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I am a huge fan of Kristine Mason’s work, but I have stopped reviewing her books because I proofread them. I think people will believe I am biased and I don’t want that to turn them off to her wonderful stories. Here’s the latest.
GOODREADS BLURB
Casting director Erica Reese has her life planned: career, monetary success, then maybe marriage and children. Unfortunately, if she doesn’t leave Los Angeles and accept a new position in New York City, producer Derek Delmont will screw up her plans. What was supposed to be a hot distraction from her busy, lonely life has begun to turn into something Erica doesn’t want—love.
Known as the king of reality television, Derek is wealthy, sexy, a total playboy, and crazy about Erica. After being rejected by his family and ex-wife, and sick of being used by people hoping to get ahead in Hollywood, Erica isn’t just a breath of fresh air, she’s hurricane-force winds. She’s blown into his life and has him ready to take another shot at love.
Anxious to take their affair to the next level, Derek invites Erica to join him on an exotic Caribbean island where his crew will begin filming his reality show, Bared and Scared. Before they can reach the luxurious resort, a tropical storm separates them from the crew and leaves them lost in a deadly jungle. While they search for a way out, they’re forced to face the past, present and future. And as they battle the elements, the harsh environment will test their feelings for each other beyond anything either of them ever expected. Can their relationship survive the journey? The bigger question…can they?
Takes Survivor one step further.
MY REVIEWS FOR KRISTINE MASON’S NOVELS
A feel good story perfect for the holiday season.
MY ONE SENTENCE REVIEW
A short but intense and heartwarming story that brought tears to my eyes as young and old alike come together, giving, sharing, and adding so much goodness to everyone’s life.
GOODREADS BLURB
Joseph was a shabby imitation of Santa Clause with his Salvation Army kettle in front of a K-mart, but what no one could have guessed was that Joseph was a miracle waiting to happen. This inspiring Christmas story tells the true tale of how a group of teenage carolers changed the life of a down-and-out bum. A moving and unforgettable read!
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Two Thousand Lines
Michelle Jester
Publication date: November 21st 2019
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance, Young Adult
Olivia Brooks has been able to keep her life in Sugar Mill, Louisiana held perfectly together, far away from the small town where she grew up. Even though her past still haunts her, she has found a perfect process of surviving, until a string of events brings Luke Plaisance to Sugar Mill and turns her organized life upside down.
While Olivia fights to hold on to the life she’s created, unraveling it may be exactly what it takes for her to truly survive. She must accept her past in order to live, or let it threaten the only future she’s ever wanted. Because some secrets can’t stay buried… and shouldn’t.
An inspiring and heartbreaking tale of abandonment, survival, and purpose. A harrowing journey of self-discovery and perseverance.
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EXCERPT:
Luke saw her red face and swollen eyes.
“Whatever it is, I’m sorry.”
“No need. Besides, maybe I just cut an onion.”
“I’m not asking you why, Olivia, but also don’t feel like you have to lie to me. It’s none of my business and I know that. You don’t owe anyone an explanation.”
“Then why are you here?” she turned abruptly to face him, obviously angered.
“I like cinnamon rolls.”
“You also don’t have to lie either.”
“Mama Gigi,” Luke responded quietly.
“What?” Olivia bowed her head slightly.
“Mama Gigi. She said when I smell cinnamon and baking bread, if I look over here and your kitchen door is open, and I quote, ‘go to her and stay until she’s safe.’”
Olivia looked up with tears welling in her eyes again, “I’ll be sure to close my door next time.”
“No, you won’t. Mama Gigi said you will always have your door open when you make them. She thought whatever you were mourning was pretty strong, ‘cause it obviously made you feel suffocated.”
“I miss her. I miss her so much.”
Luke stood quickly and went to Olivia. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her. But, as he got closer she stepped back, so he stopped.
“I can’t leave until you’re safe.”
“I’m never safe,” she whispered.
“You’ve been safe since I got here.”
Author Bio:
Michelle Jester lives in Greenwell Springs, Louisiana with her husband, high school sweetheart and retired Master Sergeant. Together they have a son and daughter. She is a hopeless romantic and has been writing poems and stories for as long as she can remember.
One of her prize possessions is a bracelet with only a yellow, Rubber Duckie charm on it; which she wears every day to remind her to enjoy the fun and happy things of life!
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“A great read from a new author to me. I loved how Sierra and Matt were not perfect characters. They had human foibles and vulnerabilities which made them more real. And when they get together, prepare for steam.“- Tripip (Goodreads)
Secret Sister is not my first novel by Emelle Gamble, so I knew what I was getting into….and looking forward to it.
