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Escape from the Past: The Duke’s Wrath by Annette Oppenlander

August 21, 2019 By 20 Comments


Escape from the Past: The Duke’s Wrath by Annette Oppenlander
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult/Middle Grade, Science Fiction/Fantasy (time travel), Contemporary, Historical
Length: Full Length (292 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 12+
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Poppy

When nerd and gamer, Max Anderson, is lured into trying an experimental computer game, he doesn’t realize he’s playing the ultimate history game, time-traveling into the past…anywhere…anytime. Survival is optional. To return home he must decipher the game’s rules and complete its missions–if he lives long enough. Tofail means staying in the past–forever.
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Now he’strapped in medieval Germany, unprepared and clueless. It is the year 1471 and he quickly learns that being an outcast may cost him his head. Especially after rescuing a beautiful peasant girl from a deadly infection and thus provoking sinister wannabe Duke Ott. Overnight he is dragged into a hornets’ nest of feuding lords who will stop at nothing to bring down the conjuring stranger in their midst.

Filled with realistic historical references and a lot of adventure to keep even the pickiest of readers happy, Escape from the Past: The Duke’s Wrath was nearly un-put-downable. I read it in just two days.

I adored our hero, Max (“Max Nerds”). He actually took to going back in time with a pretty level head, which is good since if he’d panicked at any time, he’d likely have been killed or worse (and, yes, in that time there is definitely “worse” than death). The author is honest about the time: the food, the stench, the lack of understanding about germs or medicine and more. It’s clear the folks not born into priviledge (or earning it, like the squires/knights) had a horrendously hard life. Max gets to see both sides of the coin as he moves through the era with his new friend Bero and the family that takes him in. He sees poverty and hunger, pain and abuse. He saves Bero’s sister with some good ideas on how to treat a wound, even without modern medicine, and teaches his new family how to forage for edibles in the woods.

I enjoyed learning more about the time period–typically when I read historical fiction, it’s not from this time so it was interesting to go somewhere new! I don’t understand the cover, despite how eye-catching it is, since it seems to imply there’s a time machine involved, and there isn’t. Also, Max talks, thinks and acts like someone much older. In fact, at the beginning, I thought it was an adult looking back on an adventure he’d had. Max’s friend, Jimmy, acted more like that age group but Max was exceptionally mature.

Despite that very small blip, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I wish it had been around when my own, history mad, daughter was younger. I would have given it to her with no reservations, and she would have loved it, too.

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

Research for My Books by p.m. terrell – Guest Blog and Giveaway

August 14, 2019 By 12 Comments


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. p.m.terrell will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

I’m often asked how I perform research for my books. Some of them, such as Songbirds are Free, River Passage, and Checkmate: Clans and Castles, required almost 30 hours of research for each hour of writing. Others, such as my mysteries and suspense, may be as little as one hour of research for each hour of writing.

I am asked about it so often that when I wrote April in the Back of Beyond, I made the main character, Hayley Hunter, a writer who travels to Ireland to research her next historical. The research she does is very similar to my own. I begin with the Internet, visiting only educational sites (colleges/universities), historical sites, official government records, museums and non-profit institutions founded for the purpose of knowledge. I stay away from other sites, as I’ve discovered many of them contain inaccurate information. I then contact many of the sites upon which I’m relying, requesting interviews with historians, archeologists and experts in the fields in which I am interested. Sometimes the interviews are limited to phone calls, emails and video calls. Other times, they require face-to-face meetings in the geographic areas in which I am writing.

I used my actual Irish research into Checkmate: Clans and Castles for the reason Hayley travels to Ireland. However, her adventure becomes much more exciting than mine, for two reasons: she discovers her rented cottage is haunted, and she falls in love with a noted historian and professor from the University of Galway.

April in the Back of Beyond is a real glimpse into the life of a published author, from the research and writing she does to visiting the castles and places of importance of which she is writing.

Writer Hayley Hunter has arrived in Ireland to complete a book on Irish history. When she discovers the old carriage house she is renting is haunted, she is determined to uncover the truth behind the burned ruins of a nearby manor house and the abandoned British barracks it overlooks. With the assistance of Shay Macgregor, an Irish historian, her quest will take her to 1919 and the Irish War for Independence, exposing the murders of two young men and why their mother, April Crutchley, refuses to leave the back of beyond even in death. With a budding romance and the opportunity to begin life anew, Hayley finds her own life is now in jeopardy as she gets closer to a truth the villagers have long sought to bury.

Enjoy an Excerpt

When I heard the soft sobs, I realized I had drifted off once more and in my half-awakened state, I thought the cries were connected to my discordant dreams. I lay there with a groan on my lips not quite ready to spill out and wishing I could simply sleep peacefully before it was too late and I would be forced to arise for the long day ahead. I felt the bedcovers slip away from my bare shoulders and I fought to open my eyes.

When they finally did open, I discovered that I was completely uncovered. The bedcovers had been pulled to the foot of the bed and were shivering inches from my feet as they lay heaped into an unkempt triangle about three feet in height. I blinked once and then twice, my mind not grasping what my eyes were witnessing, for surely it must be a trick of the eyes to think the covers were still moving.

