Book Tour Featuring *In the Echo of this Ghost Town* by C.L. Walters @peeledandcored @xpressotours #giveaway

In the Echo of this Ghost Town
C.L. Walters
Publication date: October 12th, 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

When everything in your life unravels and the future you imagined disintegrates into dust—how do you decide which way is forward?

Griffin Nichols has lost everyone close to him. Unhealthy choices rooted in unmet expectations have him feeling like he’s failing at being a man. Everything he thought he knew about being a good son, brother, and friend has him feeling as substantive as an echo.

He’s lost.

Then Maxwell Wallace walks into his life and teaches him that sometimes in the weakness of the echo is where he can claim his strength.

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EXCERPT:

“Hey.”

I look up at the sound of a voice, grateful to be jerked from the train of my thoughts.

The girl. She’s standing on the other side of the table in her dark t-shirt and cutoff shorts, her back to the gas pumps and road. The light from the store illuminates her, and I think she’s cute, but obviously not all there if she’s talking to a stranger.

“Yeah?”

She sits down with a Slurpee, and I look at it longingly but also wish I had some vodka to spike it with. I conjure Danny’s words from the night before. I’d told him I’m always drunk. What had he said back? “Yeah. Maybe that’s the fucking problem. It’s time to grow up, Griff.” What if I do have a problem? Then I’m annoyed by the stupid thought—of course, I don’t. What the fuck? Can’t this weird girl tell I’m busy sulking?

My face must screw up because she says, “I’m not carrying any diseases.”

I take a sip of my water, not sure what to do about this stranger who’s sat with me at a table outside of Custer’s. I glance to check if someone is playing a joke on me, but all my friends have abandoned me. So yeah, there’s that. I look at her. She’s got a round face, but it’s smooth and pleasant looking. Brownish hair, I think, because it’s pulled back in a bun or something off her face. Black eyeliner. Black T-shirt with the words Def Leppard inside a Union Jack.

She pinches the straw and moves it around the slushy. It squeaks. “Decide I’m not a serial killer?” She smirks, and my eyes are drawn to her blunt black nails at the end of her long fingers holding the red straw.

“Jury’s out.” I look away and take a sip of my water, annoyed but kind of curious.

“Why’s that?”

I shrug. “What if I’m the serial killer?” I can’t look at her, though I’m not sure why. It isn’t like I’m nervous, even if she’s a little unnerving. Why have I said that? The idea of being compared to a killer takes me backward. Griff Nichols, son of a murderer, when I’d been alone, but I’d shed that persona with my crew. I shove the reminder aside.

“It’s a distinct possibility.”

My eyes connect with hers, the curiosity revving up a notch. “Why’s that?”

“Guy sitting outside of a convenience store on a Monday night looking all moody. Definitely sending shady vibes. You spike that unassuming water bottle? Use the innocence of water to lure in your victims but in reality, you’re just setting the trap?” She smiles, and I see that she’s joking around even though I don’t know her; it’s the squint of her eyes.

“You’re weird.”

“I get that a lot.” She pauses and leans forward to take a sip of her drink and looks over at me. Her eyes sparkle with mirth, but it’s hard to tell what color they are even in the light. Lightish. “So, what do you do in this town for fun?”

“Get drunk. You new?”

“Yes. Why aren’t you doing that?”

“It’s Monday.”

“So, a drunk six days a week? You have standards, I see. So that must be real water.” She pauses and raises a single eyebrow—which bugs me for some reason. “You don’t look much like the type with standards.”

I’m not, but I don’t say it. “Neither do you.”

“Touché, serial killer. So, you don’t drink on Monday for other reasons, then?”

“I didn’t say I don’t drink on Monday. I just said it was Monday. You made the assumption.”

She laughs, but it’s mostly air. “Fair enough.”

This conversation could die. I could stand and walk away. I don’t. I blame it on my lack of being alone, which I’m going to have to reestablish. “So, you’re new here?”

“Yep. Just moved. Only here for the summer.”

“Why’s that?”

“Why what?” She takes another sip of her slushy.

I watch her swallow it. Then I look back at my water bottle to resume plucking the plastic label. “Only for the summer?”

“The band I play with is going on tour.”

“Really?”

She laughs. “No.”

“You’re weird.”

“So you’ve said.” She stands. “Well. Thanks for sharing the table.”

