming Calder and Finding Eden she may have even moved up toward the top!


I can't wait for more! (Maybe a Xander story? Too greedy?)


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/becoming-calder-mia-sheridan/1120481358?ean=9781502347961
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/finding-eden-mia-sheridan/1120481357?ean=2940150521414


http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Calder-Mia-Sheridan-ebook/dp/B00NBJCTN8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412788191&sr=8-1&keywords=mia+Sheridan
http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Eden-Mia-Sheridan-ebook/dp/B00O6LOAQ4/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1412788191&sr=8-7&keywords=mia+sheridan

The Occasionalist

Hi everyone! I know I've been MIA lately, but we had a little personal drama that has thrown me off my game. (There may have been a little vaca thrown in there as well)


I just wanted to let you know that I am headed to Atlanta this weekend for The Occasionalist event. What does that mean for you? More 'stuff' for my 500 likes giveaway on my FB page. Make sure you keep sharing & getting your friends to like my page :D


https://www.facebook.com/BabeWithABook


BTW, wish me luck. It is my anniversary and I am (making) taking my hubby to this event with me. He doesn't read. At all. Ever! It will be interesting to say the least.


Stay tuned for my weekend wrap-up next week!


XOXOXOXOXOX
Valerie

Finding Jordie by H.J. Harley

I met the author at Book Bash and decided that I liked her right away. She is a no nonsense kind of gal & I like that. She gifted me a copy of her book in exchange for a review & gave me 2 months to post one. Well, I am WAY ahead of schedule :D


The main character Jordie, is the kind of character that I imagine all New Yorkers are. Stereotypically mouthy & doesn't take crap from anyone. As a bar owner I also imagine that she is tough as nails. She shows what she is made of when she takes a punch from a drunk patron and immediately jumps up to have a go at him. The only thing holding her back is a pair of hands attached to a body with an unbelievable handsome face. That face belongs to Nathan Harper a famous actor on the Silver Screen. Fortunately for him Jordie doesn't have the slightest clue who he is and he can pursue her without questioning her intentions.


Jordie is a single mother of a very precocious daughter. Her husband was a military man killed in action. For 9 years she has focused on raising her daughter and making her bar a success. Something about the run in with Nathan has her opening her heart in a way she hasn't in a long time.


A menacing stalker begins to harass Jordie and claims her as his. Can all of Nathan's money and resources keep them safe when they don't know where the threat is coming from? Can the unthinkable really happen? Will Jordie and Nathan get their happily ever after? I promise that you will find out on page 242, so get to reading!


As for me.....I need to obtain book 2 Finding Nathan STAT!

Book Bash 2014

Wow! Just wow! Unless you have attended this event and experienced it for yourself there really aren't adequate words to express how amazing it is. I will try:




After flying/traveling for 7 hours in the wrong direction then the right direction (NC - TX - FL?) I finally arrived at 2:14 pm. My friend and author Cheri Lewis picked me up at the airport to save me cab/shuttle money. Thank you again Cheri! After a 'mandatory' stop at Wal-Mart for snacks and drinks for our rooms we arrived. I had to hit the ground running as I was already late for a meet & greet with participants of one of Colleen Hoover's fan pages. I quickly changed into the most-expensive-shirt-ever and headed down. *I ordered the shirt specific for this event and got the bright idea to customize it. I chopped off the neckline in order to channel my inner Irene Cara and thought 'Wouldn't it be fun to bedazzle the words?' Famous last words! I've never done this before & should NOT have started on this shirt. I'll sum up the experience: very labor intensive hand gluing every single crystal, the glue was similar to hot glue, so 'stringy', decided to wash to get rid of the strings, lost at least 1/2 the crystals in the wash :(, bought more crystals, more gluing.....the only other thing I'll add is that the crystals are EXPENSIVE & I spent no less than $40 on them. Shhhhh......let's just keep that between us!


I had a small dilemma as I headed downstairs, even though I was really supporting one author with my wardrobe choice, another group I belong to was also meeting at the same time in the lobby. I saw one of the admin's of Colleen's group as soon as I got to the lobby so walked over & we formally introduced ourselves. Totally nice person who invited me to join their group at TGI Friday's for drinks/snacks. As in typical Florida fashion a monsoon blew up so we had to wait before we could walk across the street. While we were waiting I saw the other group congregating over by the bar. Since this is MY blog & I can say what I want to on it I will. They were not nice to me! I was completely shut out when I approached them & tried to introduce myself. Don't cry for me though, because it was totally expected. That page is filled with nothing but mean girls - including some of the admins. I don't have time for that shit so.....moving on!


