#BlogTour #BookReview
The Secret to Dating Your Best Friend’s Sister
by Meghan Quinn @AuthorMegQuinn @InkSlingerPR

categories: Blog Tour, Review, Contemporary Romance, 9/10
#BlogTour #BookReview The Secret to Dating Your Best Friend’s Sister by Meghan Quinn @AuthorMegQuinn @InkSlingerPRTitle: The Secret to Dating Your Best Friend's Sister

Author: Meghan Quinn

Published by Meghan Quinn on January 3, 2019

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 336

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: InkSlingerPR

Book Rating: 9/10

 

 

Synopsis:

How do you date your best friend’s sister? Easy. 

Step one: Pretend you want her to set you up with someone else. That will bring the two of you closer.

Step two: Go on date with lots of random women, proceed to get stupid drunk and talk about your best friend’s sister, thus gaining the courage to finally make a move.

Step three: Randomly show up at her apartment and confess your love. Women love that, right?

It all seemed so simple. A fool-proof three step process that will guarantee the love of you life to fall madly in love with you. 

At least–that’s what I thought was going to happen. But my attempts to win over Julia Westin backfired in more ways than I can count. The thing about Julia? She’s smart–really smart–and her wicked gaze cuts through all the charm I’ve tried slinging her way. She’s not interested in games, my gifts, or my stories. She might want me too; but she’s not giving in that easy…

Review:

Sultry, entertaining, and sweet!

The Secret to Dating Your Best Friend’s Sister is a passionate, charming tale that mixes the caring, hardworking Julia who’s determined to use all her knowledge and expertise to find the perfect match for her brother’s best friend, and the delectable, successful Bram who has finally decided to take the risk and act on his feelings for his best friend’s little sister.

The writing is titillating and crisp. The characters, including all the supporting characters, are fun-loving and engaging. And the plot sweeps you away into a sassy, push-pull storyline filled with witty banter, shameless flirting, sizzling chemistry, friendship, family, romance, and light drama.

Overall, The Secret to Dating Your Best Friend’s Sister is a fabulous read to kick off the new year. I enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed the storyline, and I loved the swoon-worthy happy-ever-after ending!

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following link.

 

 

 

About Meghan Quinn

USA Today Bestselling Author, wife, adoptive mother, and peanut butter lover. Author of romantic comedies and contemporary romance, Meghan Quinn brings readers the perfect combination of heart, humor, and heat in every book.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Instagram | Bookbub

 

 

Thank you to InkSlingerPR and Meghan Quinn for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

Goodbye 2018… Hello 2019!
#BookBloggers #Books #Reading

categories: Yearly Wrap-Up, Beat The Backlist 2018, Mount TBR 2018, TBR List, General Blog Posts

 

 

It’s hard to believe another year is coming to an end and a New Year is beginning!

 

So here’s a look back at 2018 and a few goals to aim for in 2019!

 

 

2018 Stats:

Total Books Read: 268

Longest Book Read: Finding Dreams by Lauren Westwood

Total Pages Read: 82,116

Total Books Read and Reviewed for NetGalley: 104 (Feedback Ratio: 98%) 

 

 

 

Some of my favourite reads in 2018 (check out the rest HERE):

 

Women’s Fiction

                                                 

                                                

          

 

General Fiction

                    

 

Historical Fiction

                   

 

Mystery/Suspense

                                                       

          

                                        

Contemporary Romance

                                                  

                                             

                    

 

Update of 2018 Challenges:

Mount TBR 2018 Challenge: I reached my Mount Blanc goal by reading 26 books from my TBR Pile.

Beat the Backlist 2018 Challenge: I read a total of 26 books from my TBR list that were published prior to 2018.

 

                                        

                                        

                                   

     

 

 

Goals for 2019:

  • Read and Review fewer books for NetGalley up to a maximum of 100 and keep my Feedback Ratio above 90%.
  • Read at least one book per month of a back title that I have purchased and own.
  • Read at least one book per month that I was sent by an author/publisher in the past couple of years that I didn’t get a chance to read/review.
  • Try and read a total of 200 books (no more 😜)

 

And lastly, I must thank all the authors, publishers, bloggers, and of course my family who have not only provided me with wonderful books to read but have supported me all year-long. I am truly honoured.

#BookReview
The Temp by Michelle Frances
@PGCBooks @panmacmillan

categories: Noteworthy Book Releases, Review, Mystery/Thriller, 9/10
#BookReview The Temp by Michelle Frances @PGCBooks @panmacmillanTitle: The Temp

Author: Michelle Frances

Published by Pan Macmillan on December 26, 2018

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 448

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

 

 

Synopsis:

A new gripping psychological thriller from Michelle Frances, bestselling author of The Girlfriend.

