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This Chick Read: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

The Kiss Quotient is one of the most talked about contemporary romance novels to date this year. It’s the story of a young woman, Stella Lane, who has Asberger’s, a form of autism that makes it really difficult for her to interact socially. Her mother wants to be able to stop worrying about her living on her own and pushes blind dates on Stella constantly hoping she’ll find a match. This makes Stella feel awkward and a failure, but she really wants to please her mom by finding a boyfriend, and even more she wants to alleviate the feeling of being “different” by doing something so normal. However, her approach is a little abnormal. She hires an escort to teach her how to have sex and be in a normal relationship.

Michael Phan is half asian, half Swedish and 100% gorgeous. Every Friday night he moonlights as an escort, who, yes, sleeps with strange women. Never the same one twice. However, there is something about Stella that draws him in. She is obviously awkward, but they have a chemistry that intrigues him. Stella asks to hire him for a few weeks and he breaks his rule and accepts.

THE LOVE STORY: I really enjoyed their relationship with each other. Stella was charmingly awkward and even though she managed her Asberger’s very well, she had obvious tells; the rhythmic tapping, the affinity for numbers and formulas, and the problem with hearing multiple sounds at the same time, just to name a few. Michael was somewhat oblivious to all of those tells, being too caught up in his surprising feelings for someone who had hired him. He also had his own secrets and issues, but those are a really big turning point in the story and I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say that even though on the outside he seemed to have it all, there was a reason he was hooking. Yes, I am going to call it hooking because if he was a woman that is what he would be called.

MY CONFLICT: It was so hard for me to overlook that Michael slept with other women for money. That’s not a romantic trait. At all. He was charming, sensitive, good looking and very caring towards Stella and that did go a long way towards taking away that hooker taint, but still…

I loved Stella. She was so human with all of our frailty’s and issues. Why did her hero have to be so flawed? Why couldn’t an autistic woman be loved by a “normal” man? These were the thoughts that ran through my mind as I was reading this book. I know I am in the minority on this one, but these were my feelings and those thoughts took me out of the story and lessened my enjoyment.

MY CONCLUSION: I had to sit on this one for a couple of weeks before writing my review and I’m glad I did. Looking back on my feelings I realized that in the end I really did like these two characters and did root for them to fall in love. He was the person she needed and it didn’t bother her one bit that he’d slept with hundreds of women. (just an estimate!) He was IT for her. It’s only a fictional novel, but if this were someone in my family I think I could overlook that for her. So, I gave this novel a four rating. It was very well done and really made me think.

The Kiss Quotient will probably not fulfill most women’s fantasy’s but it is striking a chord for a lot of people who may or may not have eccentricities and character traits that make them different. It was a story well told.

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Click this link to purchase*! The Kiss Quotient

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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This Chick Read: Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley

Bellewether tells the story of two women living in different times. Lydia Wilde lives with her family during the war in the colonies between the French and the English. During that time if a battle was lost and soldiers surrendered, they would be billeted in homes until they were exchanged for their own soldiers that were being held. Lydia, her father and two brothers “hosted” two French Lieutenants. Charley is in present time and has been hired as historian and curator of the house Lydia lived in with her family. that will soon be a museum. As Charley unearths historical facts about the family that lived in that house, Lydia’s story is told. When Charley hears about a forbidden love story between Lydia and one of the French Lietenants, she wants to make their story part of the museum.

I loved the back and forth between Charley revealing a new item and Lydia’s history playing out. It was so easy to fall in love with both of these women and watch them live through very similar emotions. Susanna Kearsley writes as a historian. You read the descriptions of the clothing they are wearing and can fell the weave of the cloth running through your own fingers. She has a real talent. Both heroines had stories unfold in a very loving and gentle manner, dealing with grief in different ways. Charley’s story was more humorous as she is helped along by a spirit and Lydia’s a little more stoic as being the only female managing a family of men. What they had in common was heart, each defined by their own circumstances but at their core very similar.