Headed to TGI's with Colleen's group & had a great time. I ended up sitting next to an author named HJ Harley. She was so my kinda people. She also may have been four drinks into the "meal". LOL! While talking I shared that I was a blogger and she provided me with a free copy of her first book Finding Jordie in exchange for a review. I have 2 months to do so & I look forward to checking her out. My hope is that she writes like she talks! Here is the link to her page:  http://www.hj-harley.com/


Pre-registration was that night and also a group photo for Colleen's group with the amazing Griffin Peterson. Totally fan-girled over Colleen last year & blew my chance when I saw her by not getting a picture. I ran into her no less than 10x this trip which totally made up for it. This year - totally star struck by Griffin! He is extremely nice & approachable I guess this year it was just his turn. We did in fact get together and had a quick picture taken with Colleen & the band before heading to pre-registration. 


Pre-registration went as expected and I got my wrist band. Walked around for a bit & found out that we wouldn't get our maps until the next day. With my memory it was a waste of time to try & remember where everyone was, but I did note that the Big 8 were in the front of the room. Who are the Big 8 you ask? The ones that cause the long ass lines that everyone has to wait in. LOL! I packed my map so I'll see if I can name them all: Jennifer Armentrout, Jamie McGuire, Colleen Hoover, Abbi Glines, Sylvia Day, Maya Banks.....ummmmm.....oh Kristen Ashley! Nope - that's just 7.....poo....can't remember. Anyway, these authors had a ticketing system this year which did help, but it was still crazy! (I'm home now & finishing this post so the one I forgot was Shayla Black) I ended up leaving after grabbing a few pics with Aleatha Romig, Tammara Webber, Jamie McGuire and another with Colleen Hoover, Griffin & the guys. I had taken a break to go up to my room to retrieve my camera & who do I see on the elevator, but Mrs. McGuire herself. Awesome sauce! I said 'hi' and we started talking. She was headed up to her room for some headache meds and pretty soon we were alone on the elevator. I was keeping it together, but total fangirl moment! She exited on her floor (the 12th) and it was then, and ONLY then that I realized that I was supposed to get off on the 9th floor! Duh! Went back down, got the before mentioned pics & then went to bed. I had been up since 3:30AM!


I had decided ahead of time to not stand in line this year as I had last year. I'm talking like 3+ hours before the event even started. I did however head down to the BAM store to see if they had Jamie's not-released-yet copy of Beautiful Oblivion. I still had to wait in line for about an hour to get into there due to the small size of the 'store'. It was fun seeing all the people in line & finding out how early they got there. A lot were EARLY - like 4AM. No thank you! I hung out in my air conditioned room watching all the people in line sweating to death and headed down a little before noon. Cheri Lewis & I were sitting in the lobby and struck up a conversation with 2 friends that were there as well. It was their first time & we told them that we were 'veterans' and we were not getting in line. So, they ended up waiting with us and Marie, Michelle & I totally hit it off. As in, we are going to be roommates next year! I demand it :D The signing doors opened and once most everyone was in we jumped in ourselves & the chaos that is Book Bash commenced. I don't know how else to describe it, but non-stop movement & craziness! The Big 8 had tickets this year so I bee lined it up to the designated spots to retrieve mine & then pin-balled all over the room while trying to listen to the announcements of ticket #'s and colors. Completely confusing! I said it the other day & I mean it - I will NOT be trying to get the signature of the Big 8 authors at this signing again. I miss out on so many other people I really wanted to see. So, for the 2nd year in a row I didn't get my photo book completed :( Hopefully with the other 2 signings I'm going to this year I can catch up to the ones I missed.
After the signing I headed to a blogger only event that I had been invited to by Erin Galloway and Penguin Books. Upon walking into the event I received a gift bag with 7 free books in it. Plus they had cupcakes! I appreciated them taking time to talk to all of us and get feedback on what we look for in books. Fun!
I needed to eat as I had skipped lunch (literally had NO time to eat & for a diabetic this is not a good thing & no I didn't eat the aforementioned cupcakes). I had run into Shayr Guthrie of SheReader video blogs earlier in the afternoon and I ended up heading to dinner with her.......at TGI Friday's again. I got a HUGE plate of pasta that just hit the spot & enjoyed my conversation with Shayr. She is an awesome lady.
Headed back to the hotel to try & get cute for the after party & GRIFFIN!!! The Colleen Hoover crew had scored a table & my new friend Marie had saved me a spot. (LOVE HER!) We were right by the dance floor and to the left of the stage. Without going through every second of the after party I will just tell you that I had an absolute blast & Griffin & the guys were awesome! It was like the Beatles his the stage when they walked out. Not kidding! My one regret is that I headed upstairs not long after they were done (still recovering from the 3:30AM of the day before & well......I'm old), but I wish I would have stayed & boogied with the band. Oh well!