Carrie is a successful TV producer in a high pressure job. She’s talented, liked, and well-respected. She and her husband, Adrian, an award-winning screenwriter, decided years before that they didn’t want children. But now, just as they’re both at the pinnacle of their careers, she has discovered she’s pregnant, and is shocked to discover that she wants to keep the baby. But in a competitive industry where time off is seen as a sign of weakness, Carrie looks at the prospect of maternity leave with trepidation.

Enter Emma, the temp, who is everything Carrie could wish for as her cover: smart, eager, and charming. Carrie fears that Emma is manoeuvring her way into Carrie’s life, causing turmoil in both her work and her marriage. The problem is everyone else adores Emma…

Increasingly isolated from Adrian and her colleagues, Carrie begins to believe Emma has an agenda. Does she want her job? Or is she after even more?

A twisting thriller about ambition, deception, and betrayal, The Temp will leave readers hanging on until the very last page!

Review:

Compulsive, unsettling, and surprising!

The Temp is a character-driven, pacey thriller that takes us into the life of Carrie, a middle-aged TV producer who finds herself struggling to juggle new motherhood, a successful career, a secretive husband, and a temp who seems determined to make her position a permanent one.

The writing is taut and polished. The characters are consumed, unscrupulous, and driven. And the plot is a twisty, suspenseful tale of power, betrayal, ambition, suspicion, obsession, violence, and the complex world of tv production.

Overall, The Temp is another intricate, sinister, edgy novel by Frances that reminds us that anger and resentment fostered over a long period of time can often have devastating consequences.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                            

 

  

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Michelle Frances

Michelle Frances has worked in television drama as a producer and script editor for fifteen years, both for the independent sector and the BBC. The Temp is her second novel, following her bestselling debut, The Girlfriend.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads

 

#CoverReveal
Magnolia Road by J. Lynn Bailey
@authorjlynn @InkSlingerPR

categories: Noteworthy Book Releases, Cover Reveal, Contemporary Romance

 

Today I am thrilled to bring you the

Cover for the latest novel from J. Lynn Bailey

 

Magnolia Road

releasing on January 29th!

 

 

About Magnolia Road:

On the outside, Bryce Hayes is satisfied with the structure of her life, her demanding career, and a series of no-strings-attached relationships, but her brother bounces in and out of rehab, her mother thinks she can beat her son’s addiction, and her father is simply doing what he can to keep a semblance of “normal”. When Bryce’s father, Congressman Hayes, orders her to Granite Harbor, Maine, due to a string of threats to their family coming from an unidentifiable source, she doesn’t expect Ethan Casey, the sexy soldier who slept with her, then walked out, without so much as a goodbye, to be her landlord.

Ethan’s past is riddled with chaos, bullets, and loud noise. After returning to his small town after the war, he’s determined to get back to his roots. Peace, quiet, and working as a game warden for the Maine Warden Service sounds right as rain. But with Bryce in Granite Harbor, staying in his house on Magnolia Road, Ethan can’t stop thinking about his future—and that includes Bryce. But to make things right with the love of his life, he’ll have to open old wounds…and risk losing her forever.

 

 

PRE-ORDER NOW

 

Exclusive Excerpt:

If silence had a name in this moment, it would be fear. Fear and darkness go together like smothered love—stifling, overbearing, and hard to overcome. But, right now, all I know is that I’d rather feel these things because I’m with Ethan. And I’ll do it the way he wants. If that means as friends or lovers because living without him doesn’t seem like a viable option. It’s not something I think I can do. The strong, willful, never-need-a-man woman that I am has somehow changed, turned. Flipped.

This situation could have been avoided. Maybe, if I had ignored Ethan that day in Los Angeles, ignored his long legs and his dark brown eyes and long eyelashes, the vein that runs the course of his left arm, his big hands, maybe this moment wouldn’t hurt so much, knowing it was the beginning of the end. Knowing I made a choice that would shatter my heart because what we did today wasn’t love. We didn’t make love. We didn’t share our deepest secrets.

We put bandages on our wounds.

I lick my lips before I put my mouth to his chest for a kiss. “I know this is the end, Ethan.”

 

 

About the Author:

J. Lynn Bailey has loved to write since she learned to read, around the second grade. When she isn’t running after her children, watching COPS, or on the hunt for her next Laffy Taffy joke, you can probably find her holed up in her writing room feverishly working on her next book. She lives in Northern California with her family.

