Q&A with Author Linda Lael Miller + Giveaway

Posted on June 10, 2014June 9, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Author Q&A> blog tours> Book Giveaway> Giveaways

Today please enjoy this Q&A with Linda Lael Miller, author of The Marriage Pact (reviewed here) and the Parable Montana series (one of my personal faves)

Q: It’s exciting to read your new Bliss County series! What inspired you to write this new series and how long have you had the idea for The Marriage Pact?

I was actually inspired by my own penchant for arts and crafts, since I love to make things, and by the beautiful state of Wyoming. In the books, three women friends, all successful in their own right, decide to help each other find husbands. One of the women is a jewelry designer, and she makes a special bracelet charm to represent each of their romances. If I hadn’t already been inspired, my visit to Jackson, the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park last September would have done the trick.

Q: In The Marriage Pact, Hadleigh is determined to find Mr. Right but it turns out Mr. Right isn’t who she thought he would be. Do you think most relationships are like that?

Maybe not most relationships, but definitely a lot of them. I think we human beings have a tendency to look for love (and everything else) in strange and faraway places, instead of in our own backyard.

Q: The pressure to get married can be huge for women. Do you think you can really find love when you are “looking” for it? Or is it easier to fall in love if you aren’t on the hunt?

Complex question! I do think it’s possible to find true love by actively looking for it—several of my friends have done exactly that. On the other hand, there is something to be said for letting the chips fall where they may.

Q: The group of women Hadleigh makes the “marriage pact” with are dear friends to her. Do you have a group of friends like she does? What makes friendship between women so special?

I do have a group of very close friends, people I would literally trust with my life. Women are especially good at friendship, I think, because they know how to nurture, and they’re generally quite empathetic.

About Linda Lael MillerThe daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than one hundred historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West. Raised in Northport, Washington, the self-confessed barn goddess now lives in Spokane, Washington. Linda hit a career high in 2011 when all three of her Creed Cowboys books—A Creed in Stone Creek, Creed’s Honor and The Creed Legacy—debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.Linda has come a long way since leaving Washington to experience the world. “But growing up in that time and place has served me well,” she allows. “And I’m happy to be back home.” Dedicated to helping others, Linda personally finances her “Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women,” which she awards to those seeking to improve their lot in life through education.More information about Linda and her novels is available at her website. She also loves to hear from readers by mail at P.O. Box 19461, Spokane, WA 99219.

GIVEAWAY

Linda is kindly giving away a copy of The Marriage Pact to a lucky winner! (U.S. only). To enter, use the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Marriage Pact by Linda Lael Miller

Posted on June 10, 2014June 9, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, large print, mass market paperback, audiobook
Genre: Western romance
Series: The Brides of Bliss County, #1
Length: 377 pages
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Date Released: June 1, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

Ten years ago, Hadleigh Stevens was eighteen and this close to saying “I do,” when Tripp Galloway interrupted her walk down the aisle. Now that she’s recovered from her youthful mistake and Tripp’s interference, Hadleigh and her single friends form a marriage pact. She doesn’t expect Tripp to meddle with her new plan to find Mr. Right—or to discover that she’s more attracted to him than ever!

Divorced and eager to reconnect with his cowboy roots, Tripp returns to Bliss County to save his ailing father’s ranch. He’s not looking for another wife—certainly not his best friend’s little sister. But he’s never been able to forget Hadleigh. And this time, if she ends up in his arms, he won’t be walking away!

My Review:

I’ve enjoyed every single one of Linda Lael Miller’s Parable Montana series, and her new Brides of Bliss County feels like they are right next door. Her descriptions of small town life in the contemporary West make me want to go for a visit, and maybe even to stay.

The Marriage Pact is a best friends story, a second-chance-at-love story, a small town romance and the introduction to the series. That’s a lot of heavy lifting, all packed into a light and lovely book with a sweet and tender romance.

Tripp Galloway was Hadleigh Stevens’ girlhood crush. He was her older brother’s best friend, and Tripp inherited the task of looking after her when her brother Will died in Afghanistan. Hadleigh and Tripp shared their grief, but Hadleigh was still a girl, and Tripp was seven years older, a gap that felt like an eon after his military service.

Still, when Hadleigh was about to marry the worst possible candidate, Tripp rushed back home to carry her out of her wedding just before the ceremony was over. She was secretly hoping that he’d come to carry her off for real. 18-year-olds still have those dreams. But it was both too early and too late. Hadleigh still hadn’t completely grown up, and Tripp was already married.

It took him ten years to come back, and she still hasn’t completely forgiven him for the most embarrassing moment of her life. She still hasn’t forgotten him, either. But Hadleigh is 28 now, definitely all grown up. And Tripp’s first marriage is eight years over and done. The timing is just right.

In the intervening ten years, Hadleigh and her two best friends, Melody and Bex, have all created successful businesses and fantastic careers. But none of them have managed to find the right man to be the mate and partner who fulfills the other part of their lives. They love their success, but they all want more.

And in a small town like Mustang Ridge, they’ve been through the entire dating pool and back again. Hadleigh hasn’t found anyone who matches her memories of Tripp. But Melody seems to be stuck on Police Chief Spence Hogan, and Bex has been too busy creating her exercise franchise to even look.

They’ve been bridesmaids dozens of times, but never the bride. So they make a pact, that they will help each other find Mr. Right, and celebrate together when they each do. One for all, and all for one.

