Archive for March 21, 2024

Never Fall Again by Lynn H. Blackburn ~ Review And Giveaway

Posted: March 21, 2024 in giveaways, reviews, Romance, suspense
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Never Fall Again

by Lynn H Blackburn

March 4-29, 2024 Virtual Book Tour

 

 

Synopsis:

Landry Hutton has spent three years rebuilding her life behind the secure gates of The Haven, an exclusive resort on the outskirts of Gossamer Falls, North Carolina. As the artist-in-residence, and with her pottery prized by The Haven’s guests, Landry is finally ready to settle in permanently. She wants to give her daughter, Eliza, a safe home to grow up in and hires former Marine Callum Shaw to handle the construction. Cal grew up in Gossamer Falls and always knew he would someday join his family’s business. He longs for a family of his own but has almost given up on that ever happening. Landry is funny, gifted, and everything Cal could ever want in a partner, but he vows to keep his distance. Landry has a daughter and a past. Cal has been down that road before and barely survived when the woman he loved left, taking her two sons with her. He can’t bear to lose like that again. Before construction on the house can begin, Landry’s pottery is destroyed in a suspicious fire. It soon becomes clear that Landry and Eliza are in grave danger–but because of whom? But, after losing one relationship, he is hesitant to try again.

Praise for Never Fall Again:

“What a fabulous story with characters who will live in your head–and heart–long after the last word.” ~ Lynette Eason, award-winning, bestselling author of the Lake City Heroes series “Lynn Blackburn’s voice is unrivaled! A must-read.” ~ Elizabeth Goddard, bestselling author of Cold Light of Day “This book had it all–a delicious romance, obsession, found family, redemption and reconciliation, edge-of-your-seat suspense, and the kind of ending we all root for!” ~ Susan May Warren, USA Today bestselling and RITA Award-winning author

 

Book Details:

Genre: Romantic Suspense Published by: Revell Publication Date: March 12, 2024 Number of Pages: 352 ISBN: 9780800745363 (ISBN10: 0800745361) Series: Gossamer Falls, Book 1

Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Baker Book House

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MY REVIEW

Landry and her daughter, Eliza, are setting into their new life in Gossamer Falls, North Carolina. It’s a chance to start over and leave their tragic past behind.  She has a job as an art instructor at a prestigious resort and meets many influential people. She finds hope there and decides to stay. Enter former marine Cal Shaw, the man she hires to build her new home. The attraction is powerful but they’re both damaged and fear taking it to the next level. Will they find happiness? Will their past stop haunting them?

Many books I read pull me in right from the start. That didn’t happen here and that’s okay .I enjoy character driven stories and there were a lot to sort out. Some of them were very endearing. Even a four legged one. The more I read the more familiar they felt and I really got into the book. The mystery unraveled slowly until I neared the end. Then the suspense ramped up and I couldn’t wait for all to be revealed. I’m invested in these characters now and I’ll be watching for the next book to see how they are faring.