“There were two other ones you could have chosen.”

She glances at the other two and then leans forward. “But then I wouldn’t have gotten to talk to a serial killer.” She smiles, offers me a nod, and with her hand wrapped around her cup, she walks away. She’s wearing jean cutoffs, tight, and the strings of the cut denim hang against her long and shapely legs.

I scoff, looking away because I don’t want to notice her. A serial killer. Stupid.

As I watch her—the nameless, weird girl—walk away, I realize I forgot what I was sulking about.

Author Bio:

As a kid, my world revolved around two things: stories and make believe. I have built a real life around those two things as well: I am a teacher of stories and a writer of make believe.

While I went to high school in a small town in Oregon and college in a smaller town in Oregon - both gifted me with treasures to fill my creative reservoir and most importantly, my husband. We got married, I followed him from Oregon to Hawaii (it was that or forgo the marriage).

We have two children, and several furry kids.

I read and write everyday.

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Book Tour Featuring *We Are Not Like Them* by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza @jopiazza @xpressotours #giveaway

We Are Not Like Them
Christine Pride & Jo Piazza
Published by: Atria Books
Publication date: October 5th, 2021
Genres: Adult, Women’s Fiction

“Now these women, they can WRITE!” —Terry McMillan, New York Times bestselling author of It’s Not All Downhill from Here

“We Are Not Like Them will stay with you long after you turn the last page.” —Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me

Told from alternating perspectives, an evocative and riveting novel about the lifelong bond between two women, one Black and one white, whose friendship is indelibly altered by a tragic event—a powerful and poignant exploration of race in America today and its devastating impact on ordinary lives.

Jen and Riley have been best friends since kindergarten. As adults, they remain as close as sisters, though their lives have taken different directions. Jen married young, and after years of trying, is finally pregnant. Riley pursued her childhood dream of becoming a television journalist and is poised to become one of the first Black female anchors of the top news channel in their hometown of Philadelphia.

But the deep bond they share is severely tested when Jen’s husband, a city police officer, is involved in the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager. Six months pregnant, Jen is in freefall as her future, her husband’s freedom, and her friendship with Riley are thrown into uncertainty. Covering this career-making story, Riley wrestles with the implications of this tragic incident for her Black community, her ambitions, and her relationship with her lifelong friend.

Like Tayari Jones’s An American Marriage and Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things, We Are Not Like Them explores complex questions of race and how they pervade and shape our most intimate spaces in a deeply divided world. But at its heart, it’s a story of enduring friendship—a love that defies the odds even as it faces its most difficult challenges.

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—

EXCERPT:

If there’s a sound more magical than the Ebenezer AME church choir, I’ve never heard it. They’re opening with an exuberant medley of gospel, funk, and some Broadway-style riffs that feels more like a stadium concert than a church service. The choir calls everyone to their feet, and I rise, limbs loose, eager to abandon myself to the invigorating rhythm. It’s a packed house today, with some three hundred people filling the cavernous space, the energy palpable. There’s nodding and swaying, spontaneous shouts and murmurs. You don’t need an invitation to hug a neighbor, burst into tears, or sing along as loudly and proudly as Mahalia Jackson herself.

It’s been a while since I’ve been to church, but exultation is like muscle memory. For a blissful moment, I don’t feel stressed or self-conscious; I feel rejoiced. One of those rare moments when I understand what people mean when they say they’re filled with the Spirit. The sanctuary of this church is as close as I’ve ever been to feeling God. Back when I was a little girl, my insides wound up so tight I felt like I was suffocating, these gleaming pews on a Sunday morning were a kind of escape, from thinking about tests and grades and the kids who called me “Oreo” and said I talked so white when I used the SAT vocab words Mom had been drilling me on since kindergarten. I need this now, a cocoon from the outside world, even if only for an hour. A respite before I have to return to work, and to covering the story for which I’m now the lead reporter, the one about how my friend’s husband shot an unarmed Black kid.

When Jenny called yesterday I froze. Finally, before the last ring sent her to voice mail, I dashed into a conference room, slamming the door behind me. I didn’t know what I was supposed to say, but I needed to know she was okay.

We only talked for two seconds. But last night, as I reported live in front of the Twenty-Second District—Kevin’s district—I kept picturing her watching, her reaction, her biting furiously on her lip, as I spoke into the camera. “If Justin Dwyer doesn’t wake up from his coma, the officers involved—Kevin Murphy and Travis Cameron from here at the Twenty-Second—could be indicted for murder.”