Sunday morning I slept in & then headed down to Starbucks for some caffeine. I ended up sitting next to a couple of guys in the band, Adam & Carey, and tried to be cool. Next thing I know here comes Colleen Hoover and joins them. Pretty soon I see the Atria rep bring 2 sealed boxes and some loose books over and pile them in front of Colleen. They open up the boxes & it is hard copies of Finding Cinderella. (Atria was so great in that we all got a free copy in our swag bags for the signing & these were left over.) Of course I had my phone & I see Colleen take a pic of the pile & ding.....I get a notification from her stating that they are in the lobby for whoever wants them FREE! Luck of the Irish my friends that I was sitting right there. I grabbed a hardback copy of Beautiful Wedding by Jamie McGuire, one of Abbli Glines' books, and a couple of copies of the Finding Cinderella. Score! I also took that opportunity to strike up a convo with Adam & Carey. They are such sweet guys! Their mother's should seriously be proud of them! I wish nothing but great things for all of them. I ended up getting to talk to John (the drummer) when he came down, had Colleen sign my books (including Jamie's book! WTH? I was hungover & sleep deprived still, but I'm not sure she even noticed), I ran into my new friend Samantha's fiancé and found out that she was at a breakfast with author Jay Crownover. This was one of the author's I had 'missed' and after finding out what she did for 25 of her fans - she is now a must read! I actually ended up talking to her for a brief moment in the lobby & look forward to meeting her again. I reserved a shuttle to take me to City Walk & went there for the afternoon. I assume you only want to hear about book stuff, so ......... end of Sunday!


On Monday I managed to cram all of my stuff back into the 2 suitcases I brought and headed down to the lobby to see who else I might come across. Social media is an awesome thing. I see on FB that Jamie McGuire sent out an SOS to her MacPack crew for anyone still in the hotel that she was having trouble getting a bellboy to her room with a cart & could anyone come help? Ummmm.....YES! So, I can put on my resume that not only was I in Jamie's hotel room I got to help carry her luggage. I scored a hug & I loved every second of it! That was just one of the highlights for me, but a great way to end the weekend!


Thank you to all of the authors who took the time to come meet & greet with us & helped to make this another amazing weekend for me! In particular Colleen Hoover, Aleatha Romig & Jamie McGuire!


*I failed to mention that I did obtain a copy of Jamie McGuire's Beautiful Oblivion, had it signed and have read it. Blew me away! Want to know how 3 little words can rock your world? READ IT!


**** I have pictures, but the blog page will NOT let me attach them :( I'll put them on my FB page instead. Grrrrrrr.......

Burned by Tara Sivec

Last night I was perusing though my library and couldn't really find what I was looking for. I wanted a light easy read that wouldn't keep me up and I could get through quickly. I even considered going back for a re-read of something. Anything. Nothing was catching my fancy. So, I went back to my newest downloads & hemmed & hawed over those for a bit. No go. Decided to go buy something. What I ended up doing at that point changed the course of my evening.


If you have read anything by Tara Sivec you know she is amazing. She is freaking HILARIOUS! I think there is an old fashioned stigma attached to women that we can't be raunchy. Hell to the no! Tara always manages to channel what I, and I assume many others, wish they could say in real life. No holds barred balls-to-the-wall inappropriate hilarity. Her latest release is no different. (Although not really 'funny')


So.....I downloaded Burned, saw it was only around 126 pages & dove in. YOWZA! One of the best books I've read in awhile. We all have first loves and past regrets. Do you ever get over your first love? Do you ever forgive yourself for your regrets? Maybe. Maybe not.