With Tripp finally back for good, Hadleigh has a chance to either get him, or get over him, once and for all. With the grown up Hadleigh, Tripp finally figures out that he wants a whole lot more than to just be friends. This time, he’s in it for keeps.

If Hadleigh can get past her long worn resentment, and her fears that everyone she loves, dies.

Escape Rating B+: The building of the relationship between Tripp and Hadleigh is what carries this story, and it’s fun to watch them squabble at cross-purposes, while Hadleigh thinks through what she really wants. Tripp already knows, but getting himself back into Hadleigh’s good graces takes a lot of doing, along with some help from their dogs!

The scene where Tripp hauls Hadleigh out of her long ago wedding opens the book, and it’s priceless both for it’s humor and its melancholy. He’s right, but everything is so over-the-top, and neither of them is remotely ready to admit why it has to happen.

Hadleigh lives more than a bit in her head. She has revelation after revelation about who she wants to be and where she’s been, and occasionally seems totally out of it to whoever is around her. Her internal life is funny, and she’s sometimes still trying to talk herself into or out of things that are manifestly too late. Like loving Tripp.

Tripp is also working out his relationship with his dad, and the reason he’s come home. He doesn’t start out intending to chase Hadleigh. He just comes to realize that resolving things with Hadleigh is all part of coming home, and making the family ranch house back into a home..

The depth of Hadleigh’s friendship with Melody and Bex is well-done (also enviable). I’m glad that the next book (The Marriage Charm) will let readers find out what is going on (or not going on) between Melody and the police chief.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Four Friends by Robyn Carr + Giveaway

Posted on April 2, 2014April 1, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A Reviews> blog tours> book reviews> Giveaways

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: paperback, ebook, hardcover, audiobook
Genre: women’s fiction
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Date Released: March 25, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo

Gerri can’t decide what’s more devastating: learning her rock-solid marriage has big cracks, or the anger she feels as she tries to repair the damage. Always the anchor for friends and her three angst-ridden teenagers, it’s time to look carefully at herself. The journey for Gerri and her family is more than revealing—it’s transforming.

Andy doesn’t have a great track record with men, and she’s come to believe that for her a lasting love is out of reach. When she finds herself attracted to her down-to-earth, ordinary contractor—a man without any of the qualities that usually appeal to her—she questions everything she thought she wanted in life.

Sonja’s lifelong pursuit of balance is shattered when her husband declares he’s through with her New Age nonsense and walks out. There’s no herbal tonic or cleansing ritual that can restore her serenity—or her sanity.

Miraculously, it’s BJ, the reserved newcomer to Mill Valley, who steps into their circle and changes everything. The woman with dark secrets opens up to her neighbors, and together they get each other back on track, stronger as individuals and unfaltering as friends.

My Review:

I really enjoyed Four Friends, I think because I identified with aspects of all of the characters. And I envied the strength of their friendship. But each of their stories had resonance for me. This is not a story where you get swept away on the tides of romance, Four Friends is a quiet story about women you would like to go out with for one of their early morning power walks.

This is a story about, obviously, four friends. But it’s also the story of four marriages, and the way that some of them bend, some of them break, and the women who are stronger for surviving the things that life has thrown at them.

At the beginning of the story, one woman seems to have it all, one woman is a new age flake, one is throwing out her latest boy toy husband, and one is a widow of mystery. Suddenly, as if Andy’s melodramatic breakup with her second husband the manchild is a catalyst, every woman’s relationship falls apart.

Gerri, who seems to have everything together and a perfect partner in her Phil, discovers that there must be something missing in her marriage that she never saw, because Phil had an affair five years ago, and she totally missed it. Now she feels betrayed and she is furious.

Sonja the new age practitioner, finds herself all alone, when her husband gets totally fed up with years of waterfalls and chakra balancing and totally bland meals and leaves. She never saw it coming, because she was so busy trying to do good for him that she never listened to him. Sonja has a psychotic break and descends in extreme clinical depression.

BJ, the widow of mystery, is the one who discovers that Sonja needs medical attention. After a year of keeping herself completely to herself, when she’s needed, she gets involved. From that involvement springs a friendship that uncovers the secret she’s been hiding.

And Andy gets involved with the man remodeling her kitchen, a sweet, gentle soul who is nothing like the hardbodied boy-men she has been attracted to all her life.

Every one of the women is in a different place, but the circumstances that they are in reflect versions of the reality of women’s lives in their 30’s and 40’s. Gerri misses the partnership she had with her husband, but doesn’t know how to move past, not merely the betrayal, but the fact that she didn’t know. It strikes both at her self-confidence and her trust. She can’t help blame herself that she didn’t listen, didn’t see that what was perfect for her was less than perfect for her husband. And he blames himself both for the affair and for not speaking up about what was missing. Meanwhile, their kids act out in their own less than successful attempts to cope.

As we see the world through Gerri’s eyes, we feel the depth of her friendships, and the confusion she’s experiencing as the construct of her world falls apart. Then we empathize as she begins tentative steps to rebuild amidst the chaos.

In each of the women’s stories, we see them reaching for a happy that will be right for them, even if in the cases of Sonja and BJ, that happiness is about learning to be strong in the broken places.

Escape Rating A: Four Friends is a character study of women and their relationships, particularly their relationships with each other. So the story passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors but doesn’t qualify as a romance. And that’s completely okay with me.