Jenny was calling again by the time I reached my car to head home after the broadcast. Of course she’d been watching. She said she always watches my broadcasts. I couldn’t bring myself to answer this time. She’d know if I sent it straight to voice mail, so I stared at the phone as it rang and rang and then waited for a message that never came. I spent the rest of the night pacing my apartment.

So when Momma called last night, as she’s done every single Saturday since I’ve been back, to ask if I was finally coming to church, I gave her an answer that surprised both of us.

“Yep, I’ll be there.” I needed church. I needed something.

As the choir winds down, everyone is flushed and primed for Pastor Price, who lumbers up to the cherrywood pulpit. The imposing figure of Christ looms behind him, but even Jesus himself is no match for Pastor Price. He’s divinely exultant in his vibrant purple robes, his dark skin gleaming against the rich fabric, the lines of his strong jaw clenched as he prepares to give his flock the holy word.

“It’s a beautiful morning to praise the Lord, ain’t it!” Pastor’s baritone thunders up to the rafters. He hasn’t aged a bit since I was a kid, even though he must have rounded seventy. He’s led this church for more than forty years, and in that time has become the de facto leader of all the Black churches in Philly.

“Don’t you dare,” Momma murmurs, barely moving her mauve-painted lips. Suddenly I’m seven years old again and about to get a slap on the thigh for not paying attention to the word of the Lord. Back then, when she scolded me.

I allow myself the quickest peek at the phone. Jenny. Again. I wish she’d leave a voice mail. I need to know what she’s going to say first, to figure out how I feel. Especially after she went on TV shouting that her best friend was Black. On one level, it’s such a laughable cliché—Me, a racist? Some of my best friends are Black—but, on a deeper level, it gnawed at me. Here I was worrying that I was the one betraying her by covering this story, and then she goes and uses our friendship and my “Blackness” as a shield, a defense. It brought back something she’d said years ago that I’d decided to let go since we were having such a good time and I didn’t want to rock the boat. I was home from Northwestern on my first winter break, and she and I went club-hopping on Delaware Avenue. We were beyond excited to be together again following our first and longest time apart since we were five years old. I wanted Jen to notice that I was different—three months at college and I already felt more sophisticated and grown. But I was also scared she wouldn’t notice, and that that would mean I was the same ole Riley after all. But Jen was too busy gushing about two new friends she’d made, fellow waitresses at Fat Tuesday. She talked about these girls with the breathless infatuation of someone with a new crush. “They think it’s so cool that my best friend is Black.” Jenny rolled her eyes as she said it, but it was still clear that it was some sort of weird badge of honor for her, like I was a trendy accessory—otherwise why mention it at all?

Author Bio:

Jo Piazza is an award-winning reporter and editor who has written for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the New York Daily News, New York Magazine, Glamour, Marie Claire, Elle and Salon. She has appeared on CNN, NPR, Fox News, the BBC and MSNBC. Her novel, The Knockoff, with Lucy Sykes became an instant international bestseller and has been translated into more than seven languages.

Jo received a Masters in Journalism from Columbia, a Masters in Religious Studies from NYU and a Bachelors in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed If Nuns Ruled the World and Celebrity Inc: How Famous People Make Money.

She currently lives in San Francisco with her husband and their giant dog.

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Instagram

--

Christine Pride is a writer, editor and 15-year publishing veteran. She has held editorial posts at various imprints, including Doubleday, Broadway, Crown, Hyperion, and, most recently, as a Senior Editor at Simon and Schuster. Christine has edited and published a range of bestselling books, with a special emphasis on inspirational stories and memoirs. We Are Not Like Them, written with Jo Piazza, is her first book. She lives in New York City. You can follow her on Instagram at @cpride.

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Book Tour Featuring *A Lady in Attendance* by Rachel Fordham @rachel_fordham @hfbt #giveaway

A Lady in Attendance by Rachel Fordham

Publication Date: June 1, 2021

Revell

Genre: Historical Fiction/Christian/Romance

Five years in a New York state reformatory have left a blemish on Hazel's real name. So when she takes a job as Doctor Gilbert Watts's lady in attendance in 1898, she does so under an alias. In the presence of her quiet and pious employer, Hazel finds more than an income. She finds a friend and a hope that if she can set her tarnished past in order, she might have a future after all.

