Romance Byte: Kat Martin's Against The Edge

Author: Kat Martin

Series Connection: The Raines of Wind Canyon

ISBN: 978-0778314431

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Harlequin MIRA

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Description:

A child he’s never met.

A danger he’s never known.

That he’s a father is news Ben Slocum was notexpecting. But once the initial shock wears off for the confirmed bachelor, he takes in the rest of what socialworker Claire Chastain tells him: that Sam is in the custody of an abusive criminal, that they’ve disappeared. . . and that Ben is now the child’s only hope.

As Ben and Claire band together to track the two down, their concern for the boy draws them closer, each fighting feelings there’s no time to explore. Ben’s got one chance to take back what’s his, and in one gunshot he could lose it all . . .

Romance Book Review: Robyn Carr's The Wanderer

Author: Robyn Carr

Series Connection: A Thunder Point Novel #1

ISBN-13: 978-0778314479

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: MIRA Books

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The Wanderer starts off a new three book series of Robyn Carr. This series takes place in a small coastal Oregon town. The story leads off when Hank "Cooper" Cooper travels to his friend's home town after hearing that the man had died. Wanted to get reacquainted with the man who had once been a good friend, but now gone, Cooper turns to the local town's people to find out about Ben.

Ben was the man Cooper remembered and now Ben has one last request of his friend. He's asked him to take care of the property Ben owned, telling Cooper in a letter that he would know best what to do with it. What Cooper finds is a run down business that needs a lot of fixing and a town full of friendly townsfolk who really like Ben and who Ben seemed to care about. 

Deciding to stick around for a bit, Cooper befriends a boy who has some trouble with bullies and falls for the boy's sister Sarah.

Sarah is just coming away from a bad marriage and is finding it hard to trust people again. When she meets Cooper she doesn't want to believe he's a good guy, but he wears here down and eventually they begin a no-strings relationship, but what if either of them wants more? What can happen then?

This book is a little slow to take off. Cooper and Sarah don't even meet each other until halfway through the book. There are stories of other townsfolk and a look at the love interests throughout the town. 

The next book, The Newcomer, will be out in July and feature the town deputy, Mac, and local waitress, Gina, and what happens when Mac's ex-wife comes back into the picture just when Mac and Gina have started dating each other and moving into their new relationship.

Description:

From Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the popular Virgin River novels, comes Thunder Point—the highly anticipated new series that will make you laugh, make you sigh, and make you fall in love with a small town filled with people you’ll never forget.

Nestled on the Oregon coast is a small town of rocky beaches and rugged charm. Locals love the land’s unspoiled beauty. Developers see it as a potential gold mine. When newcomer Hank Cooper learns he’s been left an old friend’s entire beachfront property, he finds himself with a community’s destiny in his hands.

Cooper has never been a man to settle in one place, and Thunder Point was supposed to be just another quick stop. But Cooper finds himself getting involved with the town. And with Sarah Dupre, a woman as complicated as she is beautiful.

With the whole town watching for his next move, Cooper has to choose between his old life and a place full of new possibilities. A place that just might be home.

Update: Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove on Hallmark Channel

TERYL ROTHERY ADDED TO CAST OF SERIES REGULARS IN HALLMARK CHANNEL’S FIRST-EVER PRIMETIME SERIES, ‘DEBBIE MACOMBER’S CEDAR COVE,’ TWO-HOUR WORLD PREMIERE JULY 20

Series Stars Andie MacDowell and Dylan Neal 

I didn't picture either of these two like the actors they picked. How about you?

Press Release from Hallmark Channel

Hallmark Channel announces Teryl Rothery (“Stargate SG-1,” “Kyle XY,” “Dragon Ball”) has been cast opposite Andie MacDowell and Dylan Neal, as a series regular, in Hallmark Channel’s first-ever series, “Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove.”  The primetime drama is set to have its two-hour premiere Saturday, July 20 (8 p.m. ET/PT, 7C),  with Ms. Rothery joining the cast regularly beginning in episode two. The series is based on the bestselling book series Cedar Cove by #1 New York Times bestselling author, Debbie Macomber.

