Archives for January 2021

Song for a Cowboy by Sasha Summers – Spotlight and Giveaway

January 22, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Sasha Summers who is celebrating the upcoming release of Song for a Cowboy, book two in her Kings of Country series. Enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win a copy of book one in the series, Jace.

Country star Emmy Lou King is singing the blues…

Emmy Lou King’s whole family is legendary in country music. When she lands the opportunity to sing the American Football League anthem and serve on one of the AFL’s anti-drug charities, she’s sure she can handle working with Brock Watson even though she’s barely recovered from their breakup—and she’s never loved anyone else.

Brock Watson is feeling the pressure. From dealing with his father’s declining health, keeping their ranch running, staying in game-ready shape, and his dedication to the charity that changed his life, there’s no time for anything else. Emmy Lou included. After six years, he’d like to think she couldn’t mess with his head anymore. But one look, one smile—and he knows she’s as dangerous as ever. He can’t resist her—he never could.

The more time Emmy Lou spends with Brock, the harder it is for them to keep their distance.

Enjoy an Excerpt

“Open, dammit!” Emmy Lou pushed the button again, smacking the pink-and-white polka-dot umbrella against her thigh. It still wouldn’t open. The sky rumbled overhead.

“Ooh, language, Emmy.” Her twin sister, Krystal, laughed. “Next you’ll be saying shit or ass or fu—”

“No, I won’t.” Emmy spoke into the mic on the earbuds she had plugged into her left ear, her sister still laughing. “But this might be a little easier if I wasn’t FaceTiming you right now.” Umbrella in one hand, phone in the other, she started walking.

Krystal held her phone closer, flipping her lower lip for a full-on pout. “But I miss you.”
“I miss you, too,” Emmy said, blinking raindrops from her lashes. “Enough to walk through a parking lot, in the rain, with an umbrella that won’t open, and keep talking to you.” She kept pressing the button on the handle, but it didn’t help. Of course, the rain was falling faster now, big, pelting drops.

“Where is Sawyer? Why isn’t our bulky, scowling bodyguard carrying a massive bulletproof umbrella over your head?” There was a hint of accusation in her sister’s voice.

“Be nice to Sawyer.” Emmy wiped the rain from her eyes. “He is picking up Travis down the road—because our brother ran out of gas.” She sighed, clicking the button on her umbrella again. “And I’m getting soaked because this thing is broken. I should hang up.” Emmy laughed, peering at the stadium through the rain. Rain that was getting heavier and faster.

“But you won’t.” Krystal leaned forward. “Then again…you are starting to look like a wet rat. Walk faster.”

Emmy stuck her tongue out at her sister, her steps quickening. She was sort of jogging now, weaving around the parked cars.

The squeal of brakes had her jumping a good ten feet in the air. A truck, going way too fast in a parking lot—in a torrential downpour—skidded to a stop mere inches from where she stood. It happened too fast for her to move. Too fast to do anything but curl in on herself, dropping her umbrella and holding her other hand, and phone, out to protect herself. Which, considering the vehicle was massive and she was not, didn’t make any sense but… it was instinctual. She braced herself on the truck hood, her knees knocking so hard there was a high likelihood she’d collapse onto the slick concrete at any moment.

“Holy shit,” Krystal was saying, the phone now facedown on the hood. “Emmy! Emmy? Can you hear me? Are you okay? Answer me.”

She could have been hit… Almost was. But wasn’t. Emmy flipped the phone over. “Here.” But she was gasping for breath. Her heart pumped madly, reaching what had to be the maximum beats per minute. “Fine.”

She was vaguely aware of the truck’s driver’s-side door opening wide, followed by rapid footsteps splashing in newly formed puddles. But she was still grappling with the whole near-death experience and couldn’t process the arrival of her almost assailant.

“Where is the driver? Are they getting out? Hold your phone up,” Krystal growled. “I want to see what this asshole has to say about nearly running you over.”

“Are you okay?” said the mountain of a man heading her way.

“I’m fine,” she answered, rubbing water from her eyes. Her hand shook. Her voice shook. But she was okay.

“You didn’t see me coming?” he asked, stepping closer. “My truck?”