As Gilbert becomes accustomed to the pleasant chatter of his new dental assistant, he can't help but sense something secretive about her. Perhaps there is more to this woman than meets the eye. Can the questions that loom between them ever be answered? Or will the deeds of days gone by forever rob the future of its possibilities?

Rachel Fordham pens a tender tale of a soft-spoken man, a hardened woman, and the friends that stand by them as they work toward a common purpose--to expunge the record of someone society deemed beyond saving--and perhaps find love along the way.

"A Lady in Attendance draws you in from the first page and leaves you captivated until the oh-so-romantic conclusion. A poignant and beautifully written story of faith, forgiveness, and the healing power of love."--Mimi Matthews, USA Today bestselling author

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About the Author

 

Rachel Fordham has long been fascinated by all things historical or in the words of her children “old stuff”. Often the historical trivia she discovers is woven into her children's bedtime tales. Despite her love for good stories she didn’t attempt writing a novel until her husband challenged her to do so (and now she’s so glad he did). Since that time she’s often been found typing or researching while her youngest child naps or frantically writing plot twists while she waits in the school pick-up line. In addition to her passion for storytelling she enjoys reading, being outdoors and seeing new places. Rachel lives with her husband and children on an island in Washington state.

Learn more about current projects at rachelfordham.com. You can also follow Rachel on Facebook, Instagram, BookBub, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, October 11
Guest Post at Novels Alive

Tuesday, October 12
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Wednesday, October 13
Excerpt at I'm Into Books

Thursday, October 14
Review at Library of Clean Reads
Review at Michelle the PA Loves to Read

Friday, October 15
Excerpt at What Is That Book About

Saturday, October 16
Review at Reading Is My SuperPower

Monday, October 18
Review at Novels Alive

Tuesday, October 19
Excerpt at Heidi Reads

Wednesday, October 20
Review at A Chick Who Reads
Excerpt at Books and Benches
Review at Robin Loves Reading

Thursday, October 21
Interview at The Book Club Network

Friday, October 22
Review at Ms. Darcy Reads

Monday, October 25
Review at Jorie Loves a Story

Tuesday, October 26
Excerpt at Reading is My Remedy

Wednesday, October 27
Guest Post at Chicks, Rogues, and Scandals

Thursday, October 28
Review at McCombs on Main

Friday, October 29
Excerpt at The Tea Queen

Monday, November 1
Review at Bookoholiccafe

Tuesday, November 2
Interview at Jorie Loves a Story
Excerpt at Lisa Everyday Reads

Wednesday, November 3
Excerpt at Bookworlder

Friday, November 5
Review at Passages to the Past

Giveaway

Enter to win a copy of A Lady in Attendance by Rachel Fordham!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on November 5th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

A Lady in Attendance

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Book Tour Featuring *Daddy’s Stowaway* by Rogue London @xpressotours #giveaway

Daddy’s Stowaway
Rogue London
Publication date: October 8th, 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense

Stealing a first class ticket was a risk, but it was one I couldn’t afford not to take. Worst case scenario, I’d sit in airport jail for a while and then try again, right?

Wrong.

The man I stole from isn’t just any first class passenger. Turns out, he owns the whole damn airline.

And now he owns me.

For the next eighteen hours, I earn my passage through humiliating punishments that leave me begging for more. And for a moment, I allow myself to believe it won’t end when we land in Tahiti. But there is nowhere I can go where my past won’t find me, and when it does, Daddy is the only one who can save me.

The only question is, will he still want me once he learns the truth about why I ran?

Goodreads / Amazon

—

Author Bio:

Rogue London is an author of naughty romance designed to awaken your sensual side.

Rogue has a flair for writing about the D/s dynamic and as a true romantic at heart, her books have an HEA.

Check out her first, Daddy's Brat Series

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Book Tour Featuring *A Heart So Wild* by Raine Thomas @Raine_Thomas @xpressotours #giveaway

A Heart So Wild
Raine Thomas
Publication date: October 12th, 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Sports

He’s a sexy left winger for the NHL’s newest expansion team, the Atlanta Siege, and he’s a player in every sense of the word.

Callan Murphy’s on a mission: get his teammate laid.