It was then that I realized the soft sobs had continued even after I had fully awakened and they were not part and parcel of my overactive dream state but they were real and they were coming from the direction of the blanket.

“You don’t understand,” came the sound of a woman’s voice, wracked with anguished sobs. “They are still here.”

“No, sweet darling,” returned a weary man’s voice that sounded so close I nearly jumped out of my skin. “They are with God now.”

“I’m telling you they are not,” the woman answered, her weeping growing more tormented. “They’ve never left. They’re still here.”

Within the space of a single heartbeat, I saw myself just a few nights ago, convinced the voices came from outside my window. Then I was pulled into the present to fight the horrifying realization that I was sharing my bed with two apparitions.

I slid my feet away from the covers in excruciatingly slow progress, afraid at any moment my movements would alert the phantoms of my presence. I tucked my feet and knees close to my torso as I came to an uneasy seated position, almost fetal in an attempt to occupy as little space as possible.

The room had become an icebox despite the radiators and I found myself shivering almost in tandem with the blanket. I had no idea how long I sat there, curled against the headboard and pillows, watching the foot of the bed and listening to the disembodied voices that filled the air. But then something seemed to snap inside me, fully awakening me to the present time and despite my fear, despite my trepidation, I grew impatient with myself. I reached a trembling hand toward the bedcovers, intent on pulling them over me to fight the chill as well as reassure me that they were not wet.

But at the precise moment I felt the dampness under my fingers, the sobbing stopped, replaced by a gasp that was not my own. I yanked the covers to the side, determined to discover what mechanical device lay beneath. The material jerked away from me as though I was engaged in a tug-of-war and the gasp was replaced with a woman’s blood-curdling scream and a man’s shouts.

About the Author p.m.terrell is the pen name for Patricia McClelland Terrell, the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than 23 books in multiple genres, including contemporary suspense, historical suspense, computer instructional, non-fiction and children’s books.

Prior to writing full-time, she founded two computer companies in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area: McClelland Enterprises, Inc. and Continental Software Development Corporation. Among her clients were the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Secret Service, U.S. Information Agency, and Department of Defense. Her specialties were in the detection of white collar computer crimes and computer intelligence.

A full-time author since 2002, Black Swamp Mysteries was her first series, inspired by the success of Exit 22, released in 2008. Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee, and The Pendulum Files was a national finalist for the Best Cover of the Year in 2014. Her second series, Ryan O’Clery Suspense, is also award-winning. The Tempest Murders (Book 1) was one of four finalists in the 2013 International Book Awards, cross-genre category. Her historical suspense, River Passage, was a 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so historically accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville Government Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee. Songbirds are Free is her bestselling book to date; it is inspired by the true story of Mary Neely, who was captured in 1780 by Shawnee warriors near Fort Nashborough (now Nashville, TN).

She was the co-founder of The Book ‘Em Foundation, an organization committed to raising public awareness of the correlation between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She was the founder of Book ‘Em North Carolina, an annual event held in the town of Lumberton, North Carolina, to raise funds to increase literacy and reduce crime and served as its chairperson and organizer for its first four years. She also served on the boards of the Friends of the Robeson County (NC) Public Library, the Robeson County (NC) Arts Council, Virginia Crime Stoppers and became the first female president of the Chesterfield County-Colonial Heights Crime Solvers in Virginia.

For more information, book trailers, excerpts and more, visit the author’s website.

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Buy the book at Amazon.

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

The Atomic City Girls by Janet Beard

August 13, 2019 By Leave a Comment


The Atomic City Girls by Janet Beard
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Recent Historical Fiction
Length: Full Length (363 pgs)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

In November 1944, eighteen-year-old June Walker boards an unmarked bus, destined for a city that doesn’t officially exist. Oak Ridge, Tennessee has sprung up in a matter of months—a town of trailers and segregated houses, 24-hour cafeterias, and constant security checks. There, June joins hundreds of other young girls operating massive machines whose purpose is never explained. They know they are helping to win the war, but must ask no questions and reveal nothing to outsiders.

The girls spend their evenings socializing and flirting with soldiers, scientists, and workmen at dances and movies, bowling alleys and canteens. June longs to know more about their top-secret assignment and begins an affair with Sam Cantor, the young Jewish physicist from New York who oversees the lab where she works and understands the end goal only too well, while her beautiful roommate Cici is on her own mission: to find a wealthy husband and escape her sharecropper roots. Across town, African-American construction worker Joe Brewer knows nothing of the government’s plans, only that his new job pays enough to make it worth leaving his family behind, at least for now. But a breach in security will intertwine his fate with June’s search for answers.
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When the bombing of Hiroshima brings the truth about Oak Ridge into devastating focus, June must confront her ideals about loyalty, patriotism, and war itself.

A different look at the way things were in Oak Ridge.

I picked this book up because it’s on the list of books we’re considering reading for the local reading group. I’d read The Girls of Atomic City and enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to this take on Oak Ridge. I’m glad I picked up this book. Really. I have some quibbles with it, but it’s a quick read and an interesting point of view on life at Oak Ridge.

One of my quibbles is with the characters. I didn’t really root for any of them. I didn’t see any of them–save for a secondary one–as someone I’d like to have for a friend. I did get emotionally involved in the story, so that’s going for the book. I wanted to clunk a couple of the characters on the head. But the thing is, some of the characters were rather immature. I get they were young when they arrived at Oak Ridge, the naivete, and in some ways negativity, made me want to skip pages.

