fuonlyknew

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Toasted organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author Isobel Reed will award a $10 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner. Don’t forget to enter!

And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Toasted

by Isobel Reed

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Synopsis

Welcome to Woodvalley Pines…where hunky firefighters save the day! It’s time to turn up the heat and hope this smokin’ hot fireman can control the blaze.

Libby hadn’t even been in Woodvalley Pines a day and she was already freaking out. Her kitchen had just set on fire. From toast of all things! That’s right, she was the victim of the elusive toaster fire. Yes, a toaster. Who knew they could just spontaneously burst into flames? She certainly didn’t. If that wasn’t enough to ruin her day, a swarm of hot firefighters seeing her in her pink pajamas would do it.

Zach tried his hardest not to laugh as the woman in the Disney pajamas accused him of keeping toaster fire safety a secret. He didn’t know where in the world this angry green-eyed princess had come from, but he had to admit that he was intrigued. After all, if she had this much passion when it came to talking toasters, what other kind of flames could he stoke in her?

Libby and Zach’s spark was instant, but will the fire burn out or can they keep the flames blazing?

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Enjoy this peek inside:

“You okay, ma’am? Neighbor reported he heard screaming.”

Oh sh**.

“Oh, yeah. There was screaming. I mean, yes, I did scream. But it was more like a release, y’know? Like, when you’re having a really sh**ty day and you scream into a pillow. It was kinda like that.” For the love of God, stop talking. “Anyway, yeah, I’m fine. All good. Hunky-dory.”

Hunky-dory? Really? And screaming into pillows? Way to embarrass yourself in front of the handsome firefighters. Are your Disney pajamas not enough humiliation for you? Do you want to detail your hair removal regime next?

Luckily, the other man decided not to comment. He simply nodded, for which Libby was grateful. Once he’d given Zach a quick update on the cause of the fire – that blasted toaster – he disappeared and left the two of them alone again.

Turns out, just the mention of the toaster was enough to bring back her rage.

“Did you know toasters just sometimes set on fire? When exactly did that become a thing? And why aren’t there more people talking about it?”

Zach incorrectly thought that clearing his throat would be enough to mask his snigger. “Uh, well, any old appliances can be a potential fire hazard. With toasters, a build-up of breadcrumbs can also act as fuel to the fire.”

“What the hell? I didn’t know that, Zach. Why didn’t I know that? Is this some big firefighter secret or something? ‘Cause I’m telling you right now, people need to know this! I’m thirty-one, Zach. Thirty-one! And never in my life would I have thought I could be making toast one day and then … boom! Fire! People need to be told. They need to know, damnit!”

Okay, it was safe to say this was not her finest moment. She was well aware ranting about toaster fires while sitting on the curb – in just her miniscule, bright pink shorts and vest top – was giving off batsh** crazy vibes. But she clearly just couldn’t help herself. Once she got a look at his expression, the crazy continued.

“Are you laughing at me?”

“No, ma’am.”

“You are … you’re laughing at me!”

“Smiling. I’m smiling at you. There’s a big difference.”

About Author Isobel Reed:

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Isobel was born and raised in London. She still lives along the River Thames with her husband, her son, and her substantial book collection. Ever the hopeless romantic, she fell in love with the genre from a young age and was inspired to write her own stories. When she’s not feasting on romantic comedies or binge reading her hoard of contemporary romance novels, Isobel is writing.

Author Links: TikTok / Facebook / Instagram / Website / Amazon / Goodreads / Bookbub

Buy Links: Amazon / Kobo / B&N / Apple / Goodreads / BookBub

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

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Another Side of the Heart

by C.H. Lazarovich

Publication date: September 29th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary

One summer. One dog. One chance encounter.

When Mary Devere encounters a young woman the same age as her dead daughter, Mary connects with her, only to discover that the young woman’s father is Antonio, Mary’s first love. Mary finds herself questioning the sacrifices she made to live the life she thought she should, and the difficult choice she made as a teenager that changed her life’s course.

Easy to read. Easy to love.