One woman finds love in an unexpected direction. Another discovers that she has a lot to learn if she wants to keep the love she has come to rely on. A third has to figure out how to stand on her own, and the fourth still has difficulty trusting even in friendship. But it’s the way they hold each other up, or pick each other up, that makes the story worth following.

True love is not the goal, but sometimes its the reward. True friendship sees them through. And you’ll cheer for each of them as they find their own paths.

GIVEAWAY

We’re giving away a paperback copy of Four Friends by Robyn Carr to one lucky (U.S.) winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Waiting on You by Kristan Higgins + Giveaway

Posted on April 1, 2014March 31, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> blog tours> Book Giveaway> book reviews> Giveaways

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: paperback, ebook, large print, audiobook
Genre: contemporary romance
Series: Blue Heron #3
Length: 464 pages
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Date Released: March 25, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

Does being nobody’s fool mean that you’re nobody’s love?

Colleen O’Rourke is in love with love… just not when it comes to herself. Most nights, she can be found behind the bar at the Manningsport, New York, tavern she owns with her twin brother, doling out romantic advice to the lovelorn, mixing martinis and staying more or less happily single. See, ten years ago, Lucas Campbell, her first love, broke her heart… an experience Colleen doesn’t want to have again, thanks. Since then, she’s been happy with a fling here and there, some elite-level flirting and playing matchmaker to her friends.

But a family emergency has brought Lucas back to town, handsome as ever and still the only man who’s ever been able to crack her defenses. Seems like maybe they’ve got some unfinished business waiting for them—but to find out, Colleen has to let her guard down, or risk losing a second chance with the only man she’s ever loved.

My Review:

Waiting on You is a story about finding true love, and what happens when you lose it. Or it loses you. The story is marvelously bittersweet, in spite of the happy ending, because it acknowledges how precious love is and how hard life can be when you find true love and lose it, and are too shell-shocked to risk it again.

Colleen O’Rourke is half-owner and barkeep at O’Rourke’s bar and grille in Manningsport, NY. Being the barkeep means that Colleen sees every romantic make-up, break-up and devastated aftermath in her small town. It doesn’t leave her a lot of scope for finding and dating someone new, because there isn’t anyone new and she knows WAY too many of everyone’s drunken secrets.

The bloom is pretty much off all the local roses, at least for Colleen. Which doesn’t mean that she doesn’t do a marvelous job of finding the “right person” for everyone else in town. She just doesn’t have any luck herself.

Until her first love, her only love, comes back to town, and she still feels every spark and tingle she ever did, just with the added bitter knowledge that Lucas Campbell is only back until his Uncle Joe passes away, and then Lucas is back to his life in Chicago, leaving her behind, again.

It’s not that simple. She broke up with him, because he kept a secret from her. A big secret. Lucas knew that her father was having an affair, and didn’t let her know. When her parent’s marriage broke up over the girlfriend’s pregnancy, Colleen lashed out at Lucas.

In the intervening ten years, a lot happens. Lucas marries and divorces. Colleen’s mother spends ten years trying to regain the attention of her gone and selfish ex. And Colleen fears that she is just like her mother, doomed to compare every man she meets to her own true love, and having them all fall very short.

Although the story centers around Colleen and Lucas, they serve as the center of other events that are happening while they work through the issues that are keeping them apart. Colleen, the matchmaker of Manningsport, is just sure that awkward but steady Paulie and Lucas’ “boy never grown up” cousin Bryce are perfect for each other. That Paulie is a weightlifter and Bryce is not just the feckless town bicycle but goes for the skinny and willowy type doesn’t matter, Colleen is determined that they are good for each other.

Colleen’s mother finally stops mourning the loss of her ex, but the results are less than optimal for quite a while. Colleen’s mock prayers every time her mother starts running on are hilarious, and so much the voice of an adult daughter still embarrassed by her mother.

But it’s Colleen’s and Lucas’ story that provides the heart of the book. Told both in flashback and the present day, we see the point where they instantly and completely fell for each other, and then every roadblock and setback along the way.

They belong together, they always have and they always will. But they have to decide whether they can put the pain behind them and stop looking for roadblocks to get in the way of their happiness.

Ten years is a long time to wait, and there are a lot of things that need to be forgiven, forgotten or pushed aside. Maybe one too many.

Escape Rating B+: I poured through this book as fast as I could, because I couldn’t wait to find out how all the stories resolved. It was easy to get caught up in, not just Colleen and Lucas, but also Paulie and Bryce, Colleen’s mother, and the family dramas around Lucas’ Uncle Joe’s impending death and his last wish.

Lucas needs to feel loved and accepted. It’s something he lost when his dad went to prison, and although his Uncle Joe and Aunt Didi raised him, Didi is the absolute caricature of the shrewish, selfish, domineering wife. Joe didn’t stand up for Lucas, and let Didi make his life a misery. (Think muggle version of Harry Potter and the Dursleys, and you’re close)

Except that his manchild cousin Bryce worships Lucas, and Lucas envies Bryce for being the favored child who has everything handed to him, while Lucas is left to take the blame and pick up the mess.

Colleen is the only person Lucas has ever had who was his and only his. He needs her but never managed to tell her so. When he comes back, Colleen is rightfully worried about pinning her hopes for the future on someone who will leave, again. They nearly blow it multiple times, and for real reasons that make sense, no misunderstandammits here. A lot happened between them that is hard for them both to get past. And their shattered trust in each other has to be rebuilt piece by piece.

This is a happy ending that needs to be earned, and the reader can’t help but root for them to reach out and grab it.