“Seriously, Emmy Lou, hold up the phone,” Krystal snapped. “You couldn’t see her? In her bright-yellow-and-pink, daisy-covered raincoat. Because, honestly, she might as well be wrapped, head-to-toe, in reflective tape. Asshole.”

“Krystal,” Emmy whispered into the mic hanging from her earpiece.

“Hold up the phone. You might need a witness.” Krystal sighed. “Emmy Lou, I’m serious.”

Emmy held up the phone, unable to stop trembling.

The man came around the hood of the truck and stopped. His eyes widened and his mouth opened, but he didn’t say anything. Shock probably. Complete and total shock. Not just because he’d almost turned her into a smudge in the stadium parking lot, but because he was who he was and she was who she was and they were standing face-to-face…staring, at each other, in the rain…
“Brock?” Krystal sounded just as stunned. “Is that Brock? Is that you?”

No, there was no way that was possible. Emmy was not equipped for this. Not right now. Not in the least. She should be; it had been years. Years. This shouldn’t be a big deal. Seeing him, that is. Being almost run over by him—by anyone—was sort of a big deal.

“Hey.” Brock nodded, barely glancing at Emmy’s phone and Krystal. His gaze was pinned on her.
“I’m…” Her voice broke. She was what? “I…” No better. Just stop. Pull it together. This was silly. “Hi.” She forced a smile. “So…” She could do this. Talk. Breathe. In and out. Easier said than done.

His mouth opened, then closed and the muscle in his jaw clenched tight. The staring continued. He just stood there, rigid, wearing an odd expression on his face. A face that, all weirdness and near-death experiences aside, she knew well. All too well.

Adrenaline was kicking in now. Enough to get her moving, anyway. And that’s exactly what she was going to do. Move. Away. The sooner the better. “Okay.” She hung up her phone, shoved it into her pocket, and started walking—do not run—toward the stadium door. No looking back. Just moving forward.

Did she almost slip? Yes. Did she go down? No. Had she managed to save a shred of dignity? Probably not. She pulled the door wide, stopping just inside to scan the signs and arrows for the bathroom. Her phone started ringing. She didn’t have to look at it to know it was Krystal. She waited until she’d closed and locked the door on the family restroom before she answered.
“Emmy?” Krystal asked. “Are you okay?”

“I didn’t get hit—”

“I know, I know but…it was Brock.”

Yes. Brock. She shrugged out of her raincoat and sat in the chair placed next to the diaper-changing station. Her pulse was still way too fast, and her stomach was all twisted up. “I know.” Sitting wasn’t good. She stood, smoothing her pale blue blouse and staring down at her jeans. Her raincoat had left a perfect line midthigh. Above the line, slightly damp. Below the line, saturated. She wiggled her toes in her rainboots, water squishing.

“This sucks.” Krystal cleared her throat. “I wish I were there.”

“I do, too.” She stared at her reflection. “But I know what you’d do if you were here.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“You’d remind me that I already spent too many years and too many tears on him.” Which was true. Their breakup—rather, his sudden and complete disappearance from her life—had almost broken her. She’d cried until she was sick, and Krystal knew it, too. Krystal was the one who pushed her to get up, to keep going, every day. Krystal was the one who told her it was okay to be angry with him for deserting her without a word. And when Emmy Lou was more herself, Krystal had turned all the tears and sadness and anger into their double-platinum single “Your Loss.” “And you’d be right.”

“True.” Krystal paused. “But after I was done telling you all that, I’d get up in his face and chew him out for almost running you over. And that’s just to start.”

***

Excerpted from Song for a Cowboy by Sasha Summers. © 2021 by Sasha Summers. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author: SASHA SUMMERS has written more than 20 romance novels and novellas. Now a best-selling and award winning-author, Sasha continues to fall a little in love with each hero she writes. Sasha lives with her amazing and supportive family and her beloved grumpy cat in the suburbs of the Texas Hill country.

Website

Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, BookShop, BAM, or your favorite venue.

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Plenty of Fish in the Sicilian Sea by Stefania Hartley – Spotlight and Giveaway

January 22, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Stefania Hartley, author of the upcoming release Plenty of Fish in the Sicilian Sea. Enter to win a fabulous gift package and a FREE Stefania Hartley romance book!

Sicilian marine biologist Serena Ingotta has never understood men, but when she uncovers a mafia factory polluting the sea, it only adds to the things that confuse her.