In “Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove,” MacDowell plays Judge Olivia Lockhart whose Cedar Cove Municipal Court is the professional milieu and social microcosm of issues the judge will face in her own day-to-day life with family and best friend Grace (Rothery). Neal plays Jack Griffith, the new editor of the Cedar Cove Chronicle and budding love interest for Judge Lockhart.

“Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove” is a 16 Lighthouse Road Productions Ltd. production. Executive Producers are Dan Wigutow, Caroline Moore, Ron French, Debbie Macomber and Harvey Kahn. The series is produced by Connie Dolphin with Steve Harmaty as Co-Executive Producer. The pilot was directed by Michael M. Scott, written by Bruce Graham (“Debbie Macomber’s Trading Christmas”) and was adapted from material from Debbie Macomber’s series of books, Cedar Cove. Carl Binder is the show runner for the series.

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming available in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) to a national audience of 87 million subscribers. Hallmark Channel is the nation’s leading destination for quality family programming with an ambitious slate of original TV movies and specials, as well as some of television’s most beloved sitcoms and series, including The Golden Girls, Frasier, and Happy  Days. The channel is also home to a range of lifestyle programming, anchored by Home & Family, a daily two-hour live show shot in a fully functional house located on the Universal Studios lot, and Marie, a one-hour talk show hosted by iconic entertainer, Marie Osmond. Hallmark Channel's sibling network, Hallmark Movie Channel, also available in HD and SD, focuses on family-friendly movies with a mix of original films, classic theatrical releases, and presentations from the acclaimed Hallmark Hall of Fame library.

Romance Book Review: W. Lynn Chantale's Pinning Casanova

Author: W. Lynn Chantale
ISBN: N/A
Genre: Sensual, Interracial Romance
Publisher: Whispering Publishing

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Very short, but well written love story between a wrestler named Sir Casanova and his lovely next door neighbor who babysits his young daughter.

Ben really likes his neighbor Serena, but he isn't sure he should approach her at this time in his life especially when has a bit of a problem with a stalker.

Description:
Benjamin Douglas or Sir Casanova had a reputation to live up to, known for tossing roses to beautiful women in the audience and stealing a smooch or two on the way in or out of the ring, well its all part of the act.

Many believe the hype of his philandering when he’s away from his 10 year old daughter, including his next door neighbor Serena Jameson.

Serena Jameson has had a crush on the single dad since she saw him tumbling with his daughter in the backyard, but she knows his altar ego is a playboy, yet her heart tells her it’s all an act. After he treats his daughter like the treasure she is, still Serena can’t get past the womanizing image. Yet she gives him a chance.

When an unexpected visitor emerges from Ben’s past the challenges faced will put their relationship to the test. Will the couple have a chance to endure to the last bell or will one tap out before the match has even begun?

Romance Book Review: Tamaria Soana's Southern Embrace

Author: Tamaria Soana 

Digital ISBN: 9781937325602
Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Beachwalk Press
Publication Date: April 15, 2013

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Savannah is dealing with the devastation of the death of her husband when he first love comes to see her and asks for another chance. 

As teenagers Lance and Savannah were in love. Lance's family moved away and Lance choose to break off their relationship thinking it would be better for both of them. When Lance hears that Savannah's husband is killed, he wants nothing more than to help the woman he has always loved.

Can Savannah forgive Lance for the past and move on with their future?

Emotional based love stories dealing with a hard issue of lost love and finding a way to move to the future. 

Description:

Can a long lost love mend a grieving heart?

Widowed at twenty-three, Savannah Grant is devastated and consumed with grief, a grief that she can't seem to move past. When her high school sweetheart, Lance Peterson, re-enters her life, Savannah struggles with the feeling that she would be betraying her deceased husband by moving on. Plus, she can't forget the way Lance broke her heart all those years ago.

Lance never stopped loving Savannah. He wants a second chance, and he's willing to do anything it takes to convince her to give him one. Will she give in and let Lance love her, showing her a passion beyond anything she thought possible?

