First of all...

Saturday, March 9, 2024

The Sunday Post: Do You Spring Forward?

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

Happy time change to those who celebrate! I've been canvassing for the last few weeks and it's hard when the sun goes down to see people's addresses so I'm happy to have the daylight for that last hour of knocking on doors this week.

I sent my second book off to my editor and am now working on trying to make social media posts in Canva! This week I listened to Bride by Ali Hazelwood. I also finished Taken by Eveline Rose, the first in a new police romance series. I'll post about these books this week.

In the meantime here is the back blurb for my second book (cover reveal TBD!) When Jasper makes Zaina a deal she can’t refuse, will she find herself with something more than money?

Zaina Evans told herself this was going to be her year. She’s done looking for a soulmate to share her life. She lives in a great small-town, has a successful business, she’s surrounded by wonderful friends and her mom is just a train ride away. Zaina has everything she needs and wants in life except for a baby. Now all she needs is funding to help pay for IVF.
Jasper Kane is the handsome owner and head brewer of Hop’s Heaven Brewery. He’s only had time to promote his business and date a of string of beautiful women for the last five years. His goal to take his craft brewery nationwide consumes him. Maybe if his brewery had locations across America, his mother would finally take him seriously.
Then a video of Jasper and Zaina goes viral for its feel-good content, and a local TV show wants to do a live remote, but only if Zaina’s there too. This gives Jasper a fantastically devious idea. He can get loads of free publicity and tons of followers if Zaina agrees to fake date him to make social media content. But when they get stuck at the brewery during an ice storm, things stop being fake fast. Will they be able to get past their preconceived notions of the perfect life to find the love right in front of them?

Too Klösch For Comfort is a small-town, fake dating, iced-in, steamy romance, featuring a craft brewer who will do anything for his business and a tarot card-reading woman who’s given up on finding her true love. Part of the Marley Creek Romance Series, this standalone story includes viral videos, Hallmark movie vibes, and a guaranteed HEA.

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I used my latest audible credit to purchase Three Kinds of Lucky by Kim Harrison. On the TV front, I'm enjoying Shogun on Hulu.

What are you enjoying right now?

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Canvassing and Under The Mask- A Superhero Romance!

I received an ARC of this new release in exchange for an honest review. Under The Mask by Lisabel Chretien is a nice twist on the romance subgenres of police romance and paranormal romance. In this book, Claire is a New York EMT who has dreamt of being a superhero. In this universe, superheroes came out of the shadows during the prohibition era to help fight crime.

Claire doesn't have superpowers, but due to some events, she comes to the attention of a supervillain and needs protection. I don't want to say too much and spoil you. This is a second-chance romance. The heat level is low, basically on par with what you would see if this was a primetime TV show.
I enjoyed the romance and the action of the book. If you typically read paranormal romance I think this book is a good fit. Plus this is a standalone book. So it's like Nalini Singh's Psy Changeling series, each book will have a different couple. Which is nice!

Under The Mask has characters you'll enjoy spending time with, is a fast read, and for me, it was a five star read!

You can get it here: https://a.co/d/fo7fEZQ

Tomorrow I'll be canvassing again for a local candidate who is running to be my state representative in Springfield, IL. Temps are supposed to be in the low 50s (12 degrees Celsius). This is great weather for February weather in Chicagoland so I will take it. I hope the time goes fast and that the people are friendly!

We have 27 days until our Illinois primary--will it snow between now and then? Yes, I'm sure it will!

Sunday, February 18, 2024

The Sunday Post Finally Turned a Corner

On Tuesday, I was still feeling crummy and coughing way too much, but I did get some sleep. Wednesday my symptoms diminished by like eighty percent. I don't know why, but thank goodness! By Thursday I was feeling so much better I could not believe it. I hope you had a nice Valentine's Day. We didn't do much of anything.

This week I'll be sharing reviews for a couple of new releases and a book I read before I got sick.

I'm also excited that on Tuesday, Will Trent is back on TV. Yay! I've been waiting!

Saturday, February 10, 2024

I've been sick the whole month so far! Rude! #TheSundayPost

I have spent this month with a miserable sinus infection. The worst is at night when I am coughing, coughing, coughing. It's still pretty bad but not as bad as last week, so I guess I'm getting better. I have done all the things you are supposed to do to alleviate symptoms. One problem I have is that I can't take any decongestant stuff because it causes me to have restless legs.

The other day my No Gouda Without You author copies arrived and I've been exhausted and sick to do an unboxing video! A total bummer!

