Archives for October 12, 2017

* Review * HELLO AGAIN by Brenda Novak

October 12, 2017 Leave a Comment

SHE CAN MAKE SENSE OF A COMPLEX CRIMINAL MIND.
Evelyn Talbot, a psychiatrist at a maximum-security prison in Alaska, studies some of the world's worst serial killers. But she’s about to meet her most elusive patient at Hanover House yet: Dr. Lyman Bishop, AKA the Zombie Maker given his fondness for performing ice-pick lobotomies on his victims. A brilliant cancer researcher, Bishop is either the most cunning psychopath Evelyn has ever encountered—or he is wrongly convicted.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A CRIMINAL CAN SEE INTO HER OWN?
When a new ice-pick fatality occurs, it seems Bishop really was wrongly convicted. Except...Evelyn has a personal connection to the victim and that suggests the killer may be someone from her own past: Jasper Moore, her high school boyfriend who tortured her and left her for dead when she was only sixteen. Jasper also murdered three of her friends—and was never caught. Is he trying to send a message with this copycat crime? The only thing Evelyn knows for sure is that if Jasper is on her trail, she might not be able to escape again . . .

A delectably chilling addition to the Evelyn Talbot series! This is a series that in my opinion should be read in order from the beginning so that you will be able to follow along and get all of the history and inflection of what has happened previously. We are familiar with the majority of the characters at this point, but there are always new deranged killers showing up at the prison. The plot is easy to get entrenched into, because we are just waiting for her to be in danger again. We definitely saw some of that in this book, but I was looking for a little more actual Jasper interaction. Hopefully the next book will give us a satisfactory conclusion to his terror once and for all … and I’m still crossing my fingers on that happily ever after for Evelyn & Amarok!

Forever reeling from her traumatizing teenage experiences, psychiatrist Evelyn Talbot worked hard to get Hanover House prison established in Hilltop, Alaska. She studies some of the most deranged serial killers ever to have been imprisoned and hopes to one day have some conclusive research to combat the devious mind of a killer. When her latest high profile prisoner arrives, tension is high. Dr. Lyman Bishop AKA the Zombie Maker has been reeking havoc performing ice-pick lobotomies. Upon beginning sessions with him, she deduces that he’s a very credible liar … or is it possible he actually is innocent like he claims?

When a new murder occurs with the same MO, it’s obvious it couldn’t be Bishop … but when the news gets out that it’s an old classmate of Evelyn’s, everyone wonders if it’s Jasper coming back to taunt her once again!

Filed Under: Book Reviews

* Blog Tour / Book Review * A CHANCE THIS CHRISTMAS by Joanne Rock

October 12, 2017 Leave a Comment

A Chance This Christmas by Joanne Rock
Series: Road to Romance #3
Published by Tule Publishing on October 5, 2017
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Goodreads

Growing up in the Christmas-crazed theme town of Yuletide was fun for fashion designer Rachel Chambers until a family scandal made her unwelcome. Eight years later, she’s home for a friend’s wedding and trying to go incognito… until her old flame spots her.

Snowboarder Gavin Blake wants to make things right with Rachel, and smoothing her way back in Yuletide seems like the best way to do just that. Making Rachel his date for a week of pre-wedding parties is sure to bring them closer. Except he underestimated how long a small town can carry a grudge--or how much the memory of a long-ago kiss could tempt him all over again.

As the wedding approaches, Rachel remembers all she loved about her close-knit, Christmas-loving neighbors. But even if she can win over the town again, will she be able to convince her footloose, mogul-shredding wedding date that they can find happiness beyond the holidays?

A quirky little Christmas town captures our attention and takes us on a fast-paced journey of forgiveness! The characters have a sweet connection and it’s fun getting to watch them try to ignore and then give in to the feelings they have for each other. Sometimes, you really can go home again!

Rachel Chambers never thought she’d be making this trek back home to Yuletide, New York after the scandalous way she left town, but a wedding invitation she never expected has her hoping to slink into town unnoticed. That doesn’t work out so well!

Short-lived ex-flame Gavin Blake now lives next door to her mother, and when he sees that she’s home, he doesn’t waste any time apologizing for his part in how she was treated all of those years ago. When he offers to pave her way back into the good graces of the town in exchange for her being his date to the wedding, how can she refuse?

A Chance This Christmas
by Joanne Rock
October 5, 2017
Tule Publishing

Growing up in the Christmas-crazed theme town of Yuletide was fun for fashion designer Rachel Chambers until a family scandal made her unwelcome. Eight years later, she’s home for a friend’s wedding and trying to go incognito… until her old flame spots her.