Still, this is an interesting take on what the people went through in Oak Ridge. Racial bias, loose-lips-sink-ships, being wary of everyone…it’s vividly told.

If you’re looking for a book that’s different and involves the work at Oak Ridge, then this might be the book for you.

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Heartthrob by Robin Bielman

August 8, 2019 By Leave a Comment


Heartthrob by Robin Bielman
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full length (286 pages)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Mistflower

He likes a challenge…

Here’s the deal: I’m the best center fielder in the major leagues. I’m also the guy who cost his team the championship game and acted very unsportsmanlike. So, when the team hires a social media manager to repair the damage to my reputation, I don’t argue. But then I meet Chloe Conrad, and I suddenly understand what people mean when they say they have an instant connection to someone. Which means I’m in serious trouble. Chloe’s a smart, sexy distraction I can’t afford, but one date can’t hurt, right? Only she turns me down. And just like that, it’s game on.
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She’s sworn off love…

Finn Auprince is the hottest player in the major leagues. Look up “It Factor” in the dictionary and there’s his handsome face. He’s also my biggest client and I don’t care how easy it is to talk to him or how fun it is to manage his social media accounts, I will not give in to his charms. Then one drunken night, I tell him about my curse: all my previous boyfriends have found their soul mates while dating me. One more heartbreak, and I’ll never recover. But Finn doesn’t believe in curses—he believes in me. Professionally and personally. He sets out to prove the universe isn’t against me, and that his one true love isn’t waiting around the next corner.

The problem is…can we play the game of love and both come out on top?

I’m going to be honest and tell you that baseball is not one of my favorite sports. However, after reading this story, I have a new appreciation for the sport thanks to the hero, Finn Auprince. I am certain the writing style also helped recruit me into being a baseball fan. The story started with an author’s note for the reader telling us that Finn has two brothers and to “stay tuned for two more books as they each get their happily ever after.” This was my first Robin Bielman book and I guarantee it won’t be my last. The author’s note says, all three Auprince brother’s have stolen her heart and that she hopes that they’d steal mine too. Well, I wish I could say that I’ll be faithful to Finn as my book boyfriend but if his brothers are as equally well written as Finn was then I’m looking at two more book boyfriends in my future. I adored Finn for his humble personality despite being a famous baseball player. I also respected his love for his family.

This book had a little bit everything that kept it flowing smoothly and kept me entertained from beginning to end. The heroine, Chloe Conrad, gets the credit for making this story a heartwarming, unpredictable and fun read. She was my favorite kind of heroine. Smart, witty and independent with a touch of vulnerability.

Together, Finn and Chloe make for an unforgettable romance with a lasting book glow lasting hours after the book ended. I just couldn’t get the smile off my face. I loved the element of competition between them. Without giving any spoilers I can only say that this was a great book! I definitely would read it again and would suggest others to put it on their must read list.

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Bittersweet Alliance by Kathleen Rowland – Spotlight and Giveaway

July 30, 2019 By 4 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kathleen Rowland will be awarding ten gift bags each containing a shell necklace, chocolates, and a flower pen to randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Will a snap decision change their lives forever?

Bizarre kidnappings stun the Big Island of Hawaii, pulling Danker Donahue back into the game and forcing him to partner with Jolene Kualoha, the woman who left him seven years ago when his DNA showed up in paternity lawsuit. The prejudice-motivated hate crimes are the wildest anyone has ever seen. Victims are being poisoned then released once the ransoms are paid, many losing their lives.

In the shadow of Jolene’s success as a helicopter pilot, a troubled woman develops a fixation on Jolene and imitates her appearance. Matters turn dark when the copycat is shot dead. Was Jolene the target? Threats mount when she barely survives an accident after her brake cables are severed.

When these crimes threaten her sanity, Jolene is forced to trust the one person she thought she’d lost forever, Danker. Instantly, sparks fly between them, and as much as she wants to rekindle their relationship, she must protect her heart.

An old enemy, Seamus McGinn, breaks out of a maximum-security prison and invites Danker to a meet-up. Surprisingly, the kidnapper joins forces with McGinn along with his sick fans. McGinn trumpets his ‘murders by ice pick’, and it’s up to Danker to stop him. The whole island is on edge with a live feed from the maniac’s website.

In a stolen moment, Jolene shows him hope, and he makes a snap decision that will change their lives forever. Will he make it back to show her?

Enjoy an Excerpt:

Seven years since their breakup, Jolene Kualoha spotted Danker Donahue, ambling from the parking lot toward the store. She recognized him by his height and long gait. Wind from the north ruffled his hair and brought a bone-biting chill to her heart. Nuts, here he was, ducking his head to miss the bell overhead. It tinkled, and a strange twisting sensation hit her in the stomach.

This happened at the Kalua-Kona Food Emporium on a Sunday morning in July. She stared from where she stood near the avocados. His dangerous edge drew her in, but she turned her back to him. Her body reverberated like when her cellphone was on vibrate in her pocket. Stunned with minor electric shock, she froze. Maybe he wouldn’t see her. Wouldn’t recognize the back of her head or the once familiar shape of her ass.