Twenty-four-year-old Sicilian scientist Serena Ingotta has always misunderstood men, from her workaholic anti-mafia judge father to the Catholic seminarian she’s hopelessly in love with. Interning in a marine biology lab alongside her irritating colleague Enrico, she discovers an illegal polluting factory that is possibly connected with the mafia.

When it turns out that their boss is going to cover up the story, she publicly denounces him at a science conference and gets expelled from the lab. Alone and ostracized, Serena’s attempts to find love and expose the factory seem to be failing epically until she finally realizes that everything she has been searching for was just under her nose.

Reader advisory: This book contains instances of minors with firearms.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Serena jangled the lab keys inside her bag and smiled. The cheerful clink told her that, even without a salary, a job description or a coat peg, she belonged there. The sound echoed in the silent corridor. There was no tapping of wooden soles, no irritated voices, no whispered gossip at that time in the morning. There was just her, the pickled coelacanths and the embalmed, startled pufferfish to greet her through the glass cabinets.

She stuck the key into the lab door and tried to turn it, but it was already unlocked. Strange… I’m usually the first in. As she opened the door, she found the tall green shutters gaping open and a gust of wind slammed the windows shut with a tinkling of glass.

“Hi, Sery!”

“Enrico?” He was perched on his stool, hunched over the wooden workbench with his grubby lab coat unbuttoned, as attractive as the Hunchback of Notre Dame. He straightened, turned toward her and blinked as if he were only just waking up. He usually turned up around ten o’clock. “How come you’re here so early?”

“Just to spook you. No, not really. I just suddenly thought, Shit, we have to finish our research by the end of the week, and I freaked out. Are you freaked out too?”

“A bit. Mostly about your sudden interest in our work. I thought I’d never get any help from you.”

He smiled. “I’m here to the rescue, baby.” He thrust a fist in the air, and Serena groaned inwardly. He was even wearing a Superman T-shirt.

She took off her motorbike helmet and put it down on the floor under the coat pegs. “Maybe we’ll get our own pegs after the conference.”

He shook his head. Coat pegs were for staff, not unpaid interns. “I wouldn’t hold my breath, Sery. We’re out of filter paper and we can’t order more until next year’s funding arrives. I don’t think either of us is getting a job here anytime soon.”

“Hold on. If we’re out of filter paper, what are you using for filtering?” she asked, pointing to the funnel dripping a red liquid into a conical flask on their workbench.

“Hand towels.” He grinned.

She clutched her head. “You can’t do that! No wonder our results—”

“Just joking.” He grinned, winking. “I’ve cut the discs in half so we have enough. If you pour carefully, they do the job just fine.”

“Please, don’t make a joke like that again. Not now.” They only had until Friday to persuade their boss to submit their research to the upcoming Marine Biology Conference. If they presented their research at the conference, they could put it on their CVs and maybe they’d get a research bursary or—if dreams ever came true—a permanent research position. Two years of unpaid work in Schettino’s lab would not have been in vain. “Right. Let’s get to work.”

By the time Giovanna and Titti arrived after dropping their kids off at school, Serena and Enrico had dissected the fish samples, isolated the gill tissues and filtered the extracts. Giovanna and Titti were research associates—with coat pegs, name badges and monthly salaries—but they were too nice for Serena to wish that they accidentally cut their own heads off while dissecting a fish so that she could have their jobs.

“Cornetti to see us through today,” Giovanna announced, putting down a parcel wrapped with the paper from the café downstairs on a nearby bench. The heavenly buttery scent of the Italian croissants temporarily flushed the smell of the fish samples from the room. Yes, Giovanna is definitely too lovely to hate.

“Shall we have a break?” Enrico suggested hopefully.

“I want to see the spectrophotometer’s results first, but you can,” Serena said.

Enrico hesitated but picked up a cuvette with fish juice instead of a cornetto with custard and walked over to the spectrophotometer in the far corner of the room. Enrico called out the machine’s readings and Serena entered them into her laptop.

“How are things going here?” Professor Schettino suddenly appeared behind them. The boss never arrived before eleven o’clock. He must be early because of the conference deadline.

“We’re getting together the last results,” Enrico said confidently.