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

 

 

Enter J. Lynn’s Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#BookReview
Watching You by Lisa Jewell
@lisajewelluk @SimonSchusterCA

categories: Noteworthy Book Releases, Review, Mystery/Thriller, 9/10
#BookReview Watching You by Lisa Jewell @lisajewelluk @SimonSchusterCATitle: Watching You

Author: Lisa Jewell

Published by Atria Books on December 26, 2018

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 320

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

 

 

Synopsis:

Melville Heights is one of the nicest neighbourhoods in Bristol, England; home to doctors and lawyers and old-money academics. It’s not the sort of place where people are brutally murdered in their own kitchens. But it is the sort of place where everyone has a secret. And everyone is watching you.

As the headmaster credited with turning around the local school, Tom Fitzwilliam is beloved by one and all—including Joey Mullen, his new neighbor, who quickly develops an intense infatuation with this thoroughly charming yet unavailable man. Joey thinks her crush is a secret, but Tom’s teenaged son Freddie—a prodigy with aspirations of becoming a spy for MI5—excels in observing people and has witnessed Joey behaving strangely around his father.

One of Tom’s students, Jenna Tripp, also lives on the same street, and she’s not convinced her teacher is as squeaky clean as he seems. For one thing, he has taken a particular liking to her best friend and fellow classmate, and Jenna’s mother—whose mental health has admittedly been deteriorating in recent years—is convinced that Mr. Fitzwilliam is stalking her.

Meanwhile, twenty years earlier, a schoolgirl writes in her diary, charting her doomed obsession with a handsome young English teacher named Mr. Fitzwilliam…

Review:

Dark, eerie, and spine-chillingly mesmerizing!

Watching You is a complex, intense, psychological thriller that highlights that every choice, good or bad, has a consequence and perspective is everything.

The writing is polished and crisp. The characterization is spot on with a multitude of characters that are multi-faceted, secretive, and vulnerable. And the plot told through a mixture of narration and interview-style musings builds steadily creating tension, suspicion, and unease as it unravels all the personalities, relationships, motivations and actions within it.

Watching You is, ultimately, a story of deception, obsession, desperation, vengeance, violence, manipulation, and murder. It’s shocking, satisfying, hard to put down and without a doubt another must-read novel by Jewell.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                            

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Lisa Jewell

Lisa Jewell is the internationally bestselling author of sixteen novels, including the New York Times bestseller Then She Was Gone, as well as I Found You, The Girls in the Garden, and The House We Grew Up In. In total, her novels have sold more than two million copies across the English-speaking world and her work has also been translated into sixteen languages so far. Lisa lives in London with her husband and their two daughters.

Photograph by Andrew Whitton.

Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

It’s Monday (December 24, 2018)!
What Are You Reading! #IMWAYR
#Books #Reading #TBRList

categories: Noteworthy Book Releases, #IMWAYR, General Blog Posts

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? hosted by Kathryn at Bookdate is a weekly post to share what you’ve recently finished reading, what you’re currently reading, and what you plan on reading this upcoming week.

 

So here is what I just read, am reading, and what I plan to read next:

 

What I Read Last Week:

 

Title: The Outsider

Authors: Stephen King

Immediate Thoughts: Original, gritty, and creepy!

Rating: 8.5/10

Publication Date: May 22, 2018

 

 

Title: The Secret to Dating Your Best Friend’s Sister

Author: Meghan Quinn

Immediate Thoughts: Funny, sexy, and romantic!

Rating: 10/10

Publication Date: January 3, 2019

 

 

What I’m Currently Reading:

 

Carter’s been crazy about Nina since the first time he saw her emerald eyes, but his fratastic reputation landed him in the friend zone before he even had a chance to say, “How you doin‘?”

So when Nina suggests they become friends with benefits, he can’t believe his luck.

After all, once he’s gotten in her pants, winning her heart should be easy… right?

 

What I’m Reading Next:

 

How do you date your best friend’s sister? Easy.

Step one: Pretend you want her to set you up with someone else. That will bring the two of you closer.

Step two: Go on date with lots of random women, proceed to get stupid drunk and talk about your best friend’s sister, thus gaining the courage to finally make a move.

Step three: Randomly show up at her apartment and confess your love. Women love that, right?

It all seemed so simple. A fool-proof three step process that will guarantee the love of you life to fall madly in love with you.

At least–that’s what I thought was going to happen. But my attempts to win over Julia Westin backfired in more ways than I can count. The thing about Julia? She’s smart–really smart–and her wicked gaze cuts through all the charm I’ve tried slinging her way. She’s not interested in games, my gifts, or my stories. She might want me too; but she’s not giving in that easy…

 

 

Have you read any of my upcoming reads? What do you have coming up? How are your stats?

