Reclusive fantasy author turned famous when his series got developed into a mega TV hit. Except now I’m way behind deadline, and the whole world is waiting to see what I’ll write next. The pressure is getting to me, and I. Can’t. Write.
Cue: small town where people don’t recognize me.
Cue: my assistant insisting on a personal chef to keep me fed and nothing more.
Cue: finding the first bit of inspiration I’ve felt in months whenever she’s around…
Am I a walking cliche now, or what?
Dani Cooper seems to have her own hurdles to jump this holiday season. Newly divorced, looking for her next move. She’s the first person who’s seen me for me in way too long. And I see her, too–as way more than just an employee, a divorcee, a cook. She’s becoming my muse…
But when my Christmas deadline hits, will it spell the end of us, too?
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My Review This was just the right light-hearted romantic comedy I needed over the holiday season. Filled with lots of sweet, funny moments, it tells the tale of Matt, a younger, hotter, George R.R. Martin-type, who is trying to write the last book in his series at the same time that the television series based on his books is set to begin their last season of production. Too many similarities to ignore it, but that’s what makes it so fun and relatable. When recently divorced Dani is hired to cook and clean for the reclusive author as he pounds out his manuscript, these two end up falling for each other. But with Matt leaving just after the new year, both of them know this isn’t mean to last. Except what if they both want it to?
Plot The story itself is pretty predictable, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a hoot. It’s delightfully whimsical, filled with quirky characters and hilarious moments that kept me turning the page. There were a few twists I didn’t see coming, but nothing earth shattering. Just enough to remind me that the story wasn’t as predictable as I thought. The author’s style and well-developed characters carries the story to perfection.
Characters I loved everything about this wacky cast of characters. Dani, Matt, Dani’s family, the slightly eccentric neighbor, and even Matt’s assistant are well differentiated and utterly delightful. There is no one that you love to hate, in fact, the only real antagonist is the calendar eating away at Matt’s deadline and the opportunities for Matt and Dani to spend time together. Also maybe Matt’s stubbornness.
What I Loved About WRITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS 1. The Town. This is a really fun small-town romance that feels straight out of Stars Hallow.
2. Writing. I enjoyed reading about Matt’s writer’s block, his ability to find anything to do other than write, and his back-and-forth with his editor. All things I can relate to!
3. Dani. As a forty-something divorced mom, she wasn’t the least bit silly but also wasn’t overly serious. She was believably zany while also being down to earth.
4. Matt. His stubborn tenaciousness contrasted with his ability to procrastinate grounded him in reality so well. We’re all a little bit juxtaposed. But his more straight-laced style to Dani’s free-spiritedness was a nice balance.
5. Christmas. I love a good holiday romance and this was a Hallmark Christmas movie in book form. I loved every minute of it.
Bottom Line A delightfully quirky holiday romance that warmed my heart and made me smile.
About the Author USA Today bestselling author Julie Hammerle writes young adult novels that focus on nerds, geeks, and basket cases falling in love. On the YA side, she is the author of The Sound of Us (Entangled TEEN, 2016) and the North Pole romance series (Entangled Crush, 2017). For adult romances, look for Knocked-Up Cinderella in the fall of 2018. A graduate of Butler University with degrees in secondary education and Latin with a minor in music, Julie lives in Chicago with her family and enjoys reading, cooking, and watching all the television.
Welcome to the book blitz for CHAOS AND CRANBERRIES, a standalone adult holiday cozy mystery crossover in the Charming Mysteries and Piney Falls Mysteries series by USA Today bestselling author Joann Keder. See below for information on the book, preorder links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
CHAOS AND CRANBERRIES by Joann Keder
About the Book – Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited Title: CHAOS AND CRANBERRIES Series: A Charming Mysteries and Piney Falls Mysteries Crossover Author: Joann Keder Publisher: Purpleflower Press Release Date: November 1, 2022
Genre: Adult Holiday Cozy Mystery
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon IT | Amazon FR
Synopsis When you wake up in Bath, England two hundred years in the past, how far can a love of Jane Austen get you?
Janet Roberts dreams of an academic career in literature, so she can hardly believe her good fortune when she’s accepted into a Jane Austen graduate seminar in Bath, England. Settled in Georgian splendor among her seminar colleagues, Janet and her classmates live, eat and breathe Jane Austen.
An accident interrupts this idyll when Janet regains consciousness in her own room—back in Regency England. For a scholar of nineteenth-century literature, this should be a dream come true.
But Janet quickly learns there’s a world of difference between scholarly knowledge of the written page and maneuvering real life as a reluctant time traveler.
Her burgeoning friendship with Emma Huntington eases her entrée into nineteenth-century society. However, Emma’s brother, the handsome, proud and frustratingly magnetic Sir Edward, is far less welcoming.
While desperately attempting to make sense of her dilemma, Janet treads a thin line between trying to blend into her new world and not being unmasked as the imposter she is. Can she discover the way to return to her twenty-first century life? After working so hard to create a rewarding nineteenth-century life for herself and opening her hart to friendship and love, does she even want to?
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Excerpt #2 Vem stood uncomfortably close and read aloud:
Ivy Merrilee Globe was a prolific author, completing seventy-nine books in her twenty-six years of life. Her most recent, Snowily Severed, was a short story featured in the massively popular Christmas horror anthology, Strung by the Fire.
She recently signed a contract with Brain Gravy Pictures to turn her short story into a movie.
Driving home from physical therapy, she stopped for children crossing three blocks from her home, when her neighbor’s sleigh ornament slid off the roof of their home and through her car windshield, impaling her. Ivy herself couldn’t have written such a dramatic end.
Ivy leaves behind three brothers and a cat named Ice.
“She didn’t die on the twenty-second like the other two. Find the date of the Frosty attack, Lanie,” Vem urged.
I typed in the information and when the page came up, our mood was somber. “Ivy was attacked on the twenty-second by the Frosty wannabe. They intended to kill her that day, and when it didn’t work, they came back to finish the job.”
“Poor Ivy,” Vem lamented.
My phone rang and I jumped up to answer. Even though we’d been together for several years, I was always expecting his call.
“Babe?”
“Mrs. Hill? This is the Tucson police department.”
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Author Joann Keder
About the Author USA TODAY bestselling author, Joann Keder spent most of her years in the Midwest, growing up and raising a family on the Great Plains of Nebraska. She worked for sixteen years as a piano teacher before returning to school to receive a master’s degree in creative writing. A mid-life move to the Pacific Northwest led her to re-examine her priorities. She now creates stories about life and relationships in small towns while her ever-patient husband encourages her on.
Welcome to the book blitz for IT’S A WONDERFUL LIE, the first book in the adult contemporary holiday romance series, Heaven on Earth, by Wren Michaels. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIE (Heaven on Earth Series #1) by Wren Michaels
About the Book – Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited
Title: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIE Series: Heaven on Earth Series #1 Author: Wren Michaels Publisher: City Owl Press: Mystic Owl Release Date: December 9, 2021 Genre: Adult Contemporary Holiday Romance Links:Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon IT | Amazon FR
Synopsis He was sent to save her life, but ended up losing his heart, memories, and clothes.
Eden Credere should be in Barbados with her new husband. Instead, it was like she married Murphy and his law was ruining her life. She’d lost her dad, her job, her best friend, and her fiancé. After drowning her sorrows with rum and eggnog on Christmas Eve, she takes a tumble in a tree lot with a Douglas Fir, sending Eden over the edge.
Theliel has watched over Eden her entire life, from her first steps to her latest, where she dove in a tree lot. He’s always been there to save her, and this time should have been no different—until it was. As her guardian angel, he’s not supposed to be seen, but one corporeal slip-up later, and he’s got a lot of explaining to do.
As Theliel works to convince Eden why the world is a much better place with her in it, he finds himself the one falling, and it’s Eden who catches his heart. In a twist of fate, Theliel must not earn his wings, but his humanity by convincing Eden they’re meant to be together.
The only problem is neither of them remember who he is when he wakes up on Christmas morning in a snowbank with no memories and no clothes. With the magic of Christmas in the air, love in their hearts, a vision of yoga pants, and maybe a little help from their “friends”, all they have to do is believe.
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Excerpt #1 Swiping my tearstained face, I made my way over to the myriad of trees and tried to make a quick decision. I had to get out of there fast. I couldn’t “people” anymore today. I would either end up a blubbering mess under the blow-up lawn ornaments or in jail from high-fiving the heartless cashier right in the face who couldn’t fork over thirty cents to help a kid buy a Christmas wreath.
In my unstable mindset, I made the poor choice to go for the nine-foot Douglas fir. As I yanked the leaning tree from the fence, little did I know I held a death trap in the palm of my sticky hand. The laws of physics mocked my existence as the tree toppled over, taking my five-foot, six-inch frame with it.
It’s completely true how your life flashed before your eyes in those last seconds of mortality. Mine happened to be stuck on repeat of Grayson stuffing Suzie as I cursed his name in all six languages I spoke. If he hadn’t cheated on me, I’d be in Barbados as Mrs. Jilani, not splattered on the floor of Trees-R-Us as the jilted Eden Credere.
Instead of hitting the cold, snow-covered ground, something strong cradled the back of my head, radiating a warmth that caressed my skin and soothed what should have been my shattered bones. I would have sworn there were no customers around me as I hid my ever-blackening soul in the back forty of the tree lot. No one could have caught me that fast. Then again, one hundred pounds of Douglas fir swallowed my face, so my vantage point skewed a bit.
“Thank you, Lord,” I whispered on the breath that whooshed out of my lungs.
A melodic yet husky chuckle vibrated around me, filling me with the same warmth that held my head in some bubble of safety. Maybe I did hit the ground, and the warmth was a pool of my own blood. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities with as much rum and eggnog as I’d consumed earlier.
“Believe me, I am not the Lord.” A voice surrounded me, and heat tingled straight to my toes, as if his tone resonated just for my ears.
“Oh good, because if you were, I’d be really upset that I’m meeting him in yoga pants and no makeup.” Sometimes the things that came out of my mouth missed the sanity filter in my brain.
Another chuckle vibrated against me before it halted, followed by a sharp intake of air. “You heard that?”
With pine needles burrowing into my closed eyelids, I couldn’t be sure I was actually talking to another person and not just myself. “Heard what?”
“What I said. I didn’t mean for you to hear it.” Worry strained his words as he softened his voice.
“You didn’t exactly whisper it, and seeing as how you caught me like a ninja, you had to be nearby. Which reminds me, I still have a tree on my face. I don’t suppose you’d help get it off me? I’ll buy you a coffee or a beer or something.”