A night out at Atlanta’s hottest nightclub is all he’ll need to find the perfect woman to blow his goalie’s … mind. But when he catches a glimpse of a dark-haired beauty standing across the dance floor, winging for his friend is the last thing on his mind.

She’s perfect, all right. Perfect for him. Now he just has to convince her of that, something he never expects to be such a challenge.

She’s a mysterious bombshell who’s about to teach him what it’s like to play in the big leagues of the heart.

Roxy Wagner’s on a mission: get her best friend laid.

When they head out to ladies’ night in search of Mr. Right Now, it doesn’t take her long to spot the two tall, dark, and stud-lies watching them from across the club. One look at the bearded hottie with the seductive heat in his eyes tells her she’s about to go up against a real player.

She should know … it takes one to know one. And she’s not interested in playing for keeps.

It starts with a night out winging for friends. How it all ends will depend on whether Callan can find a way to tame Roxy’s wild heart.

Game on.

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—

EXCERPT:

Callan was a natural wingman. He enjoyed scouting for women who conveyed interest in being approached. He looked forward to making small talk with them, getting to know them and gauging their level of interest in his companion. If those women were there with friends, he was equally enthused about occupying them so his companion could take the lead with the one who interested him.

Being a wingman was an artform, and Callan prided himself on being a virtuoso at it.

“If you’re not feeling a draw to anyone,” he said, “let’s just find a couple of ladies and see how things go. There’s no rush.”

Christian made a resigned sound. “Fine. Who?”

Just then, Callan’s gaze lifted. And he saw her.

She stood near the bar in a small group, but he registered only her. His first thought was she had been made for this moonlit setting. Her dark, lustrous hair spilled over her shoulders and halfway down her back in soft curls. Her skin looked luminous against the club’s dark backdrop. The pinhole lights sparkled off her white, long-sleeved mini dress, making it glimmer like it had been dipped in ice crystals. Her long, spectacular legs ended in silver stiletto heels that likely added four inches to her already impressive height.

And she had curves for days.

As though sensing him watching her, she looked right at him. His breath caught as their eyes met. For an instant, he was lost in a sea of azure blue. Nothing else existed.

Her red lips rose in a sultry smile before she turned back to the group beside her. The loss of her attention brought Callan’s surroundings back into focus in a snap. The music once again pulsed around him. The movement of bodies on the dance floor shifted, disrupting his view of the bar. His lungs finally freed themselves.

Christian leaned closer as though trying to figure out where Callan was staring. When he figured it out, he observed, “They’re already with those two guys.”

Callan shook his head as though waking from a trance. What the hell?

Christian’s comment had him more closely observing the group with the mystery woman as they came back into view across the dance floor. To her right was a blonde female whose face was just beyond Callen’s line of sight. She had an appealing profile, though. She was at least six inches shorter than her companion and was much more animated, waving the hand that wasn’t holding a drink as she spoke with one of the two men standing with them.

The guy the shorter female was talking to was an inch or two shorter than Callan’s mystery woman. The second was about her height. Both of the men had the look of office drones out celebrating casual Friday a day early. They were dressed similarly in jeans and untucked button-down collared shirts, their hair laden with so much styling gel that Callan saw it from across the room.

He took a few minutes to observe the group as he finished his drink. It didn’t take him long to realize something that made him smile.

His mystery woman was winging for her friend.

He saw it in how she continually redirected attention to her friend. If there was a lull in the conversation, she said something to get things moving again. She was studying her friend and watching for cues to decide whether she should extricate them or make an effort to give her friend some privacy with one of the men.

But she was breaking one of the cardinal rules of winging, Callan thought: never outshine the person you’re winging for.

“What about that group?” Christian asked, pointing to the table of women who had been watching them since they stopped walking around the room.

Callan looked from the table back to his mystery woman. She turned and once again met his gaze. Her head moved the slightest bit to her left.

His smile spread. He gave her an equally subtle nod.

“Nah,” he told Christian. “Follow me, my friend. We’re both about to get lucky.”

Author Bio:

Raine Thomas is a multiple award-winning author of bestselling romance. Known for character-driven stories that inspire the imagination, Raine has signed with multiple award-winning producer Chase Chenowith of Back Fence Productions to bring her popular Daughters of Saraqael trilogy to the big screen. She's a proud indie author who is living the dream.