Happy Reading!

#BookReview
The Postman’s Fiancée by Denis Thériault
@PGCBooks @OneworldNews

categories: Review, General Fiction, 8/10
#BookReview The Postman’s Fiancée by Denis Thériault @PGCBooks @OneworldNewsTitle: The Postman's Fiancée

Author: Denis Thériault

Published by Oneworld on June 1, 2017

Genres: General Fiction

Pages: 208

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

 

 

Synopsis:

Tania moves from Bavaria to Montreal to fine-tune her French and fall in love. Finding work as a waitress at a low-key restaurant in a working-class area of the city, she meets Bilodo, a shy postman who writes haiku and who is passionate about calligraphy. The two hit it off but then one stormy day their lives take a dramatic turn, and as their destinies become increasingly entwined the two are led into a world where nothing is as it seems.

The Postman’s Fiancée reunites readers with the touching and much-loved characters first found in The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman, charming readers once again with his deft touch and lyrical prose with this love story that will move readers, young and old alike.

Review:

Original, moving, and bittersweet!

The Postman’s Fiancée takes us back to Montréal and into the lives of Bilodo, the lonely postman, and Tania, the besotted waitress, as they both learn just how all-consuming obsession, desire, and love can actually be.

The prose is vivid and expressive. The characters are tormented, eccentric, and spontaneous. And the plot is a poetic, humorous, at times haunting tale about love, loss, friendship, destiny, coincidence, passion, and the cyclical nature of life.

Overall, The Postman’s Fiancée is another beautifully written, tempestuous, zany novel by Thériault that does a wonderful job of reminding us just how precious and fragile life truly is.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                  

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Denis Thériault

Denis Thériault, romancier et scénariste, est diplômé en psychologie. Il a été quatre fois finaliste aux prix Gémeaux. Son premier roman, L’iguane (XYZ, 2001), a remporté le prix France-Québec 2001, le prix Anne-Hébert 2002, l’Odyssée 2002 et le Combat des livres 2007 de Radio-Canada. Son deuxième roman, Le facteur émotif (XYZ, 2005), a remporté le Prix littéraire Canada-Japon 2006. Ses romans sont publiés au Canada anglais, en Allemagne, en Chine et en France.

Goodreads

#BookReview
Crossing the Line by Bibi Belford
@BarbaraBelford @skyponypress

categories: Review, 9/10, Young Adult
#BookReview Crossing the Line by Bibi Belford @BarbaraBelford @skyponypressTitle: Crossing the Line

Author: Bibi Belford

Published by Sky Pony Press on July 25, 2017

Genres: Young Adult

Pages: 272

Format: Hardcover

Source: Sky Pony Press

Book Rating: 9/10

 

 

Synopsis:

Billy’s family has fallen on hard times, what with his da hospitalized after the war and his ma barely scraping by. But it’s no hardship for him when there’s not enough money to pay the tuition for Nativity of Our Lord, the private Catholic school everyone in his neighborhood attends. Billy’s not big on education.

When he transfers to James Ward, a Chicago public school, he finds out there’s a big difference at public school: the kids aren’t all Irish—in fact, they aren’t even all white. It isn’t long before Billy’s found a new best friend in Foster, another fifth grader who also doesn’t have any money, loves baseball, and just happens to be black.

Billy is pretty sure skin color doesn’t matter. Not when he and Foster are just horsing around, playing baseball, working on the docks of the canal, and building a raft at their secret hideout on Bridgeport’s Bubbly Creek. But in the Red Summer of 1919, it does matter.

Review:

Heartfelt, sweeping, and immersive!

Crossing the Line is a moving, fascinating, coming-of-age story set in Chicago during the early 1900s that highlights all the struggles and racial tension of the time and reminds us that even though we’ve come so far, we still have a long way to go.

The writing is sincere and smooth. The characters are concerned, vulnerable and loyal. And the story is an exceptionally compelling tale about life, loss, familial dynamics, friendship, courage, community, discrimination, and racial segregation. 

Overall, Crossing the Line is a well written, exceptionally researched, moving novel by Belford that is a beautiful blend of historical facts, intriguing fiction, and endearing characters.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links. 