“I’m so sorry. Of course. I…I was caught off guard. Let me help you up,” he stammered.
“Well, I suppose anyone would be caught off guard while having to dive for some stranger being eaten by a tree. Unless you’re like a lumberjack and see that kind of thing all the time.” The spiked eggnog I’d had for breakfast now seemed like a really bad idea as the stupid tumbled out of my mouth in droves.
His harmonious chuckle returned and enveloped me again, like tiny ripples of pleasure bouncing off my body. I loved this man’s laugh, and I hadn’t even seen his face. In the span of thirty seconds, I’d developed some freaky fetish where all I wanted to do was have him laugh near me so I could swaddle in the warmth and happiness of his voice.
Shit, what the hell did I put in that eggnog? Was it expired?
“Hold still,” the mystery man said.
He eased me to the ground. Cold snow soaked the back of my head, my hair sucking it up like a slushy. I cursed the blasted New Jersey winters in three ancient tongues. I’d probably pay for that later, but as an archaeologist, I rarely got to use all the dead languages I studied. Now seemed like a good time.
The tree whisked away from my face, and I blinked my eyes open. The gasp that followed sucked in so much cold air, an erratic series of hiccups erupted. Another sign I was more than likely drunk—Thor hovered over me, or at least he could have passed for his twin brother. Thick blond locks of hair danced across his broad shoulders in the light breeze, framing his marble-smooth, chiseled face. The bluest eyes I’d ever seen sparkled like an ocean, and if I stared into them long enough, I was sure they’d take me to a whole other world. Those eyes looked hauntingly familiar. Where had I seen them before?
“You’ve got quite the naughty mouth, Eden,” he said, warming me with his voice and a smile that probably dropped a lot of panties. He slid his arms under my back and lifted me from the ground as if I weighed nothing. Boy, would he have a backache in the morning.
“How do you know my name? Have we met before?” I blinked again, reassuring myself I hadn’t passed out and that I was indeed alive, awake, and in Thor’s arms.
“Um, your driver’s license was on the ground. Must have fallen out when the tree landed on you.” He glanced away from my inquiring stare.
Hmm, plausible, since I had stuffed my debit card and license in my pocket instead of carrying a purse today. I only planned on getting a tree and going right back home. I dared not go anywhere else on Christmas Eve with all the crazies on the road.
I slipped my hand into my pocket and found both cards there. Did he put it back? Surely I would have felt it. But it had been a while since I’d had a man’s hand in my pants. Grayson and I stopped having sex about six months before the marriage that never happened. He wanted the wedding night to be special. Yeah, so special because he was basting the neighbor.
Wait, he said I had a naughty mouth, meaning this dude knew I cursed in a dead language. Or maybe he assumed it was cursing, since Aramaic and ancient Greek sounded a lot like my angry Italian mother.
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Author Wren Michaels
About the Author Wren hails from the frozen tundra of Wisconsin where beer and cheese are their own food groups. But a cowboy swept her off her feet and carried her to Texas, where she promptly lost all tolerance for cold and snow. Fueled by coffee, dreams, and men in kilts, Wren promises to bring you laughter, heart-fluttering romance, and action that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Welcome to the book blitz for LICKING HER CHRISTMAS COOKIES, a standalone adult contemporary romantic romance/romantic comedy, by Alina Jacobs. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
LICKING HER CHRISTMAS COOKIES by Alina Jacobs
About the Book – Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited Title: LICKING HER CHRISTMAS COOKIES Author: Alina Jacobs Release Date: November 16, 2021 Genre: Adult Contemporary Holiday Romance / Christmas Romance / Romantic Comedy Links:Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon IT | Amazon FR
Synopsis In hindsight, opening a Christmas tree ornament shop in a small town was a terrible idea. The Thanksgiving turkey is still warm, and I’m already up to my eyeballs in debt from my failed business. To make matters worse, my knight in flannel never appeared—you know, the guy, the one who was tall, dark, and plaid, who had a friendly yellow lab and a truck and sold firewood, the one who showed the big-city heroine the true meaning of love and Christmas.
Yeah, he did not come rescue me. Instead, Matt Frost showed up like the Prince of Winter to yell at me about the rent I owed him. He did not feature in any of my Christmas fantasies. In fact, he was exactly the type of Christmas-hating alphahole billionaire in a suit I left Manhattan to escape. I can’t worry about him. I need to fix my life. I have to make a bunch of money before Christmas Eve or I’m a toasted marshmallow. No ornament will be left off this Christmas tree of desperation!
Gambling on the Christmas raffle that lets you win either ten thousand dollars, a giant snow globe, or a snack-addicted reindeer? Spin that roulette wheel and bring it on. Moonlighting as an elf for an irate Santa? Mama’s gotta get paid. Entering in The Great Christmas Bake-Off in hopes of winning the grand prize? Fetch me my custom elf apron. I so have this bake-off wrapped, ribboned, and in my Christmas stocking. Except when I’m paired with Matt the Grinch, I see my dreams of a debt-free Christmas going up in Yule log flames.
Matt Frost and I are not compatible baking partners. Especially not after he licks the frosting off my Christmas cookies while I scream. Not like that! He’s a Christmas-hating Scrooge who ruined my bake-off entry. I am not in the market for a Christmas romance. Especially not with a six-foot-five guy with ice-blue eyes and washboard abs. No, not even when he’s covered in frosting, standing in front of a decorated tree, and looking better than an edible Christmas card. Nope, not even then.
‘Tis the season for holiday romance! This is a full-length standalone holiday romantic comedy with nonstop Christmas and romance. If you love over-the-top small-town Christmas festivals, overbearing but well-meaning great-aunts, and smoking hot guys in nothing but a Santa hat who will melt the snow off the roof of your house, snuggle up with a spiked hot chocolate and get in the Christmas romance spirit!
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Excerpt #2 “Now,” I said, waving the chocolate-covered spoon at him, “are you going to let your ex walk all over you or are you going to pick up a whisk and win this competition?”
His mouth was a thin line. Then his face relaxed in understanding.
“I know what you’re trying to do,” he said, giving me a flash of teeth. “You think you can play to my ego and help you bake. Too bad.”
“You need to help me!” I shrieked, finally giving up on the candy thermometer. Could you blame it? Who didn’t want to take a bath in a pot of warm chocolate?
“I need this win. You can’t do this to me.”
“I absolutely can.”
I picked up the pot and slammed it on the counter.
“You better fish that candy thermometer out of there,” Matt said in a mocking tone, stepping into my personal space bubble. “You might make someone sick.”
He was making me sick. I turned back to the stove to grab my fork. I had to win. The cheesecake had to go into the oven soon. We were running out of opportunities for him to help. I looked at the clock then the other bakers.
Ugh. Everyone else’s cheesecakes were already out of the oven and cooling.
My dish was a mess.
It won’t matter how good or bad it is if you get disqualified.
I couldn’t give up now.
I stepped up behind Matt, reached around him, and grabbed each of his hands.
He made a strangled noise as I pressed the full length of my body against him.
I think I severely miscalculated.
I was height challenged. And Matt was six feet five with long arms and huge hands that I could barely reach. I smooshed my boobs against his back… his very muscular, hard back.
Unghn.
“Get off of me,” he growled.
“We’re baking,” I squeaked.
I laced my fingers in his left hand, and before he could throw me off, I pulled the pot of melted chocolate closer. Then, with his right hand, I picked up one of the truffle balls and plopped it into the melted chocolate. His hands were large under my own, the tendons fluttering against my palms as he let me manipulate his arms. I adjusted myself against him, and he grunted slightly.
You really should have just stood next to him to do this baking puppetry, my mind chattered as I inhaled his scent, my nose pressed against the back of his suit jacket.
This was way too close. I forced his right hand to grab a fork and fish the truffle out of the chocolate.
“There. Now you participated,” I said as the truffle dropped onto the cooling rack with a plot. My voice sounded a little raspy.
It’s the weather—all this cold, wet air.
Matt turned back to me, eyes a deep blue.
“Was that so hard?” I asked.
“I don’t know. You were the one feeling me up. You tell me.”
“I have to get this cheesecake in the oven,” I blurted out before I could say something like “You’re hard enough to be a nutcracker.” Which would, one, be an idiotic thing to say and two, make Matt think I thought he was attractive, which I certainly did not.
I quickly made the rest of the truffles, keeping an eye on the clock.
Matt wasn’t even pretending to look at his phone. He was just watching me work. Periodically he would steal one of the truffles right as I finished it. The third time he did it, I tried to stab him with a fork.
“Too slow.”
“You could help,” I snapped at him.
“I already helped.” He gave me a smug look. “And now I’m just exhausted.”
“Guess someone doesn’t have any staying power.”
“I absolutely have staying power.”
“I doubt it. I bet that was why your ex left you,” I snapped back at him.
“You—” He bit back the curse word. He was probably going to call me a bitch. Which I probably was. That had been a low blow.
But I was stressed! Everyone else was done and putting the elegant finishing touches on their cheesecakes because they actually had a partner who would help. We had another hour left on the clock. It took a cheesecake that long to bake at minimum.
I was facing a loss. Not just my pride but everything. And it was all because of Matt fucking Frost.
“Or maybe it wasn’t your staying power,” I said shrilly, giving the cheesecake batter one more stir. “Maybe it was because you just stood around while she did all the work.”
“Fine, you want me to do the work?” Matt snarled at me. He snatched the bowl of batter out of my hand and emptied it into the springform pan, sending some of it splashing off the sides.
“You’re doing it wrong!” I protested.
Matt scooped up the rest of the truffles and dumped them in the batter where they sank in a lump off to one side.
“They have to be artfully arranged.” I tried to shove him aside so I could salvage my cheesecake.
Matt picked up the pan, holding it aloft while I jumped around him like a Chihuahua trying to rescue my cake.
“You’re ruining it.”
“I’m helping,” he taunted. He opened the oven and practically threw the pan inside. “You’re welcome.”
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Author Alina Jacobs
About The Author If you like steamy romantic comedies with a creative streak, then I’m your girl!
Architect by day, writer by night, I love matcha green tea, chocolate, and books! So many books…
Sign up for my mailing list to get the free novella, AFTER HIS PEONIES, along with special bonus content, giveaways, and more!
Award-winning author, Cambria Hebert, is revealing the cover to MERRY MISFITS, the fifth book in her adult contemporary romance/fairytale retelling series, House of Misfits, releasing December 10, 2021. See below for the cover, information on the book and series, and a link to add it your Goodreads TBR.