In a touching, emotional and moving account of a woman in midlife, Mary finds herself navigating her grief surrounding the loss of her only child, questioning her sacrifices to live a life she thought she should, and confronting the memories of the choice she made as a teenager that changed her life’s course, all while placing her back in the arms of Antonio.

From Readers’ Favorite 5-Star author C. H. Lazarovich comes the moving story of a woman’s awakening.

Goodreads / Amazon

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Outside a mourning dove cries in its new nest in the birch tree, at the same time a small fishing boat on the bay glides by. Before washing my hands, I remove my wedding band, put it on a saucer, and think of Mark, wondering where he is. Though I’m a little lonely, I don’t want him here. I think of the other night and seeing Antonio at his house. I know I’ve never felt the same feelings with Mark that I had with Antonio. I don’t remember feelings of wanting him badly to be with me. Did I trade true love for comfort?

Being with Mark has meant there’d always be safety, certainty, and security for me. But as Patsy said, Mark himself has not been a constant for me. He’s a man prone toward selfishness, a man not understanding of his partner’s essential nature. He has tried, but what that’s meant is giving me more things to replace the intangible cravings I’ve had: to be seen, heard, listened to.

I can’t say for sure what my life with Antonio might have been. But I can remember like yesterday the yearnings I had for him, those of both purity and lust.

Someone knocks at the door. “Carmen, the door’s open. Come in.”

Karma, wagging her tail, runs from the kitchen to our visitor, whining happily.

“Carmen?” I yell from the kitchen while chopping a banana. “I’m in the kitchen making a fruit salad. The hammer’s on the table. And thank you for the string beans.” The footsteps come closer, then stop.

“It’s not Carmen.”

I turn, see the dark-and-silver-hair. The square jaw. The unmistakable dimples.

It’s Antonio.

He wears faded jean, a black cotton T-shirt, scuffed black work boots. “I heard you say to come in … I hope you don’t mind.” Karma sniffs his boots, licks his fingertips. He smiles broadly, points at the knife I’m holding. “Or maybe I shouldn’t have. You’re not going to rush at me with that, are you?”

I look down. My knife is aimed at him. “No, no. I was making a … I thought you were my neighbor …” The words fade. I lay the knife on the cutting board, wipe my hands with the dish towel.

His eyes melt my being. He takes an easy step toward me and nods in a familiar way, a primitive way, pulling me in like the moon pulls the sea. He studies me, missing little and holds up a clipboard. He wears a watch with a black complex face and black leather band. “I told you I’d send someone over to take a look at your house.” In one swoop, he examines the cottage.

“My house?” I ask.

He bites his lip. “You said you need some repairs?”

“Oh right,” I say, heat rising in my neck.

“My crews are all over town,” he says. “So you get the boss today. Wanna show me around?”

“Sure.”

He follows me to the front door. I hold it open, giving him unsaid permission to exit first.When he steps over the threshold, the skin of his forearm skims my shoulder.

His movements, even and fluid, arouse me. I watch the braid of back muscles tighten when he descends under the house searching for the cause of a water stain.

Later, I walk him to the door, and I can tell that he, too, is feeling unsure what to do next. He follows up with a half hug, and then, “Are you going to the Fourth of July bonfire at the vineyard?”

I feel flutters. “I saw their flier, but haven’t thought about it, but yes, I’ll go.”

“Good. See you there. And I’ll be in touch about your house.”

I satay at the door and watch him step into his truck. My heart races as he leaves.

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About Author C. H. Lazarovich:

C. H. Lazarovich is the author of “Another Side of the Heart.” The debut novel is sparking excitement with early readers: The story “is so much about marriage, motherhood, abortion, resurrecting an old love, decisions a woman makes about childbearing, youth choices … ” and “The novel owes more to literary fiction with its beautifully nuanced and multi-layered narrative … ” Lazarovich, who lives in southern New Jersey, has been a freelance journalist under her real name Catherine Laughlin for magazines and newspapers, and teaches writing at Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication. Lazarovich has said that she gravitates to stories that chronicle the experiences of midlife women, and that there’s a complexity to the lives of older women that’s often underplayed in the arts. She hopes “Another Side of the Heart” fulfills some of that void.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Youtube

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.