Content Warning: adult language, explicit sexual situations, anal play

Book Gorilla

I found a new website that will send you free email updates on Kindle books you might want to read. The program is called Book Gorilla. It is free to sign up. After signing up it will give you a list of genres. You simply click the ones you are interested in.

There are so many books out there on the Kindle list including many free titles to choose from, but I never really can find the time to look at them all, so having something like this, plus others like it including Good Reads, gives me a chance to see titles I might have missed out on.

Here is a bit about themselves from their website:

About Us

In just five years the Kindle Store catalog has grown from 80,000 titles to about 2 million, and we consider it our mission to help you and other readers to sort through all this to find books that you will love reading, by authors of distinction, at great prices (including free).

At the same time, we are working with publishers, authors and others in the book business to convince them that we can help them connect with readers if they are willing to offer great promotional deals to prospective readers on a limited-time basis. Many readers will miss these great deals, but we'll make sure that you -- and the friends who will love you for referring them to BookGorilla -- will learn about them before it's too late to grab them, through our free daily BookGorilla Deal Bulletin.

We've been working with readers, authors, and publishers for a long time, and we've been involved with building the Kindle community since the day the first Kindle was launched over five years ago.

Thank you for checking out BookGorilla! We think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship … and let's get started right now with your next great reading experience!

Romance Book Review: Celia Kyle's Scarlet

Author: Celia Kyle

Series Connection: Alpha Marked

ISBN: N/A

Genre: Erotic Romance/ BBW Erotic Romance/ Menage/ Paranormal

Publisher: Summerhouse Publishing

Purchase Link

Steaming hot paranormal romance starts off this new series by Celia Kyle. 

Since birth Scarlet and one of her triplet sisters has been marked to be the mate of two alpha werewolves. When she reaches age thirty, if she hasn't already met her mates, she must attend the gathering and met up with all the single alpha to find her mates. 

Scarlet and her sister is not looking forward to having to mate with some overly aggressive alpha she doesn't even know, of course that is until she meets her alphas.

Keller and Madden are excited when they meet their mate. She is no wallflower and she was exactly what they wanted, except someone else wants to claim her as well.

Description:

Thirty and single? Well, getcha ass to the Gathering!

As if hitting thirty wasn’t enough, unmated Scarlet Wickham is summoned to this year’s Gathering. As a woman Marked to be the mate of an Alpha pair, she’s not going to find happiness anywhere other than in the arms of two Alpha werewolves. So, off she goes with her sisters in tow. ‘Cause yeah, she’s one of the plump Wickham triplets, and they’re all being carted off to werewolf speed dating.

Keller and Madden, Ruling Alpha pair, can’t believe their luck. They’ve found their mate, and she’s more than they could have ever hoped for. She’s feisty with spirit to spare, and lush curves that they want to trace with their tongues. They can’t wait to solidify their bond and get to know the beautiful woman who is to rule at their side. But first, there’s the minor inconvenience of a challenge to the death…

Romance Book Review: Sara Walter Ellwood's Heartstrings

Author: Sara Walter Ellwood

ISBN: 9781616504557

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Lyrical Press

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Common themed story about a successful country music star who comes home to get to know his daughter that he's never met. The novel takes its own twists and turns telling the story of Country Music star Seth who returns home to his father's funeral and confronts his ex-best friend and the woman who had his baby. It has been 15 years since he left town believing the woman he loved, Abby, never really loved him. After finding out that she's married his best friend he stays away until now.

Seth isn't totally innocent in this matter. He knew that Abby was having his baby and knew his best friend was raising her, but now that he's back he wants to make a mends and spend some time with his daughter no matter how dead set against it her mother and the man his daughter calls "Daddy" is against it.

The last person Abby wanted to see was Seth. He'd abandoned her and her daughter years ago. She wanted him to go off and have his career but he said he would come back and never returned. Now she's divorced from her husband and raising her daughter. She's still friends with the man who raised her daughter and grateful that he stood by her side when she needed him, she's also happy he's married to someone who truly loves him. 

There are secrets from the past though that someone doesn't want to be told and he's willing to cause a scandal for Seth if Abby reveals the truth, not to mention she'll have to fess up to her daughter after all these years.