MERRY MISFITS (House of Misfits Series #5) by Cambria Hebert
About the Book
Title: MERRY MISFITS Series: House of Misfits Series #5 Author: Cambria Hebert Release Date: December 10, 2021 Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance / Modern Fairytale Retelling / Holiday Romance Links:Goodreads
Synopsis Once upon a time…
A lost prince was robbed of the magic of the holiday season. Ribbons, glitter, tree-trimming, and love all denied for hateful reasons. What once was lost is now wondrously found. And, naturally, holiday shenanigans will abound.
New York City is blanketed in pure white snow, the perfect date night setting to make your heart grow. Beneath the twinkling lights, the scent of fresh pine mingles, and the warmth of chocolate-filled mugs chase away any grinchy-grinch tingles.
Zip up your coat and tug on your hat because spending this holiday season with your favorite misfits is where it’s at. For even the grumpiest grump of the bunch will have to admit ‘tis the season to be a merry misfit.
Experience the magic of New York City at Christmas with Fletcher and the rest of the misfit family as they create family traditions and memories through special dates and holiday fun. Be prepared for lots of fluff, laughter, grumbling grumps, swoony romance, and surprises! Merry Misfits is a special House of Misfits holiday novella featuring the entire misfit family and is told in alternating POVs from some of your favorites.
Merry Misfits is approximately 48,000 words and is book five in the series.
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MERRY MISFITS (House of Misfits Series #5) by Cambria Hebert (Full Cover)
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Author Cambria Hebert
About the Author Cambria Hebert is an award winning, bestselling novelist of more than twenty books. She went to college for a bachelor’s degree, couldn’t pick a major, and ended up with a degree in cosmetology. So rest assured her characters will always have good hair.
Besides writing, Cambria loves a caramel latte, staying up late, sleeping in, and watching movies. She considers math human torture and has an irrational fear of chickens (yes, chickens). You can often find her running on the treadmill (she’d rather be eating a donut), painting her toenails (because she bites her fingernails), or walking her chorkie (the real boss of the house).
Cambria has written within the young adult and new adult genres, penning many paranormal and contemporary titles. Her favorite genre to read and write is romantic suspense. A few of her most recognized titles are: The Hashtag Series, Text, Torch, and Tattoo.
Cambria Hebert owns and operates Cambria Hebert Books, LLC..
Author Melanie Munton is revealing the cover to THE EXTRA MYLES, a holiday novella in her adult contemporary romantic comedy series, Southern Hearts Club, releasing December 21, 2021. See below for the cover, information on the book and series, preorder inks, and details on her giveaway.
THE EXTRA MYLES (Southern Hearts Club Series) by Melanie Munton
About the Book Title: THE EXTRA MYLES Series: Southern Hearts Club Series Author: Melanie Munton Genre: Adult Contemporary Romantic Comedy/Holiday Romance Release Date: December 21, 2021 Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon IT | Amazon FR
Synopsis
NOW HIRING… Fake boyfriend for 27-year-old desperate female. Must be able to deal with pretentious, New York City socialites. Attendance at family Christmas events required. Seasonal work only. Applicants not named Myles Colson need not apply.
The position has been filled. Granted, Myles is the only man in Blair McCauley’s life capable of looking her dragon mother in the eyes and not bursting into tears. Blair will need that steel whenever her mother helpfully reminds her over a glass of eggnog that a career is pointless when she could just marry rich. Thankfully, the barbecuing, beer swilling, football watching guy’s guy doesn’t even sort of fit in with her flashy New York lifestyle.
Which is exactly the point.
Although Myles is a lot more than a former jock with a pension for frosted mugs and Sweatpants Sundays. He also happens to be a gifted artist, and Blair is helping him carve out his space in the art world. Lucky for her, she’s the only one who gets to see the man behind the pottery wheel. Sans shirt.
But when Blair and Myles both come to the realization that they’ve just been pretending at pretending, they never see what’s coming for them next.
About the Author Traveler. Reader. Beach-goer. St. Louis Cardinals fan. Pasta-obsessed. North Carolina resident. Sarcastic. Bit of a nerd.
Author of the Cruz Brothers, Possession and Politics, and Timid Souls series, Melanie loves all things romance, comedies and suspense in particular because it’s boring to only stick to one sub-genre! From light-hearted comedies to sexy thrillers, she likes to mix it up, but loves her some strong alpha males and sassy heroines.
Go visit Melanie’s website and sign up for her newsletter to stay updated on release dates, teasers, and other details for all of her projects!
Welcome to the book blitz for SHOPPING FOR A TURKEY, the eighteenth book in the adult comedy romance series, Shopping for a Billionaire, by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Julia Kent. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
SHOPPING FOR A TURKEY (Shopping for a Billionaire Series #19) by Julia Kent
Synopsis I don’t understand Americans. Or, as we say in Scotland, I dinna understand ye eedjits. And I definitely dinna understand the crazy mother-in-law of my cousin Declan. Who in their right mind names a wee dog Chuffy?
I’m stuck in New York after ma agent makes a bloody mess of an otherwise good endorsement contract for a sports towel company, and this crazy American holiday–Thanksgiving–is in two days.
The invitation to spend it in Mendon, Massachusetts, with the Jacoby family is about as appealing as rotten haggis. As far as I can tell, Thanksgiving is about stuffing yerself silly, watching pathetic American “football,” while fighting with relatives ye only see once a year.
If I wanted that last one, I’d head back to Scotland, where we dinna need a holiday to be salty to each other. Ma firm answer is nae. Until I remember Amy is part of the family. Suddenly, I’m available. Eager, even. Perhaps she’ll pull ma wishbone. I hear that’s part of the Turkey Day festivities, aye?
What I canna admit, though, is how she pulls ma heartstrings, too. Which shouldna feel better than the wishbone, but it does. And here comes Amy’s mother with another holiday tradition, this one a bit early. A sprig o’ mistletoe, dangling right above Amy’s bonnie head.
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Shopping for a Turkey features Scottish football player Hamish McCormick and Amy Jacoby as they navigate unusual cultural norms, new traditions, and the undeniable attraction between these two characters, who have appeared as supporting players in Julia Kent’s New York Times-bestselling Shopping series.
It’s their turn to have their own all-new spinoff series. And to pull the wishbone. 😉
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Excerpt #2 Amy
My attention wanders to the back yard. I watch Hamish doing sprint after sprint, over and over, each one as enthusiastically brutal as the last. His legs are a work of art. I’ll give him that.
Soccer player legs are a thing. Tree trunks in muscled form, they’re huge and powerful, developed by years of daily footwork and bold runs. He’s a cocky jerk, but a premier player like Hamish doesn’t get to his level without a crushing amount of hard body work.
He just keeps going, sprint after sprint, ignoring the dripping sweat, until he stops to drink, then…
Starts again.
My boots are by the front door, so I pass Dad and Declan, who are laughing together about James being a sophisticated older man. Massachusetts winters mean the heavy boots come out in late October. I’m fine without a coat today, my sweats warm enough, but no way will I head out there bootless.
The yard gets plenty of sun, so the ground he’s running on is tan, dead grass, but there’s a perimeter of snow at the base of the fence, where it’s always in the shade. It’s cold enough for the top layer of dirt to be frozen, but the terrain is uneven.
Nothing like a soccer field.
“It’s not flat like the fields you’re used to playing on,” I call out from a small spot of clear concrete on the patio.
“Pitch.”
“Excuse me? Did you just call me a bitch?”
That makes him stop, brow down, sweat dripping from copper-colored ringlets, true horror in his eyes. “What? Nae! I said pitch. With a P.”
“What’s a pitch?”
“A field. A soccer field.” He says soccer the way I say, well…
His name.
Dripping with sarcasm.
“Are you capable of having a single conversation with me that doesn’t involve insults or sex?”
“I was about to ask ye the same, Amy.”
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Author Julia Kent
About the Author New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. Since 2013, she has sold more than 1.5 million books, with 4 New York Times bestsellers and more than 16 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French and German, with more titles releasing soon. From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men’s room toilet (and he isn’t a billionaire). She lives in New England with her husband and three children in a household where the toilet seat is never, ever, down.
Welcome to the blog tour for BELLS ARE RINGING, the fourth book in the adult contemporary holiday romance series, Christmas in Evergreen, by USA Today bestselling author Lacey Baker. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
BELLS ARE RINGING (Christmas in Evergreen Series #4) by Lacey Baker
Synopsis Welcome back to Evergreen,
the town built on Christmas wishes…
And learn what happens
after one snow-globe wish comes true.
Life is going great for Hannah, really. She’s fallen in love with her best friend, her brother is getting married, and she’s looking forward to another festive Christmas in Evergreen. Still, between her job, taking charge of the choir, and being the town’s jill-of-all-trades, she’s feeling uninspired…especially when Elliot starts to question his own role in the town.
Hannah finds fresh inspiration in the brand-new Evergreen Christmas Museum, and she volunteers for their storytelling project. When she interviews her fellow Evergreenians, however, she learns that not everyone wants the museum around; specifically Mr. Cooper who owns a third of the building. As Hannah finds herself with more and more responsibilities, and as her relationships with Elliot and her family grow strained, she starts to wonder about what she really wants. Can her love and newly-found purpose survive the changes that loom after the holidays are over?
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Excerpt #2 Walking through the narrow foyer toward the big country kitchen at the back of the house she peaked up at familiar pictures that lined the walls. One was old, the frayed edges visible through the black frame. It was a black and white of her parents in front of the church where they’d been married. Her mother’s ankle length dress with its lace edges was still the most elegant wedding dress she’d ever seen, while her father looked debonair in his three piece suit and fedora hat. She loved how the picture instantly brought to mind big red heart boxes of candy and jazz music, two things that were always in the house on Valentine’s Day thanks to Isaac’s love for Barbara.
Another picture was of the whole family, she and Thomas seated in front of their parents, all of them sporting huge grins, happiness practically beaming through the frame. There was also contentment in those faces as they were all happy to be together and in this town. That’s the feeling that reached out to Hannah tonight, that same contentment that she’d felt all her life, even now.
“I had to drop off David at the skating pond,” she said walking into the kitchen and immediately dropped the box and sheet music onto a counter.
“Then I ran into Mrs. Pringle and Sonya and Michelle,” she continued, but paused when she noticed Elliot finishing a glass of wine.
He looked so comfortably handsome in black slacks and gray button front shirt. When she’d seen him at the museum earlier he’d kept his coat on so she had no idea what he’d been wearing today. His black hair had always been curly and now he kept it longer on top and close-cut on the sides. The barest hint of a five o’clock shadow was now showing along his jaw and he looked right at home in her kitchen. The sight touched her heart. “You started without me,” she said when she saw he already had the bowls filled with different candies and plates stacked with cuts of gingerbread.