“Great. I want to see all your results by lunchtime.”

“Sure.”

After that deadline was issued, the cornetti weren’t mentioned anymore.

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They looked at each other. “Almost!” Enrico called back.

It was a very early ‘lunchtime’ for Italy. They entered the last few results into their table and clicked on the button that would create a curve of best fit. But what came out was not a curve by any standard.

“I’ve calibrated the machine three times!” Enrico protested, waving his arm in the air.

“I don’t think our results are wrong. The repeats are very close to each other.”

“Then why does our data make no sense?”

“It does make sense. Negative results disprove the hypothesis.”

Enrico twisted his mouth. “Negative results aren’t exciting enough to be presented at a conference.”

“Schettino will agree that science doesn’t have to be sensational. Come… Let’s show him.” She got up with her laptop and marched to Schettino’s office-cave. Enrico followed her. “Here are our results,” she announced, putting her laptop down on their boss’ desk, which was scattered with printouts crossed through and scribbled on in red pen. Enrico stopped on the threshold and leaned against the door jamb.

Schettino adjusted his reading glasses, put down the red pen and looked intently at the graph. “Ah,” he said, pushing his wheelie chair back and dropping his glasses to look intently at Serena.

Serena waited for a more comprehensive comment, possibly with some indication of his appreciation.

“So, what’s your conclusion?” he asked, shrugging.

“That there’s no correlation between heavy metal concentration in fish and distance from the shore.”

Enrico stepped into the room. “We’ve calibrated the instruments before every batch of measurements, we’ve repeated each reading at least three times and…we’ve worn gloves.”

“Uhm”—Schettino pursed his lips—“perhaps you need to plot against depth instead of distance from the shore.”

“Why? What’s wrong with our results as they are?” This was not how she had imagined the conversation would go.

“Not impressive enough to go to a conference. The selection committee won’t give you even a five-minute slot to present it. Nobody is interested in you having an idea and proving that it was wrong, Serena. I don’t care what you plot your results against, so long as you find a correlation of some sort. Otherwise, I won’t submit your work to the conference. It’s as simple as that.” He stood up, which made him a lot taller than her—but not Enrico.

“But the submission deadline is on Friday,” Enrico protested.

“You don’t have to come to this conference. There’ll be many others.”

But we’ve worked for two years with the promise of being allowed to submit to this conference.

“We’ll turn the research around by Friday.”

Schettino smiled. “I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

About the Author: Stefania Hartley, also known as The Sicilian Mama, was born in Sicily and immediately started growing, but not very much. She left her sunny island after falling head over heels in love with an Englishman, and she’s lived all over the world with him and their three children.

Having finally learnt English, she enjoyed it so much that she started writing stories and nobody has been able to stop her since. She loves to write about hot and sunny places like her native Sicily, and she especially likes it when people fall in love.

Her short stories have been longlisted, commended and won prizes. Plenty of Fish in the Sicilian Sea is her second novel, after Sun, Stars and Limoncello.

You can find out more about Stefania on her website, and on the Sicilian Mama’s Blog. You can also listen to Stefania’s podcast.

Website | Sicilian Mama’s Blog | Podcast | Goodreads | First Romance Author Page

Buy the book at your favorite venue or First for Romance Author Page.

STEFANIA HARTLEY IS GIVING AWAY THIS FABULOUS PRIZE TO ONE LUCKY WINNER. ENTER HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A LOVELY GIFT PACKAGE AND GRAB YOUR FREE STEFANIA HARTLEY ROMANCE BOOK! Notice: This competition ends on 26th January 2021 at 5pm GMT. Competition hosted by Totally Entwined Group.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Guest Blogs Tagged With: ,

Friday Five Writing Prompt Challenge for January 22, 2021

January 22, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Each Friday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly five word writing prompt. For more details on how to participate, please click here.

Today’s five words to use as your prompt are: favorite, costume, stumble, confuse, articulate

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The Salty Rose by Beth M. Caruso

January 21, 2021 By 11 Comments


The Salty Rose by Beth M. Caruso
Publisher: Lady Slipper Press
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rated: 3.5 stars
Review by Rose

Marie du Trieux, a tavern keeper with a salty tongue and a heart of gold, struggles as she navigates love and loss, Native wars, and possible banishment by authorities in the unruly trading port of New Amsterdam, an outpost of the Dutch West India Company.