                                          

 

 

Thank you to Sky Pony Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Bibi Belford

Bibi Belford graduated with a B.A. in English from Westmont College and has worked as a playground supervisor for children of migrant workers and was a student teacher in a bilingual classroom before completing her masters in Bilingual Literacy at Northern Illinois University. She currently works as a literacy coach and reading interventionist for an elementary school in Illinois. She is the mother of four grown children and lives in Batavia, Illinois.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

#BookReview
Practising for Christmas by Rachael Richey
@RachaelRBooks

categories: Review, Contemporary Romance, 7/10
#BookReview Practising for Christmas by Rachael Richey @RachaelRBooksTitle: Practising for Christmas

Author: Rachael Richey

Published by The Wild Rose Press on November 12, 2018

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 187

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Rachael Richey

Book Rating: 7/10

 

 

Synopsis:

A remote coastal cottage; a group of old friends; the Christmas holidays. It’s just the break Olivia needs to help her relax and forget her worries. What could be more perfect? But that was before she found a handsome unconscious stranger on the beach. Add in a case of mistaken identity, a lot of kissing practice, and an inquisitive best friend, and things begin to get more than a little complicated.

The large bump on Adam’s head hurts, but he refuses to go to the hospital—or back home—and eventually accepts Olivia’s offer of hospitality. When her friends arrive the following morning, a chance remark catapults them both into a bizarre and amusing situation that promises to make it a Christmas to remember.

Review:

Amusing, sweet, and engaging!

Practising for Christmas is a warm, witty, entertaining tale featuring the kind, caring Olivia and the confident, successful Adam as they discover that sometimes love at first sight truly does exist, and no practice is necessary.

The prose is clear and light. The characters are spontaneous, flirty, and amiable. And the plot is a delightful blend of instant attraction, palpable chemistry, drama, playful banter, family, friendship, heartbreak, tricky situations, awkward moments, and holiday festivities.

Overall I would have to say that Practising for Christmas is a charming, captivating, humorous tale by Richey that was a pleasure to read and perfect for the holidays.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                  

 

 

Thank you to Rachael Richey for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Rachael Richey

Rachael Richey lives in Cornwall with her husband and son and writes Women’s Fiction. She loves walking, horses, Earl Grey tea, chocolate, pizza and Pinot Grigio and reading.

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Newsletter

#BookReview
Chasing Forever by Kelly Jensen
@kmkjensen @RiptideBooks

categories: Review, LGBTQIA, Contemporary Romance, 8/10
#BookReview Chasing Forever by Kelly Jensen @kmkjensen @RiptideBooksTitle: Chasing Forever

Author: Kelly Jensen

Series: This Time Forever #3

Published by Riptide Publishing on December 10, 2018

Genres: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA

Pages: 333

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Riptide Publishing, NetGalley

Book Rating: 8/10

 

Synopsis:

Old wounds, new directions, and a forever worth chasing.

Malcolm Montgomery was a history teacher and track coach until an accident left him with two broken legs. He’ll recover, but life has knocked his feet out twice now. He’s not sure if he’s ready to try again, especially when it comes to love—and slick guys like Brian Kenway. Still, he needs help mentoring the school’s LGBTQ society, so he asks Brian to take some responsibility.

Brian has been hiding behind his reputation as a liar and a cheat for so long that he actually believes he’s that guy—until his nephew, Josh, turns up on his couch, tossed out for being gay. Brian has never considered being a father, but he knows all about being rejected by loved ones. Now Brian wants to be more: a partner for Mal and a role model for Josh.

But when Mal’s recovery is set back and the sad truth of Brian’s past is revealed, the forever they’ve been chasing seems even further from their grasps. It’ll take a rescue effort to revive their sense of worth and make Brian, Mal, and Josh into a family of their own.

Review:

Intimate, sensuous, and timely!

Chasing Forever is a passionate, heartwarming tale that takes us into the lives of Malcolm and Brian as they each must learn to cope with the baggage from their past, overcome their insecurities, fight for what they truly want, and work together to create a haven for the kids in their community.

The writing is sincere and heartfelt. The characters are flawed, caring, and genuine. And the plot is an alluring, push-pull storyline filled with friendship, family, tension, responsibility, support, humor, shameless flirting, angst, heartbreak, and unconditional love.

Overall, Chasing Forever is a well written, provocative, emotional story by Jensen that does an excellent job of highlighting the challenges, prejudices, and ignorance faced by those in the LGBTQIA community and reminds us just how much guidance and support all teens require when discovering and embracing their sexual identity.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following link.

                              

 

 

Thank you to NetGalley and Riptide Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Kelly Jensen

If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories of the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them with her as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.

Kelly is the author of a number of novels, novellas and short stories, including the Chaos Station series, co-written with Jenn Burke. Some of what she writes is speculative in nature, but mostly it’s just about a guy losing his socks and/or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

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