Finnley (love the name) had her heart broken in high school by Collin McDaniels. The aftermath of that heartbreak led her down a path of being married to an idiot by the name of Jordan. A highly underestimated lush! Collin has always regretted letting Finnley get away and is taking full advantage of the fact that they have run into each other all these years later. Seventeen years to be exact. The number seventeen plays a significant role in the storyline, which I will leave for you to read about.


Needless to stay I didn't/couldn't stop reading until I was finished. That was at about 1:30 or 2:00 this morning. On a night I had to work no less. Am I tired today? Yes! Was it completely worth it? A resounding YES!


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/burned-tara-sivec/1119696107?ean=9781499791785


http://www.amazon.com/Burned-Tara-Sivec/dp/149979178X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403547932&sr=1-1&keywords=burned+tara+sivec


Did I mention that Collin is a hot-ass fireman? He is!


Did I mention that I am going to FL for Book Bash in 4 days? I am! Where I will meet up with Ms. Tara Sivec herself & hopefully buy Burned in paperback form & have her sign it.


Jelly???????

Giveaway Time!

Check out my Facebook page for a giveaway of my friend Cheri Lewis' book The Ultimate Decision. In honor of her second book in the series The Ultimate Sacrifice. (Buy links below)


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ultimate-sacrifice-cheri-lewis/1119716959?ean=2940149447244


http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Decision-Series/dp/1497324734/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402932122&sr=8-1&keywords=cheri+lewis

Happenstance Release Day and Q&A with Jamie McGuire

As with a lot of other people Jamie McGuire is one of my favorite authors. She, along with a handful of others are the ones that have me quaking in my boots and totally fangirling whenever I meet them. They are rock stars in my world! So, in order to break out of my shell a little more this year I reached out to Jamie to see if she would do a little Q&A with me and she said YES! I was only limited to 5 questions - she's a busy lady - so I had to think hard. Here is what I came up with and her responses:




From tattoos, to fan art, to the butterfly in the jar - the blue butterfly, on the front of both Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster, has become a symbol in the book world that is synonymous with the name Jamie McGuire. Where did it come from and what significance does it hold?
The butterfly in the jar cover was created by Justin McClure from Wichita, KS, and it is really very literal. Butterfly = beautiful, trapped in a jar = disaster. I wanted Walking Disaster to carry over something from the Beautiful Disaster cover, and the butterfly seemed like the best choice. That cover was created by Damon of damonza.com.



Understanding that ideas for plot lines and characters come from many different places has anything in your books ever happened to you in real life? If so, what?
In my opinion, all the best scenes in my books are pulled from my real-life experiences. So much of Beautiful Disaster actually happened to me in college, but I'll never admit to which parts!




I have just completed a re-read of the Providence Series and have decided that it's my favorite. This was a revelation to me because I am a die-hard Travis Maddox fan (still am!), but this was the series that introduced me to you and made me a life-long fan. Where did the idea stem from and how long after completion did you self publish?
I'm so glad to hear Providence is your favorite! As my first novel, it is special to me, and I worked really hard on it because it's set in a real place. Providence began as a story about a girl who finds out after her fathers death that he hired a body guard for her, but not until after they fall in love. It turned in to a paranormal after I read Twilight and knew I needed something in my book to stand out. It took me 11 weeks to finish Providence, and I self-published it almost a year to the day that I started writing it.




Is your husband more of a Travis (or a Trent), Jared or Nathan and why?
My husband is more of a Nathan for sure. He's quiet, his feathers never seem to get ruffled, and he always puts everyone else first.




Happenstance will be released on May 9th so of course it's time to move on to the next best thing? Have you already started working on your next project? Any hints?
Since completing Happenstance, I'm taking a well-deserved summer off. I've written 5 back-to-back novels, beginning in August 2013, and I'm ready to give my wrists a rest and spend quality time with my family. Beautiful Oblivion comes out July 1, so I'll be working on promotions for that, but other than that I will be working with my daughter on her debut novel, Eyes of the Woods over the summer, and she'll be publishing in August 2014, and I'll publish the second installment of the Happenstance novella series during that time as well. Then my next self-published project, Apolonia will release October first. It's a dark, new adult sci-fi romance, and it will knock your socks off!