I love the flow of a Susanna Kearsley novel. They’re not something you speed through, but savor slowly. The language unfolds and every sideways look has a meaning. She has a deft hand with description and doesn’t get bogged down with the details in a sewing basket. You are able to enjoy the story without needing to skim through pages. I was enmeshed in the story and actually wanted a few more chapters of Lydia’s story to end the book. That is the sign of a good book! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was given an ARC of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Bellewether

Click this link to purchase!*

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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Friday YA: The Tower by Nicole Campbell

The Tower is a YA Contemporary novel that deals with friendship, love for your best friend, and the difficulties of being different in High School. The story revolves around three friends, Rowyn, Rose, and Reed who are approaching their Senior year in high school. The three of them have been best friends since birth growing up together in their small community, their mothers best friends. Reed has been in love with Rowyn since the fifth grade, and in the way of boys, he has hinted at his feelings but has never declared them, instead playing it safe and biding his time. Rose is the glue that binds their friendship together, sweet, fairy-like, and the voice of reason. This year of their lives is a time of change, the relationships between them tested. Will they end the year stronger for the challenges they face?

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The first thing you should know about this book is how great the characters have been developed. Each of the three main characters have a reason for being a part of the story. Having grown up in the witch community they are used to facing adversity. Name calling, hatred, and bigotry are a part of their daily lives, but each of them chooses to face it differently. Rowyn’s looks match her personality. She is the bold, forthright, doesn’t give a crap about what anyone thinks female heroine with the long black hair that is stereotypical of a Halloween witch. Rose is fairy-like, the peacemaker with a backbone, whose blonde looks and nice demeanor fool people into thinking she is a victim of circumstance. Reed is the charming, handsome guy who even though a witch, is non threatening and likable. Their friendship is what binds this story together.

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I found the fact that they were witches fascinating. They are not “magical” and don’t ride brooms or hover in the air or anything, although they do read tarot cards, make spells, and can heal spiritually. Each of them having a different talent. These talents are just a part of their characterizations and while their spirituality is within the story, the story does not revolve around witchcraft. I found that really refreshing in a book world where people having magical powers and saving the world is totally common. This story revolves around friendship, love and acceptance.

This novel was heartbreaking, heartwarming and heart filling. I probably went through a pack of tissue trying to deal with all of the emotions I was feeling as I read the story. The majority of the novel centered on Reed and Rowyn’s budding romance, but it was not all rainbows and butterfly’s. They had to overcome obstacles to somehow get to the point where they could be together, even though it seemed at the beginning of the book that it would be too easy. It was not.

Don’t let the idea of their being witches keep you from reading this book. It is a wonderful story about love and acceptance and I’d wish for each of you to pick this one up and give it a shot. Sometimes, I think I love a story because I’m in the right mood at the right time. I can honestly say that I didn’t know what to expect from The Tower and had zero expectations and it exceeded all of my imaginings.

I received an ARC of this book by the author for my honest review and it was honest.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Tower

Click this link to purchase!* The Tower

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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This Chick Read: Every Little Kiss (Sequoia Lake #2) by Marina Adair

It’s been two years since the death of her husband and single mom Liv Preston is ready to live again. She does have some challenges, her six year old son hasn’t talked to anyone since he was rescued with his father from a mountain cave. Liv is ready to prove life is worth living to her son, but in order to do that she has to start living it. Up for a promotion at work Liv’s boss gives her a challenge. Show that you are committed to our community and you’ll be considered for this job. Liv jumps in head first and with the help of Search and Rescue leader Ford Jamison takes the first step to proving to her son and herself that life is full of challenges, but also it’s full of rewards.

There’s something about romance novels with children and dogs that always touches my heart. Liv’s son Paxton is so shy and disconnected from everyone, but when the dog that rescued him off the side of a mountain shows back up in town he gains confidence. Those two were a dynamic du0 and a great tool to help the reader connect with this story.

Ford has his own baggage, haunted by not knowing what happens to those he saves. He see’s Liv and Paxton struggling and can’t help stepping in to lend a hand. The attraction he feels for Liv has his head spinning and even though he knows it’s a bad idea he lets their connection deepen. This novel deals so well with the struggle of loss, life and moving on. You can’t help but root for everyone to overcome their sadness, grow and live life to their fullest. Of course, this is a romance novel, so you know it will end happily, but they do have some hills to climb and conflict to overcome. Marina Adair has a deft hand at building characters that really connect with the reader and Every Little Kiss was no different. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Every Little Kiss

Click this link to purchase! Every Little Kiss (Sequoia Lake)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small stipend if you purchase through the above link.