I didn't have the energy or attention span to read or blog. I did manage to work on writing my second book, that's about all I could manage. My manuscript is due to my editor on March 2nd, so that was my motivator.

How are you doing? I hope you have not been sick! My fingers and toes are crossed that I start feeling better each day this week. I've got books to share here and I'd like to have the energy to read!

Wishing you a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Sunday, January 28, 2024

The Sunday Post Closing Out January

This week our weather took a turn for the warmer and that caused me to have a terrible sinus headache that has turned into sinusitis. The turn for the worse happened Friday night so I guess the upside is I have the weekend to relax. However, my plan for the weekend was to work on writing my second book! Yesterday I was smart enough to recognize there was no point in trying to write and I laid in bed most of the day.

Today, as you can see, I am feeling good enough to sit in bed and write. My goal for today is two thousand words. Wish me luck!

How are you doing? Any fun plans for the upcoming week?

I'm currently finishing reading Cat Sloan Is Swirling. I'm planning to blog about that on Friday. Tomorrow I'll be blogging about Last Night by Luanne Rice.

Friday, January 26, 2024

In The Depths of Winter, What You Need is a Cozy Fantasy Read!

Life got you down? Are you in a reading slump? Do you need cozy comfort in your life? Buy or borrow this cozy sapphic fantasy book by Marissa Serrao. This book's vibe reminded me of Legends and Lattes. It may not be officially a category, but this book is a cozy fantasy. There is a unique and lovely world populated with a diverse group of Fae. The story is the hero's journey taken by a half-demon/half-satyr who finds her better half along the way.

In my experience, most often a fantasy book means a cliffhanger and a second book. Between Mischief & Magic is a stand-alone. The baddies are vanquished and our couple gets their happily-ever-after.

5 stars for all the cozy goodness!

*****

This week I officially became a published author. I really don't feel like one yet. My brain says, write book two then I'll consider you a real author. Aren't brains weird? I hope you are having a nice week! I just finished a domestic thriller and I started reading Cat Sloan is Swirling. I'm also listening to Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Small Town Romance from Donna R. Madden You Are Enough

He's a modern-day rake. Wealthy, owner of motorcycles, cars, and horses. He has his own place on the family's palatial estate. Women love him and he enjoys all they have to offer.

Then he meets Leila, a young single mom who is living in her father's basement. She's trying to start a new life with her baby Skylar, the last thing she needs is a man like Adler.

Or does she????

Donna R. Madden's fourth book in this small-town romance series is out today! If you like small-town vibes and some of the feels of regency romance, check this book out. If you love reading single-parent romances, you have to check this out! As you read, you may want to know more about some of the couples mentioned and the good news is that there are 3 other books in the series ready for you to enjoy!

This is a stand-alone, guaranteed HEA story of two people who need to decide if they are enough for each other.

5 stars for You Are Enough

Monday, January 22, 2024

Book Release Day! No Gouda Without You by Me!

No Gouda Without You is officially available! It's a Kindle unlimited book so you can download it and check it out via your subscription! It's also available as a Kindle for under $4 and you can also get it as a paperback! I'm nervous and excited!

My goal was a book that was filled with Hallmark Vibes and showed life after cancer for someone who had cancer young (ish). It's the first book in my small town romance series and I am having fun working on book two right now!

Here is the Amazon link and the book's description below!

https://a.co/d/hjCZL2W

She survived cancer. Can she survive risking her heart?

Having survived cancer, Nicole Garrett is determined to take care of herself by eating well, exercising, and avoiding stress. She’s got a stable job, good friends, and her own house, and that’s enough for her. Most importantly, Nicole isn’t going to take any risks that could leave her heartbroken again. But when she meets a handsome chef with the cutest dimples she’s ever seen, she begins to question if playing it safe is still working for her.

Sean Harper is the optimistic chef and owner of Jesse’s Pub. After two years of constant devotion, his restaurant is hitting its stride. He’s put every dollar and every hour he’s had into making it a success. Beyond the now positive balance sheet, it’s a way for him to distance himself from his own broken family, who’ve never seen his worth. Then one Sunday, he meets the attractive woman who dismisses his omelet culinary masterpiece, and he can't get her out of his mind, so much so that he starts questioning if he can make room for her in his kitchen.

She’s got plenty of reasons to be grumpy, and, frankly, relationships with men never end well for her, especially given the wounds she’s still healing from. Even though sparks fly between Nicole and Sean, he only has time for his farm-to-table restaurant. If he’s willing to change his view of marriage, can he convince her to open her heart and trust him in return?