Was someone waiting for him in the parking lot? Someone like Louella, the baby’s momma who’d summoned him for an immediate DNA test? For a split second, she craned her head around but didn’t see her with him.

She and Danker were a couple when the test confirmed his fatherhood. Her heart ached at the memory. Love hurt, but that wasn’t all. Loneliness hurt. Losing someone hurt. Decision-making hurt when you force yourself to do the right thing.

She’d pulled away, giving him space to work on his previous relationship for the sake of their child. The most shameful thing a woman can do is take parents away from a baby, and this began her year of stubborn steadfastness.

I did the breakup rituals. Got the dramatic haircut. Engraved a piece of jewelry he got me with a new message. Deleted the photos that made me cry.

To have been his woman was like living where the air flowered with jasmine, and the weather day after day was flawless, but the forecast was a hurricane.

About the Author:

Book Buyers Best finalist Kathleen Rowland is devoted to giving her readers fast-paced, high-stakes suspense with a sizzling love story sure to melt their hearts. Kathleen used to write computer programs but now writes novels. She grew up in Iowa where she caught lightning bugs, ran barefoot, and raced her sailboat on Lake Okoboji. Now she wears flip-flops and sails with her husband, Gerry, on Newport Harbor but wishes there were lightning bugs in California.

Kathleen exists happily with her witty CPA husband, Gerry, in their 70’s poolside retreat in Southern California where she adores time spent with visiting grandchildren, dogs, one bunny, and noisy neighbors. While proud of their five children who’ve flown the coop, she appreciates the luxury of time to write!

Kathleen is an in-house author at Tirgearr Publishing. Her Irish-American Donahue Cousins series includes Deadly Alliance, Unholy Alliance, and Bittersweet Alliance.

What reviewers say about Kathleen Rowland

Windward Whisperings–Kathleen Rowland spins a creative story with romance, passion and suspense making it an adventure hard to put down. The banter she creates between the two lovers is spine-tingling robust in this keeper of a read. ~ The Romance Studio

Deeds of Deceit— Circled by the bloodthirsty and untrusting, you learn to appreciate the few allies you have. Deeds of Deceit is an excellent addition to any thriller assortment. ~ Midwest Book Review

A Key to all that Glitters is a mesmerizing love story that vibrates with love and suspense. ~ Long and Short Reviews

Website | Blog | Facebook
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A Pretty Woman With Power by K. Bromberg – Guest Blog and Giveaway

July 29, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes K. Bromberg who is celebrating tomorrow’s release of Resist. Enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card + a copy of the book.

A Pretty Woman With Power

Ryker Lockhart: Powerful. Unrelenting. Stubborn.
Vaughn Sanders: Defiant. Strong. Unyielding.

With those two sets of characteristics, Ryker and Vaughn are definitely oil and water one moment and then an ember met with gasoline the next. That dynamic is what made writing them and their story so much fun in my latest book, Resist. Their tale was a delicate dance though because the push and pull of the chase better be worth the reward for readers.

I often enjoy taking characters and painting them with broad strokes (i.e. Vaughn’s profession) so that readers initially question them. Then over the next 100,000 words, I love to smash their preconceived notions so that they root for the heroine. So that they are right beside her cheering her on and falling in love with the hero just like she is.

It’s not often an easy task to write a heroine, because women are often harsher on female characters than they are males. Heroes can be over the top alphas who are dominant and say all the wrong things, but once they show vulnerability, we somehow forgive them. Heroines on the other hand, are judged more fiercely. She’s too weak. She’s too strong. She’s too wishy- washy. She’s being a b*tch for pushing him away. Making a reader like a strong-willed female character isn’t always an easy task. So when you put two characters together who embody all of these things, it’s a delicate balance to have enough push and pull. Enough sexual tension. Enough redeemable qualities so you can love them despite their faults.

This challenge is one of the reasons I loved writing Resist (and its sequel Reveal). I don’t quite remember where the storyline came from, but I recall the furious scribbling on paper as Ryker and Vaughn’s story came to life in my imagination. Take a strong-willed woman with a risqué job and give her a real reason to need that job. Take a domineering divorce attorney who deals with love gone wrong day-in and day-out, and force him to see that there can be more than just sex between a man and a woman. That love is, in fact, possible.

Challenge accepted.

Is Resist a subtle nod to the Pretty Woman trope? I never really thought of it that way, but I can see the similarities being drawn. Vaughn (my character) and Vivian (movie character) have names that both start with the letter V. They both wear a red dress in a scene. The both work in fields that deal with selling sex for profit . . . but that’s where the comparisons stop.

Vaughn Sanders is a force to be reckoned with. Sure, she’s a madam, but once you get beneath the moniker, readers find a strong-willed woman taking measures into her own hands for the benefit of someone else. Readers will find a woman with a strong backbone and a take no prisoners attitude. A woman they can’t wait to see succeed. Sure, we throw in our hero–Ryker, a senator you know is dirty somehow, an adorable niece, and whole cast of other characters and situations and we’re left trying to figure out how it’s all going to play out . . . but the one thing we know for sure, is that we want Ryker and Vaughn to end up together.