“No. No,” he insisted. “I had some time, so I got things ready. How were the Cooper sisters today?”
She accepted the glass of wine he offered. “You know finishing each other’s sentences and being lovely as—” Her words trailed off as she glanced into the dining room. “Eliot.”
Hannah was speechless—a new thing for her—at the scene. He’d set the dining room table with white candles and sprigs of holly tucked into a red vase. There were bowls of food and two place settings on the cherry wood table.
“Did you make dinner?” she asked.
“I did. But, it’s cool.”
Now Hannah felt horrible. She’d been so busy taking care of everything on her schedule, then stopping to hold conversations with people she could’ve easily told she had plans, instead of focusing on getting here in time. She set her glass on the island and dropped her head down to groan.
In seconds, Elliot was there, touching her arm. “It’s cool,” he repeated.
Coming to a stand, Hannah circled the island. “Oh, it’s not cool at all. I’m so sorry.” She hugged him and loved how comforting it felt when he hugged her back. Her thoughts circled back to moments ago on the porch. Eliot could’ve been upset that she was late, yet again. He’d gone through so much to prepare dinner for her on top of his offer to help her with the gingerbread house. She should’ve been more considerate, should have prioritized him in the way he seemed to have done with her tonight. “I just lost track of time.” It was the truth and yet it didn’t sound like enough of an excuse.
“I know,” he said pulling back a bit so he could look at her while holding her in his arms. “You’re looking after your nephew, your schedule is packed with the town’s Christmas needs. And you’re still fitting in time to celebrate Michelle’s wedding. Tell me how to help.”
“This. This is what’s helping. Thank you, Eliot.” This was also one of the reasons she’d fallen in love with him. His ability to take any situation, examine it and figure out what he could do to make it better.
Case in point, he’d prepared dinner for her, which was a tremendous help. Otherwise she would’ve tossed a frozen pizza into the oven while they worked on the gingerbread house and called it a day.
“Come on, let’s go sit and eat. I hope it’s not too cold,” she told him.
Taking her hand he led her into the dining room. “Not in those great new ceramic dishes you bought, they really hold the heat just like you said they would.”
“See, I told you they were a good investment,” she said as Elliot released her hand and pulled out a chair for her to sit.
Taking the seat as if they were at some elegant banquet dinner, she smiled up at him and watched as he moved around to the other side of the table. When he sat and then extended his hands across for her to hold, Hannah took them quickly. Elliot said a quick blessing over the food and then released her hands.
“Behold, my most famed macaroni and cheese,” he said, lifting the indigo top off one of the two ceramic pots she’d purchased from the TV shopping network.
It was box mac ‘n cheese, not homemade baked, but he always garnished it with bacon bits as his special flourish and it always made Hannah giggle because it was just the right amount of corny and romantic. “Oh, you know I love your famed mac ‘n cheese.”
He nodded, a goofy grin spreading across his face. “I know it.”
Minutes into the meal Eliot asked, “Hey, you remember that time the church had a spaghetti dinner and we were in charge of boiling all the noodles?”
Hannah had just set her glass of wine down and used her napkin to wipe her mouth. “Yes, I do! We had four pots on the big stove down in the church kitchen. Two of them came from the firehouse so we could cook more at one time.”
“And we put too many noodles in one of them then lost track of time because we were so busy talking that the water started bubbling over the top,” he said, forking another mouthful of mac ‘n cheese into his mouth.
“Right.” She was nodding now, the memory so clear in her mind. “That quickly got out of hand and the next thing I know you were mopping up water while I was using the strainer to catch the noodles that were coming out of the pot.”
He chuckled and she did too. “I was trying to get them before they hit the floor.”
“And I was trying to keep you from falling on the water, with the bowl of noodles in hand,” he said after chewing.
“Then, Mr. Finley came in asking what was going on, but we were laughing too hard to explain what had happened.” Similar to the way they’d begun laughing now.
They’d had some fun times together over the years, so many that Hannah was certain they could spend every night for the next five or maybe ten years recounting them all.
“We always had a good time together,” Eliot said when they quieted down a bit. “No matter what we were doing, as long as we were together, it was the best time ever.”
His words were both sweet and true and Hannah couldn’t help but smile. “You know, now that you say that, I realize how true it is. I mean, we’ve been friends for a really long time. It still amazes me that it took until last year while we were fixing the snow globe for us to realize there was something more between us.”
“Well, that’s how long it took you to realize it,” he said. “I’d known for a while.”
“Really? You never told me that.” And she’d never even considered that Eliot had harbored feelings for her. Hearing this now had emotion swirling in the pit of her stomach as she slowly reached for her glass. Another sip of wine was definitely in order.
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Author Lacey Baker
About the Author Lacey Baker, a Maryland native, lives with her husband, three children, two grandchildren and English Bulldog in what most would call Suburban America–a townhouse development where everybody knows each other and each other’s kids. Family cook-outs, reunion vacations, and growing up in church have all inspired Lacey to work towards her dreams and to write about the endurance of family and the quest to find everlasting love. To date she has written in several genres including small town romance, YA paranormal (as Artist Arthur), a cozy mystery series titled Rumors and adult paranormal (as A.C. Arthur).
Welcome to the blog tour for A CHRISTMAS AT GINGERBREAD FALLS, a standalone adult contemporary holiday romance, by Katie Mettner. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
Synopsis Actress Carrie Murray’s films are a Christmas lover’s delight. Filled with twinkling lights, festive carols, and happy endings, they’re the perfect escape from reality—for her and the audience. Then Tinseltown calls.
Braxton Timothy is Hollywood’s biggest action star. Handsome and talented but decidedly on the naughty list, no one can fathom his sudden desire to produce a feel-good Christmas movie—least of all, his no-name co-star.
Alternating between scenes reminiscent of everyone’s favorite made-for-TV movies and unexpected, off-screen chemistry, Gingerbread Falls has surprises in store this holiday season. The question is, will there be enough Christmas magic to convince two imperfect people that they’re perfect for each other?
This “sweet as a Christmas cookie” romance (bestselling author Heidi Swain) includes an original recipe for Maple Glazed Gingerbread Scones.
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Excerpt #1 Carrie paced to the end of the trailer and paused. “Oh my God, what did I do?”
She was exhausted, but she also knew she wouldn’t sleep if she tried to take that nap she needed. A quick check of the clock told her it was two-thirty in the afternoon in California and safe to call her lifeline. She picked up the phone and went to the bedroom, closing the door and praying no one would be able to hear her if they were milling around the campground outside her trailer.
She waited while the phone rang, and when it was answered, Ari’s face filled the screen again. “Wow, two calls in two days. What’s up, girl?”
“I need help,” Carrie said without introduction. “I screwed up, and now I don’t know how to fix it or what to do about it.”
“Whoa, slow down,” Ari said, leaning into the camera as if that was going to help her see Carrie better. “What happened? Bad day on the set?”
“More like a good night in the hay with Braxton Timothy,” she hissed, her eyes darting around, and her ears perked for anyone who might be outside the trailer.
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Ari squealed.
“Shh,” Carrie shushed. “There are other people around here. We have to be quiet.”
“You’re in your trailer, right?”
“Which isn’t soundproof.” She waved her hand in the air for a second and then dug around for her earbuds. Once she had them, she left one out so she could hear what was going on in the hangar too.
“Wow, you are paranoid,” Ari teased, an easy grin on her face. “I can’t believe you slept with Mr. Hollywood! How was it?”
“Earth-shattering,” she said honestly. “I’ve never experienced anything like that ever in my twenty-seven years.”
Ari did a fist pump and then danced in her seat like an idiot. “I’m so excited!”
“I can tell,” Carrie said dryly. “But you’re missing the point.”
“There’s a point?”
“Yes!” She was exasperated that her friend was not getting it. “I slept with him after I said I wouldn’t sleep with him.”
“And you aren’t the first, I’m sure. Tell me what happened.”
Carrie filled her friend in on the trip out on the sled, getting stranded in a cabin, and sex by the light of the fire. When she finished, Ari sat transfixed, biting her lip like she’d just watched Fifty Shades of Grey.
“I still don’t see a problem, Carrie. It was consensual and sounds like it was damn amazing.”
“It so was,” she sighed.
“And that’s the problem,” Ari deduced. “You want to do it again and he doesn’t.”
“No, he wants to do it again and I don’t. I can’t, Ari. I can’t,” she said, dragging out the word like a song.
“Why don’t you want to do it again?”
Carrie tossed up her hand in frustration. “I do want to do it again, but I can’t do it again because then I won’t be able to stop, and you know how that’s going to end up.”
Ari tossed her head back and forth a couple of times. “First comes sex, then comes love, then comes a baby in a baby carriage!” she sang, laughing at her wittiness, but Carrie remained unamused.
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Author Katie Mettner
About the Authors Katie Mettner writes small-town romantic tales filled with epic love stories and happily-ever-afters. She proudly wears the title of, ‘the only person to lose her leg after falling down the bunny hill,’ and loves decorating her prosthetic with the latest fashion trends. She lives in Northern Wisconsin with her own happily-ever-after and three mini-mes. Katie has a massive addiction to coffee and Twitter, and a lessening aversion to Pinterest — now that she’s quit trying to make the things she pins.
Welcome to the blog tour for A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS, the second book in the adult contemporary romance series, Blue Moon Bay, by USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Snow. See below for information on the book and series, buy links, and an exclusive excerpt.
A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS (Blue Moon Bay Series #2) by Jennifer Snow
Synopsis For Jessica Connolly, there is no better place than her coastal hometown of Blue Moon Bay. She has a wonderful family, supportive best friends, and a successful bakery on Main Street. Unfortunately, every time she designs one of her ex-boyfriends’ wedding cakes, she’s reminded just how unlucky she is with love…and that she’s a good luck charm for men to find their happily ever after. With someone else. The minute they break up. So she’s decided to be done with love.
Dr. Mitch Jameson is more comfortable traveling the world with Doctors Without Borders than staying in one place. He just needs to survive the holidays in his small hometown before he can leave again. The beautiful, intriguing bakery owner with an aversion to dating might be just who he needs to occupy his restless heart.
From sipping hot chocolates at the local festival of lights to early morning dessert deliveries, Jessica and Mitch rediscover the spirit of the holidays. But when the 25 days of Christmas are over, will their romance be over, too?