Snowboarder Gavin Blake wants to make things right with Rachel, and smoothing her way back in Yuletide seems like the best way to do just that. Making Rachel his date for a week of pre-wedding parties is sure to bring them closer. Except he underestimated how long a small town can carry a grudge–or how much the memory of a long-ago kiss could tempt him all over again.

As the wedding approaches, Rachel remembers all she loved about her close-knit, Christmas-loving neighbors. But even if she can win over the town again, will she be able to convince her footloose, mogul-shredding wedding date that they can find happiness beyond the holidays?

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36183705-a-chance-this-christmas

Buy links:

Excerpt from A Chance this Christmas by Joanne Rock

Tule Publishing

October 5, 2017

For a second, she blinked up at him, blue eyes wide. She still had that sweet, girl-next-door appeal. But there had always been an edge to her, too. A wicked gleam behind the innocence. A twinkle of mischief.

She edged past him. “Hi. Sorry I don’t have time to visit. I need to see a friend.” Fumbling her keys with her red mittens, she dropped them in the snow.

“No problem.” He moved to help her retrieve them, hearing the brush-off in her tone. “I’m glad to see you back in town.”

“If that’s true—and I doubt it—then that makes you the only person besides my mother who would ever admit it.” She sounded breathless and agitated.

Irritated.

The last time he’d spoken to her, she’d been breathless for much better reasons. At least at the start of the day. His fingers closed around her keys where they’d fallen behind the Cadillac front tire. Gavin turned toward her, the two of them still crouched side by side in the snow.

“I’ve always regretted the way we parted, Rachel. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about what happened.” He reached for her hand in the shadowy darkness lit mostly by the empty Christmas carousel spinning around nearby. He held her wrist and deposited the keys into her mitten.

“Sorry for what? That my father thought it would be a great idea to bankrupt the town? That he timed it to happen while everyone was distracted by my ex-boyfriend proposing in skywriting? Or that my embarrassment over making out with you caused me to flee and look as guilty as my crooked dad?” She yanked her wrist away from him and shot to her feet, already sifting through the set to find the door key. Her breathing sounded labored, like she’d just finished a snowboard run at full speed.

“I felt bad about all those things, Rach. But I’m sorry I acted like an ass and clammed up when Luke came along.” He shook his head, uncomfortable with the memory. “I had no right to hang you out to dry like that.”

Key in the door, she let go of the fob. The thick metal elf icon banged against the door. Her shoulders rose and fell with her breathing.

“It’s been eight years.” She sighed out the number. Or tried to. It came out as more of a wheeze. “If Luke hasn’t put it behind him, he’s not as much of a grown-up as we all gave him credit for.”

Good to know his actions hadn’t kept her up at night. But he wasn’t letting himself off the hook yet.

“Are you okay?” He held a hand out to her, cupping her shoulder through her dark coat.

“I’m fine.” She shook her head, her face illuminated by the blue and yellow lights of one of the animals on the carousel as it spun past. “Just a tree allergy, I think.”

“In thirty-degree weather?” He frowned.

“I might actually be allergic to the whole town.” She pulled an inhaler out of her pocket and took a quick puff.

“I’m sure it’s not as bad as all that. I’ve been hoping I’d see you again ever since I bought Jingle Elf’s house.” He didn’t move his hand right away, enjoying the feel of her.

They’d been friends for a long time before things fell apart. When she’d been Luke’s girlfriend, he’d been respectful of that, giving her a wide berth because he’d always felt a bit more than friendly toward her. But with his training schedule, he’d been wary of jumping into a relationship even as a teen. He shouldn’t have been surprised when she started dating Luke.

Then, after his friends had split, he should have known it was only a matter of time before the chemistry simmered to the surface.

“I never would have guessed you’d want to be a part of the madness that is Yuletide.” She shivered lightly. “I’ve been back in town for a day and Katie Garrett is already threatening to have me thrown out on my ear.”

“I’ve always loved it here. You know that.” Gavin remembered a time when her father had been a mentor to him, giving the local teens all a role in helping the Christmas town take shape in the early years. “And it’s past time you reminded the old guard you have just as much of a right to be here as any of them.” He noticed a few of the town board members in the next row, wearing their tree-lighting finery and the light-up necklaces that said “Yuletide.” “Although, unless you’re prepared to do that right now, maybe you should let me drive you where you want to go.”

Glancing over her shoulder, Rachel pulled her hat lower. “That’s okay. I’m going in to Lake Placid. I can take Mom’s car.”

“You realize there isn’t a more recognizable vehicle in town outside of St. Nick’s sleigh?” He kept his voice down, unwilling to end this unlikely reunion with the intrusion of a bunch of the town founders who’d grown cynical since the Chris Chambers’ embezzlement. “That Cadillac is going to announce your presence pretty quickly.”