Because hopefully when you finish Resist, like Ryker and Vaughn, you start to believe true love does in fact exist.

Who says you have to play by the rules to get what you want?

Agreeing to meet Ryker Lockhart is my first mistake. Rich, handsome, and more than intriguing, he thinks blackmail will bend me to his will.

But he’s wrong.

I may have done a few things that weren’t exactly legal, but I have my own reasons for that. The last thing I’m going to do is let some high-powered divorce attorney come into my life, have my body, and rule my heart. Not to mention ruin everything that I have carefully built in just a short amount of time.

But as much as I try to resist him, and against my better judgment, there is something about him that has me agreeing to his proposal.

I’m putting everything on the line for him. I just hope I won’t lose everything when this is all over.

Enjoy an Excerpt

The lobby is elegant, with its large chandeliers, but they’re kept dim so as to allow each of its patrons some privacy. Almost as if they know I’m trying to hide some from the rest of the room for a bit. Soft classical music flows from the overhead speakers as people mill about in evening wear. There are hugs given among people, and laughs echo off the walls and marble floors.

I stand in the corner, surveying the crowd as nerves I don’t want to admit to run a riotous act within, and my mind tries to grapple for the nth time with what I’m about to do.

You’re keeping your reputation intact.

That’s how I have to look at this. That’s how I have to justify this.

Just like that, my breath catches when Ryker Lockhart waltzes into the lobby. I’m rarely affected by a man—sure, I can say one is handsome or sexy or gorgeous, but rarely does a man really catch my eye.

But there he is . . . standing in the middle of the lobby, surveying everyone around him, making my pulse race.

This is a bad idea.

He’s tall, his shoulders are broad, and there’s an air about him that screams authority while a magnetism about him makes people look his way.

And he hasn’t even spoken a word to anyone yet.

Such a bad idea.

He’s in a well-tailored tuxedo, everything black save for the crisp white dress shirt beneath it. His hair is styled, and an expensive watch glints at his wrist when he holds it up to look at the time.

Of course, that’s my cue that I’m not there exactly on time, but I give him a few more seconds to make him wait.

It’s all about power, even when I’m in a different pair of shoes.

With a deep breath, I walk toward him, shoulders square, head high, and remind myself that I’m not Vee right now. I can’t act like we’re on an equal playing field.

He has hired me. I am his.

About the Author: New York Times bestselling author K. Bromberg writes contemporary romance novels that are sweet, emotional, a lot sexy, and a little bit real. She likes to write strong heroines and damaged heroes that readers love to hate but can’t help loving.

Since publishing her first book on a whim in 2013, Bromberg has sold over 1.5 million copies of her books across eighteen different countries and has repeatedly landed on the bestseller lists for the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal. Her Driven trilogy (Driven, Fueled, and Crashed) is currently being adapted for film by the streaming platform Passionflix, with Driven available now.

You can find out more about this mom of three on any of her social media accounts. The easiest way to stay up to date is to sign up for her newsletter or text “KBromberg” to 77948 to receive text alerts when a new book is released.

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Cowboy Charming by Dylann Crush – Spotlight and Giveaway

July 26, 2019 By 3 Comments

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Dylann Crush who is celebrating the upcoming release of Cowboy Charming, the third book in the Holiday, Texas series. Enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post for a chance to win a copy of Cowboy Christmas Jubilee.

They call him Casanova. But can this charming devil of a cowboy teach a good girl how to change her ways?

Small-town preacher’s daughter Dixie King is used to having a lot on her plate. Keep tabs on her flighty grandmother? No problem. Handle the honky-tonk’s first ever Chili Cook-Off? In the bag. Vamp it up to charm a would-be developer into leaving Holiday, Texas for good?

…now there she might need a helping hand.

Enter Presley Walker: Holiday’s own Cowboy Casanova and the perfect tutor for a good girl looking to go bad. He’s got charm in spades, and he’s always seemed like a terrible idea waiting to happen. But as Presley and Dixie work together to save their beloved hometown, these polar opposites might finally see the good in each other…if they can only learn to trust their hearts enough to fall.

Holiday, Texas Series:
All-American Cowboy (Book 1)
Cowboy Christmas Jubilee (Book 2)
Cowboy Charming (Book 3)

Enjoy an Excerpt

Dixie King hoisted the tray of longnecks onto her shoulder and sashayed through a busier-than-usual Thursday-night crowd. Spring finals week must be coming to a close for the frat boys and pseudo-cowgirls who considered the Rambling Rose their personal stomping ground. Sidestepping a clean-shaven guy in a polo shirt with grabby hands, she delivered the bottles one by one to the impatient patrons.

That right there was why her daddy never wanted her to take this job. As the resident preacher in the tiny town of Holiday, Texas, he feared for her moral safety. Funny thing was, he had absolutely nothing to worry about. Beyond the occasional ass-grabber or drunken proposition, Dixie hadn’t been involved with a man in years.

She made her way back to the bar to snag another load. As she transferred the bottles and mugs onto the tray, a body slid onto the stool at the end of the bar.

Presley Walker.

She’d have known it was him by the hint of intoxicating cologne that drifted off the man in a hormone-inducing wave. If her daddy wanted to pray for someone, Presley should be at the top of the list. Although it may be too late for him. Dixie figured he might not have any morals still intact.

