Tag: romance

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? (6/3/19)

Happy Monday everyone! I ran across this post on Book Date and liked the idea of sharing what I’m currently reading, so here goes!

JUST FINISHED

Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle #1) by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

Synopsis:

From the New York Times and internationally bestselling authors of the Illuminae Filescomes a new science fiction epic . . .

The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the academy would touch . . .

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates 
A smart-ass tech whiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger-management issues
A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering

And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem–that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline cases, and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.

NOBODY PANIC.

They had me at “from the authors of the Illuminae Files”.

JUST STARTED

Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey

Synopsis:

A rom-com-obsessed romantic waiting for her perfect leading man learns that life doesn’t always go according to a script in this delightfully charming and funny novel.

Annie Cassidy dreams of being the next Nora Ephron. She spends her days writing screenplays, rewatching Sleepless in Seattle, and waiting for her movie-perfect meet-cute. If she could just find her own Tom Hanks—a man who’s sweet, sensitive, and possibly owns a houseboat—her problems would disappear and her life would be perfect. But Tom Hanks is nowhere in sight.

When a movie starts filming in her neighborhood and Annie gets a job on set, it seems like a sign. Then Annie meets the lead actor, Drew Danforth, a cocky prankster who couldn’t be less like Tom Hanks if he tried. Their meet-cute is more of a meet-fail, but soon Annie finds herself sharing some classic rom-com moments with Drew. Her Tom Hanks can’t be an actor who’s leaving town in a matter of days…can he?

This looks so cute! I hope it lives up to my expectations!

Now you all know what my plans are for the week. Well, at least the first couple of days! What are you reading this week?

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads10 Comments

This Chick Read (Audio Review): Fiercely Emma (Cake #3) by J. Bengtsson

Fiercely Emma tells the story of not only Emma and Finn’s budding romance, but also how Emma’s life was shaped after the kidnapping of her brother Jake when she was just sixteen. This situation at such a young age put Emma in the position of mother to her two younger siblings and the post trauma when Jake was recovered shaped all of her siblings albeit in different ways. Emma’s self preservation came in the form of a wall that she built around her heart. Finn is the guy that broke down that wall and their story is heartbreaking and heart mending.

After having read Rogue Wave recently which is the fourth book in this series, I went back and listened to the audiobooks for the first three. I had previously read books one and two, but for some reason stopped with Fiercely Emma came out. Emma hadn’t been my favorite character and I think because I wasn’t drawn to her I put off reading the book. I’m going on record to say that I made a bad decision. Whereas Emma is still a tough nut, I LOVED Finn and the two of them together are such good awesome sauce! So I’m now spreading the love for Fiercely Emma and advising everyone to listen to the audio books for this series. The narration by Andi Arndt and Zachary Webber is done so well and the humor comes through and made me laugh out loud.

Finn has his own difficult back story and J. Bengtsson uses his story as a comparison to Emma’s to show the reader how someone can overcome their tough beginnings. Finn uses humor to hide his pain and that humor while funny at times broke my heart. Emma also uses humor to hide, but hers is not warm, until she meets Finn who becomes the bright light shining through the cracks in her wall. It is because of Finn and how his relationship changes Emma that she is able to mend her relationships with her own family, which is essentially what these books are all about.

Fiercely Emma really needs to be read as it stands in the series. Each book is uniquely tied to the kidnapping of Jake and I’d love to say it can stand on it’s own, but really, it can’t. This is a family saga, and each novel re-tells the story from a different viewpoint and as you read each book you see scenes from different perspectives and each perspective really sheds new light and makes for an aha moment that would be lacking otherwise. I will say that I skipped this book to read Rogue Wave first and I don’t think I messed up the flow of the series too much, but it would’ve been better for me (the reader) to have read them in the order they are released. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

On it’s own this was a great book. How it ties to the series makes it outstanding. Loved.

Click this link to purchase!* Fiercely Emma: Cake Series Book Three

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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It’s Monday, What are you Reading? (5/27/19)

Happy Monday everyone! I ran across this post on Book Date and liked the idea of sharing what I’m currently reading, so here goes!

Today is Memorial Day and I’d like to thank all of our men and women who serve our country and help make the US a great place to live!

JUST FINISHED!

Death in Kew Gardens (A Below Stairs Mystery #3) by Jennifer Ashley

First Sentence Read: “The Chinese gentleman ran from between the carriages packed the length of Mount Street and straight into my path.”