GIVEAWAY

Kristan and Little Bird Publicity are giving away a paperback copy of Waiting on You to one lucky (U.S.) commenter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Q&A with Linda Lael Miller + Giveaway

Posted on January 3, 2014January 1, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Author Q&A> blog tours> Book Giveaway> Giveaways

My very first guest of 2014 is Linda Lael Miller, and she’s here with her final book in her lovely Parable Montana series, a series that made me fall in love with western romances! If you want to meet the people in this marvelous town, start with Big Sky Country and finish with today’s book, Big Sky Secrets, reviewed here. Linda is also giving away a print copy of Big Sky Secrets (U.S. only); to enter, please use the Rafflecopter at the end of the post.

Q: Do you write every day? Do you have a writing routine?

A: Yes, mostly. I write five days a week, from about 9 am., stopping at 1 or 2 pm because by then my brain starts turning to jelly. I am definitely a morning person. Sometimes, when a deadline is pressing hard, I’ll put in longer hours and work weekends, but mostly I avoid that. I need time to refill the well by reading, doing art, puttering in the yard and playing with the pets.

Q: If you could go back 15 or 20 years ago and give yourself one piece of writerly advice, what would it be?

A: I LOVE this question—I don’t think I’ve ever been asked this one before. I’d tell myself to chill out, relax, and not take myself so seriously, to go with the flow and to avoid comparing myself to other writers at all costs.

Q: Big Sky Secrets has a fair share of family drama and a lot of family secrets and family history comes to light throughout the course of the book. Did you set out to write a book like this or did Ria and Landry’s stories just kind of come together?

A: I always start with a few characters and a situation. I have a general idea how the story will play out as I begin, but my stories tend to evolve, often surprising me with the direction they take. As I’d become acquainted with both Landry and Ria in “Big Sky Wedding”, I had a pretty good idea what they’d do in any given circumstance.

Q: Big Sky Secrets is the last of the Big Sky novels. Why did you save Ria and Landry for last?

A: It just turned out that way. Each of the Big Sky books grew from the one preceeding it–in essence, what we have here is one long story. I love to create a community, people it with interesting characters, and just let things unfold as I write along.

Q: There are some great teenage characters in Big Sky Secrets. How did you get into the teen mindset to write Quinn and Nash?

A: It’s been a long time since I was a teenager myself, and since I raised one, but I guess I still have an affinity for them. They’re not children and not adults, either, and that presents them with specific challenges to meet and overcome. Good stories are all about overcoming challenges, methinks.

Q: Quinn’s stray dog Bones is as loveable as any fictional dog ever. You are known for your love of animals and working them into your books. Was there a particular dog that inspired Bones?

A: I love ALL dogs (plus cats, horses and every other kind of creature), especially those in need of a loving home. When I write about animals, I’m hoping, deep down, that folks will be reminded to be kind to them–not that the vast majority of my readers need a reminder, because they love God’s creatures as much as I do. Still, it’s a good thing to keep in mind–there’s no such thing as too much compassion.

Q: Readers and reviewers have loved the Big Sky books and we know a lot of them will be sad to see the series come to an end. What’s next that we can be looking forward to?

A: I’ve already started a whole new “Marriage” series, set in a fictional Wyoming town called Mustang Creek in the present day–a town that happens to resemble Jackson Hole. I recently traveled there to get my bearings, so to speak, and see what my characters will see. The first book is called “The Marriage Pact”, and includes a sexy cowboy hero, Tripp Galloway, a smart, feisty heroine, Hadleigh Stevens, and at least two adopted dogs–Ridley and Muggles. There’s no telling, though, what other four-leggers might turn up as the story goes on–like human characters, they tend to show up out of nowhere and demand to be part of it all.

GIVEAWAY

Linda is giving away one copy of Big Sky Secrets to a lucky winner! (U.S. only). To enter, please use the Rafflecopter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Big Sky Secrets by Linda Lael Miller

Posted on January 3, 2014January 1, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: paperback, ebook
Genre: contemporary romance, western romance
Series: Parable, Montana #6
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Date Released: December 31, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

Self-made tycoon Landry Sutton heads to Hangman Bend’s Ranch to sell his land to his brother Zane. Though he’s got cowboy in his blood, Landry plans to return to city life before the dust even settles on his boots. Of course, he didn’t count on falling for Big Sky Country…or Ria Manning.

Ria’s starting to settle into country life herself…until she has a close encounter of the terrifying kind with a buffalo. Turns out the peeping monster belongs to the cowboy next door—and he has her running even more scared than his bison. She wants a home where the buffalo don’t roam, and the men don’t either. Could Landry’s homecoming be her heart’s undoing?

My Review:

Big Sky Secrets is the last book in Miller’s Parable Montana series. I’m both sorry to see it end and looking forward to her next series, The Brides of Bliss County, starting in May 2014.

Of course, I’m also looking forward to May, but that’s an entirely different thing.

I’m going to miss catching up with the citizens of Parable. Not just because I’ve enjoyed the vicarious thrill of reading about every single one of their romances, but also because it seems like a really nice place and they seem like terrific people. It’s been great to find out how everyone is doing in each new book. It’s sad to let them go.

But the last two books, Big Sky Wedding and Big Sky Secrets, haven’t felt quite as, well, big as the first four books, so maybe it’s time for me to meet a new set of friends.

Not that these last two stories haven’t still been worth reading. They most certainly have. Check out my review of Big Sky Wedding if you don’t believe me.