—————————————————————————-
Excerpt #1 The front door opened again and she shut her eyes tight, hoping whoever it was had walked into the wrong store. If that chime over her door jingled once more today, Jessica was going to lose her shit. Had everyone in Blue Moon Bay fallen off their latest health fad diet in the last eight hours?
It had to be the rain.
Rainy days were common this time of year on this part of the coast, and when the skies decided to open, it resulted in dark, overcast downpours that lasted for hours. It was pretty to watch from inside the bakery, but unfortunately, it spurred a need for a sugar fix in the locals and tourists alike. Something to do with a change in barometric pressure…
“Hello?”
The unrecognizable male voice had Jessica counting to ten.
Where the hell were they all coming from? Hadn’t she served everyone within a five-mile radius by now? She’d expected her business to be slow because of the wedding stunt.
“Anyone here?”
“No, I just leave my bakery unattended…hope the Keebler elves sneak in to do all the baking at night,” she muttered, pushing through the screen door that lead to the front of the bakery. “How may I help—” She stopped and her jaw dropped. “Mitch Jameson?”
He hadn’t changed at all in the years since she’d last seen him. If anything, he’d gotten hotter.
Or maybe, as a teenager, she just hadn’t noticed Lia’s older brother in that way.
She sure as hell was noticing him in that way now.
Tall, thin in an “I have muscles under this shirt but I’m not a gym junkie” way, and handsome in the traditional dark hair, dark eyes stereotype, he was definitely the best-looking disturbance so far that day. Or any day in recent memory.
“I’m sorry…you’re…” He glanced at the stack of business cards on the counter. “Jessica?”
She didn’t take offense to him not recognizing her—she’d been a chubby kid, a teenage friend of his sister’s the last time he’d seen her, and he’d already been completing his medical degree. They may have said ten words to each other the entire time she’d hung out with Lia.
“Yes,” she said. “Hi… It’s just Jess.”
His dimpled smile and dark-rimmed glasses seemed to contradict each other. Like when Adam Levine tried to downplay his hotness by wearing glasses, the “hot geek” look was definitely working for this guy. She rubbed at her chest beneath. It was really hot in here.
“Hey, do you think I could borrow a small towel…or napkin?” He removed his glasses and ran a hand over his face, and rain dripped from his dark hair. Shorter around the back and sides, longer in the front. It looked soft and thick, the kind of hair that her hands could run through forever. “A paper bag, even?”
“Oh, yes.” She had to quit gawking. It wasn’t as though she’d never seen an attractive guy before. She reached for a clean dishtowel in the drawer and handed it to him. “Here you go.”
“Thank you,” he said, wiping his face and exposed neck in his open-collared blue dress shirt.
He wasn’t dressed for the weather…or for Blue Moon Bay at all, really. In dark, charcoal dress pants and shiny leather shoes, he stuck out among the board-short-wearing crowd of the coast. Even in the rain, the humidity would have made what he was wearing look uncomfortable on anyone else, but Mitch looked cool and relaxed, as though the rolled-up sleeves were the only casualness he needed.
“I was sent to pick up an order for my mom,” he said, looking around.
Her eyes widened. “The Jameson Nightmare Christmas order? That doesn’t need to be ready for another week and a half.” The family always placed a massive Christmas order for their holiday entertaining. Usually, Jessica had until the twentieth, but that year they were celebrating early with Lia on the fifteenth, reducing her deadline to the thirteenth, but that was still ten days away.
About the Author Jennifer Snow is a USA Today bestselling author writing contemporary romance fiction for Grand Central Publishing, Entangled and Harlequin. Her stories range in heat level from sweet to sexy and are set everywhere from big cities to small towns. Her books are light and humorous, but also full of heart, featuring families and communities readers love to visit over and over again.
Originally from Newfoundland, Canada, she now resides in Spain with her husband, son and three mischievous cats.
She currently publishes psychological thrillers under her pen name J.M. Winchester and writes screenplays and TV shows in her ‘spare’ time. Her holiday rom-com, Mistletoe and Molly airs Christmas 2021!
Today is release day for A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS, the second book in the adult contemporary romance series, Blue Moon Bay, by USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Snow. See below for information on the book and series, buy links, and an exclusive excerpt.
A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS (Blue Moon Bay Series #2) by Jennifer Snow
Synopsis For Jessica Connolly, there is no better place than her coastal hometown of Blue Moon Bay. She has a wonderful family, supportive best friends, and a successful bakery on Main Street. Unfortunately, every time she designs one of her ex-boyfriends’ wedding cakes, she’s reminded just how unlucky she is with love…and that she’s a good luck charm for men to find their happily ever after. With someone else. The minute they break up. So she’s decided to be done with love.
Dr. Mitch Jameson is more comfortable traveling the world with Doctors Without Borders than staying in one place. He just needs to survive the holidays in his small hometown before he can leave again. The beautiful, intriguing bakery owner with an aversion to dating might be just who he needs to occupy his restless heart.
From sipping hot chocolates at the local festival of lights to early morning dessert deliveries, Jessica and Mitch rediscover the spirit of the holidays. But when the 25 days of Christmas are over, will their romance be over, too?
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Excerpt He shot a quick glance toward her in the passenger seat of his rental. She’d licked her dark mauve colored lipstick from her lips during dinner and she hadn’t reapplied it. Did that mean she’d be open to a good night kiss? He’d read in a Cosmo magazine left behind on a flight once that the lack of reapplying lipstick was a sign…
Jeez, now he was getting his relationship advice from a magazine he had no business reading.
She looked at him, and he quickly turned his attention back to the road. “I’m just the next left,” she said, as he came to a stop sign. The speed limit in the neighborhood was thirty, but he couldn’t be going faster than ten. He was reluctant to see the night end, but inviting her back to the Inn for a drink had seemed too sleazy…but would she invite him into her place?
It had been far too long since he’d been on a real first date, and it was quickly becoming evident that he had no idea what the dating etiquette was these days in the era of apps and hookups. She’d been quiet on the drive back to her place, so it was hard to read her.
He turned onto her street and cleared his throat. “So, on a scale of one to ten, how would you rate tonight’s date?”
She grinned as she turned in the seat to face him. “Like if I was leaving a Yelp review?”
“Yes. Yelp review me.” He could take it. Hopefully, she wouldn’t dock him for his use of the word “corny” or his unimaginative date suggestion.
She looked as though she were thinking for a long moment. “Um…I’d say it was a solid eight.”
“Eight.” He nodded slowly. Not bad. Not a ten. “What could have I done for a better score?”
Jessica’s cheeks flushed slightly as she stared at their joined hands between the seats. “I docked you two points because you are a limited-time offer.”
He swallowed hard. So, she was looking for something a little more serious in a guy. Normally that response would have him doing the logical, responsible thing—breaking it off before the woman got too invested or got her feelings hurt. So far, he’d been honest and clear in his intentions. Saying goodnight and thanking her for a fun evening was the way to play this.
But he really wanted to see her again. More than he’d wanted a second date with a woman in a long time. He didn’t want to see her get hurt, of course, but maybe they could take things casually and see what happened.
All he knew was he’d been dreading this time in his hometown. Dreading the downtime, the holidays with his family, being in one place for too long…but Jessica was already helping him cope.
About the Author Jennifer Snow is a USA Today bestselling author writing contemporary romance fiction for Grand Central Publishing, Entangled and Harlequin. Her stories range in heat level from sweet to sexy and are set everywhere from big cities to small towns. Her books are light and humorous, but also full of heart, featuring families and communities readers love to visit over and over again.
Originally from Newfoundland, Canada, she now resides in Spain with her husband, son and three mischievous cats.
She currently publishes psychological thrillers under her pen name J.M. Winchester and writes screenplays and TV shows in her ‘spare’ time. Her holiday rom-com, Mistletoe and Molly airs Christmas 2021!
Welcome to the excerpt reveal tour for A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS, the second book in the adult contemporary romance series, Blue Moon Bay, by USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Snow, releasing September 28, 2021. See below for information on the book and series, preorder links, and an exclusive excerpt.
A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS (Blue Moon Bay Series #2) by Jennifer Snow
Synopsis For Jessica Connolly, there is no better place than her coastal hometown of Blue Moon Bay. She has a wonderful family, supportive best friends, and a successful bakery on Main Street. Unfortunately, every time she designs one of her ex-boyfriends’ wedding cakes, she’s reminded just how unlucky she is with love…and that she’s a good luck charm for men to find their happily ever after. With someone else. The minute they break up. So she’s decided to be done with love.
Dr. Mitch Jameson is more comfortable traveling the world with Doctors Without Borders than staying in one place. He just needs to survive the holidays in his small hometown before he can leave again. The beautiful, intriguing bakery owner with an aversion to dating might be just who he needs to occupy his restless heart.
From sipping hot chocolates at the local festival of lights to early morning dessert deliveries, Jessica and Mitch rediscover the spirit of the holidays. But when the 25 days of Christmas are over, will their romance be over, too?
—————————————————————————-
Excerpt December 1st…24 Days until Christmas
“Be honest, you at least spit in the frosting, right?”
Jessica Connolly placed the bride-and-groom topper on the white-and-silver, tastefully Christmas-themed, three-layer cake and stood back to admire her work. “The only joy in all of this is that they will never know.” She winked at her best friend, Whitney, as she carefully boxed up the forty-hour labor of love.
Later that day, her beautiful creation would be enjoyed at ex-boyfriend number three’s wedding. Three weddings in the same year for three guys she’d had relationships with. Unbelievable.
“No one would blame you if you did.” Sitting at the counter of Jessica’s bakery, Delicious Delicacies, her not so recently engaged friend flipped through the book of wedding cake designs that she’d looked at a dozen times already. Her beautifully manicured, candy-cane-themed nails flicked the pages so fast it was a wonder she could actually see the choices. Whitney shook her head. “I can’t believe these guys, asking you to do this.”
“To be fair, I’m the only real bakery in town. And besides, John, Cameron, and Dallas are great guys. They just weren’t the right guys for me,” Jessica said, repeating her mantra. She could put on a brave face, but this was getting exhausting.
Three brides in the last year. None of them her.
And worse, there wasn’t anyone in her small hometown of Blue Moon Bay that she wanted to date that she hadn’t already. At almost thirty, she’d been hoping to design her own wedding cake soon.
“The funny thing is,” Whitney said, “they all found ‘the one’ after they ended things with you.”
“Thanks for pointing that out, Whit.”
Her friend’s laugh was apologetic. “Sorry. I’m just saying, you’re like a good luck charm for these guys. Wasn’t there a movie like that?”
“Believe me, if this was a movie, I’d have your legs and Sarah’s butt.”