Rachel glanced back and forth between him and the car. “I don’t know.”

Insulted that he didn’t look like the better option, he tugged the keys free from the door. “The Rachel Chambers I once knew had a sense of adventure.”

He held out his hand, waiting. And yes, hoping.

“And look where that got me?” she whispered, but took his hand just the same. “I’m a pariah in my own town.”

Leading her toward his truck a few spaces on, he made sure they stayed out of the reflected carousel lights.

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Unlocking the passenger door, he helped her up into the old F150 he’d bought when he purchased the house. He hurried to the driver’s side and slid behind the wheel before she changed her mind.

“Oh really? I’m not sure you’re going to be much help salvaging my reputation.”

He really shouldn’t get involved. He knew that. Championing Rachel in this town would be bad for the business he wanted to open. It could hurt his chances of accomplishing a whole laundry list of things he wanted to tackle in town, starting with a fundraiser he needed the town council to approve.

But he owed her, didn’t he?

“That’s where you’re wrong.” A plan came together in his mind—a way to make up to her the wrong that he’d done all those years ago. “I’m a local sports hero these days.” He wasn’t bragging. People placed a whole lot of emphasis on sports. “I’ve got some standing in town.”

“I don’t think that’s going to help me. I might just tarnish your Olympic halo.” She rubbed a knuckle along the passenger window, as if she could clear the icy layer on the outside.

They sat in the cold truck while he waited for the defroster to kick in enough to clear the windows.

He knew she had a valid point.

“I kept my mouth shut eight years ago when I should have defended you to everyone. At the time, I thought maybe you hadn’t been honest with me, and that maybe you really were still with Luke.” Gavin had felt like he’d betrayed his friend, and the guilt had made him say things he later regretted. “I know better now, thanks to making amends with Luke. And I’d like to help you feel welcome in Yuletide again.”

“You don’t have to do any such thing.” She turned toward him, a hand on his arm. “I’m not going to stay in town long anyhow.”

He could see the hint of vulnerability in her pretty eyes. Was she leaving because things were uncomfortable for her here? He couldn’t abide that. Not when he’d been a part of the reason she’d felt ostracized. He knew exactly how to fix it.

Besides, he realized he was in no hurry for her to leave. It’d been too long since he had seen her.

“I happen to know Kiersten Garrett really wants you at her wedding.” He’d been over to dinner at Luke’s and Kiersten had shared as much.

Rachel’s jaw dropped. “I— Well. Just because Kiersten wants me there doesn’t mean I need to put up with grief from everyone in town.”

He jumped into trouble with both feet. It came with the territory on the mountain every day, and he wasn’t going to shy away from a risk now, with someone who used to be important to him.

“Consider the town quieted when you go to the bridal welcome dinner as my date.”

About Joanne Rock:

Four-time RITA nominee Joanne Rock has never met a romance sub-genre she didn’t like. The author of over eighty books enjoys writing a wide range of stories, most recently focusing on sexy contemporaries and small town family sagas. An optimist by nature and perpetual seeker of silver linings, Joanne finds romance fits her life outlook perfectly–love is worth fighting for. A frequent speaker at regional and national writing conferences she enjoys giving back to the writing community that nurtured and inspired her early career. She has a Masters degree in Literature from the University of Louisville but credits her fiction writing skills to her intensive study with friend and fellow author Catherine Mann. When she’s not writing, Joanne enjoys travel, especially to see her favorite sports teams play with her former sports editor husband and three athletic-minded sons.

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Filed Under: Blog Tour, Book Reviews

* Pre-Order Blitz* IN TOO DEEP by Kimberly Kincaid

October 12, 2017 Leave a Comment

Have You Pre-ordered IN TOO DEEP by Kimberly Kincaid yet?

Pre-order IN TOO DEEP and add it to your TBR pile on Goodreads! Then keep reading to get an EXCLUSIVE sneak peek at IN TOO DEEP and to enter the giveaway for an Amazon Echo Dot!

Title: In Too Deep
Author: Kimberly Kincaid
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: October 17, 2017
Publisher: Kimberly Kincaid Romance
Series: Station Seventeen
Format: Print & Digital

Synopsis:

As Station Seventeen’s rookie, Luke Slater knows his fire and EMS training will be both rigorous and risky, but he never imagined having to partner up with the one woman he wants to keep at arm’s length most of all. Quinn Copeland is as wide-open as Luke is reserved. He has no interest in letting the sweet and sexy paramedic rock his hard-earned control. But the need for composure becomes the need to survive when they find themselves in the crosshairs of a brutal gang leader on their first shift together.