Big Sky Secrets picks up where Big Sky Wedding left off, only it’s Landry Sutton this time instead of Zane Sutton. Still, the Suttons are relative newcomers to the Parable/Three Trees community, even though Zane has married Brylee Parrish, one of the main characters from the beginning of the series.

Landry originally came to Parable to convince his brother that the whole idea of settling down in the middle of nowhere Montana was a crazy idea, and ended up staying himself. It turned out that the “big sky country” was where they both belonged, after lives that had been rootless.

It was also the place that Ria Manning had come to call home, after her fireman husband died in the line of duty.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, for both Landry and Ria, his ranch and her flower farm were on neighboring acreage. If fences make good neighbors, their relationship needed a bit of work. His buffalo herd, all two of them, loved Ria’s flowers–to eat.

After a year of repeated invasions, Ria had not lost her dislike of Landry. But Landry finally decided that it was time to force the issue, because he figured out what Ria’s issues with him were really all about (besides the obvious ones about the buffalo eating her crops!)

She was just as interested in him as he was in her, but she didn’t want to admit it. Or maybe she just wasn’t ready to admit that she’d moved on after her husband’s death. But Landry was determined to find out.

Whether Ria was ready to be found out or not.

Escape Rating B: Like many of the stories in the Parable Montana series, Big Sky Secrets swirls around the sweet and slow building romance between Ria Manning and Landry Sutton. Although the tension between them is palpable from their very first buffalo-facilitated encounter (in fact, it started in Big Sky Wedding) their romance generally simmers through most of the story.

While the reader waits for that pot to come to the boil, one is very happily entertained by a story about the bonds of family; how they sometimes tie, and sometimes strangle.

Ria’s tense relationship with her half-sister Meredith gets further stressed when her 17-year-old niece Quinn hitchhikes her way to Parable in a show of much-needed defiance against Meredith’s attempt to pack her out of the way while a federal investigation descends upon her formerly pristine life.

Quinn belongs in Parable, but the teenage invasion makes Ria realize how empty her solitary life has been.

Landry’s life is invaded by his drifter father, with his hand out for another “loan” that will never be repaid. But Jess Sutton delivers some home truths that make Landry rethink his strained relationship with his brother Zane.

Both Ria and Landry need to resolve the way they feel about their families, before they can be ready for each other. And once they’re ready, wow!

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: The Perfect Match by Kristan Higgins + Giveaway

Posted on November 5, 2013November 10, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | blog tours> Book Giveaway> book reviews> Giveaways

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: Paperback, ebook, audiobook, Large Print
Genre: Contemporary romance
Series: Blue Heron #2
Length: 442 pages
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Date Released: November 1, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

What if the perfect match is a perfect surprise? Honor Holland has just been unceremoniously rejected by her lifelong crush. And now—a mere three weeks later—Mr. Perfect is engaged to her best friend. But resilient, reliable Honor is going to pick herself up, dust herself off and get back out thereor she would if dating in Manningsport, New York, population 715, wasn’t easier said than done.

Charming, handsome British professor Tom Barlow just wants to do right by his unofficial stepson, Charlie, but his visa is about to expire. Now Tom must either get a green card or leave the States—and leave Charlie behind.

In a moment of impulsiveness, Honor agrees to help Tom with a marriage of convenience—and make her ex jealous in the process. But juggling a fiancé, hiding out from her former best friend and managing her job at the family vineyard isn’t easy. And as sparks start to fly between Honor and Tom, they might discover that their pretend relationship is far too perfect to be anything but true love.

My Review:

When it comes to relationships, Honor Holland doesn’t start out this story with anyone in her circle dealing with a whole lot of honor, including herself. Although at least she has some excuse for her behavior.

When the man you’ve loved for years compares your relationship to a baseball catcher’s favorite glove, well, acting out of character does seem more than called for, doesn’t it? Most of us would be looking for a fake boyfriend or fake fiance to rub in the clueless wonder’s face. There’s letting a girl down gently, and then there’s THAT. Or splat.

After the shameful letdown, if your best friend instantly moves in for the kill (and the engagement ring) while a very public catfight might not be what Miss Manners recommends, it could easily seem like the exact right thing to do at the time.

Especially if your former BFF comes off as a smug little bitch while she’s dishing you all the details, with a sly little smile on her face that lets you know she did it all deliberately.

But Honor’s post-catfight response is to contract a green card marriage with a hot mechanical engineering professor at the local college. If you get whiplash from that sentence, it’s okay. It is pretty whiplash inducing. It also sets Honor’s life on an entirely new course.

Tom Barlow needs a green card to stay in the U.S. because his very small college isn’t willing to continue the legal hassle of dealing with it. (I’m not totally sure how this bit works, because his job was never in jeopardy, only their legal wrangling) Tom needs to stay in the U.S. to be near the sullen teenager who would have been his stepson, IF his marriage to the boy’s mother hadn’t been called off on account of the woman’s death.

There’s an emotional sinkhole there even worse than Honor’s friends-with-benefits relationship with Brogan Cain that she thought was love for over a decade. Tom stayed with cheating Melinda because he wanted to raise her son Charlie. When Melinda was killed while off having an affair, he had no standing to adopt the boy. Now he’s in emotional limbo.

Honor is in emotional limbo, too. It turned out that her best friend was just a leech waiting for an opportunity to go after the man she thought was the love of her life. Tom Barlow’s need for a green card came up just at the point where her doctor (Jeremy from The Best Man) informs her that at age 35, her eggs are getting older and it’s time for her to think about having babies if she wants them.