This is one of those reviews that is long overdue. I received a copy on 5.21.15 at and finished reading it on 8.5.19.
There are two different covers, so I shared this beautiful one because I read a kindle copy.
Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads
MY REVIEW
A car accident.
Two women. Best friends.One lives and one dies.
Well, this is a fabulous twist on a story about amnesia. I’m loving it.
Wonderfully real characters, with all their good things and faults.
Her memories return, but the twist puts a different spin on amnesia and second chances.
“I was lost, but now I’m found,” I blurted out.
A heartbreaking and heartwarming love story that goes so much deeper than romance.
May have you asking, “What do I believe?”
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Secret Sister by Emelle Gamble.
GOODREADS BLURB
What if everything about you changed in an instant…
Nick & Cathy and Roxanne. Two best friends. One husband. An extraordinary twist of fate.
How much do you really know about your husband? Your best friend? Yourself? Cathy Chance knows she loves her husband, Nick, with the same passion she had when she married him seven years ago, and he adores her. She also knows that she and her best friend, Roxanne, are closer than most sisters. But on a sunny summer day, these three are hurled into an astounding new reality which forces each to reconsider everything they thought was true about themselves, and one another.
ABOUT EMELLE GAMBLE
From Goodreads: Emelle Gamble was a writer at an early age, bursting with the requisite childhood stories of introspection which evolved into bad teen poetry and attempts at ‘real literature’ all copies of which she has since, very sensibly, shredded. She took her first stab at romantic fiction in an adult education writing class when her kids were in bed, taught by fellow writer Carolyn Haines, in Mobile, Alabama. As M.L. Gamble, she published several romantic suspense novels with Harlequin. She is now contracted with Soul Mate Publishing for Secret Sister, summer of 2013, and Dating Cary Grant, an early 2014 release.
Always intrigued by the words ‘what if’, Emelle’s books feature an ordinary woman confronted with an extraordinary situation. She most enjoys reading stories that surprise and amaze her, and hopes her readers will enjoy the challenging and exciting journeys her characters take.
Emelle lives in suburban Washington D.C. with her husband, Phil, her hero of thirty years, and two orange cats, Lucy and Bella. Her daughter, Olivia, and son, Allen, are happily launched on their own and contributing great things to society, which has always been their mother’s fondest wish.
MY REVIEWS FOR EMELLE GAMBLE
Kindle Countdown Sale! Sep 3 & 4 – only . 99 cents! Sep 5 & 6 – only $1.99! Sep 7 & 8 – reduced to $2.99
In Over Her Head: Lights, Camera, Anxiety
Krysten Lindsay Hager
(The Cecily Taylor Series, #2)
Publication date: September 3rd 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Cecily feels like she has it all: great best friends, the beginnings of a career as a model/actress, and she’s dating her favorite singer, Andrew Holiday. Then Cecily’s best friend Lila begins to ditch her every time Lila’s boyfriend calls. Cecily feels lost, but she and Andrew begin connecting more and she’s never been in a relationship where she felt so understood. Andrew even begins to confide in her about his anxiety. Soon Cecily experiences her own anxiety on a magazine photo shoot, but she manages to impress the magazine staff. Just when it seems like all her dreams are coming true, everything comes crashing down when a photo of Andrew with another girl appears online. He swears nothing happened, but Cecily is crushed. She feels like she’s lost two of the people closest to her. Was her perfect relationship real or was she in over her head?
—
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—
EXCERPT:
“Good luck at the photo shoot tomorrow,” he said. “You’ll be great.”
I stared out the window on the ride back to the hotel taking in all the sites. As I walked into the hotel I felt a new air of confidence. Instead of just reading about someone going out with a pop star to some fabulous rooftop hotel restaurant and being in the big city, I was living it. This was my life and not some YA book heroine’s. Tomorrow I was off on a modeling shoot. I was living a dream and proving how I was ready for a big life. This was my destiny. I could do this.
****
My alarm went off and at the same time an alarm went off in my brain saying, no, I could not do this. What was I thinking? Me, model? That’s where people take photos of you for the sole purpose of other people looking at them, which encouraged judgement and evil comments. People don’t just keep those comments to themselves anymore. Oh no, they grab their phone or laptop or whatever device helps them spew out unhelpful and cruel comments on people’s appearances online for all the world to see.
My stomach felt like spewing all over the nice hotel sheets I was wrapped in. Why did I ever think I was up for this? Those strangers online would destroy me within seconds. Girls like Harlow who were born with an undeniable beauty could do stuff like this and even then, I had seen strangers criticize her online when she posted selfies.