Paramedic Quinn Copeland’s station mates aren’t just her friends. They’re her family. She’d do anything to keep them safe—including reluctantly trusting her impossible-to-read, impossibly gorgeous new partner with the one thing she holds close. As the passion between Luke and Quinn goes from a slow burn to a sizzle, their steps grow more and more dangerous, both in the fire house and out. Can they outwit a cold-blooded killer and face the fears that could cost them everything? Or are they in too deep?

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In Too Deep Excerpt

Shae moved her gaze over their surroundings in a methodical sweep, the eyes she’d squinted against the glare of the late-morning sunlight going round and wide as they landed on Quinn. “So,” she said, dropping her voice but not the ear-to-ear smile that told Luke nothing good was going to come from their now-private conversation. “About Quinn.”

“What about her?” Luke stared holes in the pick-off strap he’d pre-rigged before the drill, willing his fingers to steadily fasten the stupid thing to the main attachment point on Shae’s harness. Rope rescue. Safe transfer. Focus.

“You two have been spending some time together lately, huh?”

His stomach knotted before dropping toward his hips. “Quinn has been helping with my paramedic training,” he said, selecting his words with care. After a really hairy call had led the house to a gruesome arson/murder scene three months ago, Luke had been surprised to discover he had a fear of blood. But since he also wanted to help people as a first responder, he couldn’t let that fear—debilitating as it had been—stand in the way of him doing the job that would keep people safe.

So he’d done what he always did. He’d taken a step back to quietly attack the problem, devoting himself not only to the rest of his fire and rescue training, but to earning his certification as a paramedic at the same time. Yeah, the workload was intense, and no, balancing both didn’t leave him much time for luxuries outside of sleep or hot meals. He wasn’t exactly a stranger to balls-out hard work, though. In fact, he and hard work were more like what his seventeen-year-old sister Hayley would call “besties”. Not that Luke had any freaking clue what that might actually entail, since he never got past the handshake and Heisman stage with anyone.

That whole arm’s length thing? So not an overstatement.

At any rate, Luke had his sister and their grandmother, Momma Billie. He didn’t need a bunch of Lifetime Original moments to distract him from his goal. He’d attained his full qualifications as an EMT six weeks ago. Official paramedic status would be in his reach before the year was out, provided he could continue to keep his seemingly sudden-onset fear of blood at bay. He was well on his way to becoming a full-fledged firefighter, like he’d always wanted. Just as long as he could keep both his focus and his distance, he’d be fucking stellar.

Quinn looked up with a grin and a wave before heading back into the fire house, and Christ, did she really have to have a set of cutely sexy dimples he could see all the way from here?

“Helping you with your paramedic training,” Shae echoed, her quiet murmur tumbling him right back to the here and now of the side wall of the engine bay.

Luke concentrated on the equipment in his hands, the clink of the carabiners and the soft hiss of the nylon ropes as he continued with the rope transfer while he spoke. “Sure. She’s been giving me tips and tricks to remember different procedures, telling me the fastest ways to safely do workups. Stuff like that.”

“Ah.” Shae waited a beat while he clipped the backup carabiner for the line transfer into place. “You know, it wouldn’t be terrible if you liked her.”

“I do like her.” The words shoveled out of his mouth by default. He double-checked the carabiner. Adjusted the slack in his line. Mentally kicked himself square in the nuts. “She’s nice.”

Shae made a noise Momma Billie would have described as unladylike. “You know what I mean, Slater. Don’t be a dumbass.”

And that was the problem, right there. He was a dumbass. He didn’t just like Quinn in a casual friends, good co-workers, she’s-helping-me-with-my-training kind of way. Nope. He was attracted to her. From the minute he’d clapped eyes on Quinn on his very first day as a rookie, Luke had had this reckless desire to kiss her. To hook his fingers in that waterfall of blond waves spilling down her back, to part her lips with his tongue and taste her until he ran out of air.

And he didn’t want to stop at her mouth.

About Kimberly Kincaid

Kimberly Kincaid writes contemporary romance that splits the difference between sexy and sweet and hot and edgy romantic suspense. When she’s not sitting cross-legged in an ancient desk chair known as “The Pleather Bomber”, she can be found practicing obscene amounts of yoga, whipping up anything from enchiladas to éclairs in her kitchen, or curled up with her nose in a book. Kimberly is a USA Today best-selling author and a 2016 and 2015 RWA RITA® finalist and 2014 Bookseller’s Best nominee who lives (and writes!) by the mantra that food is love. Kimberly resides in Virginia with her wildly patient husband and their three daughters.

Connect with Kimberly at: Website | Facebook | Twitter| Goodreads | Instagram

Filed Under: Book Reviews