“Hey, Red.” He took one of the bottles off the tray and tilted it in her direction before giving her a wink and lifting it to his lips. Even though something as simple as a smile from Presley Walker could make her thighs quiver for days, she ignored the urge to slip onto a barstool and make believe it was her mouth receiving the attention of his lips and not a mere bottle of beer. Fantasies involving Presley were just that—fantasies. She couldn’t afford to get caught up in wishing anything more would ever happen between them. She’d play off his attention like she always did—with a mixture of disdain and sass. The combination had proven effective over the years at deterring any potential advances from Holiday’s resident Romeo. Not that he’d follow through anyway. The way her daddy had treated her first long-term boyfriend had pretty much guaranteed no other eligible man in Holiday would be willing to subject himself to Pastor King’s scrutiny.

“Red? Gosh, Presley, what wit. I haven’t heard that one before.” She rolled her eyes then grabbed the extra beer the bartender handed her. Her red hair came from her mother’s side of the family, specifically her grandmother. Too bad she hadn’t also inherited the free-spirited, devil-may-care attitude her grandma Eugenia was known for.

“Hell, Dixie, I’m just warmin’ up.” Presley’s gaze drifted over her. The man could summon heat from an ice cube. Her skin burned under his attention. She felt like she was standing in the middle of the crowded honky-tonk in nothing but her birthday suit.

She groaned and whirled around, ready to run the gauntlet through the handsy crowd again. She’d rather face down a room full of cocky frat boys than get stuck face-to-face with Presley Walker. Her reluctance had absolutely nothing to do with the way his blue eyes sparkled or how his mouth tipped up in a crooked grin, making heat pool in places she didn’t want to acknowledge. And everything to do with the string of X-rated dreams she’d been having over the past several months—starring who else but Holiday, Texas’s most notorious bachelor.

Maybe she should do what her daddy had been encouraging her to do ever since she took this job—quit. But the tips were good, and working the late afternoon and evening shifts meant she could help out more at home. Besides, she needed the money if she wanted a place of her own someday. She had her heart set on opening a little artist studio where she could make and sell the handcrafted jewelry she’d been working on for the past few years. There were several other local artists in the area she’d love to feature as well. Another year or two and she’d be able to turn her dream into a reality.

Too bad that meant having regular run-ins with the blue-eyed demon. She shook her mass of red curls, trying to dislodge the memories of last night’s dream from her head. It wasn’t like Presley would stop coming around. Not only was he the local sales rep for the liquor supplier, but his sister, Charlie, and brother-in-law, Beck, owned the Rambling Rose.

Which meant she needed to keep him out of her head…and definitely out of her dreams.

***
Excerpted from Cowboy Charming by Dylann Crush. © 2019 by Dylann Crush. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author: Dylann Crush writes contemporary romance with sizzle and sass. A romantic at heart, she loves her heroines spunky and her heroes super sexy. Although she grew up in Texas, she currently lives with her unflappable husband, three energetic kids, a clumsy Great Dane, a rescue mutt and a very chill cat in a suburb of Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Website

Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, IndieBound, or BAM.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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My Top 5 Current Favorite Computer Games by Tia Fielding – Guest Blog

July 25, 2019 By 1 Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Tia Fielding who is celebrating the recent release of her newest book Four, a Love by Numbers book.

My Top 5 Current Favorite Computer Games

I honestly don’t know if anyone who might read this is into gaming at all, but since I’m closing in on forty, I’m queer, and I love PC games I thought I’d write this list anyway, because a lot of people think a person like me couldn’t possibly be a gamer!

1. Dead by Daylight – This is one of my all time favorite games for whatever reason, so of course it made this list. DbD is a horror-esque game, where you play either one of four survivors or a killer. Then, you’re plopped onto a map, where the survivors repair broken generators to power up the exit gates to escape. The killer, of course, tries to catch them, hook them on these big meat hooks (by the shoulder, it’s a game, it’s not realistic…) and after being hooked 2-3 times, the survivor is claimed by the Entity, the universe’s deity of sorts.

Whether you play a killer or a survivor, you get your pick from variety of characters, and even some horror movie ones have been added to the game. You can now play as Freddie Kruger, Michael Myers, or the Pig from the Saw movies, to start with (there are others too.) Some of the survivors are from those movies as well, but there are both original survivors and killers, too.

In all its simplicity, Dead by Daylight is a lot of fun. The more you play, the better you get, and you end up playing with people with your skill level which opens up a lot more strategic options in how you play.

Of course there’s a lot more to the game, like offerings you burn at the start of a match to change certain things, or the perks—think of them like additional skills your character has—you can choose from, or even the items the survivors can take with them, such as maps, tool boxes, and first aid kits to name a few.

If you can stomach horror games and like co-operative games, this might be worth checking out!

2. Coloring Pixels – Now I got to admit, this next one is a bit of a change of pace. It’s literally what it sounds like; a coloring game where you color pixel graphics. Each image is made up from little squares, pixels, and you choose a color that’s on the block, and then click to fill it. You can zoom in and out as you wish, and pick from different sizes of images with many different subject matters. It’s the polar opposite of DbD, and it’s my favorite chilling out and calming down method. Funny, because I’ve never been able to calm myself by coloring books in real life!

3. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – Ah, Ancient Greece. In this stunning game, you travel around Greece on your ship, do quests for people, and try to figure out your character’s heritage-related issues. That’s all I’m going to tell you about the main plot.

It’s so, so beautiful and these games are always so historically accurate it’s scary. The one in the series before Odyssey, Origins, was set in Ancient Egypt, and boy, if that’s your thing, I highly recommend it. Origins also has a sightseeing mode, so if you want to go check out the reconstruction of a pyramid or the Library of Alexandria, and you have someone who plays this game in your circle, just ask them if they could show you around!

4. Minecraft – Okay, okay, hear me out here…. I know everyone and their uncle was playing Minecraft like five years ago and you probably haven’t heard much about it unless you have a Minecraft-addicted kid or something. I played it a bit then, too, I’m not going to lie about that.

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5. Youtubers Life – This game was my random pick from the Steam Summer Sale. It’s basically a simulator where you start as a character who wants to be a Youtuber. You make videos (music, cooking, or gaming related ones) and try to advance in your career, get money to upgrade your gear, to move out of your mother’s house, and become a Big Name Youtuber eventually.

When I put it like that, it might sound lame, but it’s actually quite a lot of fun, especially if you’re into the thing your channel is specializing in—for me, obviously gaming.

If you enjoy simulation games and like YouTube, maybe give it a go?

If anyone who read this wants to know more about gaming or wants a friend to play Minecraft or Dead by Daylight with, just holler at me on social media and we’ll figure something out!

When unlikely attraction blossoms between a twentysomething genderqueer tattoo artist and an older, small-town veterinarian, both are forced to face their pasts for a chance at a loving future.

Four years ago Padraig Donovan lost his husband, the only man he’d ever been with. Now his life consists of the work he loves, a big empty house, and the possibility of a lonely future.

Kaos’s experiments with makeup landed him in the hospital at the hands of his disapproving ex. With nowhere else to turn, he flees to Acker, Wisconsin… and runs into a sexy widower and the kindest man he’s ever met.

Padraig and Kaos know there’s something worth exploring between them, and as they raise a puppy and deal with the ups and downs of their respective jobs, they fit into each other’s lives in ways they never expected. Being with Kaos—who is so different than the guys he’s always been attracted to—opens up an exciting new world for Padraig. But can he convince Kaos to trust another man with his body… let alone his heart?

About the Author: Tia Fielding is a Finnish LGBTQ+ romance author. She lives in a small middle-of-nowhere town surrounded by nature and silence, just like she prefers. Tia identifies as genderqueer, but isn’t fussy about pronouns, because her native language doesn’t have gender-specific ones. She’s a lover of caffeine, sarcasm, peppermint, cats and dogs, sleeping and witty people.

Facebook | Twitter

Buy the book at Dreamspinner Press or Amazon.

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Romance Tagged With: ,

My Top Five Vacation Spots by Lisa Henry – Guest Blog

July 23, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Lisa Henry who is visiting with us today to celebrate today’s release of Anhaga.

My Top Five Vacation Spots

Hi, I’m Lisa Henry, and I’m excited to be here today to tell you a little bit about my newest release Anhaga, and a little bit about myself. I’m going to share with you my five top vacation spots, so you can learn a bit about me, and also judge me for my choices! I recently just got back from the US from a vacation, and on my new favourite places is… INDIANA.

No, wait, come back, I’m serious. Here’s a bit of backstory. JA Rock and I once wrote a series of books set in Indiana and, in the comments on the drafts of that first book, The Two Gentlemen of Altona, JA’s hatred of Indiana grew more and more hilariously apparent. Look, the only reason I picked Indiana to set it in was so we could riff off Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona. It rhymed, okay? There was nothing deeper there. But it turned out that JA, as someone who’d grown up in Ohio, hated Indiana with a passion I can only relate to as a Queenslander hating New South Wales at State of Origin time. JA lives in Chicago now, and when I visit we drive to Ohio to hang out with other friends. And we decided that at some point instead of just driving through Indiana, one day we’d actually stop and explore things.

Which we did, in June. And it was wonderful. What’s more fun than road-tripping with a good friend and her dog? We stayed overnight in Story, which is a beautifully restored historical town in the middle of nowhere. We also visited the Indiana Football Hall of Fame, the RV Museum, a massive candle outlet store, Nappanee, and the biggest ball of paint in the world. Yes, it’s a thing, and yes, it was amazing.

Look, Indiana is never going to be on a list of must-see places in the world, but sometimes, if you look a little harder at the ordinary places, you can find wonderful things.

AMSTERDAM

The first time I went to Amsterdam as a poor backpacker, I hated it. Looking back, this is entirely because I was still suffering from the flu I picked up in Paris and I would have hated literally anywhere. But I’ve since been back to Amsterdam, and I loved it. It’s such a vibrant and beautiful city, and there’s something there for everyone.

MELBOURNE

Melbourne is probably my favourite domestic holiday destination. That age old question of which city is better: Sydney or Melbourne? It’s Melbourne. Always.