In New England, John Tinker, merchant and assistant to a renowned alchemist and eventual leader of Connecticut Colony, must come to terms with a family tragedy of dark proportions, all the while supporting his mentor’s secret quest to find the Northwest Passage, a desired trading route purported to mystically unite the East with the West.

As the lives of Marie and John become intertwined through friendship and trade, a search for justice of a Dutch woman accused of witchcraft in Hartford puts them on a collision course affecting not only their own destinies but also the fate of colonial America.

The story starts off slowly, with first person chapters from Marie du Trieux telling her granddaughter about her life (my favorite part of the story) and chapters in third person describing the relationship and mentorship between John Tinker and John Winthrop Jr. There was a lot of detail given to Tinker and Winthrop and, at times, I felt lost and wondered where the actual story was going.

However, once the author got into the heart of the story – the witchcraft trial – the pacing picked up. I am not very familiar with the witch trials in Salem, and this was an interesting look at the same period. This middle section was my favorite part of the book. I wasn’t familiar with the telling of this purported witch’s story, so I was anxious to learn her fate and how John Tinker and Marie played a part in the trial.

Can I first say that I loved the character of Marie. She made the book for me. It was interesting to read the author’s notes at the end of the book and discover that she, along with the other major players, were actual people. The author did a good job of taking the historical facts of the characters’ lives and creating an interesting story about witchcraft in the early colonies.

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Ruby Finds a Worry by Tom Percival

January 21, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Ruby Finds a Worry by Tom Percival
Bright Big Feelings
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Meet Ruby–a happy, curious, imaginative girl. But one day, she finds something unexpected: a Worry.

It’s not such a big Worry, at first. But every day, it grows a little bigger . . . And a little bigger . . . Until eventually, the Worry is ENORMOUS and is all she can think about.

But when Ruby befriends a young boy, she discovers that everyone has worries, and not only that, there’s a great way to get rid of them too . . .
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This perceptive and poignant story is the perfect springboard for talking to children about emotional intelligence and sharing hidden anxieties.

It’s never too early to start talking about uncomfortable emotions.

One of the things I adored the most about Ruby’s Worry was how open-ended it was. Rather than explaining precisely what was bothering her, the narrator left plenty of space for us readers to come up with our own theories about exactly what was bothering her. This meant that it was easy for me to put myself in her shoes and imagine various things that I worried about when I was her age! Honestly, the precise thing she was worried about was much less important than how it felt for her to carry it around and slowly watch it grow bigger.

Even very young children should learn about healthy coping mechanisms for their scary thoughts. I enjoyed seeing Ruby try various things to cope with her worry, especially as it grew bigger and harder to manage. These scenes were written with so much compassion and kindness that i wouldn’t hesitate to read them to any little one who might be interested.

The best part of this picture book had to do with who helped Ruby with her problem. No, I can’t go into detail about this without sharing a plot twist, but I can say that the author’s decision to move the storyline into this direction was an excellent one. This isn’t something I’ve seen done very often in this genre. It was refreshing to find it here.

This is part of the Big Bright Feelings series, but it works perfectly well as a standalone read.

I wholeheartedly recommend Ruby Finds a Worry to readers of all ages who have ever quietly worried about something.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Dreams of the Past by Laura Hunsaker

January 21, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Dreams of the Past by Laura Hunsaker
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Larkspur

She needs rest, he needs relaxation…

Jenny Travers wants a fresh start. Leaving the nightmares of her past behind her, she heads to Last Chance Beach. Renting the Sea Glass Cottage sounds peaceful and relaxing, which is exactly what she needs.

What she doesn’t need is a man.

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He never expected to find a woman in his bed.

A mix-up at the rental agency means Jenny and Scott are both renting the small cottage. Sharing a space with a stranger should be hard, yet they both feel more at peace than they have in months.

Will their summer romance last, or is the magic of Sea Glass Cottage all they’ll have…

Scott and Jenny unexpectedly meet at Seaglass Cottage and their lives are changed forever. Dreams of the Past is a short and heartwarming story about two people with uncertain futures who deserve happiness. They meet each other at a time when they are both feeling disconnected and alone and they help each other feel good again about their lives and themselves.