Raine is a hopeless romantic with a background in the fields of mental health and wedding planning...two areas that intersect far more than one would think. Her years working with children and young adults with emotional and behavioral challenges inspired her to create protagonists who overcome their own conflicts. When she isn't writing or glued to e-mail or social networking sites, Raine can usually be found vacationing with her husband and daughter on one of Florida's beautiful beaches or crossing the border to visit with her Canadian friends and relatives.

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Book Tour Featuring *The Devil’s Necromancer* by Alexa Piper @ProwlingPiper @xpressotours #giveaway

The Devil’s Necromancer
Alexa Piper
(Hellbound, #1)
Published by: Changeling Press
Publication date: October 8th, 2021
Genres: Adult, LGBTQ+, Urban Fantasy

Lionel, a necromancer and consultant for the Brunswick Police Department, wants nothing to do with immortals. Specifically, he wants nothing to do with Lucifer, who shows up on his doorstep one day with a ridiculous proposal. Lucifer, also known as the Devil, wants Lionel to be his pretend boyfriend. Except the pretend part is something the Devil doesn’t really seem to care for.

Lucifer has read enough romance novels to know that a good dose of forced proximity might be just the thing to get the stubborn necromancer he desires into his bed. The Devil’s plans are soon complicated when Lionel proves more uncooperative and oblivious to love than Lucifer could ever anticipate.

While the Devil wants to claim Lionel, all Lionel wants is to get away from Lucifer. Meanwhile, magic users are being murdered in the city. Lionel cannot escape the implications of those murders for long, and the case soon takes a different turn. Will Lionel be able to escape the Devil’s thrall, or will the necromancer fall for the immortal seducer?

Publisher’s Note: The Devil’s Necromancer contains scenes involving dubious consent that some readers may find offensive.

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Author Bio:

Alexa Piper writes steamy romance that ranges from light to dark, from straight to queer. She’s also a coffee addict. Alexa loves writing stories that make her readers laugh and fall in love with the characters in them.

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Book Tour Featuring *Gingerbread & Jingle Bells* by Caro Carson @TheCaroCarson @xpressotours #giveaway

Gingerbread & Jingle Bells
Caro Carson
Publication date: October 12th, 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Holiday, Romance

You never get a second chance at a first kiss…

Eve Richards has made every sacrifice to become a rising corporate executive in the big city–until this December. Her grandmother needs help running the family bakery, so Eve is finally taking her unused vacation to return to her small hometown to count cookies instead of corporate cash.

Eve isn’t the only person returning to town. Her childhood sidekick, the recipient of her very determined (but fairly disastrous) first-ever attempt at a kiss, has returned as well. Daniel Shepherd, the once-shy boy from England, is now the town’s swoon-worthy new veterinarian. Grandma’s obvious matchmaking attempts are as mortifying as the memory of the awkward kiss that ended their friendship so many years ago, but the more time Eve spends with Daniel, the harder it is to resist the temptation to take a second chance at that first kiss.

But Daniel has come back to Masterson to put down roots; Eve will be gone after the holiday rush at the bakery. Nothing good could possibly come from letting herself fall for the man who was once her best friend.

A kiss before Christmas could be the key. Will it be the sweet ending to their childhood story…or will Eve risk everything for the chance to turn her first love into a forever love?

A heartwarming wintery romance from a USA Today Bestselling Author and RITA Award winner, set in a wonderfully unique 1980s setting. Perfect for fans of sweet and sincere happily-ever-afters.

“Caro Carson writes books that touch the heart; they’re witty, wise, emotional and filled with intricately layered, fascinating characters.”
–NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne

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—

EXCERPT:

Eve clutched the apron to her chest, wishing she could rewind the conversation—and this time, keep her mouth shut. “Listen, the gingerbread giant is on the house. One-hundred percent discount. I don’t even work here. It was my goof. Please, don’t tell anybody about this. My grandmother always does everything right when it comes to the bakery.”

“I insist on paying for it. It’s even more festive now that you’ve fixed the damage.” He reached out to take the apron from her, admonishing her lightly in that posh British accent. “Besides, you cannot seriously think I would ever harm your grandmother’s reputation. She is kindness itself. She never charged me for a single cookie she gave me as a child.”

As a child? Eve searched his handsome face, its masculine angles appealing but unfamiliar. His smile lit his eyes, which were as warm and brown as rich gingerbread. Posh, British gingerbread…

“Oh, my goodness. I know you. You’re—”

“Jingle Bell!” the man shouted, as the brown dog came sprinting back into the kitchen.