No Gouda Without You is a small-town, life after cancer, grumpy-sunshine, steamy romance, featuring a chef who loves a good food pun and a school secretary who’s just trying to survive. Part of the Marley Creek Romance Series, this standalone story includes adventures at a local brewery, Hallmark movie vibes, and a guaranteed HEA.

Sunday, January 21, 2024

The Sunday Post- Not Sure How That Happened

I wrote and published a whole Sunday post yesterday and then today I made a post for Tuesday and then I somehow managed to overwrite that post and accidentally post my Tuesday post this afternoon. Whoopsy.

How was your week? It was cold here and we had some more snow but not a bunch. This coming week it's supposed to be above freezing and I'm happy about that because on Tuesday I'm medically cleared to run again. Obviously, I'll need there to be snow and ice-free sidewalks.

I've got two of my posts for this week done, one is for my own book release, No Gouda Without You, and another new release You Are Enough that will be out on Thursday. I also finished reading Between Mischief and Magic and I'll review that either Friday or Saturday.

Have a great week!

Friday, January 19, 2024

What A Week! Happy Friday!

School was closed on Tuesday due to below zero temperatures and wind chills. This was very handy as I got to spend more time correcting typos and other errors in my book. I went through my manuscript four times this week! It was mentally exhausting, I much prefer drafting the story to looking for mistakes.

My stress level was also eleven on a scale of ten because I had a potential cancer recurrence scare and the appointment I had for Monday was rescheduled to Wednesday. I'm so happy to say I was able to have an ultrasound and nothing is wrong! I could have used a Xanax to get through Tuesday and Wednesday morning. I had some terrible sleep!

I am almost done reading an ARC of Donna R. Madden's upcoming release You Are Enough. The book comes out next week and I'll be doing a blog post on its release day (January 25th). I am also over halfway through reading Between Mischief and Magic. I'm really enjoying the mysterious world of the book and can't wait to see how it ends.

Sunday, January 14, 2024

Amazon First Read - Thriller with Magical Realism

Today at my house we all have the day off. My husband works from home and he is terrible about actually taking time off, so we will see if he goes ahead and logs a few hours of work. It's below zero here so I'm not going to be doing my but staying home today. My big excitement for today is to sign up for my local library's Winter Reading Challenge! I want to win a fun prize! A few years ago I won a Fitbit, which was an excellent reward for doing something I love to do.

Do you have a local library? Do they do reading challenges?

For January you can get two Amazon First books if you are a Prime member. I chose Almost Surely Dead as one of my choices. In the book, we follow our unreliable narrator and try to figure out who is trying to kill her and why. There are supernatural elements that reveal themselves as it goes along. Dunia is the main character and her family is from Pakistan and they are Muslim. She isn't a practicing Muslim and is very disconnected from her heritage--but in the book, her heritage is key to the plot.

It's a fast-paced book and I enjoyed it. I did have a few wait what? moments toward the end regarding a couple of developments in the story. Overall it was a decent read from a new author and I would consider reading another book from her. Four Stars!

Saturday, January 13, 2024

The Sunday Post, Week One Back to School In the Books

Thankfully I have tomorrow off work. I love a nice three-day weekend. 2024 has brought the winter weather to Chicagoland. For the most part, we got off easy in December. We didn't have measurable snow and we had more than a handful of days in the 40s and even 50s. Now those days are gone and we have about five inches of snow blowing around and it's crazy cold! We are below zero Fahrenheit (-17 Celcius) until Wednesday.

I have said before on this blog that I have made a conscious effort to embrace the winter season. I've learned to appreciate the quiet of a cold winter day, to look forward to hot tea and lots of layers. But when it's below zero, ooof. That's too cold!

This weekend I worked on the proofreading edits and formatting of my book. Let me just say, I am learning so much about grammar and fun stuff like not using numerals in fiction.

How are things by you? Did you have a nice week? Read anything good? See any good TV or Movies?

This week on the blog I'll be talking about:

If you enjoy wondering if your narrator is unreliable..this is a book for you!

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Whisking It All Brings The Heat!

Do you love a good romance? Are you a fan of the Food Channel? Do you dig an age gap? If you said "Yes, Chef" to any of the above, you have to read Whisking it All by Cara Dion. Cara promises sexy times, small-town vibes, and lots of delicious cooking and baking and she delivers. In this book, Tesse returns to her hometown after years of being gone and has a memorable night with Jamie the handsome chef who runs a high-end restaurant on Aster Bay. He also happens to be Tesse's dad's best friend!

