October 8, 2016

4 1/2 STARS!

We previously met the Steele family in the prequel STEELE RIDGE: THE BEGINNING. With this first full-length novel in the new series, Kelsey Browning brings us Griffin Steele’s story which is filled with happenings around town, family drama, lots of intrigue, and a generous dose of steamy romance! Great characters make for a fun, attention grabbing book!

Grif enjoys living the high life out in LA as a high end sports agent. He’s making a quick dash home to North Carolina to help his brother Jonah with a project for their hometown, but finds out that the plan is to snooker him into helping him on a longer term basis.

While in town, he runs into Carlie Beth Parrish who he had one night of passion with just before he headed to Los Angeles all those years ago. He wouldn’t mind picking up where they left off, but she’s a bit stand-offish. He soon realizes it has to do with a little secret she failed to let him in on … namely a 14 year old daughter!

When it becomes evident that a stalker is targeting Carlie Beth, Grif steps in to keep her and their daughter safe. Will he decide he’s found the place he belongs or will he soon be hightailing it back to California?

ARC received via NetGalley

4 STARS!

An inspirational story about finding your place in the world! Very eye opening of how different the amenities are and what’s needed in other countries. I enjoyed the characters and loved seeing them connect and grow as the story evolved.

When Stephanie Yates and her two best friends win the lottery, they push her out the door for the trip to some place exotic that she’s always talked about … only she was thinking something more along the lines of Paris, not Peru where “the one she compares all other men to” is setting up medical clinics!

Daniel Lincoln is the brother of one of her best friends, and is the man she’s had a crush on for like forever. She sets out thinking she’ll be fine to just pass through and get in and get out without showing her feelings for him, but once she’s there and spending time working with him, she realizes how much he’s changed. He’s an even better guy that he ever was before, and she falls even deeper for him. And worse … she finds she’s more fulfilled in this foreign country than she is at home!

ARC received via Lola’s Blog Tours

Winner Takes All (Lucky Numbers #1)
By Cheryl Harper
Genre: Sweet Contemporary Romance
Age category: Adult
Release Date: June 1, 2015

BLURB:
Winning the lottery means finally living her dreams…

Stephanie Yates isn’t really sure she’s ready to leave her hometown and see the world, but there’s not much she can do about it now: her friends have sent her on her way! And her first stop is a village in the breathtaking mountains of Peru, where Daniel Lincoln, her lifelong crush, is setting up medical clinics.

Stephanie thought she could hide her feelings for the hotshot doctor no problem, but Daniel has changed. And spending time with this strong, caring man helps her imagine a new life for herself, and for Daniel. That is, if he can start seeing her as more than just a friend…

You can find Winner Takes All on Goodreads

BUY LINKS:
– Amazon
– Barnes & Noble
– Kobo
– Harlequin

EXCERPT:

“Give me the blindfold. I’m ready to hop on a plane to anywhere, you wait and see.” She tied the dish towel over her eyes and held out her hand. Jen pressed the dart into her palm and said, “See the map. Be the map.” They all chuckled, remembering countless slumber parties where Daniel had tried to show them how to hit the dart board instead of the innocent closet door.

Rebecca put her hands on Stephanie’s shoulders and spun her around once. “Do your best!”

“Come on, Paris!” Her heart racing with excitement and fear, Stephanie tossed the dart and hoped to hit land. She could see herself stepping off a plane. Floating on a boat, not so much.

She tried to yank off the dish towel but Jen shoved her glass of wine in her hand. “Before you see where you’re landing, let’s make another toast. To new beginnings and lottery winnings.”

Thinking they were spending a whole lot of time making plans for something that would never happen, Stephanie held her glass out, waited for the clink, and took a sip. Then Jen yanked off her makeshift blindfold and said in her best game show host voice, “Let’s see where you’re headed.”

The three of them lined up in front of the map. Somehow she’d completely missed France, not to mention the tiny dot of Paris. In fact, she’d overshot Europe as well. The dart was planted squarely in the middle of nowhere Peru.

“That’s impossible. There’s no way I missed the entire continent of Europe.” The images of Peru that came to mind were of llamas and Machu Picchu, which she might enjoy seeing, but that’s not where the dart landed. No, she was apparently going to…Alto, a place she’d heard of once in her life, thanks to a posting on Daniel Lincoln’s Facebook page. She narrowed her eyes at Rebecca. “What did you do?”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Whether she’s writing, reading, or checking the items off of her daily to-do list, small-town girl Cheryl Harper loves her romance mixed with a little laughter. When she’s not working, you will find her ignoring housework, cursing yard work, and spending way too much time with a television remote in her hand.