Tom needs a wife, Honor needs a sperm donor. While this is not a marriage made in heaven, necessity is often the mother of invention, especially in a case where someone wants to be a mother.

Honor is trying to think of it as an arranged marriage. Sometimes the idea works. Sometimes she watches her grandparents argue and thinks she’s out of her mind.

But the more time she spends with Tom, the more she thinks that this arranged marriage has the possibility of turning into something real. But only if they both stop protecting themselves from the bad things that have happened before and reach for the good things that might happen in the here and now.

Escape Rating B+: There are so many “perfect matches” being worked out in this story; that’s part of what makes it so much fun to read.

Honor and Tom are in some ways the least interesting match, but their story provides the frame for all of the other action that takes place. Also, their story has much darker motives behind it than Faith and Levi’s story did in The Best Man (reviewed yesterday)

Initially, Honor and Tom get together because they are doing the right thing for other people. They think it’s going to be a business arrangement. Admittedly, a business arrangement where they are defrauding the U.S. Government, but a business arrangement.

She gets married, gets to stick Brogan and Dana in the eye, gets a baby maybe. He gets a green card and gets to stay in Charlie’s life. She also gets out of her father’s house because he’s finally found the right woman to marry. Her dad finally woke up and smelled the coffee right under his nose.

Her dad is marrying Mrs. J, the woman who helped raise them and kept house and home together for them after their mother was killed. Mrs. J. been in love with Honor’s dad for sixteen years, and it’s about time he figured it out. Slow learner, but very sweet.

Tom and Charlie’s relationship is painful to witness. Charlie blames Tom for his mother’s death, because he has no one else to blame for that pain. And because he’s a teenager. And because his mother was out running around with his dad and had left him behind with Tom when she died. He has to blame someone.

So both Tom and Honor enter into their relationship for reasons other than love, and they are both afraid that the other one is going to back out, or even worse, that one will put their heart on the line and the other will stomp on it. Neither wants to discover that they have come in second best again.

But the more they try to fake things, for the Immigration Service, to stick it to Brogan, for their families, the more they discover that what they have might be real. And that ups the relationship stakes for both of them. Which is what makes the story so very good.

GIVEAWAY

Kristan has graciously agreed to give away a paperback copy of The Perfect Match to one lucky US winner. To enter, use the Rafflecopter below:
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***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Big Sky Wedding by Linda Lael Miller

Posted on August 30, 2013August 18, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, mass market paperback, audiobook
Genre: Western romance
Series: Parable, Montana, #5
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Date Released: August 27, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

Wedding bells are ringing in Parable, Montana, but Brylee Parrish hasn’t enjoyed the sound since being jilted at the altar by Hutch Carmody. She’s over Hutch now, and running a multimillion-dollar business is challenging enough for this country gal. So she should avoid falling head over boot heels for A-list actor Zane Sutton. He’s come home to his rodeo roots, but Hollywood lured him away once and just might again. Yet everything about him, from his easy charm to his concern for his young half brother, seems too genuine to resist….

Zane didn’t come to Parable for love—but count on a spirited woman to change a jaded cowboy’s mind. Problem is, Brylee’s not convinced he’s here to stay. Good thing he’s determined to prove to her, kiss by kiss, that she’s meant to be his bride.

My Review:

I am so glad that Brylee finally got over the “wedding that wasn’t.” It certainly took the woman long enough to get past the huge meteor strike she took to her pride!

Brylee Parrish and Hutch Carmody’s almost wedding was one of the foundation stories for the Parable, Montana series–it’s practically how the whole thing started. But Brylee got left behind in a bridezilla wedding confection, while Hutch rode off into the sunset with the woman of his dreams in Big Sky Mountain. While I loved Big Sky Mountain, (review at Book Lovers Inc.) Brylee does not come out of that story as a character you want meet again.

By the time the story of Big Sky Wedding rolls around, Brylee Parrish has grown up a bit. She’s taken the anger and heartache of being left behind and used it to make a name for herself and create a mega-successful international home-party decorating company, Decor Galore. She’s put Three Trees Montana, and neighboring Parable, on the map. She’s also one of the area’s biggest employers.

She’s also lonely. Whether that’s because of, or in spite of, living right next door to her brother Walker and his new family (see Big Sky Summer, reviewed here) is hard for Brylee to say.

She might even be over Hutch. Getting over the man was way easier than getting over the loss of all her dreams, but she’s finally reaching that conclusion, too.

And into her life rides Zane Sutton. Former, and maybe future, rodeo rider. Current, and maybe former, Hollywood actor. Definitely the current owner of the ranch next door to the spread that she owns with her brother Walker.

Zane is the first man who has a chance of pulling her all the way back to the woman she used to be. If he’s really come to Parable to stay. If Brylee can trust that a member of the much-derided Hollywood actor-species would ever come to Three Trees to actually put down roots.

If Brylee can let herself ever trust her heart to any man again.

Escape Rating B: Brylee’s story has been building for a long time, but when we finally get it here in Big Sky Wedding, it felt a bit on the short side. Some of the previous books in the series built the romance up more than this one seemed to. I don’t mean that it was rushed, I mean that the story that built was more about Brylee finally getting over the last of her hurt pride and her isolation after her busted wedding than the actual romance between her and Zane.