Well written love story, which gets points for good characters and a well placed bad guy in the mix.  

Description:

He’s determined to set things right, no matter the cost.

The last person Abby Crawford wants to face down is country music superstar Seth Kendall. Last time she did, she flat-out lied so he’d go to Nashville without her. She’s never understood why their mutual best friend proposed, but she went with it so her baby wouldn’t be fatherless. Now she’s a divorced mother of a teenager, and secretly Seth’s biggest fan.

Seth is home in McAllister, Texas for his father’s funeral…and a chance to meet the daughter he’s never known. He’s willing to face the music of his own making and admit he’s known about his little girl all along. For fifteen years he’s kept his distance because Abby told him to follow his dreams without her, insisting she didn’t’ love him. But now he won’t leave until he knows his daughter and she knows him, even if it means facing the woman who broke his heart for good.

Confessing she’s lied about her daughter’s paternity all these years won’t be easy for Abby, especially with her ex blackmailing her to keep the secret. And Seth doesn’t know the hardest truth of all: Every love song he plays on his guitar still plucks her heartstrings.

WARNING: Spicy sex.

Romance Book Review: LA Witt's Covet Thy Neighbor

Author: LA Witt

Series Connection: A Tucker Springs Novel

ISBN: 978-1-62649-000-0

Genre: Contemporary Gay Romance

Publisher: Riptide

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Seth has a lot of emotional scares where his past, his family and religion are concerned. When he meets his new neighbor he is immediately attracted to the other gay man, but once he learns he's a minister, Seth is extremely conflicted about their relationship.

Darren has moved to Tucker Springs for a new start and to work at a local youth center. When he meets Seth he sees someone he can be himself with, however the morning afters with Seth are getting to awkward and he confronts Seth on it. 

Can Seth overcome his demons before he lets something good pass him by?

Written from Seth's perspective this story develops around his deep seeded conflicts and desires. I think the author does a great job at expresses Seth fears and a wonderful story emerges as the couple works together exploring the possibilites. I fell immediately in love with Darren, who could have easily turned out to be too passive in the story, but turned out just right.

About the Series:

Welcome to Tucker Springs, population 75,000 + you! This collaborative story world is brought to you by three award-winning LGBTQ authors: Heidi Cullinan, Marie Sexton, and L.A. Witt.

The fictional town of Tucker Springs is located on the western slope of Colorado, in between Grand Junction and Silverton. One of the themes of Tucker Springs is that what you see is not what you get. Take, for example, the “springs.” Although many neighboring towns have actual hot springs, the spring here is more of a bubbling mud puddle. Locals like to trick newbies by sending them in search of it.

The Tucker Springs stories are a series of loosely-connected, standalone novels. Most of them will take place in the Light District, a.k.a. Hacktown, a district known for its theaters, galleries, intimate nightspots, and music. The first title, Where Nerves End by L.A. Witt, is available at Amber Allure. The remainder of the series will be published here.

Description:

Opposites attract, but heaven help these two.

Tattoo artist Seth Wheeler thinks he’s struck gold when Darren Romero rents the apartment across the hall. The new guy is gorgeous, witty, and single, plus he’s just the right blend of bold and flirtatious. Perfect.

Except then Darren reveals that he moved to Tucker Springs to take a job as the youth pastor at the New Light Church. Seth is not only an atheist, but was thrown out by his ultra-religious family when he came out. He tends to avoid believers, not out of judgment but out of self-preservation.

But Darren doesn’t give up easily, and he steadily chips away at Seth’s defenses. Darren is everything Seth wants in a man . . . except for that one massive detail he just can’t overlook. Is Darren’s religion the real problem, or is it just a convenient smokescreen to keep him from facing deeper fears? It’s either see the light, or risk pushing Darren away forever.

Romance Book Review: Amy Lee Burgess' About Face

Author: Amy Lee Burgess

Series Connection: The Wolf Within

ISBN: 9781616504502

Genre: Paranormal/ Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Lyrical Press

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In book 5 of The Wolf Within series, Amy Lee Burgess continues her story with Stanzie and her job as advisor to the Great Council. Her job with her old pack finished and her father exiled from her birth pack, it is time for Stanzie to deal with her relationship with Liam. She misses him and it is time she finds out exactly why her bond mate left her suddenly four months before. 