Whitney paused her page-flipping, her expression contemplative as she tilted her head to the side.
Did we have a winner? Excitedly, Jessica leaned over the counter to see which design had caught her friend’s attention. Her heart stopped. It was the three tier cascade wedding cake, white with lavender accents and sugar work doves adorning the top. Jessica’s favorite. The cake she’d always wanted for her own wedding…if/when she ever got married.
Please don’t let her select that one.
If her best friend wanted it, there was no way Jessica could deny her from having it. She held her breath, waiting…
It’s only a cake. No big deal. She could design a new one for herself. Not as pretty as this one.
About the Author Jennifer Snow is a USA Today bestselling author writing contemporary romance fiction for Grand Central Publishing, Entangled and Harlequin. Her stories range in heat level from sweet to sexy and are set everywhere from big cities to small towns. Her books are light and humorous, but also full of heart, featuring families and communities readers love to visit over and over again.
Originally from Newfoundland, Canada, she now resides in Spain with her husband, son and three mischievous cats.
She currently publishes psychological thrillers under her pen name J.M. Winchester and writes screenplays and TV shows in her ‘spare’ time. Her holiday rom-com, Mistletoe and Molly airs Christmas 2021!
Author Chelsea Bobulski is revealing the cover to ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, the first book in her young adult contemporary holiday romance series, All I Want for Christmas, releasing October 28, 2021. See below for the cover, information on the book, preorder links, and a link to add it to your Goodreads TBR.
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS THE GIRL NEXT DOOR (All I Want for Christmas Series #1) by Chelsea Bobulski
About the Book – Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited Title: ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS THE GIRL NEXT DOOR Series: All I Want for Christmas Series, #1 Author: Chelsea Bobulski Release Date: October 28, 2021
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Holiday Romance
Links: Goodreads | Amazon| Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon IT | Amazon FR
Synopsis It’s a Wonderful Life meets Wish Upon A Star in this Christmas-themed young adult contemporary romance.
Graham Wallace has been in love with the girl next door for a decade. Unfortunately, she’s been dating his best friend for the past two years. Out of sheer desperation, Graham makes a wish on a shooting star—all he wants for Christmas is Sarah Clarke.
When Graham wakes up the next morning, everything has changed, and he’s the one who’s been dating Sarah for the past two years, not his best friend. Graham assumes the wish would have only come true if he and Sarah were meant to be together, but as it becomes clear that he and Sarah bring out the worst in each other, not the best, and as he starts to fall for the new girl in town, Graham wonders if some wishes come true in order to show us what’s not meant to be.
“A town called Christmas. An iffy wish come true. A new girl who could change it all. Chelsea Bobulski’s The Girl Next Door kept me on my toes, turning pages from the start, and loving each revelation as it unfolded. Deep, funny, and real—this holiday romance will completely warm your heart and remind you that not all wishes should come true.” — Nova McBee, author of the Calculated Series
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Author Chelsea Bobulski
About the Author Chelsea Bobulski was born in Columbus, Ohio, and raised on Disney movies, classic musicals, and Buckeye pride. She’s always had a penchant for the fantastical, the stories that teach us there is more to this world than meets the eye. She has a soft spot for characters with broken pasts, strange talents, and a dash of destiny in their bones. After graduating from THE Ohio State University with a degree in history, she promptly married her high school sweetheart and settled down in Northwest Ohio with her notebooks and daydreams and copious amounts of chocolate. THE WOOD is her debut novel.
Welcome to the blog tour for LOVE ON THE WINTER STEPPES, a stand-alone adult contemporary romance, by Paris Wynters. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt and a link to add it to your Goodreads TBR.
Synopsis Can a magical day at the Ice Festival melt this career-focused woman’s heart?
Marketing consultant Qara Whitaker loves her job, happily putting in endless hours and working through holidays. But when her grandmother asks that she accompany her on a birthday trip to Mongolia to visit their family, Qara can’t say no. Packing up her laptop, Qara boards the plane—never imagining that a shared cab ride with a stranger will change her life forever.
Hoping to push through writer’s block, author Benjamin Lacoy hops on a plane to Mongolia looking for inspiration. A chance meeting with a beautiful and intelligent woman whose smile ignites his heart leads to them playing tourists. Sparks fly and Ben is feeling far more than inspiration, yet each time he and Qara get close, she’s distracted by work.
Ben is torn; he likes Qara, but he always promised himself he’d never let work come before family and friends like his parents did. Opposites clearly attract, but can they learn to balance work with love in order to build a future together?
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Excerpt #1 Ben Lacoy sprawled across the brown microfiber couch in his Brooklyn apartment as he mindlessly scrolled through apps on his phone, hoping that something, anything, would pop out at him and end his writer’s block. But no matter how many photos of fit people posing on mountaintops he saw or funny quips he read, motivation continued to evade him. Ben tossed his phone aside and glanced over at the desk by the window where his laptop waited. The gleaming blank, white page was like an accusation.
He groaned and flung an arm over his eyes. After the success of his debut novel, which had landed him on the New York Times Best Seller list, Ben’s agent had secured him a six-figure deal on proposal for a new middle grade fantasy series. At the time, he’d been ecstatic. Getting paid big bucks to write a new fantasy series set during winter? What could be bad about that?
He’d realized the answer to that question the day after emailing the signed contract back to his agent. The moment he sat down at his laptop to start, his fingers had hovered over the keyboard, but nothing happened. His brain froze.
Murphy’s law.
Or, more accurately—writer’s block. A full-fledged case that struck out of nowhere. No rhyme, no reason. And worst of all, no words.
Every day, more of the same. Ben sat behind his laptop…waiting for magic that never arrived. He’d hoped tonight would be different, but so far, he’d had zero luck.
So, he did what he usually did. He shrugged it off and reached for the caramel popcorn container on the black-brown IKEA coffee table and shoved a handful into his mouth.
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Author Paris Wynters
About the Author I’m a hopeless romantic and a lover of all things coffee, canine, and exercise. When I’m not writing, I’m at the hockey rink cheering on my son, playing HALO on Xbox, or breaking a sweat in the gym. live in New York with my family and my two lovable and psychotic working dogs. I also run numerous 5k races in the New York area that raise funds to support the military/veteran community.
Welcome to the book blitz for THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT, a stand-alone adult contemporary holiday romance, by Alexandrea Weis. See for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT by Alexandrea Weis
About the Book – Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited Title: THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT Author: Alexandrea Weis Publisher: Rosewind Books Release Date: October 27, 2020 Genre: Adult Contemporary Holiday Romance Links:Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon IT | Amazon FR
Synopsis SOMETIMES IT TAKES ONE BROKEN HEART TO HEAL ANOTHER.
Courtney Winston is a writer on a deadline. Eager to finish her book and get over a recent break-up, she ditches Christmas with her family and retreats to a secluded cabin in the mountains.
Appliances rarely work, and cell service is spotty, but Courtney senses there is more to her rustic rental—something dark and haunting.
Then Peter, the attractive Stone Mountain Lodge owner, and a meddling cook, Mrs. Finn, keep coming around, shattering her peace and offering advice on how to fix her heavy heart.
Courtney grows closer to Peter, but Mrs. Finn warns her of his troubled past. Undaunted, Courtney sets out to win him over. But being with the brooding stranger may end up costing her more than she ever imagined.
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Excerpt #3 She spotted the bridge and decided crossing it would be faster than fighting the ice. Courtney headed toward the arched structure, wishing she had never come with Peter to the magical place.
She stepped over clumps of brush along the shoreline, her boots sinking into thick patches of snow as she hurried to reach the bridge.
The stonework on the steps was like the mantle in the cabin. The same attention to detail reminded her of Peter. Even when he chopped wood, he had to make everything precise.
Her glove brushed the smooth surface of the wooden railing, wondering how many hours the two young men spent building the bridge. That Peter’s beautiful remembrance of his life with his brother should be hidden away in the woods made her sad. If only others could see what they had done.
Then a funny indentation in the railing stopped her cold.
She rubbed the surface, not sure if the imperfection was intentional or just a play of light on the dark wood.
A portion of the railing had been expertly carved away, leaving a name raised in the wood like a bas-relief. The letters were swirled and decorative. This was professional, even, and expertly done. It wasn’t the work of a lovesick schoolboy, but a man who worshipped the woman whose name he’d forever attached to the bridge—Evelyn.
Courtney’s knees became weak as she traced the name she had no doubt Peter etched there. The love he’d borne for the woman became painfully clear.
Her heart grieved, sinking like an anvil in her chest. No one would carve her name into anything, or pine for her after she went off with another. She wasn’t the kind of woman who lived fairy tales. She only read about them in books.
“You found it.”
He was in the middle of the bridge, a few feet away. So caught up in the testament of one man’s love, Courtney had not heard Peter’s heavy boots or felt the bridge tremble under his weight.
“When did you do this?”
He swung his hands behind his back. “What makes you think it was me?”
She glanced at him and tipped her head. “I didn’t realize how much you loved her.”
The thin line was back on his lips. “Neither did she. I carved this right after she married Lawrence.”
She tapped the carving with her hand. “Has she ever seen this?”
“No. She never came here.”
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Author Alexandrea Weis
About the Author Alexandrea Weis, RN-CS, PhD, is a multi-award-winning author, screenwriter, advanced practice registered nurse, and historian who was born and raised in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Having grown up in the motion picture industry as the daughter of a director, she learned to tell stories from a different perspective. Infusing the rich tapestry of her hometown into her novels, she believes that creating vivid characters makes a story moving and memorable.
Weis writes romance, mystery, suspense, thrillers, supernatural, and young adult fiction and has sold approximately one million books. She lives with her husband and pets in New Orleans where she is a permitted/certified wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries and rescues orphaned and injured animals.
She is a member of both the International Thriller Writers Association and the Horror Writers Association. www.AlexandreaWeis.com..
Synopsis “[A] heartwarming fantasy … Christmas enthusiasts will find this hits the spot.” ~Publishers Weekly
A contemporary, holiday fantasy with a new twist on A Christmas Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life.
Abby Nicholson used to love Christmas. Until she didn’t.
After leaving Winter Glen, the small town famous for its Christmas celebration and her family’s greeting card company, Abby is forced to return to the home she left behind when the unexpected passing of her father thrusts the business into her hands.
Turning her back on the magic of the holiday beloved by her father and the town, she decides to sell the business. Signing the paperwork with the very pen her father used to create it, she is shocked to discover her hometown has become a whole new world.
One where Christmas has vanished!