Eve squealed in terror as she dove to save the freshly frosted giant, but with a stern sit and stay, the man stopped the dog in its tracks as if he were some kind of magician.

“My apologies,” he said. “She was a stray until quite recently. I’ve been working with her, but her instinct to steal food still overcomes her at times.”

“Daniel Shephard.” She pressed her hand over her hard-beating heart. “It’s me, Evie Richards. From fifth grade. I didn’t recognize you, now that you’re all…” She nodded toward his sharp black slacks, his narrow tie. Toward the broad chest that filled out a burgundy dress shirt. Up, way up, to those eyes. Hadn’t she been the taller one? “…all grown up, and—and tall. Do you recognize me?”

“Yes, of course.”

She dropped her hand. She liked to think she was a polished, worldly woman of business, but apparently, she didn’t look much different from a girl in cable-knit tights. She forced a chuckle. “I haven’t changed, huh?”

“We are standing in your family’s bakery. That’s quite the clue.”

“Right.” Her cheeks were warm. “This is such a coincidence, because I was thinking about you today with the snow flurries, and now here you are.”

Daniel crossed his arms over his chest and returned her gaze with an indulgent sort of smile, like he knew she was a little flustered as she tried to reconcile the boy she’d known with the man in her bakery.

He apparently was having no trouble seeing little Evie Richards in her. He didn’t look flustered in the least. Then again, he hadn’t been putting his foot in his mouth about discounts and patch jobs or yelping in terror at a dog.

She turned her back to him and picked up a wide box of cellophane wrap, taking two seconds to compose herself. Then she turned around like the brisk, efficient woman she was, ready to secure the giant cookie to its support board for the short trip to the veterinary clinic. “So, you’re back in town and going to the party. Who do you know at the vet’s office?”

Are you somebody’s date? Maybe he had a wife. She dropped her gaze to his hand.

He ruffled his dog’s ears affectionately.

Stop petting your dog. I want to see your ring finger.

“I am the vet, actually. Dr. Shephard, at your service.”

Author Bio:

Despite a no-nonsense background as a West Point graduate and U.S. Army officer, Caro Carson has always treasured the happily-ever-after of a good romance novel. After her military service, she worked in the healthcare industry with a Fortune 100 company, talking science with doctors who were rarely handsome bachelor Texans like the doctors in her books. Now a USA Today bestselling author and RITA™award winner, Caro is delighted to be living her own happily-ever-after with her husband (who actually is a handsome Texan) and their two children. They live in the great state of Florida, a location which has saved the coaster-loving theme park fanatics a fortune on plane tickets.

"Caro Carson writes books that touch the heart; they're witty, wise, emotional and filled with intricately layered, fascinating characters." --NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne

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Book Tour Featuring *The Wedding Soup Murder* by Rosie Genova @dollycas #giveaway

The Wedding Soup Murder by Rosie Genova

About The Wedding Soup Murder

The Wedding Soup Murder (An Italian Kitchen Mystery) 

Cozy Mystery Reissue 2nd in the Series 

Two Roses Books; 2nd edition (October 3, 2021) 

Print length ‏ : ‎ 275 pages 

ASIN: ‎ B09HRFTX69 

Setting: A seaside town at the New Jersey shore

 

A wedding with all the trimmings—and death as an unexpected guest…

Victoria Rienzi came home to the Jersey shore to research a new book and perfect her cooking skills at her family’s seaside restaurant, the Casa Lido. But when Vic’s exacting nonna puts her in charge of catering the soup course for a wedding at the exclusive Belmont Country Club, it’s not long before trouble is simmering in the kitchen. Three temperamental chefs are butting heads, their sous chefs are throwing punches, and the formidable club president, Elizabeth Merriman, antagonizes everyone around her.

Elizabeth, aka “The Iron Lady,” has made her share of enemies, including the father of the bride, who was caught embezzling from the country club. She threatens to fire the famous pastry chef in charge of the wedding cake, who doesn’t bother to hide her hatred of Elizabeth. And who is the mystery man in dark glasses, who never leaves the older woman’s side?

Though the wedding goes off without a hitch, by the time the happy couple and their guests depart, Elizabeth Merriman is missing. When her body is found on the beach the next morning, it appears that the country club president slipped from the top of the seawall, but Vic isn’t convinced. Did The Iron Lady finally push someone too far? And did that someone push her back—into the arms of death?