VANUATU

Whenever I think about how much I wish I lived in Europe, where not everything is a 20+ hour plane ride away, I remember the fact that I’m only a few hours away from somewhere as amazing as Vanuatu, and count my blessings. Vanuatu is the sort of place that regularly ranks on the World Happiness Index. It’s definitely the sort of place you visit, then spend the rest few months wishing you could just live on a hut on the beach and never have to go to your day job again.
Last time I was in Vanuatu we visited the island of Tanna, where the sand on the beach is black because its volcanic, and you can go and watch the sun rise over an active volcano that spits lava into the air as you sit right there. It was an incredible experience. We were also staying somewhere that only had electricity for part of the day, so at night we’d just fall asleep in our beachside huts, listening to the rolling ocean only metres away, and the rumbling of the volcano in the distance. It was magical.

TALLINN

I mean, where else can you find creepy faceless monk statues around every corner? The old city of Tallinn is so beautiful, and when you get tired of all those hills and stairs, you can hop on the little train and get driven around instead! Also, that gorgeous front cover for Anhaga? Totally Tallinn.
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Anhaga is out now from Dreamspinner and other retailers!

Aramin Decourcey—Min to his few friends—might be the best thief in Amberwich, and he might have a secret that helps him survive the cutthroat world of aristocratic families and their powerful magic users, but he does have one weakness: his affection for his adopted nephew, Harry.

When the formidable Sabadine family curses Harry, Min must accept a suicide mission to save his life: retrieve Kazimir Stone, a low-level Sabadine hedgewitch who refuses to come home after completing his apprenticeship… and who is in Anhaga, a seaside village under the control of the terrifying Hidden Lord of the fae. If that wasn’t enough, Kaz is far from the simple hedgewitch he seems.

With the Sabadines on one side and the fae on the other, Min doesn’t have time to deal with a crisis of conscience—or the growing attraction between him and Kaz. He needs to get Kaz back to Amberwich and get Harry’s curse lifted before it kills him. Saving Harry means handing Kaz over to his ruthless family. Saving Kaz means letting Harry die. Min might pride himself on his cleverness, but he can’t see his way out of this one.

The Hidden Lord might see that he never gets the choice.

About the Author: Lisa likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.

Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.

She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.

She shares her house with too many cats, a dog, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.

Lisa has been published since 2012, and was a LAMBDA finalist for her quirky, awkward coming-of-age romance Adulting 101.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Buy the book at Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble.

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Romance Tagged With: ,

A Scarlet Woman by Lorna Peel

July 22, 2019 By 16 Comments


A Scarlet Woman by Lorna Peel
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Historical
Length: Full (401 pgs)
Heat: Hot
Rated: 3 stars
Review by Rose

Can an idealistic young doctor and a fallen woman find love when Victorian society believes they should not?

Dublin, Ireland, 1880. Tired of treating rich hypochondriacs, Dr Will Fitzgerald left his father’s medical practice and his home on Merrion Square to live and practice medicine in the Liberties. His parents were appalled and his fiancée broke off their engagement. But when Will spends a night in a brothel on the eve of his best friend’s wedding, little does he know that the scarred and disgraced young woman he meets there will alter the course of his life.

Most of people are under great pressure. cialis side effects http://amerikabulteni.com/2011/09/13/u-s-afghanistan-embassy-attacked-taliban-claims-responsibility/ No surgery helps pfizer viagra cheap in making the disorder vanish from the person. Until now purchase levitra online it was thought that tea was highest in antioxidants but researchers have now discovered that of all the foods high in antioxidants, chocolate is the highest. A healthy lifestyle, including weight loss, quitting smoking, limit of alcohol intake, a healthy diet and exercise can go a long way in treating this problem. viagra canada mastercard discover content Isobel Stevens was schooled to be a lady, but a seduction put an end to all her father’s hopes for her. Disowned, she left Co Galway for Dublin and fell into prostitution. On the advice of a handsome young doctor, she leaves the brothel and enters domestic service. But can Isobel escape her past and adapt to life and the chance of love on Merrion Square? Or will she always be seen as a scarlet woman?

I loved the premise of this book and with the setting being Ireland, I was hooked from the first time I read the blurb. I was looking forward to seeing how the author had her heroine overcome all the difficulties she was facing in her life.

I liked the character of Isobel and, mostly, Will as well. I enjoyed their banter as they got to know each other. And, I loved the way he cared for her regardless of what was going on and how determined he was to make their relationship work.

The first half of the story was really good, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

The second half of the story took a different twist. Instead of the character development I was seeing on both Will and Isobel’s part, it seemed to read more like a magazine serial. Poor Isabel faced problems on every side (shades of Perils of Pauline). However, she was saved in the nick of time by forces she didn’t bring about – a rich opportunity was missed here, I think. I didn’t mind the roadblocks that were thrown up, but I wish Isabel had done more to save herself. I was disappointed in some of the decisions she made (just another sign of being invested  in a character).

There was also a lot of hot sex thrown in the last part of the book that, imho, was gratuitous and didn’t do anything to move the character development along. I found myself skipping these passages because they weren’t really adding anything to the story and I wanted to get back to it.

However, I was invested enough in the characters from the first half of the book to overlook these issues and move on to find out what happened next in Will and Isobel’s relationship. The writing is clean with no major issues as far as editing goes and it was an easy read.  It was definitely worth reading.

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