Jenny moves to Last Chance Beach after a tragedy leaves her questioning what she wants in life. She is hoping to get away and start anew, never expecting to meet someone like Scott. Scott is a Navy Seal on leave after being injured by an IED. He has come to Last Chance Beach to think about his life and decide what is next.

I found myself immediately immersed in this sweet story. Scott and Jenny are easy to like and relate to. They have both gone through some tough times and I wanted them to find their HEA. I recommend this story, it will leave you with a smile on your face.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , ,

What Kind of Writer Am I? by P.J. DeVere – Guest Blog and Giveaway

January 21, 2021 By 8 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. P.J. DeVere will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

What Kind of Writer Am I?

I try to bring in as many facets as I can to my writing. I am a mother, a wife, a former teacher, and an attorney, and I make a point to bring aspects of all these experiences into my stories.

One thing I pride myself on is writing romance fiction that is inspiring to women. My female protagonists are no shrinking violets. They are strong, bold, and fiercely independent. In my day job, I am a prosecutor. I’m a female in a predominately male field, and I know how bright that fire inside you has to be in order to succeed, to not be taken advantage of, and to overcome. I tell many of the young, female attorneys I mentor that they could benefit from having the reckless confidence of a mediocre male, (and I’m not entirely kidding when I say it.) Life is too short to not be bold and go after what you want!

Another thing about my writing style is I focus on character development. If you don’t create interesting and relatable characters, no one will care about your story. When I’m writing my characters, I try to make them real. None of my people are perfect, and I don’t want them to be. I have heard from people around the globe who connect to these characters I created and consider them their friends, and I can’t think of a better compliment.

I outline a little when I start a book, but I mostly fly by the seat of my pants. There have been many times I’ve been just as surprised at the turn one of my stories takes as the readers are! To me, the story develops as I write it, and it is a magical experience.

I’m a reader at heart, and I love the romance genre. I know how loyal and committed this reader base can be, and I couldn’t ask for a better audience to serve. I write what I would want to read, and I enjoy focusing on the connection between two people—what brings them together, the chemistry that draws them in like a magnet, and the obstacles they have to overcome.

Writing is my passion, and love putting out these sarcastic and sexy stories into the world.

Madeline Everly wants to climb her muscular bartender like a mountain, but he seems opposed to the idea. After she starts working alongside him behind the bar, will he finally give into her?

When Madeline’s misogynistic boss, overbearing mother, and grudge holding sister become too much to bear, it’s time to let off a little steam. Mads has a wild streak, and she doesn’t apologize for it. She likes men, and she has her sights set on one in particular—Exel Kinley. If she can check him off her to-do list, maybe he won’t take up so much room in her head. As nothing in her life has ever been permanent, Mads has no problems going through men like she goes through gin and tonics at happy hour. Can she have the adventure she wants and the pleasure she craves, all from the same man?

Enjoy an Excerpt

I meet Exel’s dark blue gaze with hooded eyes, and the stare he sends back seems intense. I’m surprised he hasn’t spoken or interrupted us in some way, but I’m making the most of him watching.

I take my time. I continue making my slow, torturous movements, and the same noises are coming from me that I was making before he entered. In part, it’s so Tad doesn’t notice and stop what he’s doing, but it’s also so Exel can enjoy the show.

Since Exel and I first met, the attraction was instant and obvious for both of us. I thought having him would be an easy task, but I was mistaken. After flirting with me the first day we met, his switch flipped to off. I haven’t been able to flip him back, and I’ve tried.

For several moments I watch Exel watching me, and I see the effect my little show is having on him. No jeans could hide all of that. Exel’s usual attitude may make it seem like he doesn’t want me, but right now, there is no denying the hunger in his eyes. It looks downright predatory.

Tad’s hands are under my ass as he pulls me closer to him. My back hits the shelves, and it gives the liquor bottles behind me a light jingle. I lick my lips and watch my voyeur’s eyes blaze with heat as he zeros in on my mouth. I’m playing a dangerous game, but it’s the most fun I’ve had in months.