Being anxious always made all my senses go nuts. I ate two slices of toast and then my stomach did a weird flipping thing. Oh no, not today. Looking over at the clock I realized it was almost time for us to leave. Come on, stomach. You’re fine. Just relax and…nope, time to hit the bathroom. Why can’t I just be a big girl and go to this stupid shoot which most girls would kill to do without my stomach freaking out?
Author Bio:
Who knew all those embarrassing, cringe-y moments in middle school and high school could turn into a career? And who would have thought that daydreaming in math class would pay off down the road?
Krysten Lindsay Hager writes about friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, frenemies, crushes, fame, first loves, and values.
She is the author of True Colors, Best Friends…Forever?, Next Door to a Star, Landry in Like, Competing with the Star, Dating the It Guy, and Can Dreams Come True. True Colors, won the Readers Favorite award for best preteen book and the Dayton Book Expo Bestseller Award for children/teens. Competing with the Star is a Readers’ Favorite Book Award Finalist. Landry in Like is a Literary Classics Gold Medal recipient. Krysten’s work has been featured in USA Today, The Flint Journal, the Grand Haven Tribune, the Beavercreek Current, the Bellbrook Times, Springfield News-Sun, Grand Blanc View, Dayton Daily News and on Living Dayton.
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In Over Her Head: Lights, Camera, Anxiety
Krysten Lindsay Hager
(The Cecily Taylor Series, #2)
Publication date: September 3rd 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Cecily feels like she has it all: great best friends, the beginnings of a career as a model/actress, and she’s dating her favorite singer, Andrew Holiday. Then Cecily’s best friend Lila begins to ditch her every time Lila’s boyfriend calls. Cecily feels lost, but she and Andrew begin connecting more and she’s never been in a relationship where she felt so understood. Andrew even begins to confide in her about his anxiety. Soon Cecily experiences her own anxiety on a magazine photo shoot, but she manages to impress the magazine staff. Just when it seems like all her dreams are coming true, everything comes crashing down when a photo of Andrew with another girl appears online. He swears nothing happened, but Cecily is crushed. She feels like she’s lost two of the people closest to her. Was her perfect relationship real or was she in over her head?
—
Are you a book blogger?
Join the blog tour here!
—
EXCERPT:
“Good luck at the photo shoot tomorrow,” he said. “You’ll be great.”
I stared out the window on the ride back to the hotel taking in all the sites. As I walked into the hotel I felt a new air of confidence. Instead of just reading about someone going out with a pop star to some fabulous rooftop hotel restaurant and being in the big city, I was living it. This was my life and not some YA book heroine’s. Tomorrow I was off on a modeling shoot. I was living a dream and proving how I was ready for a big life. This was my destiny. I could do this.
****
My alarm went off and at the same time an alarm went off in my brain saying, no, I could not do this. What was I thinking? Me, model? That’s where people take photos of you for the sole purpose of other people looking at them, which encouraged judgement and evil comments. People don’t just keep those comments to themselves anymore. Oh no, they grab their phone or laptop or whatever device helps them spew out unhelpful and cruel comments on people’s appearances online for all the world to see.
My stomach felt like spewing all over the nice hotel sheets I was wrapped in. Why did I ever think I was up for this? Those strangers online would destroy me within seconds. Girls like Harlow who were born with an undeniable beauty could do stuff like this and even then, I had seen strangers criticize her online when she posted selfies.
Being anxious always made all my senses go nuts. I ate two slices of toast and then my stomach did a weird flipping thing. Oh no, not today. Looking over at the clock I realized it was almost time for us to leave. Come on, stomach. You’re fine. Just relax and…nope, time to hit the bathroom. Why can’t I just be a big girl and go to this stupid shoot which most girls would kill to do without my stomach freaking out?
Author Bio:
Who knew all those embarrassing, cringe-y moments in middle school and high school could turn into a career? And who would have thought that daydreaming in math class would pay off down the road?
Krysten Lindsay Hager writes about friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, frenemies, crushes, fame, first loves, and values.
She is the author of True Colors, Best Friends…Forever?, Next Door to a Star, Landry in Like, Competing with the Star, Dating the It Guy, and Can Dreams Come True. True Colors, won the Readers Favorite award for best preteen book and the Dayton Book Expo Bestseller Award for children/teens. Competing with the Star is a Readers’ Favorite Book Award Finalist. Landry in Like is a Literary Classics Gold Medal recipient. Krysten’s work has been featured in USA Today, The Flint Journal, the Grand Haven Tribune, the Beavercreek Current, the Bellbrook Times, Springfield News-Sun, Grand Blanc View, Dayton Daily News and on Living Dayton.
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