Long and Short Reviews welcomes Carol Burnside who is celebrating the recent release of Brazen.

Because of a secret not hers to tell, spinster Rachel must marry quickly, and Angus is the first man who comes to mind. He’s a hard worker and strong. She’s seen him eyeing her and senses hunger in his gaze. Rachel goes to Angus, the local blacksmith, alone at night and asks him to marry her.

Although eager to accept her brazen offer, Angus is suspicious, thinking it’s some kind of prank and she’s been put up to this to embarrass him. After all, what would a lady like Rachel want with the likes of him? His work is hot and dirty, and his lineage doesn’t exactly have the pedigree ladies look for.

When he realizes she’s sincere, his heart won’t let him refuse her, but even the road to a quick, convenient marriage isn’t smooth. Angus keeps his feelings for Rachel hidden. After the ceremony, Rachel finds a distance she can’t bridge…until tragedy strikes.

Will they ever find the courage to declare their love, or will their stubborn need to protect their hearts prevail?

Enjoy an Excerpt

Angus had finished washing the last of his supper dishes when he heard a soft knock at his back door. Who the devil could that be?

He opened it cautiously, seeing the hem of a fancy lace-and-lemon dress in the slice of light from his doorway, quite similar to the one he’d seen Miss Dunn wearing tonight. Of course, it wouldn’t be her.

“Who’s there, Miss? Show yourself.”

“It’s Rachel Dunn, Mr. Brody.” Her voice held a slight tremor, but she made no move to obey him. “May I speak with you?”

His heart thumped faster upon hearing her soft reply. Rachel here? “And John? Is he with you?”

“I come unchaperoned with a matter of some importance.”

She risked her reputation to speak with him? “I see.”

But he didn’t see, couldn’t fathom why she would seek him out. The fact that he was this close to her, alone and having a conversation, stunned him.

“Might I gain entrance before someone happens along and sees me, Mr. Bro—”

“Angus. My name is Angus.” His breath hitched at the thought of hearing his given name pass her lips. Calling himself all kinds of a fool, he stood aside. Rachel rushed past him like a flash of sunshine, and he shut out the night.

Her gaze darted around the room much like a rabbit seeking the nearest escape route. Angus stifled a sigh and moved from between her and the door. His size frightened most women.

The oil lamp he’d placed on the bedside table threw a dim glow around the room. He turned up the wick, enough that he could see color had risen high in her cheeks.

“Oh, dear! This is your…”

“Uh, yes.” He grabbed the lamp and gestured to the doorway on the opposite wall. “The kitchen is through there. I’m sorry. This is a shotgun house. I built my room at the back, as far away from the heat of the smithy as I could get.”

And he was running off at the mouth. Not his finest hour.

She turned to him with a tight smile. “Not your fault I turned up unannounced at the back door.”

Damn, but she was a pretty thing with her large, upturned eyes and high cheekbones. Not a short bit of fluff that hit him mid-chest like most, but willowy. Sturdy and soft at the same time.

“Nice place you have here, Mr. Bro—” She pressed her lips together. He held his breath. “Angus.”

“Thank you.” He praised whatever had sent her to his door.

About the Author: Carol Burnside is an award-winning author of “Sizzling romance with heart and humor.” Her personal second-chance-at-love story resulted in an enduring marriage to her high school sweetheart. They reside in the Texas hill country, where Carol enjoys visiting wildlife from her covered back porch. Like any true southerner, she drinks tea in some form year-round. Carol’s novel length manuscripts have placed in numerous contests and won several, including the prestigious Maggie Award for Excellence. She also writes as Annie Rayburn.

Amazon reviews say Carol’s books are:

“Highly captivating!” “intriguing and a wonderful read” “Emotional and heartwarming” “Engaging!” and “Great reading!”

Buy the book at your favorite online venue.

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Carol Burnside who is celebrating the recent release of Fake Fiance For Christmas.

Faced with a broken engagement due to her guarded heart and her family expecting to meet her fiancé during the first Christmas without her Gran, Lia Taylor decides to take her friends’ advice. She’ll take a fake fiancé home for Christmas.

Ryan Barton grew up in foster homes, unaware he had a family until he met his grandmother at sixteen. Lia’s offer of a noisy family Christmas with a big elaborate meal sounds like heaven, even the part about pretending to be her fiancé.

As Lia and Ryan get to know each other and practice casual touching, hugs, and kisses, their feelings grow. They decide to try for a real relationship with the promise that when either of them withdraws due to old fears, the other will pull them back.

But what will save them when they both withdraw in fear? Are their recent feelings strong enough to save their new relationship or will they hide within the safety of their guarded hearts?