It just so happens the councilor that she works for on the Great Council wants her to go check out what Liam is doing in Dublin that is making people take notice in the investigations in his first bond mate's murder. That will give her a good reason for going to see him. 

When she gets to Dublin Stanzie becomes involved in Liam's plan to protect their Alpha and learns much more about the reasons for her assignments that the Council has been sending her on. Now she's even more confused than ever about what is happening. 

As tragedy strikes around them, Stanzie must works to figure out who is responsible for recent events. Liam is dealing with family and her relationship with him is running on even thinner ice as she deals with her own insecurities. 

This series continues to keep readers entertained and working to figure out who are the good and the bad guys. If I had to have a complaint it would be that Liam needs to "catch a clue" in the relationship department. After all the two have been through, for him to say he didn't know that Stanzie loved him...all I have to say is "Really?". On the other hand that's part of what makes this a book a good read. There is a need for conflict in a relationship.

Description:

Being herself is more dangerous than ever.

Stanzie’s job as Advisor to the Great Council is discovering other people’s secrets. When those secrets are being kept by the ones she loves most, can she find the courage to expose them?

Under orders from a Councilor, Stanzie journeys to Dublin and the MacTire pack. Her mission: warn her estranged bond mate, Liam Murphy, to abandon his overzealous search for the man responsible for the death of his first bond mate. Not only is he endangering himself, but also disrupting the delicate balance between opposing factions in the conspiracy threatening to tear the Great Pack apart.

Liam needs Stanzie’s help to protect their Alpha, who has entangled himself in the conspiracy’s deadly web. But he also desperately needs her back. In a race against time, Stanzie and Liam discover enemies often wear the faces of friends.

CONTENT WARNING: Vulgar language, sexual situations, some violence

Romance Book Review: Shelly Laurenston's Wolf With Benefits

Author: Shelly Laurenston

Series Connection: Pride Series

ISBN: 978-0758265227

Genre: Paranormal/ Shifter

Publisher: Brava

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Coming back to her current day shifter series about the New York Smith Pack, Shelly Laurenston tells the story about the members of the Smith pack and brings back an characters from one of her short stories which takes place in the past. 

When the Van Holtz family was first introduced, in Miss Congeniality, Irene Conridge's roommate was Jackie, Jackal shifter and her boyfriend Paul. Now, all these years later, Jackie and Paul are back with their eleven children. Of the eleven, ten are like Jackie geniuses in their own fields. One is just average, however, there is nothing simple about Toni and her life. 

While getting an autograph of one of her brother's favorite shifter hockey players, Toni meets Ricky Lee, one of the infamous Reed brothers. 

Ricky Lee wasn't one to settle down and he liked it that way. That is until he started spending time with Toni.

The the romance in this story is slow to start, although I think in the end it brings about a strong relationship between Ricky Lee and Toni. Throughout the rest of the pages of the tells the story of  Toni's crazy family and Toni working on building her independence from a family that is very dependent on her for their own sanity. My only complaint is I would have loved to get some more information about the Reed boys, but I have a feeling we would be seeing more of them in the future stories of the Pride series. 

We'll written as usual for Shelly Laurenston's work with a mix of humorous scenes and wayward violence. Definitely not a book for the faint of heart.  

Description:

Ricky Lee has no plans of getting serious about anyone, but he will protect Toni Jean-Louis Parker. Not just because he's been hired to do so, but because it's the right thing to do. And if that means travelling around the country with one complicated She-jackal, dealing with chocolate-eating wild dogs, instigating trouble between his brothers, and having the most amazing sex he's ever had...well, who said his job didn't have perks? 

Toni doesn't know how she keeps getting herself into these situations. But even she has to admit there's something about Ricky Lee Reed that she finds kind of interesting...and downright sexy. Now they just have to survive long enough to figure out if what they have is worth fighting for...