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Blog Tour and Review! The Daughter of River Valley by Victoria Cornwall

The Daughter of River Valley Full Banner

SYNOPSIS:

The Daughter of River Valley

Beth Jago appears to have the idyllic life, she has a trade to earn a living and a cottage of her own in Cornwall’s beautiful River Valley. Yet appearances can be deceptive …

Beth has a secret. Since inheriting her isolated cottage she has been receiving threats, so when she finds a man in her home she acts on her instincts. One frying pan to the head and she has robbed the handsome stranger of his memory and almost killed him.

Brought together by unknown circumstances, and fearful he may die, she reluctantly nurses the intruder back to health. Yet can she trust the man with no name who has entered her life, or is he as dangerous as his nightmares suggest? As they learn to trust one another, the outside threats worsen. Are they linked to the man with no past? Or is the real danger still outside waiting … and watching them both?

The Daughter of River Valley

REVIEW:

The Daughter of River Valley is a true romantic historical novel. Written with descriptive prose, Victoria Cornwall imbues her characters with the language of Cornwall and the proper spoken language of that historical period. It has been awhile since I have read a true historical novel and once I got used to the flow of her words, I enjoyed the moving story of these two characters.

Beth Jago was an independent woman before independence was allowed for women. The fact that she wanted to work and survive alone without leaning on a man gave her character a modernity that enabled me to identify with her. When she finds an intruder in her home and knocks him over the head she definitely creates a rocky start to their relationship. His lost memory means that he doesn’t know who he is, but his feelings for Beth grow and they soon create a partnership that goes beyond the bounds of border and caretaker. With Beth, he finally finds a happiness he hasn’t felt in a long time, a happiness that he wants to continue.

This novel is not just a sweeping historical drama, there is also a bit of a mystery. It becomes apparent that someone is watching Beth’s cabin and Beth isn’t sure if it has to do with her secret she’s been keeping or if it is someone from the village. This small bit of tension escalates and helps move the plot forward quickly reaching a satisfactory conclusion to both the mystery and their relationship.

If you enjoy true historical’s then you should pick up The Daughter of River Valley. It’s sweeping tale will take your imagination on an adventurous journey to the Cornwall countryside. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book for my honest review and it was honest.

To purchase this book, please click the link:

Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Daughter-River-Valley-Cornish-Tales-ebook/dp/B07DHWTH5T

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

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Victoria Cornwall can trace her Cornish roots as far back as the 18th century and it is this background and heritage which is the inspiration for her Cornish based novels.

Victoria’s writing has been shortlisted for the New Talent Award at the Festival of Romantic Fiction and her debut novel reached the final for the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Joan Hessayon Award.

Victoria likes to read and write historical fiction with a strong background story, but at its heart is the unmistakable emotion, even pain, of loving someone.

She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Social Media Links –

Website: http://victoriacornwall.com/

Blog: http://victoriacornwall.com/news-blog-2/

Facebook (Author Page if you have one): https://www.facebook.com/victoriacornwall.author/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VickieCornwall

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16069968.Victoria_Cornwall

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/vickiecornwall/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria_cornwallx/

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Friday YA: Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch

Addie and her brother Ian, only 15 months apart, have always been best siblings. You know, best friends except for the fact they are brother and sister, however currently Ian is super pissed at Addie. She has done something and he wants her to tell their mother before she finds out from someone else. Addie refuses. In Ireland for a wedding, Addie and her brother Ian continue this argument and fall down the side of a cliff. At a wedding. Her mother is at her wits end wanting to see the relationship between her two kids repaired, so she ships them off to Italy to visit with Addie’s friend Lina. Ian has other plans, and Addie, not wanting to be left behind is an unwanted visitor on a road trip around Ireland, hosted by Ian’s online friend Rowan.

Secrets between siblings, especially close ones, never turn out well. Addie’s secret had to do with a summer romance gone wrong which will be embarrassing to face, but Ian’s secret is a life altering change. When Addie finds out why they are traveling around Ireland she realizes that this brother that she loves so much has a secret life, and that she may not have known him as well as she thought.

Rowan, as the Irish lad who owns the car they are traveling in, also has his own little bit of personal drama. When Addie finds a travel guide for a broken heart in their hotel, Rowan decides that his heart could use a little mending as well. The two of them bond over their heartbreaks, and he also helps her see who Ian really is. Love & Luck wasn’t a very intriguing or even very dramatic story, but it’s message about family and loving someone for who they are and not who you think they are was well played.