This is the first book in Cara Dion's New Aster Bay series and if you like age-gap, high heat, forbidden love, small-town romances, this series is for you. Plus, the epilogue of Whisking It All gives you a hint about who is the male lead for book two.

5 Stars for Whisking It All Here's a link to find it on Amazon.

This book is available on Kindle Unlimited.

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If you are reading this in the US on the day I published it, Happy Friday! This weekend youngest Child is going back to college so we will be back down to a three-person household again. I am looking forward to the great reduction in laundry to be washed. But seriously, it gets almost too quiet around here when the kids go back to college.

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

I'm Feeling Pretty On Top of Things for Now. Book Club Book is Read- The Second Chance Year

I hope you don't mind if I complain for just a moment. I have to wait until January 18th to wear glasses again. Boy, do I miss being able to see up close. You really don't know what you've got til it's gone. I really should just go to the Dollar Store and pick myself up a magnifying glass! If I had one I could use it to see the fine print on food packaging and my phone!

I adjusted my kindle app to the biggest size it offers and read this book over the weekend:

This book is categorized as romance on Amazon, but I don't think that is the best category for it. It's more, in my opinion, Sadie's hero's journey with a little romance. The romance is definitely more secondary. So if you'd like a time travel story, a book about getting to make different choices this will be a book you'll likely enjoy.

I liked it, and I'm glad I read it for a book club next week because I have a few questions and I'd love to hear what other people think. I read this one, but as long as the narrator is your cup of tea, this would be a perfect book to listen to while you work, go for walks, clean the house, etc.

One big positive in this book is that the cast of characters is very manageable, another reason this would be a great listen. If you are doing any reading challenges and need a romance book, but you don't really like romance that much., this could fit the bill because there is a lot of story outside the romance.

4 Stars!

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Speaking of romance, my book is coming out in less than two weeks EEEK! Here is the link if you'd like to check it out and perhaps even preorder my debut book:

No Gouda Without You

Sunday, January 7, 2024

Not Just Gal Pals - My First Book for the I Heart SapphFic Book Challenge.

I was scrolling Facebook at the end of the year and an author that I follow (and that you should read) posted about a book reading challenge for 2024. I looked into the challenge and it seems really fun, so I decided I'm going to participate in it this year. I love that you can win gift cards so you can buy more books. Is anything more perfect than that?

Here is the link to the challenge if you'd like to join in!

For this bookish challenge, there are 100 different categories! This book is my entry for small-town romance. I'm happy to report I started right out of the gate with a fun 5-star book! Not Just Gal Pals is the story of Jenny and Blake. Jenny is an influencer who has returned home to Sapphire Springs for a few months to get away from a social media scandal, and Blakc is the local doctor. There are some really cute scenes in the book, like a Pride and Prejudice-themed wedding shower and a delightful wedding in a barn. There is also a very nice amount of heat. If you are looking for a fun read that brings some nice passion into the mix and gives you low-angst. By the end of the story I definitely had a crush on Blake, she is swoony! Add this book to your TBR pile. It's available as a Kindle Unlimited.

Saturday, January 6, 2024

The Sunday Post Oh, No! Back To Work Tuesday

All good things must come to an end, right? My break was nice, but I spent all of it recuperating from surgery, so it might have been more enjoyable if not for that. This weekend we finally got a little snow, just about all of December it was too warm for snow. Now that I'll be returning to school, it will probably get really cold and we will have snow!

This week I began drafting the second book in my Marley Creek series! Next weekend I am planning to go to a new brewery in my area for research purposes. The main male lead in this book owns a craft brewery and I'd like to be able to write good descriptive scenes.

Speaking of reading, I find myself in the midst of reading two books that have main female characters who are pastry chefs. I"ll be sharing my thoughts on those two books this week as well as Not Just Gal Pals my first finished read of the year.

How was your first week of 2024?

Thursday, January 4, 2024

This Year My Goal is To Do Better

For the third year in a row, I'm participating in the COYER challenge. My goal this year is to be a more active member throughout the year because the COYER community is an exceptional group. Not only do you get to connect via online posts and enter to win prizes, but there are also monthly video chats. This year I'm working on building friendships in the reading and writing community. In general, I need more friendships in my life. Covid really did a number on my relationships.