Now stuck in a place devoid of hope, joy, and the spirit of the season, Abby sees family and friends altered in the most terrible of ways.
Determined to set things right, though unsure how, Abby takes out her father’s pen and begins to draw. When she realizes her art is coming to life, she sets out to recreate the holiday and bring back the most wonderful time of the year.
But some are determined to keep an iron grip on the town and will do anything in their power to stop her..
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My Review WRITE CHRISTMAS is a Hallmark Christmas movie that lives in my Kindle. It’s a delightful story full of hope, transformation, and charming characters straight out of a Dickens tale. Abby Nicholson is the heir to the Samuel Nicholson Card Company, her beloved late father. The entire town of Winter Glen was built around the bucolic greeting card company. But the bright-eyed hopeful girl who used to help her father hand-sketch his whimsical, heartwarming designs is all grown up with all of that hope drained from her. With a teen daughter of her own and the father of that daughter proposing to her year after year, she’s jaded and ready to move on. In her words, there are no adventures left to be had in Winter Glen and is ready to sell the company to a big chain and leave town for good.
No one thinks this is a good idea, except Abby, so the town will need to come together to convince her that there is so much more to Winter Glen than she can see. But it will take more than that. Abby needs to rediscover the magic of Winter Glen and Christmas itself, the holiday that the town has embraced more than any other place in the country.
Plot The primary plot centers around Abby, but the story is told like a vivid movie, with a stellar supporting cast who all have their own stories within the story. The author does a brilliant job of creating these fabulous characters that I couldn’t help liking from the first moment they appeared on page. Even Lolo Windberg. Because the story is about growth and second chances, no one thing drives the plot, but rather they all work together to create this magical story of redemption and rediscovering the joy of Christmas, like ingredients in a favorite Christmas cookie recipe. It’s not perfect if you leave even one thing out.
The Characters The characters are what really makes this story work. The plotting unfolds at a steady, but slow pace, but because the characters are larger than life, it’s okay. I’d spend all day with these people. Huston has a way of developing his cast with a word here and a sentence there that make them come to life. From Darla, the town mayor, to Abby, Abby’s mother Stella, her daughter, Chloe, and the man who wants her love, Cameron, to the people who work for her greeting card company, everyone is the star of their own part of the story even as the contribute to the greater tale, and we feel that on every page.
Top Five Things I Loved About WRITE CHRISTMAS 1. Winter Glen. I’m more of a big city girl, but if I ever moved to a small town, it would so be Winter Glen. The town is its very own character in the story.
2. Darla. The quintessential mayor is spunky and seems to always have the right thing to say in a given situation, even though she doesn’t think she does.
3. Abby. Though often morose, it’s easy to understand her disillusionment with both her home town and the Christmas season it embodies. She’s all of us at one time or another.
4. Cameron. His persistence is sweet rather than stalkery. Being the father of her daughter only makes his unwillingness to give up on the woman he loves and the family he wants endearing rather than creepy.
5. Christmas. The best holiday of the year gets a fresh new tale.
Bottom Line A warm pair of socks and a cozy fire wrapped up in an endearing tale.
Disclaimer
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
About the Author Thommy Hutson is a bestselling, award-winning author, screenwriter, producer, and director.
A graduate of UCLA, he began his career co-writing the story for the Warner Bros. animated hit SCOOBY-DOO IN WHERE’S MY MUMMY? He followed that with co-writing the concept and additional material for CHILL OUT, SCOOBY-DOO!
As an author, Thommy crafted a limited-edition coffee table book detailing the making and legacy of horror icon Wes Craven’s 1984 classic A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. A trade version followed from Permuted Press/Simon & Schuster. His novel, the teen thriller Jinxed, (Vesuvian Books) is the first in a trilogy that has been called “A must-read for classic horror fans … Hutson could easily take on the mantle as the next Lois Duncan.” Hutson was named on the
7 Essential LGBTQ Horror Authors for Your Summer Reading Lists.
Thommy wrote the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries original film, A CHRISTMAS FOR THE BOOKS, which was the highest-rated scripted program the night it premiered. He co-scripted the teen thriller INSTAFAME (Lifetime), wrote a screenplay for an audio holiday project, and is in development on a family feature film. In addition, Thommy produced the critically acclaimed feature THE TROUBLE WITH THE TRUTH, an insightful relationship drama starring Lea Thompson and John Shea. He also produced DREAMWORLD, a quirky, romantic dramedy. He has also worked as a staff writer on a Hulu web series.
A member of the Producers Guild of America, a Saturn and Home Media Magazine award-winner, and an aficionado of holiday films as well as teen movies from the 80s and 90s, Thommy continues to develop unique, compelling, and provocative projects across multiple genres for film, television, publishing, and home entertainment.
Welcome to the blog tour for WRITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS,a stand-alone adult contemporary romantic comedy/holiday romance, by USA Today bestselling author, Julie Hammerle. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her Giveaway.
Reclusive fantasy author turned famous when his series got developed into a mega TV hit. Except now I’m way behind deadline, and the whole world is waiting to see what I’ll write next. The pressure is getting to me, and I. Can’t. Write.
Cue: small town where people don’t recognize me.
Cue: my assistant insisting on a personal chef to keep me fed and nothing more.
Cue: finding the first bit of inspiration I’ve felt in months whenever she’s around…
Am I a walking cliche now, or what?
Dani Cooper seems to have her own hurdles to jump this holiday season. Newly divorced, looking for her next move. She’s the first person who’s seen me for me in way too long. And I see her, too–as way more than just an employee, a divorcee, a cook. She’s becoming my muse…
But when my Christmas deadline hits, will it spell the end of us, too?
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Excerpt #1 I picked up the wallet and held it at arm’s length, since I’d left my reading glasses down in the kitchen with my purse. I blinked twice and focused on the face. The familiar face.
Matt.
And there it was in black and white on his Minnesota driver’s license—Matthew Christopher Bradford.
I let out an inadvertent squeal as I walked right into the bed and banged my big toe—hard—on the bed post. “Yeeowww!” I hopped on one foot, biting my lip, trying to wait out the pain. Shit. Shit shit shit.
A few seconds later, I sensed someone at the door, and I turned and found myself face-to-face with Matt. His eyes went to his boxers, still dangling from my hand. Somehow I’d managed to hang onto those despite the commotion.
Oh my god. I was standing in his bedroom, holding his underwear. “I wasn’t going to try them on,” I blurted.
He rushed over, grabbed his dirty laundry, crumpled it into a ball, opened the closet door, and tossed the underwear inside. He shut that door and leaned against it, as if locking his dirty underpants inside. He glared at me. “What the hell is going on?”
“What’s going on? You tell me what’s going on.” I reached down, picked up his wallet, and handed it to him. “You’re M.C. Bradford.”
He snatched the wallet from my grip and shoved it into the back pocket of his jeans. “Yeah. And how long have you known that?”
“For about a minute,” I said. “I found out when I saw your driver’s license on the dresser.”
“How am I supposed to believe that?” His eyes flashed with anger. “How am I supposed to trust that you didn’t take this job just to get to me?”
“For what? Why would I do that?” I had to prove to him that I wasn’t like the last person he’d hired. I was here to do my job, full stop. I pulled my ancient iPhone with the cracked screen out of my pocket. “Here.” I frantically sent a text and then handed him the phone.
He read it. “Who’s Kelsie?”
“My daughter.”
He glanced down at the phone again. “You asked her, ‘How big an M.C. Bradford fan was I before I took this job?’” He glanced up. “How’s that supposed to prove anything. You two could’ve planned this whole—” He paused. “She wrote back. It’s a crying laughing emoji, and then she added a gif of Mariah Carey saying, ‘I don’t know her.’”
“I don’t know what any of that means,” I said. “I mean, I know who Mariah Carey is, but the rest of it…?”
Matt handed me my phone back. “I’m not sure what it means either. Is she crying laughing because of course you’d never heard of me or because you’re my biggest fan?”
“The former,” I said. “I promise. I swear. I had no idea who you were—I still have no idea, honestly. I only took the job because it seemed like a good opportunity, and I really, really needed the money. I need the money.”
He stayed at the closet door, one hand on the doorknob, like a tether. “And last night?” He pressed his lips together.
“Last night,” I said, “I thought you were some random cute guy named Matt. If I’d known you were my boss, I never would’ve…” My eyes stinging with tears, I shook my head, saying the words out loud would’ve been too mortifying.
He stayed at the door.
“Please don’t fire me,” I said quietly.
“I’m not going to fire you.”
“Thank you.”
Sighing, he ran a hand through his not-at-all thinning sandy brown hair streaked with gray. “You’re an amazing cook,” he said. “It’d be ludicrous of me to let you go.”
A blush crept up my neck.
“That oatmeal you made this morning. And those cookies last night.” He rubbed his tummy.
“Wait until you try the bibimbap I’m making for lunch.”
“Can’t wait.” He finally let go of the doorknob and stepped toward me. My mind flashed back to last night, how I’d breached the chasm of space between us and launched myself into his arms. We stood close like that now, but the circumstances had changed, even if the energy between us hadn’t. We were boss and employee now, not two random adults out for a late stroll. And I knew deep down he still wasn’t sure he could trust me. “How about if I vow to put all my dirty clothes in the hamper right away, so you don’t have to worry about picking it up off my floor.”
I shook my head. “It’s fine. It’s my job.” Not sure how to end this conversation, I got back to work, fluffing the pillows on his bed.
“Hey, Dani.”
I spun around and found him standing in the doorway, looking serious. His brows formed a vee on his forehead. “That kiss last night?” he said, like it pained him. “It was really fucking good.”
My face couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. “It really was,” I choked out.
He retreated to the quiet of his office, and I kept making the bed, our first and final kiss playing over and over in my mind.
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Author Julie Hammerle
About the Author USA Today bestselling author Julie Hammerle writes young adult novels that focus on nerds, geeks, and basket cases falling in love. On the YA side, she is the author of The Sound of Us (Entangled TEEN, 2016) and the North Pole romance series (Entangled Crush, 2017). For adult romances, look for Knocked-Up Cinderella in the fall of 2018. A graduate of Butler University with degrees in secondary education and Latin with a minor in music, Julie lives in Chicago with her family and enjoys reading, cooking, and watching all the television.
Today is release day for WRITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS,a stand-alone adult contemporary romantic comedy/holiday romance, by USA Today bestselling author, Julie Hammerle. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her Giveaway.
Reclusive fantasy author turned famous when his series got developed into a mega TV hit. Except now I’m way behind deadline, and the whole world is waiting to see what I’ll write next. The pressure is getting to me, and I. Can’t. Write.