4 STARS

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Enjoy this peek inside:
They passed several offices before they reached an open door. “Maisy. Stay.” That same deep voice from the intercom floated to the hallway. “Oooh! A dog!” Eliza dashed into the room. Her little sprite was fast and already halfway across the office before Landry realized what was happening. “Eliza, wait!” Fortunately, she stopped at Landry’s words. “I know, Mommy. Never touch a dog without permission. I just want to see.” Eliza turned her big brown eyes toward the man who had come around his desk and knelt beside a dog now quivering with excitement. The man—Callum Shaw, she assumed—met her daughter’s eyes and said, “Your mom’s right. You can’t ever rush at a dog, even dogs as gentle as this big baby. But if it’s okay with your mom . . .” His eyes, which were as blue as the Carolina sky, now met hers. There was humor and gentleness. And shadows. Something dark flitted across his gaze. But then he blinked and it was gone. Landry nodded her permission, and he turned all his attention back to her daughter. “This is Maisy. She’s a golden retriever. She’s three years old. She loves long walks in the woods, sunbathing, peanut butter, and belly rubs.” He demonstrated the belly rub. Maisy melted under his touch, and Eliza crept closer. “You can pet her. Maisy doesn’t bite my friends.” Eliza dropped to her knees beside Callum and held out her hand toward Maisy’s nose. Maisy took a quick sniff and rewarded Eliza’s good behavior with a lick. Callum stayed where he was until it was clear to everyone that Eliza and Maisy were set, then he rose to his feet and extended a hand. “Ms. Hutton.” “Landry. Please.” “Landry. A pleasure.” Landry kept the contact brief. “Sorry, my hands are rough.” She turned them palms up. “Hazards of the job.” Why had she said that? What did it matter if her hands were a bit on the crispy side? She didn’t have to prove anything to this man. Embarrassment crept across her and burst through her pores, heating her neck and face, and now she had no idea what to do with her hands. Should she put them down? Tuck them behind her back? Callum glanced at her hands and turned his own up. “Same here.” He heaved a dramatic sigh. “It’s to my eternal despair that I’ll never land that hand modeling contract I’ve always hoped for.” His easy humor made it automatic to tease him back. “Well, there’s always ditch digging.” “Good point. If this construction gig doesn’t work out, I’ll have something to fall back on.” Callum turned his attention to Eliza. “And I gather your name is Eliza?” She giggled with the abandon unique to happy children. “That’s right, but sometimes Mommy calls me Liza or ZaZa, but never Lizzy because that’s too close to Landry, and it gets confusing.” Landry tried to keep a straight face as Eliza parroted what she’d heard Landry say too many times to count. “It’s a pleasure, Ms. Eliza.” Callum pressed a hand to his chest. “I’m Cal Shaw. I’ll answer to Callum, but not LumLum because”— he dropped his voice to a stage whisper—“that’s just not dignified.” Eliza’s laughter filled the room. Bronwyn hadn’t been wrong about Cal Shaw. He was very good with children. Even now, he kept his attention on Eliza. “Are you good here with Maisy while your mom and I talk?” “Yes, sir.” Cal grabbed a legal pad and pen from his desk and took the chair opposite the one he directed Landry to sit in. From their seats, they could both see Eliza and Maisy. She waited for him to start the conversation, but maybe she was supposed to go first? “She’s a beau—” “Land—” They both stopped talking, and his smile seemed genuine as he nodded to her. “Please. Go ahead.” “I was going to say your dog is beautiful.” She willed her body to stop flushing scarlet, but it refused to cooperate. She didn’t have to see herself to know that her face, neck, chest, and even her feet were on fire. This was why she did best behind the walls of The Haven. She could interact with the patrons there with minimal difficulty. But put her out in public, and she became a tongue-tied, socially inept disaster. Cal’s grin held mischief, and he leaned toward her. “If all goes as planned, she’ll be pregnant soon. I bet Eliza would love a puppy for Christmas.” His voice was cajoling and teasing, but at least he had the good sense to keep it too low for Eliza to hear. He winked in a way that was friendly and not flirtatious, and Landry understood why Bronwyn liked him so much. He leaned back and in a normal voice said, “I gathered from your conversation with Carla that you’re going to build nearby.” “Yes. I have three acres on the edge of Pierce land.” She watched him carefully as she spoke and was unsurprised when his grip tightened on the pen at her words. “How long have you lived in Gossamer Falls?” “Long enough to know the Pierce and Quinn families don’t get along.” *** Excerpt from Never Fall Again by Lynn H Blackburn. Copyright 2024 by Lynn H Blackburn. Reproduced with permission from Lynn H Blackburn. All rights reserved.

 

 

About Author Lynn H. Blackburn:

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Lynn H Blackburn

Lynn H. Blackburn is the award-winning author of Unknown Threat, Malicious Intent, and Under Fire, as well as the Dive Team Investigations series. She loves writing swoon-worthy Southern suspense because her childhood fantasy was to become a spy, but her grown-up reality is that she’s a huge chicken and would have been caught on her first mission. She prefers to live vicariously through her characters by putting them into terrifying situations while she sits at home in her pajamas. She lives in Simpsonville, South Carolina, with her true love, Brian, and their three children.

Catch Up With Our Author: www.LynnHBlackburn.com Goodreads BookBub – @LynnHBlackburn Instagram – @lynnhblackburn Twitter/X – @LynnHBlackburn Facebook – @LynnHBlackburn

 

 

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La Bella Luna by Nicole Sharp ~ Peek Inside And Giveaway

Posted: March 21, 2024 in comedy, Contemporary Romance, giveaways
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La Bella Luna

by Nicole Sharp

 

Publication date: March 19th 2024
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

Can you really reject a surprise last-minute, all-expense paid trip to Italy from your sister? For Diana, a sensible CPA in Atlanta, you most certainly can.

But within the last week, Diana turned forty-five, got engaged, purchased a wedding cake and agreed to join her fiancé in another state where his current work project has been extended for several months.

Diana’s younger sister, Harper, uses these uncharacteristic life changes as proof that Diana definitely can meet her in Italy. Besides, Harper’s already cleared the trip with Diana’s boss and fiancé. So begrudgingly, Diana agrees to go.