Would you like to talk to people about books this year? Click here to find out more and join us!

Yesterday I think I overtaxed my eyes. I don't remember if I shared here that I had nose surgery right before Christmas? Yep. It was about midnight on the night before surgery when I realized that I probably wouldn't be able to wear glasses for a while. I miss being able to wear glasses so I can see my computer and my phone. I've been zooming my computer screen and using the maximum text size to read via Kindle, but it still stinks! Last night I did a grocery order and I think that was a big strain on my eyes. Today I have a crummy headache. I need to be good and pace myself because I am going to be going through my book and fixing errors as well as doing the formatting. Plus I really want to get going on book two. I have most of the outline done and today I realized I can have my main characters get snowed in, or iced it. I'm thinking of a late winter ice storm.

I used one of my credits for this audiobook and when I'm done I'll tell you about it!

Lastly, in case you missed it! You can preorder my book No Gouda Without You via Amazon! It's the first book in my Steamy Marley Creek Romance series! It will also be available as a KU book if you use KU and after 1/23/2024 you can also order it in paperback!

Link to order!

Tuesday, January 2, 2024

What I'll be Taking into 2024

Have you heard of choosing a word of the year? Some people do that as a resolution or goal to focus on the attributes of the word they choose. This isn't a tradition I follow, but now that 2023 is in the rearview window, I can see that last year was a year of experimentation for me. I can't even say it was a conscious effort on my part!

Here are things I tried in 2023 that I'll be taking with me into the new year. These aren't in any particular order.

1. I started watching K-dramas. Turns out I love Kdramas. They are like watching a book come to life. Part of the enjoyment is not only the storytelling but learning about a different culture. It's interesting to see the difference in social norms. I enjoy the dramas so much that I joined the Afternoona Delight Podcast Patreon. I even managed to attend a group Zoom in December. So fun!

2. We took advantage of living close to a world-class city and made a bunch of excursions into Chicago. We even got to go to a Cubs Rooftop. I think that experience is overrated. I'm not a Cubs fan, take my opinion with a grain of salt.

3. I was able to sign up for a two-year nutritional and wellness coaching program through my hubs work. I started the program a few months ago and am looking forward to working on trying new ways to exercise this year.

4. I plan to take writing romance books into the new year. It feels surreal that I finished a book this fall and I am going to work hard to keep writing. As part of that, I plan to make the effort to post here more often. I've been blogging here on and off since 2007. I have not aged a day, but that was 17 years ago! Can you believe it's 2024? I hope we all have a good year. We deserve it!

How about you? What are you taking into the new year?

I'm quickly making my way through the book below, I found it on Kindle Unlimited. It's really cute and has some nice little Pride and Prejudice nods it in. I'll be sharing my thoughts on it soon!

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Goals For 2024! And a delicious and easy Red Lentil Soup Recipe.

Here is the recipe: Red Lentil Soup by The Kitchn

It was so easy to make and surprisingly tasty. I will certainly make this soup again!

If you've read this blog before you know that I do like to set goals for the New Year. Over the years I've posted goals on this blog many a time, and this year won't be an exception. Let's see how I do with these goals!

Author Goals:

* Write Books Two, Three and Four in my Marley Creek series.

*Figure out how to use Canva to make fun posts about my books

*Attend a Romance Author Conference.

*Be on a podcast! (dream big right?)

Bookish /Blogger Goals

* 75 Books Read Goal

* Participate in COYER

*Attend 4 in-person book signings.

*Write my 1,000th blog post! (I'm at 903 with this post)

And for Personal Goals:

TBD I need to think about this one some more.

Happy New Year! I hope you are having a wonderful first day of the new year!

The Sunday Post - Year End Wrap Up!

I hope you had a wonderful 2023 and that 2024 is a good year for all of us! When setting and reaching goals this year, I had some successes and some epic failures. My bookish goals included:

1. 60 books for my Goodreads Challenge. I did reach that goal.

2. I also had a goal to track my reading throughout the year, and in that, I completely failed! I had to use my history on the Libby, Hoopla and Audible app to figure out how many books I read and added most of them to the Goodreads challenge this afternoon! I read more than 60 books, but once I got to 60 I stopped updating Goodreads.

Will 2024 be the year I update my reading log consistently? (Hope springs eternal)

Would it be better if I used a paper log? (Most likely)

3. I had a goal to read one non-fiction book per month. I read 5. I need to remember that if it's not an audio non-fiction, I won't finish it.