Addie was your typical teen who doesn’t want to face up to her mistakes, but she grows up a lot by the end of the book. Rowan was a sweet guy, the perfect foil for Ian and Addie’s sibling antics. The romance between the two of them was only hinted at as the plot was about growing up and facing the consequences of your actions. Ian was my favorite character by far. He was the big surprise of the book, and in my mind should’ve been the main protagonist. His journey was the more interesting of  the two and a big lesson in not judging a book by it’s cover.

If you are looking for a light, easy to read YA contemporary novel, this is a solid hit and would be a great vacation read, especially if you have a trip planned to Ireland. I actually bought Love & Gelato last year because I had a trip planned to Italy, where it is set, but never got around to reading it. Now that I’ve tested the waters with this author (and those characters showed up in this book) I may move it onto my summer vacation reading list this year instead! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Love & Luck

Click this link to purchase! Love & Luck

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small stipend if you purchase through clicking the above link.

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Release Blitz! Young Love by Alyson Santos

Young Love by Alyson Santos IS NOW AVAILABLE!

“I never wanted to come up for air. Alyson Santos is a master at painting the pages with emotions. This one is a must-read!” – Ginger Scott, Bestselling Author

Amazon ➜ https://amzn.to/2LmfOgd
Amazon Universal ➜ mybook.to/YoungLoveAlysonSantos
FREE with #KindleUnlimited

ADD TO YOUR TBR ➜ http://bit.ly/2JABiGj

Sometimes you need to let yourself fall…
Recently divorced Sienna Porter has the life she’s supposed to. A house, career, even a hot young contractor working upstairs to distract her. At thirty-eight, she’s entitled to a little fun (according to her best friend, anyway).

Pain, though— it’s so clever in the way it infects hope and poisons happiness.

Jace Beckett should be flying high. Talented, driven, and disciplined, he’s far beyond his twenty-three years. He’s used to the game, the attention his looks and highly-trained body get from women. Doesn’t mean he likes to play.

Doesn’t mean his own secrets aren’t intent on tearing him down.

It’s just a fling. Sexy. Temporary. It’s not supposed to last. It’s not supposed to transform into love. It’s certainly not supposed to become the air you breathe and everything worth fighting for.

About the Author:
I’m a writer, musician, and cat lover. I also have an alternative music obsession. Seriously, it’s a real problem.
I write what needs to come out, whether it’s pain, tears, or laughter. I write people and relationships, about the beauty and horror of what we do to ourselves and each other. I write Love. Vengeance. Compassion. Cruelty. Trust. Betrayal. Forgiveness. Darkness, and the incredible way humans destroy and heal each other.
I like to eradicate barriers, refusing to be confined by the laws of physics or limitations of reality. I will befriend a vast population of possibilities and introduce them in ways that might surprise you.

Connect with Alyson!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoralysonsantos/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorAlySantos
Join her group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AlysBreakfastClub/
Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2E57FWM

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This Chick Read: Edge of Truth (The Legionnaires #2) by Brynn Kelly

Journalist Tess Newell is being held hostage in an African cell when French Leggionaire Flynn is also taken hostage and thrown into the dark with her. In complete darkness Tess bandages his wounds waiting for the cell door to open and the terrorist Hamid to come in for another round of torture. Fortunately, Flynn isn’t going to wait around for that to happen and in a daring breakout he and Tess join together to outsmart and outwit the terrorists who want to use them as propaganda for their own agenda.

Just because they had escaped doesn’t mean that Tess and Flynn are safe. They must get to where Tess has hidden a file that will break her story wide open and end the political corruption that is fueling a war and will stop the terrorist plot. This novel started off quickly with a breakout and was running non stop until the end of the book. Did they defeat their enemies? You need to read this book to find out.

I really enjoyed this story. Tess was her own brand of hero, finding a story and not giving up even though her own life came under fire. She and Flynn were not without their problems, but they were stronger together than they were apart. I liked their mix of brains and brawn that didn’t always fall down stereotypical lines. It helped ground their characters and made it easy for the reader to root for and identify with them.

This is the second book in a series, but can be read as a stand alone novel. I didn’t read the first book, and didn’t feel like I missed out on too much back story. I am curious enough to go back and read Deception Island. I think I may have found a new author I can enjoy! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Edge of Truth

Click this link to purchase! Edge of Truth (The Legionnaires)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am an Amazon Associate and will receive a small stipend if you purchase this book through the above link.