About Rosie Genova

Bestselling and award-winning author Rosie Genova left her heart at the shore, which serves as the setting for much of her work. The inspiration for her cozy series, the Italian Kitchen Mysteries, comes from her deep appreciation for Italian food, her affinity for the New Jersey seaside, and her love of classic mysteries from Nancy Drew to Miss Marple. A former journalist and teacher, Rosie also writes women’s fiction and suspense. The proud mama of three grown sons, she still lives in her favorite state with her husband and a charming mutt named Lucy.

Author Links 

Webpage: http://www.rosiegenova.com 

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Rosie-Genova/e/B00BEKZU5U?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1630158065&sr=8-1 

Facebook: Facebook.com/RosieGenova 

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6462450.Rosie_Genova BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/rosie-genova 

Purchase Links 

Amazon 

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Book Tour Featuring *Lingerie Wars* by Janet Elizabeth Henderson @xpressotours #giveaway

Lingerie Wars
Janet Elizabeth Henderson
(Invertary, #1)
Publication date: January 1st, 2013
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

Englishman Lake Benson loaned his life savings to his dippy sister so that she could buy a shop. It was a big mistake. His sister has been steadily flushing his money down the drain – and now he wants it back. Years in the special forces taught Lake that if you want a job done, do it yourself. So he steps in to make the shop profitable, sell it and get his money back. The only problem is, the business is an underwear shop. And all Lake knows about underwear can be summed up in how fast he can unsnap a bra. To make matters worse, the tiny highland town already has a lingerie shop. A successful one, run by an ex-lingerie model. A very gorgeous ex-lingerie model, who’s distracting him from his mission more than he’d like to admit. If Lake wants to get his savings back, and get out of Scotland, he only has one option – wipe out the competition.

Kirsty Campbell has spent years rebuilding her life after she woke up in hospital in Spain to find her body scarred, and her ex-fiance had run off with all her money. The last thing she needs is a cocky, English soldier-boy trying to ruin all she has left. Her home town is only too happy to help her fight the latest English invasion, although Lake is beginning to sway them with his sex appeal and cut price knickers. With the help of her mother, and the retired ladies of Knit or Die, Kirsty sets about making sure that her shop is the last one standing in Invertary.

It’s Scotland versus England as you’ve never seen it before. It’s lingerie war.

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EXCERPT:

Lake Benson’s midlife crisis lasted exactly twenty-four hours. In that time, he quit his career with the army and bought a lingerie shop. All things considered, he was glad the crisis hadn’t lasted longer.

“I told you,” whined his little sister. “I can do this myself. I have a business plan. You’re only interfering because you’re bored and don’t know what to do with yourself.”

“That’s not the point,” Lake told her as he looked up at the sign on the front of the shop. “The point is, you obviously need my help. You’re hemorrhaging money. My money.”

He hadn’t even set foot inside the shop and already he could see a problem.

“That”—he pointed at the sign—“has to go.”

Rainne twisted a strand of her long hair, a dead giveaway that he wasn’t getting the whole story.

“I can’t get rid of the sign,” she said at last. “It’s part of the town’s heritage.”

Lake folded his arms tight across his chest. Heritage his hairy backside.

“You also didn’t tell me how isolated this place is,” he said.

“It’s busy during the tourist season—you know, summer.”

For Scotland that was about two weeks in August.

“And you neglected to mention that we have competition.”

He cocked his head towards the lingerie shop, which sat opposite them on the high street. Unlike the shop that had eaten all of his money, the one over the road actually looked like people would buy lingerie in it.

“Ah, yeah,” his sister said as she toed the pavement with her pink Doc Marten boot. “But Kirsty’s shop has a different clientele than ours.”

“One that buys underwear?”

She missed the sarcasm.

—

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Author Bio:

Janet is a Scot who moved to New Zealand fifteen years ago. Among other things, she’s been an artist, a teacher, a security guard at a castle, a magazine editor, and a cleaner in a drop in center for drug addicts (NOT the best job!). She now writes full-time and is working on her 19th book. Her books have won several awards, including the Daphne du Maurier award for excellence in mystery and suspense. When she isn’t living in her head, she raises two kids, one husband, and several random animals. She survives on chocolate and caffeine.

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