4. Read and review one Netgalley book per month. Boy, I think I only did 3 Netgalley books.

5. Post all my reviews here and on Goodreads. LOL did not happen.

6. Go to at least one in-person book signing--I did this !!! I went to Kelly Farmer's It's a Fabulous Life signing.

Going over my bookish resolutions now makes me want to do some for 2024. Stay tuned!

Now on to the most exciting thing I did in 2023...

I wrote a whole book! And it's up on Amazon for preorder! It's coming out on January 23! I've only been wanting to write a book since I was a wee child. If you like to read romance, I hope you'll consider giving my book a read. A little blurb about the book and the link to Amazon are under the picture-

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving- and an Audiobook if You Are Ready For Christmas Time!

Thanksgiving 2017

Monday was my only work day and for some reason after work, i kept thinking it was the 21st. My Thanksgiving dinner box was due on 11/21, so I was checking my app and looking for the box, I even messaged the shipping company about my order--thanks to their reply I realized I was thinking it was the 21st but it was only the 20th.

Yesterday the box arrived safe and sound with everything to make our dinner. This afternoon I think I'm going to make ahead the apple crumble pie. Much to my dismay, I need to go into the grocery store today to get green beans, rice, and crescent rolls. Wish me luck! I am also going to pick up my race packet for tomorrow's Pie Run. At the end of the Lagrange Rotary Pie Run, we get a Home Run Inn Pizza--A pizza pie! If you have seen Home Run Inn pizza in your grocery store frozen food aisle, but you have said I don't know if it is worth paying that much for a frozen pizza, let me tell you--it is! Best frozen pizza in the USA.

If you are looking for something to listen to as you make Thanksgiving Dinner or go for a post-meal walk, or if you are shopping online for Black Friday, this is a quick fluffy audiobook you can enjoy. The narrators are very good the story is a sweet second chance and features a single dad. If you like holiday romance and the single dad trope, this is a must-listen for you!

If you are looking for something fun to watch tonight, HULU has a collection of Thanksgiving Episodes from TV shows over the last 40 years. If you are looking for the iconic WKRP in Cincinnati Turkey Drop episode you can buy it for $1.99 via Apple TV.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 19, 2023

The Sunday Post - Is Your Turkey Defrosting?

Holy Smokes this week is Thanksgiving! This year I've gotten everyone on board with a Blue Apron Thanksgiving Box. It's scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday and then on Thursday after I run the annual Pie Run --it's 3.14 miles, I'll be delgating some of the prepping and cooking to my middle kiddo. I did an information survey of everyone's favorite side dish on my Facebook and the winner hands down is stuffing.

Do you have any Thanksgiving Traditions? My own personal tradition is watching Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. What a fantastic buddy comedy. A true Bromance! Some of the best romance tropes make this film sing-

*Enemies to Besties

*Road Trip bonding

*One Bed

*Third Act Breakup

It's so fun and check out the romance book John Candy is reading when he sees Steve Martin on the plane! What a book title! The Canadian Mounted

Oh, I almost forgot another trope! Steve Martin's Grumpy to John Candy's Sunshine!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What I'm reading this week:

Sunday, October 29, 2023

Venice, Actually a Holiday Novella

According to many people, November 1st is the official start of the holiday season. So let's talk about Venice, Actually by Kelly Reynolds. It's a fun, spicy low-angst novella. You can read it in one afternoon with a nice Peppermint Mocha or Gingerbread Latte and you'll be feeling all the holiday vibes.

I received an ARC of the book, but since it is available on Kindle Unlimited and I have KU, well I could have gotten the book that way too, all that to say the opinions are all mine.

I enjoyed this book, I wasn't sure I would because I didn't care about Leighton or Killan in the first book. Kelly Reynolds did a great job of bringing these side characters into the forefront and making me like them.

I think it's difficult to have a fake fiance trope in 2023, but Kelly Reynolds manages to use that trope and to have the fake finance relationship resolved without family or friends being hurt by the actions of the main characters.

This book promises Christmas, sexy times, and love. It delivers all of those and does so in a tight couple hundred pages. Give it a read!

5 Stars!

Here is a section I highlighted where Killian is talking to Leighton's sister Janelle:

"I'm trusting you with her, "she told me, the warning in her voice clear.

"I'm not going to try anything."

"Oh, Killian. Don't disappoint me like that,"

Ha-ha! I loved that exchange!

*** trigger warning one of the main characters lost a parent due to cancer at a pivotal age. ***

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