Mark your calendars for:
May 9th - Happenstance
July 1st - Beautiful Oblivion
August - Eyes of the Woods
            - Happenstance (2)
October - Apolonia




Happenstance Buy Links:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/happenstance-jamie-mcguire/1119235980?ean=2940045824415

 http://www.amazon.com/Happenstance-A-Novella-Jamie-McGuire-ebook/dp/B00JOPR0ZK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398791395&sr=8-1&keywords=jamie+McGuire

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/428422

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/happenstance-a-novella/id861714958?mt=11

Free/Reduced Book Links

Here are some links for book deals. You need to register and then you will receive daily emails for free or reduced books. Know of any more? Feel free to add them in the comments.






http://www.bookgorilla.com/


https://www.bookbub.com/landers/index2.php?source=gakn356&gclid=CMeN9dXig74CFUoV7AodtQ8AKA


http://digitalbookspot.com/

Check out Jamie McGuire's latest news & pre-order now!

#Happenstance by Jamie McGuire is NOW AVAILABLE for pre-order! Grab your copy now and have it on your e-reader on May 9th!
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00JOPR0ZK/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/happenstance-a-novella/id861714958?mt=11
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/428422
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/happenstance-jamie-mcguire/1119235980?ean=2940045824415

My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade

In an effort to genre hop, like I committed to do this year, I started in on this book categorized as Contemporary Romance, but it borders on Christian Romance. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it.


This book doesn't have any sex. (GASP) I know right?????? Can't remember the last time I read one of those. Cat in the Hat? LOL! It doesn't have any foul language. What the H*LL is right! It doesn't have a lot of melodrama either. So, what does it have? Great likable characters, a sweet romance & a great story! The heart of every 'good' book.


Kate Donovan has taken a break from her job to accompany her Grandmother back to Redbud, PA to restore the Gran's childhood home. Kate is a social worker who is not so thrilled with her job at the moment, and has a couple of bad long-term relationships in her recent past. She has no problem leaving it all behind her, even if it's just for a little while, but at 31 she wonders if God will ever send her 'the one'.


Matt Jerreau is the man Kate's Grandmother has hired to do the heavy renovation work on the house. He is a former great NHL hockey player who left the sport when his former beauty queen wife died from a brain tumor. He is hiding out in Redbud avoiding people, God, and his past.


From their first meeting Kate is drawn to Matt. Getting to know him reaffirms her suspicions that he needs her help. Whether he knows it or not. Knowing how he felt about his wife Kate knows that he could never feel about her the way she is feeling about him. Although......


Throw in some good food, zany elders, Friday night poker, and an Elvis look-a-like and let the fun begin!

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover (spoiler free)

Nope, not dead - just waiting for a review worthy book. I found it in Maybe Someday.






Birthdays are not always what they are cracked up to be. Sydney finds this out on her 22nd. Losing your boyfriend & best friend all in the same day is NOT what she wished for.






She finds herself catapulted into a new life with the virtual stranger that she has been 'flirting' with across her apartments courtyard for the last several weeks. Ridge has been serenading her from his balcony and captivating her with his tunes.






Ridge noticed Sydney as soon as she started accompanying him during his nightly balcony jam sessions. Something about her caught his eye and he doesn't think twice about 'rescuing' her when the need arises.






An invisible force draws them together. Real life forces keep them apart.






That's all you get. To tell you more would give away spoilers. There is a twist in this book that I did NOT see coming and that takes this book to a whole nother level. I LOVED it!






If you haven't heard there is an accompanying soundtrack to this book by the oh-so-handsome and talented Griffin Peterson. (Who I will be drooling over at Book Bash in June!)




I recommend that you download the songs and listen as you read. This too takes it to a whole nother level. Colleen Hoover is nothing but a trend setter. I hope we see more of this in the future.






If you've read the book & wish to discuss further I'm more than happy to do so. PM me because I have a lot to say - just can't do it in this review.






Official release day is Tuesday March 18th, although some store have advance copies. This is how I got mine! Check out your local BAM & see or pick it up on Tuesday.






Happy reading everyone!






Beat, beat, pause.
Beat, beat, pause.
Beat, beat, pause


I <3 Ridge!!!!!!!

In the Stillness by Andrea Randall

Real life is hard. Don't let anyone tell you any differently. People put in the same situation deal with that situation in different ways. While this book dealt with situations that are out of my realm of understanding I consider it one of the top 10 that I've ever read. One of the best love stories hands down.