Also, we’ve seen Brylee in all the stories so far, but Zane (along with his family) is new. He’s also the beginning of a new (and the final) story arc. Zane brings interesting baggage, in that he comes to escape his accidental acting career, and wants to return to ranching. He’s been searching for a home, a return to a “real” life. How that “real” life finds him makes the reader watch him grow and change, because Zane has a family deposited on him in the form of his much younger half-brother, Nash, and, of course, an adopted stray dog named Slim. As well as his formidable housekeeper Cleo, who must be the new Opal. Let’s just say that Zane’s household needed the Cleo-tornado extra bad, in much the same way that Slade Barlow needed Opal in Big Sky Country.

There is one final book in Parable, Montana. I wonder what secrets will be revealed in Big Sky Secrets? I’m going to be sorry to see this series end.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: The Hero by Robyn Carr

Posted on August 26, 2013August 25, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, large print hardcover, mass market paperback, audiobook
Genre: Contemporary romance
Series: Thunder Point, #3
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Date Released: August 27, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

In a moment of desperation, Devon McAllister takes her daughter and flees a place where they should have been safe and secure. She has no idea what is around the next bend, but she is pretty certain it can’t be worse than what they’ve left behind. Her plan is to escape to somewhere she can be invisible. Instead, an unexpected offer of assistance leads her to Thunder Point, a tiny Oregon town with a willingness to help someone in need.

As the widowed father of a vulnerable young boy, Spencer Lawson knows something about needing friendship. But he’s not looking for anything else. Instead, he’s thrown his energy into his new role as Thunder Point’s high school football coach. Tough and demanding to his team, off the field he’s gentle and kind…just the kind of man who could heal Devon’s wounded heart.

Devon thought she wanted to hide from the world. But in Thunder Point, you find bravery where you least expect it…and sometimes, you find a hero.

My Review:

The titular hero of this third entry in Robyn Carr’s Thunder Point series and the romantic hero are not the same person. Surprise! But a very excellent surprise and also totally in keeping with the way that this small-town romance series has been developing.

I think I’ve fallen in love with Thunder Point, Oregon. The more of this small, beachfront town that we explore, the easier it is to understand what makes this place so special.

The important relationship in The Hero isn’t the romance, it’s the adopted father/daughter relationship between the withdrawn Vietnam vet Rawley Goode and Devon McAllister, the woman he picks up on the road escaping from a psychopathic cult leader.

Rawley remembers all too well what it’s like to be on the run, down and out and feel like the weight of the world is on his shoulders and it’s all his fault. People helped him when he had nothing but the clothes on his back; he sees Devon as a way to pay those people back, to “pay it forward”, although he doesn’t call it that.

And Devon has a child with her, a little girl. Her daughter Mercy. Seeing how frightened Devon is makes Rawley question everything he’s ever seen about the religious commune known simply as “The Fellowship”.

He gives Devon and Mercy a home. Safety. And a chance for Devon to take back the life she gave up when she was young and scared and naive. She reaches for that opportunity with her arms flung wide.

She gives Rawley the family he might have had if he hadn’t come back scarred from his war. A daughter. A granddaughter. A reason to reach out to the community that took him in. Not just peace, but fellowship and friendship. Belonging.

Devon remakes her life. She gets a job. An apartment. Makes a home. Develops new friendships with women in the community. And even though it scares her and she’s none too sure that her judgment is sound, starts a relationship with the new high school football coach, Spencer Lawson, who is every bit as uncertain about his own readiness to start a relationship, although for entirely different reasons.

But just when she’s starting to feel secure, Devon’s life goes to smash. The cult kidnaps her daughter. And that’s when everyone in Thunder Point finds out exactly what kind of hero Rawley Goode has always been. Because Devon needs a hero to rescue her daughter from the crazed drug dealer who fathered her.

Escape Rating: B+: The utterly marvelous thing about the Thunder Point series is how each book just flows right into the next one. Although there is a story with a beginning, middle and end, there is a whole lot of catching up with the people you’ve already met. And this series is still early enough that it’s easy to catch up. Also very much worth it.

While there is a romance, that wasn’t center stage in this story. The creation of the made-up family between Rawley, Devon and Mercy was a much more compelling story than the romance between Devon and Spencer. Also, we’re more invested in Rawley getting, if not an HEA, at least becoming more integrated into the town; he’s been odd man out for quite a while. He’s got quite the snarky sense of humor once he finally starts talking!

Devon’s escape from The Fellowship and her blossoming into independence was a terrific character arc. I loved that she never wimped out, which was what made the romance the less important story. Devon needed to get herself back together, and that story was too important not to take a huge amount of time. It would have felt less empowering if a romance had saved her, she needed to save herself first.

But the threat of the Fellowship coming back to haunt her hung over her like the theme music from Jaws. The action at the end was edge-of-the-seat compelling. Wow! What a wild ride!

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Guest Post: Excerpt from The Newcomer by Robyn Carr + Giveaway

Posted on July 11, 2013July 9, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | blog tours> Book Giveaway> Guest Posts

Today I’d like to welcome Robyn Carr back to Reading Reality! Robyn is the author of one of my new favorite series, Thunder Point (located just down the coast in Oregon)! The first book in the Thunder Point series is The Wanderer (review here) and the brand new book is The Newcomer (review here). Here is an excerpt from that book:

Gina filled the scrub bucket and pulled on her rubber gloves. It was her curse that when she had a lot on her mind, she cleaned. She was just about to get on her hands and knees behind the counter to give the floor a good scouring when the door to the diner opened. She looked up to see a woman come in. In fact, the woman nearly took her breath away, she was so stunning. She had thick raven hair that fell to her shoulders in those soft Hollywood curls, shining blue eyes, ivory skin, pink cheeks and luscious lips. She looked familiar and Gina wondered if she’d seen her in a movie. She wore very expensive clothes as only a woman like herself, who bought discount whenever possible, would know. Designer slacks, shiny pumps with very high heels, a leather blazer with a designer logo on the breast pocket. And her purse was worth at least a week of Gina’s tips—a Dooney & Bourke.