About the Author:P.J. DeVere is the author of The Starkford Series. She was born and raised in Mississippi, where she is still a practicing attorney. A life-long lover of books, P.J. finds it hard to tear herself away from a steamy romance novel. She’s had multiple careers in her life, but writing is by far her favorite. Before earning her law degree from Ole Miss, she was a fifth-grade teacher. She has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Mississippi State.

She is a wonderful wife, a terrible housekeeper, and a devoted mother. Her sons are all grown with lives of their own, and she is making use of this newfound time and freedom to get to know the imaginary friends in her head. She is giving readers a distinctly different view of life in the South as not everyone down here spits tobacco through a missing tooth hole or says “I declare” while lazily fanning herself under a magnolia tree. P.J. has found joy in creating a series of novels that reflects the Mississippi she knows and loves, and she hopes her readers will find the lure of returning to Starkford as irresistible as she does.

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Highland Defender by Kathryn Le Veque

January 21, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Kathryn Le Veque who is celebrating the upcoming release of Highland Defender, the second book in the Scots and Swords series. Enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post for a chance to win a copy of Highland Gladiator , the first book in the series.

Gladiator meets Fight Club in the Scottish Highlands in a new series from USA Today bestselling author Kathryn Le Veque

Ashamed of a decision he made in battle that cost good men their lives, Bane Morgan escapes to Edinburgh to forget his past. But the more time he spends away from his Highland home, the more he’s filled with regret and despair.

Lucia Symington knows something about despair. Forced to work off a family debt for a clan with little moral compass and a particular hatred for her, Lucia loses herself a little more each day. When a chance meeting with Bane gives them both a glimpse of what their future together could be, Bane pledges himself to the Ludus Caledonia, the warrior training club where he can reconnect to the fire for justice that still burns within him. The Highland Defender has returned…only to discover that his quest to free his lady could cost them both everything…

Enjoy an Excerpt

Oh, but there was a storm churning inside of Lucia, and the lightning she’d come to associate with Bane was flying in all directions. His close proximity had started a firestorm, and she was struggling to stay on an even keel.

Gazing up at him, she could feel his hot breath in her face as his right arm went up, casually bracing himself against the support beam of the stall over her head as he looked down upon her. The closer he loomed, the more the lightning sparked.

“I…I dunna hear it often.”

“From the men around here?”

“Never from them.”

“Then they’re fools.”

“Or mayhap they know their place.”

A grin spread across his lips. “I’ve never been accused of knowing my place,” he said huskily. “Even if I did, in yer case, I’d ignore it.”

God, he was so close. Lucia was having difficulty breathing and she turned her head, looking away from him because she was thrilled and intimidated at the same time. Looking at him made her feel as if she were losing control of herself. She could see him in her periphery as he leaned in, taking a long, deep smell of her hair.

It was enough to turn her bones to jelly.

“Bane…” she said breathlessly.

“Shush,” he murmured. “Let me smell ye. I want tae know what an angel smells like.”

It wasn’t just her hair he was smelling, but her skin. He sniffed her neck, moving to her shoulder and smelling that as well. All the while, he didn’t touch her. He didn’t make a move to make contact. But his face, his nose, was close enough that Lucia could feel him brushing against her. His heated breath spilled over her skin, blowing against her like the bellows of a smithy’s forge.

It was intoxicating.

“What does an angel smell like?” she managed to ask.

He moved so his face was next to hers. He was looking at her profile at close range as she looked away.

“Beauty,” he muttered. “Strength. Honor. It smells like everything a man needs in life.”
She sighed in utter delight as his words filled her ears. When his lips gently kissed her cheek, her jelly bones gave way and she slumped back against the wall. Bane swiftly moved forward, slipping his arms beneath hers and bracing her against the stall so she wouldn’t fall. As she turned to him, opening her mouth to speak, his mouth slanted over hers in a deliciously tender kiss.

The lightning exploded.

Lucia could hear little gasps as he kissed her, hardly aware they were her own. For all of Bane’s size and strength, his kisses were so very gentle, like the touch of a bird’s wings, something so delightful yet something that filled her with awe and wonder. She’d never been kissed before.

Not even close.

It was as if the sun suddenly burst out from behind the clouds.

Her arms went around his neck, holding him firmly against her as she responded to his heated kiss. Enfolded in his embrace, she was vastly aware of his body pressed against hers, the heat from his big frame filling her with a comfort she’d never known before. She could hardly breathe, but she didn’t care. She welcomed the giddiness. He was overwhelming her with the virile masculinity that had been buried beneath that street filth.