Cue: small town where people don’t recognize me.
Cue: my assistant insisting on a personal chef to keep me fed and nothing more.
Cue: finding the first bit of inspiration I’ve felt in months whenever she’s around…
Am I a walking cliche now, or what?
Dani Cooper seems to have her own hurdles to jump this holiday season. Newly divorced, looking for her next move. She’s the first person who’s seen me for me in way too long. And I see her, too–as way more than just an employee, a divorcee, a cook. She’s becoming my muse…
But when my Christmas deadline hits, will it spell the end of us, too?
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Exclusive Excerpt “You said your house is full….” I was trying to get a read on her. She wore no wedding ring, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t seeing someone.
“My parents are there, obviously, and the dog and my daughter. And my niece and nephew and my sister-in-law…” She chuckled. “Kind of a full house, and my brother’s not even here yet.”
No mention of a boyfriend or girlfriend or partner or anything like that. “You said your daughter is there. Are you married?” Way to be blunt, Matt. Eh, sometimes it was best not to beat around the bush.
“Divorced,” she said. “You?”
“Single. Very single.”
Something in her eyes shifted. Heavy lids darkened her irises to charcoal as she studied me. “I was hoping that was what you’d say.”
I laughed nervously. “I was about to say the same thing to you.”
“I’ve been thinking about you since we ran into each other.” She pushed her hair over one shoulder. “Which is…not something I’d normally say to a complete stranger.”
“We’re not complete strangers now, though, are we? I’m Matt. You’re Dani—”
My stomach bubbled with excitement, as she stepped closer.
“I want to kiss you,” she said, her eyes narrowing.
“Please do,” I told her. “I want you to kiss me.”
She snatched the tumbler of moonshine back from me and drained it as a soft, chilly breeze ruffled her hair. With a lick of her lips, she dropped the cup. I barely had time to register the clank of the aluminum against the asphalt before her mouth was on mine.
I stumbled backward, still holding on to her, trying to keep us upright as our shoes skidded on the gravel next to the street and we tripped into the grass on the side of the road. Her soft, silky lips tasted like mangoes and cinnamon with a hint of alcohol. I held on tight to her, breathing her in, this stranger on the road in the middle of nowhere.
After a few moments, she pulled away, and I stifled a laugh.
“What?” Her eyes flashed.
“Nothing,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s just that, a few minutes ago, I’d been thinking about how we barely knew each other and were sharing a drink.”
She laughed, too. “I supposed all of this escalated quickly.”
“I’m not complaining.” I glanced down the road, toward the house where I was staying. I could invite her to join me, which was the kind of thing I never shied away from, at least it used to be. Random hookups had become more complicated in the past year. If I let Dani into my house, I’d be opening a can of worms. For the next several weeks, she’d be my neighbor. We’d run into each other constantly. Things would get awkward, and the stress of dealing with a romantic entanglement would distract me from my writing. Better to cut this short and leave ourselves with the sweet, perfect memory of making out with a total stranger in the moonlight on a deserted road. “I should probably…” I nodded back toward Linda’s house, making it look like I lived up that way.
“Me, too.” As she walked backwards, heading the way she came, she said, “But Matt, if you ever want to do that again…”
“I’ll keep an eye out for you.” I waved goodbye and headed back toward Linda’s house, ready to walk and walk and walk until I got that kiss out of my mind.
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Author Julie Hammerle
About the Author USA Today bestselling author Julie Hammerle writes young adult novels that focus on nerds, geeks, and basket cases falling in love. On the YA side, she is the author of The Sound of Us (Entangled TEEN, 2016) and the North Pole romance series (Entangled Crush, 2017). For adult romances, look for Knocked-Up Cinderella in the fall of 2018. A graduate of Butler University with degrees in secondary education and Latin with a minor in music, Julie lives in Chicago with her family and enjoys reading, cooking, and watching all the television.
Entangled Publishing and USA Today bestselling author, Julie Hammerle, are revealing an excerpt from WRITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS,a stand-alone adult contemporary romantic comedy/holiday romance, releasing November 30, 2020. See below for information on the book, preorder links, and an exclusive excerpt.
Reclusive fantasy author turned famous when his series got developed into a mega TV hit. Except now I’m way behind deadline, and the whole world is waiting to see what I’ll write next. The pressure is getting to me, and I. Can’t. Write.
Cue: small town where people don’t recognize me.
Cue: my assistant insisting on a personal chef to keep me fed and nothing more.
Cue: finding the first bit of inspiration I’ve felt in months whenever she’s around…
Am I a walking cliche now, or what?
Dani Cooper seems to have her own hurdles to jump this holiday season. Newly divorced, looking for her next move. She’s the first person who’s seen me for me in way too long. And I see her, too–as way more than just an employee, a divorcee, a cook. She’s becoming my muse…
But when my Christmas deadline hits, will it spell the end of us, too?
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Exclusive Excerpt Matt’s back and arms rose and fell with mine, in sync, as if we were one, solid organism. Each breath spread through my entire body—from my head into my lungs and all the way down deep into parts of me that had been dormant for way too long. This was more intimate than anything I’d done with my ex-husband in the months leading up to our divorce.
“You sure you’re okay with this?” he whispered.
“Yes,” I said. “This is fun. Exercise.” Good lord, the rhythm of our breathing together was basically sexual.
“Now,” Una said softly, “lengthen your torso upwards and, exhaling, twist to your right and reach for your partners left knee.”
My shaking fingers grazed Matt’s thigh and walked forward, hunting for his knee. His hand found my knee right away, and he gripped it with his warm, strong hand.
I let out a hopefully inaudible gasp.
“With the next inhale,” Una said, “straighten your back some more, and then with your exhale, deepen the twist, using your partner’s knee as leverage.”
Matt’s back pushed harder against mine, as I gripped the hard ball of his kneecap. His breath continued to move with mine, a little faster now, as we strained into our mutual twist.
“Now relax into the pose.” Easier said than done, Una.. “Take a few more deep breaths.”
We did. My left eye met Matt’s, and he winked, diffusing the very palpable tension. I struggled not to laugh.
“On the next inhale, return to center.” Una waited a few beats. “On your exhale, twist to the left and find your partner’s right knee.”
Matt’s back muscles rippled against mine, as we turned to the other side. “This is the strangest thing I’ve ever done,” he whispered.
“Oh, I think this is just the tip of the iceberg.” I giggled.
“Shhh!” the person next to me hissed.
I turned toward them. “Sorry,” I said, but now I’d broken the dam. I tried to choke back a laugh, but it came out as a snort, which sent Matt into a laughing fit, too.
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Author Julie Hammerle
About the Author USA Today bestselling author Julie Hammerle writes young adult novels that focus on nerds, geeks, and basket cases falling in love. On the YA side, she is the author of The Sound of Us (Entangled TEEN, 2016) and the North Pole romance series (Entangled Crush, 2017). For adult romances, look for Knocked-Up Cinderella in the fall of 2018. A graduate of Butler University with degrees in secondary education and Latin with a minor in music, Julie lives in Chicago with her family and enjoys reading, cooking, and watching all the television.
Welcome to the blog tour for LET IT SNOW, a stand-alone adult contemporary holiday romance, by Cassie Cross. See below for information on the book, buy links, and an exclusive excerpt.
Synopsis Amy Winstead is a twenty something video producer who loves Christmas more than anyone she’s ever known. This year, the holidays are gonna be a lot less happy because she can’t afford the plane ticket home to celebrate with her family, and her best and oldest friend Josh is moving halfway across the country for a new job that he couldn’t turn down.
When Josh asks her to accompany him on his road trip from Texas to Connecticut and offers to pay for her plane ticket back home, how could Amy say no? He’s promised some fun surprises on the trip, and more time with him could never be a bad thing.
One surprise Josh hasn’t planned on is the record-breaking blizzard heading their way. They decide to wait out the storm in the charming town of Holly Hill, where a little holiday magic and a lot of snow combine to help Josh and Amy realize that the something that’s always simmered between them could easily become something more…
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Excerpt #2 Only we don’t get the show on the road exactly, we get the show on the road to Valentina’s, our favorite taco spot, for some farewell breakfast tacos. Josh waits at the window of the teardrop trailer for our order, while I head inside the barn where there’s tables and heat, glorious heat. I fiddle with the napkin while I wait for him, a flurry of nerves in my stomach.
This is really the last time we’ll be having tacos here together, on a trip where I’m going to have to say goodbye to him at the end and fly home by myself. We’re on the precipice of this giant change, one where I go from seeing him all the time and knowing him better than anyone, to seeing him rarely and not really knowing him at all.
I know this move doesn’t have to change anything, but people make promises to each other all the time that distance and time apart make them break. The thought has been gnawing at me, making tears spring in my eyes that I tried to hide by looking out the window.
Before long, Josh heads over with a tray full of foil-wrapped deliciousness. We eat in silence, because the awkwardness that invaded the car has taken root in the air between us.
I look down at my pork belly tacos, wanting to enjoy them but feeling a sudden loss of appetite. Josh reaches over and gently tilts my head up, because he’s never been the kind of guy who’s let me stew in my emotions for long without trying to help.
“Wanna tell me what’s gotten you so quiet?” he asks.
I shrug, because for the most part we’ve avoided any deep conversations about him leaving, and I certainly don’t want to start one while we’re here in public and everyone will see if I break down.
“It just hit me this morning that you’re leaving,” I manage to get out around the lump in my throat. “Before it was just a thing that you were preparing for, and I guess…I don’t know, I guess I hadn’t thought much about what it would feel like when you actually did it.”
“How does it feel?” he whispers.
“Like shit, honestly,” I say, as we both laugh, eyes shining. “These are our last breakfast tacos.”
He reaches over and swipes a tear off my cheek. “Not our last,” he assures me. “Just our last for a while. You’re my best girl, that’s not gonna change.”
I nod my head, wanting to believe him. Needing it. “Yeah.”
“Why don’t we just have the best time and try not to dwell on it too much, deal? I brought you some snacks to distract you, and we’re gonna see some Christmas lights tonight.”
That perks me up, except for one thing… “Healthy snacks?”
He grins before he picks up his taco. “Ames, there isn’t a green thing in the bunch.”
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Author Cassie Cross
About the Author Cassie Cross is a Maryland native and a romantic at heart, who lives outside of Baltimore with her two dogs and a closet full of shoes. Cassie’s fondness for swoon-worthy men and strong women are the inspiration for most of her stories, and when she’s not busy writing a book, you’ll probably find her eating takeout and indulging in her love of 80’s sitcoms.