Gina pulled off her gloves and smiled. “Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” the woman said, smiling with straight, white teeth. “I wonder if you know—will the Sheriff’s office across the street be closed all day, since it’s Saturday?”

“No, but since they usually have only one of the deputies in on the weekends, he’s in and out. Do you need the police?”

“No,” she said with a laugh. “I just wanted to see Deputy McCain. I wonder if he’s going to be around today?”

“Well, you might just have stumbled into the right place.” Gina looked at her watch. “He’s working today and in about an hour, he’ll probably be stopping by for his morning coffee. Unless he’s tied up somewhere.”

“That’s good. If you don’t mind, I’ll stick around. See if he comes in.”

“I can call him for you, if you’d like.”

“You know him?”

Gina laughed. “Everyone knows everyone here. Plus, their office being across the street from the diner means we see each other almost every day. I’ll check and make sure he’s coming by this morning.”

“Thanks,” she said, digging into her expensive purse for her cell phone. “I should return a couple of calls while I wait.”

“Perfect. Can I get you a cup of coffee? Anything?”

“Coffee would be great. And how about a slice of that pie?”

“Coming up. I’ll get that for you before I call him.” While the woman went to a booth in the rear of the diner, presumably so that Gina wouldn’t overhear her talking to her good friend George Clooney, Gina served up a cup of coffee and slice of pie. She took it back to the incognito movie star. Since she wasn’t talking on the phone yet, Gina asked, “Can I tell him who’s waiting for him?”

“Well, I wanted to surprise him, but go ahead. Tell him it’s his wife. I’m Cee Jay McCain.” And she flashed that glorious smile.

Gina was frozen. Stunned. The coffee and pie were suspended in midair. “Wife?” she asked weakly. “I thought Mac was divorced.”

“Right. Ex-wife,” she amended. “We’ve been out of touch and I’m looking forward to seeing him.”

Gina put down the pie and coffee. “Let me make that call,” she said, scooting back behind the counter.

Gina’s hands actually trembled as she fished her phone out of her pocket. She had a lot of bizarre and random thoughts as she punched in Mac’s number. I should get my teeth whitened, she thought. Underwire, I need more underwire….

Glancing over, she could see that Cee Jay was chatting and laughing into her phone. Gina turned away so that her back was facing Cee Jay.

“McCain,” he answered.

“Mac, I think you’d better come to the diner if you can. There’s someone here to see you.”

“Gina? You all right?”

She cleared her throat. “Mmm. Yeah, fine. Are you coming?”

“Who’s there?”

“Mac, you’re not driving, are you?”

“Why?”

“I don’t want you to drive up a pole….”

“I’m pulled over. What’s going on?”

“It’s Cee Jay, Mac. She’s here. To see you.”

Dead silence answered her. And it stretched out.

“Mac?” she asked.

“Good thing I was pulled over. Listen, try to keep this quiet. I have to know what she wants and I don’t want the whole town to know before I have a chance to talk to my kids. And to Lou.”

“Not a problem,” Gina said.

“I’m there in five.”

“Sure. Fine. Drive carefully.”

Gina disconnected. She looked down at herself. Cheap black pants that were no longer as black as they had once been, checkered blouse, name tag… Why did she always wear that stupid name tag? There had been about four people she didn’t know in the diner in the last month. God, the woman was so beautiful. And no wonder she seemed familiar—Eve was a younger version of her mother.

Gina felt a devastation come over her. Grief. After four years of devoted friendship she and Mac had finally become lovers. They tried to be discreet since their sixteen-year-old daughters were best friends, but at long last they could hold hands, embrace, even a chaste kiss was appropriate. Privately, there was more, so much more. Passion so rich, her whole life had been changed by it. They loved each other, they’d said so.

But now? What would he do after seeing Cee Jay? Would everything change? Even if Cee Jay hadn’t come back to reclaim her ex-husband, would Mac take one look at her and fall in love all over again? How could he not?

Gina poured herself a cup of coffee. She wasn’t much of a drinker but she sure wished she had a shot of something to jack up that coffee. Her hands trembled as she lifted the cup to her lips. And while Cee Jay laughed and chatted into the phone, taking petite bites of her apple pie, she appeared so carefree. So animated. How do you leave your three children, not see them for ten years, then stroll back into their lives all happy-go-lucky? How do you do that?

Gina had the sense that the world she knew was changing, and she had no idea what the outcome might be, but she was suddenly afraid.

About Robyn CarrRobyn is a New York Times best-selling author. She has written over forty books, including ones in her Virgin River, Grace Valley, and Thunder Point series. Robyn won the RITA Award for her novel By Right of Arms. Robyn and her husband enjoy traveling, often taking research trips together. Their son and daughter are grown. Robyn says that, in addition to reading her novels and making snide remarks about how she’s used family scenarios to her advantage, they have made her a happy grandmother.

To learn more about Robyn, visit her website or connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

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