I don't cut. I don't know anyone who cuts. Last week my son came home from school telling me about his friend who got caught at school cutting. So, while I thought the premise didn't have anything to do with me life laughed & said 'oh yes it does'. That experience made me want to read this book even more.


The other thing is that I admire Charles Sheehan-Miles and love his books. When he recommends a book I take note. This read is a result of his recommendation.


Natalie is a wife and mother and terrible unhappy at both. A catastrophic event from her past has scarred her in more ways than one. When an unforeseeable event pushes her to make a decision, she has long struggled with, her past meets her future head on. Through her attempts at learning to cope with life's struggles she finds the person she used to be. A person whose past does not dictate her future.


I don't want to give too much away with this review, but I would be remiss in not telling you that it deals with some deep subject matter. PTSD and cutting are the main ones. My skin literally crawled reading this story, but if you can get through the first half, the second is not as tough. Aside from the cutting this story hit close to home for me in a lot of ways. I have yet to meet a mother who doesn't wish her kids away at some point in time.  Followed by a boat load of guilt for thinking it. The decisions we make in our teens and early 20's are often not the same ones we would make later in life. It's how we deal with those decisions that define us as people.


In trying to become a well rounded reader I vowed a long time ago to not pigeon hole myself into one genre of books. I have rarely been disappointed in this endeavor. So, I encourage you to step out of your box and try something new!


B&N
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-the-stillness-andrea-randall/1115091002?ean=2940016720128


Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Stillness-Andrea-Randall-ebook/dp/B00CB24VS2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390357891&sr=8-1&keywords=in+the+stillness

The Ultimate Decision by Cheri Lewis (Minor Spoilers)

I literally just got goosebumps typing that title! I'm weird like that! Why you ask? Because Cheri Lewis is my friend. I FREAKING KNOW A PUBLISHED AUTHOR! She sprung it on everyone as a surprise & man was I ever. I immediately purchased the book & dove in last night. Couldn't stop reading! Was up until 2:30 AM finishing it and I don't regret the book hangover I'm sporting today AT ALL!


As a first attempt at writing Cheri killed it! She brought me to tears in chapter 1 and I DON'T cry when reading. (Very often.) The characters are engaging and run the demographic spectrum. The children are spot-on with true childlike behavior, their mother is as neurotic and frantic as all mothers of 4 young children are, the Aunt is as sweet and feisty as you imagine all true southern ladies are, the developmentally delayed cousin is an accurate depiction of the world of the special needs, the 'man' is as sexy, sweet, strong and mysterious as you want all love interests to be, the best friend is an always-there-for-you-no-matter-what type of friend, her husband is as understanding as all husbands of best friends should be, the town sheriff is as attentive and hot as we wish all our law enforcement officials were, and the other characters in the town of Pollysdale, Alabama add nothing but the best to the storyline. No incidental characters to be found.


Millie is a 36 year old wife and mother deeply in love with her husband Carl. When embarrassing or difficult situations arise she wishes that she had the ability to just disappear. Wouldn't we all like that skill? The biggest curveball that life can throw you has been launched at Millie. She is facing life as a single mother with 4 small children and decides to uproot the family and move in with her Aunt Clara and developmentally delayed cousin James Allen AKA Chunk.  They are welcomed with open arms and while the kids adapt seemingly well Millie seems to find enough ups & downs for them all.  Meeting Alex, the 'caretaker' is her first dip into the pool of embarrassment that is her life. With major bed head, PJ pants, sans bra and coffee spilled all down her front she is looking less than stellar. Alex seemingly has a nefarious past that has all of Millie's mama radar on full alert. Thinking her Aunt Clara is entirely too trusting to invite Alex into her life she is on guard whenever he is around her or her children. As with all 'good' books chaos and romance ensue and I don't want to give anything else away so I'll stop there.  I will say that if you follow my blog and know my reading style you know how this one ends.


*This is the first in a 3 (?)  part series.


Random observations about this process:
-When approached by someone you know you don't think twice about paying to download their book & read it. It was less than five minutes after I found out that it was in my library.


-The $2.99 that I paid for the book was a bargain! I know taking a chance on an unknown is risky, but as in life "nothing ventured is nothing gained." I would gladly have spent double.