Little did she know that her whole world would be turned upside down the second she stepped foot on Italian soil.

As Diana falls deeper into Italy’s culture, countryside and cuisine, she reconnects with the ghosts of her past and reignites passions she thought had long been extinguished – proving that life and love are full of phases.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Navigating the tight space, Diana found a small table in the back of the café, where she could see people exiting into the arrival area.

She wasn’t sure where the thought or even the motivation came from, but she pulled out her phone, chose the camera app, held up the cup and took a selfie.

She carefully put the cup down and looked at the picture; actually thought about deleting it, but then on a whim, posted it to her account that Harper insisted she needed to set up for this trip. And why the hell not?

“Pisa, Italy. First espresso,” she wrote and posted the picture.

She took a few sips, closing her eyes to savor the bitter hot loveliness.

Finally, a message from Harper came in, demanding Diana call her right away. This was why she’d activated an international calling plan for her phone.

Diana excitedly grinned when Harper picked up on the first ring and exclaimed. “You must be nearby!”

“Well …” Harper drew out the word, “Lu, you have the itinerary, right?”

“Yes, I printed it off before I left and it’s on my phone. Where are you?”

“Happy engagement!” Harper sang.

“Harper …” Diana laughed and looked around the part of the airport she could see, as if her younger sister would appear at any moment.

“Look, if I told you the truth you wouldn’t have gone, and you needed to go; Hell, if anyone needs a vacation it’s you.”

“Harper,” Diana’s heart began to thump wildly in her chest, “where are you?”

In almost a whisper, Harper answered, “New York.”

Diana turned so no one could see her anger. She cupped a hand over the receiver of her phone. “What the hell do you mean you’re in New York?”

“I couldn’t afford to pay for both of us. But I wanted you to have something different … I wanted to get you out of the house before you got married. I wanted you to see … more, something bigger, something inspiring before you got married.”

“Harper,” Diana choked out in disbelief.

“I wanted to get you out of your fucking comfort zone,” Harper admitted, with all the loving passion she could.

Diana was certainly out of her comfort zone now, that was for sure, and she’d be damned if she was going to stay in a foreign country by herself. “I’m not staying here alone,” she hissed. “You got me into this Harper, you need to get me a return ticket and get me out of this. Now.”

“No.”

“Then I need to go, I need to figure out how to get home.”

“No. Please. You have ten days paid vacation in Italy. Do you know how many people dream of something like that?”

“Harper.” Diana’s throat was closing with the urge to cry.

“Luna, if you can’t figure out how to do this for yourself, then do this for me.“ Harper’s voice hitched with the same emotion. “Please Lu, you deserve something like this. You deserve to see something beautiful. You deserve to … sit in a Piazza in a world-famous café and sip an espresso. You deserve to be moved to tears by a painting.“ It was Harper who was crying now. “Jesus, Diana, you deserve to stand in the middle of Rome and be inspired. I understand this is the scariest thing anyone has ever asked you to do, I get that it’s a scary ass thing that I am asking you to do, but please … please, if you can’t do this for yourself, then do it for me.”

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About Author Nicole Sharp:

Legend has it that Nicole Sharp was born to hippies during an ice storm in Stone Mountain, Georgia. While confirmation of said events cannot be agreed upon, one fact is for certain, it was a Tuesday.

By age twelve, Nicole was sure of two things: 1) She wanted to be a writer and 2) She wanted to travel. She begged her parents to allow her to voyage alone to exotic lands. They permitted her to go from California to Boise, Idaho to visit a great-grandmother.

After muddling through the college years, Nicole graduated with a Bachelors in History (think Greeks and Romans). Why didn’t she major in English if she wanted to be a writer? There were better stories in history class.

Nicole is Italian. According to Ancestry.com it’s a rather low percentage, but she feels that she is at least 51% Italian. When she returned to the homeland, she fell in love with the Italian cappuccino, so much so that she studied the language until she was fluent; thus she could order the magical elixir herself: Posso avere un cappuccino, per favore!

Nicole’s first concert was to see the bluegrass group The Seldom Scene when she was a fifteen-year-old, thanks to her parent’s bluegrass phase. However, she never admits it, and instead tells everyone that They Might Be Giants, whom she saw in college, was her real first concert.

Her first car was a yellow Chevy Celebrity and her favorite job was working as a docent in a museum in an old mining town in Colorado. She has written extensively about both.

Visit NicoleSharpWrites.com for more entertainment.

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