Enjoy an Excerpt

“They’ll expect us to touch.” Lia draped her hand across Ryan’s forearm and his eyes gentled, darkened. “Like this. Casual. Easy. And to hold hands. I hope you don’t mind.”

Ryan turned his arm over and linked his fingers through hers. “We got this.”

She swallowed, unable to tear her gaze off his, and nodded. It felt both foreign and familiar, holding hands with him.

“I think I’m going to like this gig.” He gave her fingers an easy squeeze. “Should we also practice…” His lashes lowered, gaze trained on her mouth. As the fingers of his free hand slid along her jawline, something like static electricity blazed across her skin.

Holy cow. Lia’s pulse bumped and her chest froze, making it difficult to breathe. She parted her lips to answer but couldn’t produce so much as a squeak. After she managed the tiniest of nods, he leaned forward, and his face blurred.

Ryan’s lips touched Lia’s and withdrew. He caught her in mid-gasp the second time and took advantage of her parted lips to flick his tongue against hers, igniting a fire that thawed her chest.

He angled his head and came in for more, tongues teasing, tasting, learning each other. His hands were firm on her back, pulling her closer until she was consumed in the solidness of him and the fire he stoked. She clutched at his shoulders as if they were her lifeline because she was completely engulfed in sensation.

And a choir of angels sang “Hallelujah.”

Ryan chuckled into the kiss, then tore away laughing. Lia scrambled for her phone, the Hallelujah Chorus one she’d assigned to her older brother because he rarely called. When he finally did, she considered it a small miracle. Not so much right now, though. His timing couldn’t be worse.

“What, Spence?” she demanded without preamble. “You’re on speaker.”

“Whoa. Ho, ho, ho to you, too, little sis.”

“Sorry, bad timing. We were…uhm, what’s up?”

“You tell me. My travel app shows your plane came in on time, but we haven’t heard from you. I was elected to find out what the holdup is.”

“Oh. Well, Ryan couldn’t get the same flight, and there was a slight delay, but he’s here now, and we’re about to leave the airport.”

“Right, the fiancé. We can’t wait to meet this guy and size him up.”

“Very funny. Best behavior today, and I mean it, Spence. So help me—” Lia looked over a sea of autos, anywhere but at Ryan.

“Kidding. Damn, girl, where’s your sense of humor?”

“Buried under travel stress. Hey, how’s Mom holding up?” Lia kept her brother on the line to delay renewed mortification over the kiss.

“Oh, you know.” There was a slight pause, and Spence’s voice quieted as if he’d moved out of earshot. “She’s…trying, but the tree isn’t decorated.”

“What?” Lia couldn’t believe it. She pressed her lips together. Ever since Spence had gone to college, her mom made a point of having the tree ready to welcome them home at Christmas.

“She said we’ll all do it together, and it’ll make Brian feel more at home. Having y’all here will help.”

“It’s Ryan. Geriatric brain, much?”

“I could’ve sworn Mom said Brian, but the TV was blaring. Oh, well. Hang up and drive, girl. We’re waiting, and hey, save me a hug.”

“Back at ya. Bye.” Lia returned the cell to her purse, taking extra care to stow it properly.

“Sounds like you deflected the name change deftly.” Ryan buckled his seatbelt.

Lia clicked hers into the slot, relieved to talk about any subject but their scorching-hot kiss. “Yeah, but I think it’ll be fine since your names are similar. Brian, Ryan. Easy to brush it off as ‘Oh, you misunderstood.’”

“Good.”

Silence fell between them. Lia found a radio station and slipped the gearshift into reverse. “Okay, let’s do this.”

– – –
Want to read more? Visit Carol’s website to read another excerpt.

About the Author: Carol Burnside is an award-winning author of “Sizzling romance with heart and humor.” Her personal second-chance-at-love story resulted in an enduring marriage to her high school sweetheart. They reside in the Texas hill country, where Carol enjoys visiting wildlife from her covered back porch. Like any true southerner, she drinks tea in some form year-round. Carol’s novel length manuscripts have placed in numerous contests and won several, including the prestigious Maggie Award for Excellence. She also writes as Annie Rayburn.

Amazon reviews say Carol’s books are:

“Highly captivating!” “intriguing and a wonderful read” “Emotional and heartwarming” “Engaging!” and “Great reading!”

Carol is also releasing the 5th book in her Sweetwater Springs series: Mistletoe Weddings during the holidays. Check it out at your favorite retailer today!

Buy the book at your favorite online venue, Amazon, Amazon UK, or Google Play.

Release blitz organized by Writer Marketing Services.