-Reading sex scenes written by your friend is a little weird. Especially when they are written so well! Dang girl!


-The behavior of the kids is very spot on for someone who doesn't have any!


-Based on my recommendation I think you should all download this book AND tell your friends about it. Also, make sure to leave reviews as we all know how important that is. It is hard to put yourself out there and open yourself up to the criticisms of the world. Please be kind (but honest) in your reviews!


I am standing tall and giving my friend Cheri a resounding standing O on this one!!!!!


B&N
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ultimate-decision-cheri-lewis/1118082727?ean=2940148261889


Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Decision-Series-ebook/dp/B00HX8I3FQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1390235880&sr=8-2&keywords=The+Ultimate+Decision

Heller's Regret Q&A with JD Nixon

I haven't blogged since December 9th so while hanging my head in shame I hope you consider this a worthy comeback. My favorite indie author hands down is JD Nixon. For many reasons that I won't share here but if you want to know just ask me. I presented these questions to her compiled from my own curiosity and yours. I was certainly pleased with her responses and hope you are too. Follow up questions are welcomed so feel free to share in comments.

BWAB: In retrospect most of the books are really about Tilly so why stick with the name Heller for all of them? This one was called Heller's Regret & really that only dealt with the last chapter. Just curious. 

 

JD: The books are from Tilly’s point of view, so it seemed natural to me that the titles would reflect the amazing man she meets, hence the Heller titles. That might not make much sense to anyone but me! 

 

BWAB: Did something that you saw or experience trigger the Sam storyline? More than one of us were completely freaked out by that whole thing and believe that you could transition to paranormal flawlessly. You may want to keep that in mind  

 

JD: The Samuel story is just me indulging in one of my interests, not from any experience I’ve had (I don’t believe in ghosts, but I’d loved to be proven wrong one day!). Because of all the vamp/were/witch books around, I didn’t like to explore that genre. But it all seems safe now to dip my toe in the paranormal ocean :-D 

 

I wrote the Samuel story a few years ago and almost ditched it. I’m glad I didn’t. I loved the way Heller never believed Tilly had gone crazy

 

BWAB: There appear to be two schools of thought on what is really going on with Heller. Theory 1 - He is getting all of his affairs in order to plan for Tilly to live a life without him in it. Highly anticipated that she will end up with Farrell. Is Heller planning on getting killed on one of his mystery jobs? Theory 2 - He is getting his affairs in order to spend his life with Tilly. His mystery jobs are to rid himself of past obligations/revenges/debts that are holding him back from moving forward with Tilly. Want to comment on if one or both are on the right track? (Guess which one is mine - LOL) 

 

JD: I can guess which one is yours, Valerie, lol!! But I don’t like to give out spoilers, so my lips are zipped. Sorry. 

 

BWAB: Even though I know what you will say I promised I would ask so: What is Heller doing on his secret missions? 

 

JD: Stuff …

 

BWAB: How big of a role will Malefic play in the last book? I think it's pretty unanimous that we all hate him so good job with that. 

 

JD: Malefic won’t appear in any more Tilly books, but maybe another series . . . I love writing about him!                

 

BWAB: Are the cops that saw Malefic's van crash Tess &/or Finn? 

 

JD: Nope. I do plan a crossover story at some point, but it will probably take place on Tess’ domain, not Tilly’s. 

 

BWAB: Where was Victor?  

Is he in contact with Heller while he is gone? 

Will he reappear in the final book and will we finally get to meet him? 

 

IJD:  haven’t forgotten about Victor. I don’t want to say much about him because he (finally) appears in H7. 

**** I am throwing this out there now that I think Victor is Heller's dad :D

 

BWAB: Is Clive in contact with Heller while he is gone? We have differing opinions on this - I vote no. 

 

JD: I vote yes – to a point. Is Heller really out of contact during these times – yes. Is that by choice – no. 

**** So this answer kind of freaked me out - in a good way! I think I may be right about him after all!

 

BWAB: You told me in our prior Q&A that Clive was a character that could go either way with you. Have you decided which way that is or has he yet to reveal himself? He certainly thawed in this book. 

 

JD: I’d like for him and Tilly to reach a relationship where they could live and work together in harmony. I think he’s definitely starting to thaw – maybe Sid’s been working on him???!!!  