His scent filled her nostrils, too.

Glorious.

And then it was abruptly over.

***

Excerpted from Highland Defender by Kathryn Le Veque. © 2021 by Kathryn Le Veque. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author:With over one hundred published novels, KATHRYN LE VEQUE is a critically acclaimed USA Today bestselling author, a charter Amazon All-Star author, and a #1 bestselling, award-winning, multi-published author in Medieval Historical Romance and Contemporary Romance. She lives in California.

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Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Bookshop, BAM, Walmart, or your favorite venue.

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Hami’s Treasure by Elle Jackson

January 20, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Hami’s Treasure by Elle Jackson
Kilfane Incursion 2
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 5 Stars
Review by Dryas

Kilfanian Captain Hami comes to Earth to find his missing sister. But when his ship inadvertently causes a fire in a science building, he sees the glowing multicolored path that legend says leads Kilfanians to their mates. He follows that path into the blaze and finds a beautiful Human woman dying of smoke inhalation. To save her, he takes her to his ship for treatment.

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Captivated, Hami finds himself questioning everything he believed about humans. Yet he and Amina are literally from different worlds. Can he find a future with a human woman who makes him want to be more than just a warrior of Kilfane? Especially when her people abducted his sister?

What would you do if you were an astrophysicist working for a boss who didn’t think much of you? Amina Washington was that person and one night she noticed an object that she believed could change her career. Unfortunately, when she tried to find the image on any of her electronics, it disappeared.

I really enjoyed the plot and the characters. There is a great deal of hot, steamy sex between Hami and Amina as their connection is so strong that they can’t get enough of each other. I enjoyed the different powers that each Kilfane character possess but we don’t get a lot of examples of what they are. Just at the beginning when Hami called the rain to put out the fire in the building. Also, when they went on the rescue mission for his sister. I really liked the bond Hami and Amina forged. It is so strong that Amina could actually transport herself to where Hami was.

I highly enjoyed this story and would recommend it to my friends as the plot is hot and sweet at the same time with a few other elements thrown in. It was really interesting watching Hami falling in love with Earth and I can only hope that Amina falls in love with his planet as much as he did with Earth. It is so sweet that he is going to try to make his home more earth like for her comfort. There are a few little wrenches thrown into the plot that I won’t spoil for you.

A great book to pick up on a cold night to keep you warm.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Thanksgiving Dinner by Amabel Daniels

January 20, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Thanksgiving Dinner by Amabel Daniels
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Erotic Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Before a day full of turkey, good spirits, and family and friends at Thanksgiving dinner, Hailey Gabrien gives in to her baby sister’s usual request for company at their small town’s only bar. Go figure, it’s the busiest night of bar hopping for the year. Even though she’s quiet and prefers a private life, Hailey will always be there for her sibling.

Returning home from New York City for the first time in years, Clark Monroe finds his parents beyond happy to see him. When he heads to the only bar around, though, he sees someone who’d prefer him to remain far, far away. A woman who emphasizes her opinion of him by giving him a black eye.

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It isn’t always immediately obvious who might be soulmates.

There was a scene early on that made me chuckle. Let’s just say that Hailey’s behavior when someone sexually harassed her while she was trying to relax and have a good time was as on point for her personality as it was surprising for this genre. I was proud of how she handled that situation and immediately interested in getting to know her better.

I would have liked to see more time spent resolving the conflicts between Hailey and Clark. They definitely had chemistry, but their previous experiences with each other had caused so many bad feelings that I was expecting a longer period of hashing things out. They both had good reasons to dislike and mistrust each other. I needed more evidence that they’d fixed those issues before they moved on to anything else.

One of the most refreshing things about this story was the way it compared life in a small town to life in a big city. The characters all had different preferences about where they’d ideally like to live, but everyone expressed those views in a positive way and without putting down others for wanting to live in a smaller or bigger place. They also were quick to acknowledge the benefits and drawbacks of either choice. This nuanced approach to deciding where to live is something I love seeing and hope will become much more common in the future.

Thanksgiving Dinner should be read by anyone who has ever wondered what their cute high school classmates might be up to these days.

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