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.

You can find and contact Cheryl here:
– Website
– Facebook
– Twitter
– Goodreads
– Pinterest

4 1/2 STARS!

In Karen Rock’s latest, she takes us on a heart wrenching journey into the mind of a man who left a brother in arms behind, into the mind of a loved one receiving the news back home and having to pick up the pieces of a so-called life again, and into the hearts of all who were touched by a tragedy.  Sad, eye opening and sexy all rolled into one!  Really enjoyed the characters and look forwarding to reading more of Karen’s coast guard heroes!

As a rescue pilot for the United States Coast Guard, Lt. Commander Mark Sampson has to make dangerous, split second decisions every day.  He’s saved many lives, but the most recent one that he didn’t is tearing him apart.

Nurse Cassie Rowe is looking for some closure and a way to move forward with a more meaningful life.  She didn’t expect it to be on the same mission with the man her family holds responsible for her brother’s death though!  She should hate him … but the passion they already shared makes for a lot of mixed emotions!

ARC received via Tasty Book Tours

 

 

His to Protect
Uniformly Hot!
By: Karen Rock

Releasing October 1, 2016
Harlequin Blaze

 

BLURB:

Subject: Lt. Commander Mark Sampson

Mission: Keep his eyes on the skies…despite one sexy distraction!

There are things a man can never undo. For Coast Guard search and rescue pilot Mark Sampson, it was the agonizing decision that cost him a teammate—and his faith in himself. But an unbelievably sexy blonde on a secluded beach may help him forget…if only for a night.
Cassie Rowe needed a distraction—and, boy, did she get one! How was she to know the brooding stranger who rocked her world was the pilot who’d left her brother to die? And now they’re on the same mission. She should hate him. But she can’t fight the storm of desire threatening to pull them under…

 

Link to Follow Tour:  http://www.tastybooktours.com/2016/08/his-to-protect-uniformly-hot-by-karen.html

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31140667-his-to-protect

 

Buy Links:      Amazon | B & N | Google | iTunes | Kobo | Audio

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/His-Protect-Uniformly-Karen-Rock-ebook/dp/B01BSFBUOU/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1470493409&sr=1-1

B&N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/his-to-protect-karen-rock/1123427219?ean=9780373799152

Google:  https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Karen_Rock_His_to_Protect?id=kLSTCwAAQBAJ&hl=en

iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/his-to-protect/id1084346144?mt=11

Kobo:  https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/his-to-protect-4

Audio: http://bit.ly/histoprotect_rock

 

 

EXCERPT:

“Abandon ship! Abandon ship!” Dylan hollered as the boat shuddered and lifted before crashing smack down on its side.

Cassie leaped into the whirling water and kicked hard against the sucking drag, her life preserver no match for the powerful force. Coughing and spitting out salt water, she flailed, trying to keep her head above the enraged ocean intent on swallowing everything. Including her.

Dylan reached her, cradled her head in his arm and began kicking them backward, hard, keeping her mouth above water. When she looked skyward, she didn’t spot the Jayhawk and her heart seized.

Had they lost them?

Would she and Dylan drown?

“Keep kicking!” urged Dylan and she put her shaking muscles into it. The injured swimmer wasn’t giving in and neither would she.

Several seconds, minutes, hours seemed to pass— she’d lost count—as she and Dylan battled the waves before, miraculously, a rescue strop dropped directly in front of them.

In a flash, Dylan had them hooked. Air whistled around her as they swung toward the helicopter. Larry snatched them into the cabin the moment her toes grazed the side of the aircraft.

The cabin door slammed shut. She blinked at the crying, shaking and staring survivors and her thoughts tumbled. A deep shudder started in her gut and rattled her to her toes. She pressed her hand against the Jayhawk’s side, not trusting that she really was out of the water and here.

Safe.

When she caught sight of her v-fib patient, she crouch-walked to his side as the helicopter wheeled then sped. What a relief to see the IV still attached to the litter.

She checked his vitals and tourniquet.

Stable. Critical, but stable. Hopefully enough to get to the airport then medevac to a major hospital.

A life saved. One for her and how many more for these extraordinary men? She looked around the cabin, deeply impressed as Dylan shrugged off any fussing over his dangling arm and began checking passengers alongside her.

“Swimmers.” Larry rolled his eyes at Dylan. “Crazy sons of bitches.”

“Or looking for some shirt candy,” put in Rob with a sheepish glance behind him.

“It’s an Air Medal for sure. You, too, Cassie, if you were in the Coast Guard.” Dylan’s cocky grin was firmly back in place.

Her gaze swerved to the cockpit and a spark, like the shock off an electric fence, went through her as she met Mark’s eyes. They stared at each other for a moment before he turned back, but the glimpse of his anguished expression tormented her. Made her want to reassure him she was fine. Not scared after all, she suddenly realized. She’d been so intent on her job, so focused on her survival, that she hadn’t been meek at all.

The change swept through her skin, whirling in the vast spaces between her atoms, reconfiguring her into someone else—or perhaps, as Jeff had pointed out, the person she was meant to be all along.

 

 

AUTHOR INFO:

Award-winning author Karen Rock is both sweet and spicy—at least when it comes to her writing! The author of both YA and adult contemporary books writes red-hot novels for Harlequin Blaze and small-town romances for Harlequin Heartwarming. A strong believer in Happily-Ever-After, Karen loves creating unforgettable stories that leave her readers with a smile.

She enjoys returning to her teaching roots when speaking at regional and national writing conferences and interacting with other writers. She has a Master of Fine Arts in English and has continued to learn and grow professionally through her work with YA co-author, fellow romance author, friend and sister-in-law, Joanne Rock.

When she’s not writing, Karen is an avid reader who’s typically immersed in three different books at a time, all in different genres. She also loves cooking her grandmother’s Italian recipes, baking, Christmas (no need to specify—she loves every bit of it), and having the Adirondack Park wilderness as her backyard, where she lives with her husband, daughter, dog and cat who keep her life interesting and complete..

 

Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

Website:  http://www.karenrock.com/

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/karenrockwrites

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/karenrock5

GoodReads:  http://www.goodreads.com/karenrockauthor

 

 

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