 

BWAB: Is Trent still in the story? Have we gotten to the kissing in the movie theater yet? 

 

JD: Yes and no. 

**** UGH! That means Tilly will be kissing Trent in H7. Why?????

 

BWAB: This book came across as less humorous than the previous ones. Was that a deliberate move on your part? I looked at this as more of a transition book. Tying things together and showing Tilly's growth as a character. True? 

 

JD: I didn’t have a good time last year as some of you might know, and I find it hard to be lighthearted and funny when I’m not feeling it. But this was always going to be the difficult book. Next one should be funnier (I hope – fingers crossed). 

 

Also, I dislike series where characters never learn or grow. They stagnate after a while. And I say this as a reader, having abandoned more than a few series that I formerly loved with great passion, but have sadly dragged on for far too long with no hope of any end in sight . . .  

 

BWAB: Going along with that thought Tilly seemed more contemplative this go around. Before when she was recouping/recovering she would spend more time with Daniel & Niq. This time she was alone. Was this a conscious decision on your part? 

*We all enjoyed the fact that she has reconnected with Brian 

 

JD: Yeah, she was more contemplative. Big life hits do that to people (as we all know). 

 

But also, I have a big cast of characters, so need to ensure some of them have the spotlight in each book. This time it was Clive & Farrell  

 

BWAB: Is Tilly's kidnapping associated with Heller's distant past (his secretive one), his recent past (since opening Heller's) or none of the above? I want to know if it's associated with him personally or professionally. 

 

JD: Heller’s good at making enemies. It was his recent past in that situation, but distant past people haven’t forgotten him either (he’s hard to forget!). 

***** Any ideas on who? I guess the obvious choice would be Select Security.

 

BWAB: There is some speculation as to whether you would kill Heller off. You have stated in the past that you don't care for Heller so would you go so far as to get rid of him or have you changed your opinion on him? I know you wouldn't do this to me......right?????????????????? I would DIE! 

 

JD: No, no, no, no, NO!!! I’d never kill Heller! He annoys me for being such a stereotypical alpha male (and here’s me talking about him as if I didn’t create him exactly that way), but he does good in the world too. No, Heller and I have a complicated relationship, but I wouldn’t kill him. Maybe  

**** Hellelujah! Maybe :(

 

BWAB: The newest trend is to write a novella/book from another characters POV. Would you consider doing this from Heller's POV? That would be awesome!!!! 

 

JD: Aw, I don’t want to get inside Heller’s brain. Don’t make me go there!!! Please!!! 

**** I'm ok with this answer because as much as I love Heller, and I do love me some Heller, he really is an ass! I don't want to hear his thoughts if they are ass-holey!

 

BWAB: What ideas do you have for a crossover book between Tilly & Tess? Any concrete thoughts yet or are you still working them out? 

 

JD: Really haven’t started thinking about it except it will be something that brings the Heller team to Tessie’s territory. I want to see them butting heads with the Bycrafts and the Super :-D She wouldn’t be a pushover for Heller’s good looks!! 

**** Heller vs. the Bycrafts?????? Hell yeah!

 

BWAB: Several people think that you will not grant us a HEA for both series. Have you thought that far in depth or are they independent of each other in that aspect? I know that the characters are leading you in a certain direction & your HEA will not be mine (sob), but I can't see you being so 'cruel' as to kill off main characters (Heller!) when so many of us are invested so deeply. Keep that in mind too  

 

JD: I’ve known from the beginning how both series will end. My lovely Tilly and Tessie will make the best decisions for their futures  

 

PS – I’m not a cruel person at all  

 

BWAB: Finally, will the final book be longer in length? We are doubtful (sorry) that you will be able to wrap up so many loose ends in one more book. Reading between the lines, we are all for more than one book if that is what it takes! You told me in a previous Q&A that we won't get resolution to all of our favorite characters. Do you already know who is getting left out? Want to tell us who? 

 

IJD:  guess I’ll have to re-evaluate when I start writing H7. I hope to wrap it all up in one book, but it might be too big to do (with so many characters). With Tessie, I will wrap it up, but it will be in an unusual way. Sorry to be so enigmatic, but I really dislike giving out spoilers  

 

BWAB: Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy reading & sharing as much as we do.  

 

I’m bowing my head and thanking everyone for taking a chance on an unknown author. Thank you for reading my books.