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Friday YA: Geekerella by Ashley Poston

I love fairy tale re-tellings and Geekerella is a re-telling of one of the biggie’s. Ella is an orphan with a horrible stepmother and two stepsisters. They couldn’t be any more different. Ella is a bit of a nerd. She and her now deceased father shared a love for the show Starfield (think Star Trek) and would watch episodes for hours. Her stepmother is a country club snob and her stepsisters CC brats. I had forgotten how hard it was to watch Cinderella get treated so horribly in animation and I’ll just say that set in present time, that difficulty was doubled. Her step-everythings were just awful. Her only avenue of escape was to her job on the Magic Pumpkin food truck with her new friend Sage. There she dreams of going to Excelsicon the sci-fi comic con that her father started in Atlanta, but her step’s would never allow her to go. Scheme ensues.

I, too, am a bit of a geek when it comes to sci-fi, fantasy and comic cons. I grew up going to them and used to be able to walk the walk and talk the talk. This novel did get the Con part right. You do see people dressed in all sorts of fantasy gear. What fell a little short for me was the story between Ella and her Prince Charming, love interest Darien Freeman. Darien sends an accidental text to Ella’s cell, which used to be her fathers. They end up being pen pals (text pals?), never revealing too much about themselves yet telling each other their secrets. Ella never knew it was the famous actor on the other end of the line. Their stories are told from both of their perspectives and truly they both had pretty awful aspects to their lives. You know about Ella’s problems, but Darien’s were just as bad. His manager was his father who just took advantage and belittled him the whole time. Yuck. Really, I just wanted the two of them to be able to run away together and say “the hell with all this!”. This novel for me rode a fine line of child abuse and even when put in a fairy tale like setting it didn’t make it better. Even though there were cute parts, that aspect was just hard for me to overlook.

I know I am older than the average YA reader and most of these novels are not written for my age group. That being said, this novel was more juvenile than the characters ages. Sure, their decision making was pretty accurate. Teenagers make errors in judgement and these two made some big errors, but maybe the story was too simple? I can’t really put my finger on it. Geekerella was well written and at times playful, and I did like the walk down memory lane and maybe it didn’t ring all my bells, but that doesn’t mean it’s not for you! ❤️❤️❤️❣️

Did you read this book? What did you think?

Geekerella

Click this link to purchase*! Geekerella: A Fangirl Fairy Tale (Once Upon A Con)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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This Chick Read: The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert

This book has been on my radar for a couple of years. I have a sweet tooth and the cover spoke to me and I’ll admit to purchasing her Luck, Love and Lemon Pie book for the same reason. What can I say, coconut cake and lemon pie are two of my favorites!

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake was aptly named as our heroine, Lou, is the chef/owner of restaurant Luella’s in Milwaukee. She has just baked the titled coconut cake to deliver to her fiancee’s house for his birthday. As she was walking to his house, she run’s into our British hero, Al, on the street. He is struck by her smell of vanilla and coconut, and fondly remembers her as he goes about his every day. Lou doesn’t have quite as good a day because she delivers the cake to her fiancee who is caught with a co-worker in their underwear. Dropping the cake, she rushes back to her restaurant and has the absolute worst day of cooking/service ever. Of course, this is the day that Al, the food critic for the local paper, chooses Luella’s to critique. Needless to say, he was pretty brutal. Drowning in her sorrows at the neighborhood pub that night, tipsy Lou, meets charmed Al, not knowing he was “the” food critic and offers to show him around Milwaukee.

This is the set-up for this love story. Through showing Al what the locals love about Milwaukee, she rejuvenates her restaurants vision and also opens Al’s eyes to the charm of this city. The reader is in on who Al truly is, while the two of them are completely ignorant of the fact she is the owner/chef and he the critic that has tanked her restaurant. These two characters were completely likable, the setting original, and the food explored really yummy making this a really light, enjoyable weekend read. A perfect vacation book!

The food references in this book just about killed my resolve. Sweets and cheese being two of my absolute favorites. The city of Milwaukee also needs to put this book in all of the hotels as a guide for what to do and where to eat. Assuming they are all real events and places, I may have to plan a trip to Milwaukee myself. The city was as charming a character as Al and Lou.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Coconut

Click this link to purchase! The Coincidence of Coconut Cake

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved.

I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small stipend if you purchase through the above link.

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