JUST STARTED

Turn the Tide (A Heart Pounding Romantic Suspense Anthology) with stories by Katie Ruggle, Adriana Anders, Connie Mann, and Juno Rushdan

First Sentence Read: ‘”I hate the mall.” Molly Said’

I’m a big fan of Katie Ruggle and I’m looking forward to reading the prequel short story to her new series about sisters who are bounty hunters. I also love finding new authors and I think an anthology is a great way to discover if you like an authors style of writing. Will they grab my attention? I’ll let you know!

Now you know what I’ll be doing on my day off, what will you be reading?

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads14 Comments

Friday YA: Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E. Smith

Hugo is all set for leaving his six siblings behind for his vacation in America with his girlfriend Margaret Campbell, but then gets dumped. His girlfriend very graciously gives him the trip anyway but there’s one problem. She was the one who booked it so unless he can find someone with her exact name, he won’t be able to use the trip. With his brother’s help he puts out an ad online for a Margaret Campbell who’d like a little adventure taking a cross country train trip with a stranger. Surprisingly, he gets a lot of responses! No surprise though, he ends up going with a girl his age, named Mae. Field Notes on Love ended up being a journey of discovery for both of them. They learned a lot about who they are singularly, but also who they were together.

This novel really took me by surprise! Hugo, the youngest of sextuplet siblings, he has always been a follower, going along with whatever plan his siblings have made. This vacation is the chance for Hugo to venture off on his own and make some discoveries about himself. Mae was the exact opposite. She made things happen, but when her life’s plan falls apart, she is adrift. She takes this cross country adventure as a chance to prove to others that she can shake things up and gather life’s experiences. Through getting to know each other they find out a lot about themselves.

My favorite thing about this novel was how Mae and Hugo interviewed their fellow travelers about the meaning of love. As we heard each person’s story we’d learn a little more about Mae and Hugo’s lives. Those intertwining moments really set this book apart from other YA contemporary novels and made it special.

This is my second novel by Jennifer E. Smith, having read Windfall and been equally charmed by that story. She has a knack for gently leading her readers in a direction and then “thwack’! hitting them over the head with the power of her words. I like that a lot and will keep coming back for those gentle smacks. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“Smith is excellent at writing charming, sweet, lovely romances, though. And this hit all the notes. Hugo and Mae were endearing and sweet, and I loved the cross-country train trip, which was something a little different. It’s completely unobtrusive and utterly delightful.” The Book Nut

“This story doesn’t seem to broach into tough aspects in life, just a few problems that can be solved if one knows how to approach it. So, I find that it made my reading process easy and breezy. It was a story where I can forget about reality, go on an adventure and just unwind in these characters and what they have to say. It really felt as though I was there with them, boarding on trains all across America.” Legenbooksdary

Click this link to purchase!* Field Notes on Love

Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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This Chick Read: Cliff’s Edge (Solace Island Series #2) by Meg Tilly

When Eve’s sister Maggie goes on her honeymoon, Eve is ready to house sit and enjoy the peace and quiet painting on their property. When she comes home one day to hot movie star Rhys Thomas making himself at home in their kitchen she hog ties him with a toaster cord. Seriously! When it turns out Maggie’s husband is playing matchmaker they decide to co-habitate. Their chemistry isn’t the only thing sizzling! Rhys turns out to be pretty handy in the kitchen and pitches in and plays chef at her restaurant, helping her keep it afloat while Maggie is away. When some strange things start happening to Eve, Rhys’ senses go on high alert and he turns all Alpha determined to keep Eve safe. The tension ratches up a notch when it turns out she’s come to the attention of a serial killer.

Cliff’s Edge falls into the romantic suspense genre but really feels more like a romance with a side of mystery. I really enjoyed the almost lighthearted romance between Eve and Rhys. He seems to have a really level head for a top billing movie star and she is pretty clueless as to how popular he is. There are a couple of funny scenes where the locals figure out he’s somewhere nearby. That doesn’t phase either of them at all. What does is all of the strange incidents that begins to befall Eve. When the POV switches to the killer’s it creates a stark contrast to the lighter love story building the tension very effectively.

The mystery was pretty straightforward and I’ll admit even though I wasn’t sure of the name of the stalker, I guessed his identity pretty early on. That didn’t take away from my enjoyment in reading up to the climactic ending. I don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say that Eve is no fainting heart. I love a strong heroine and Cliff’s Edge does not let me down in that regard at all.

If you love romantic thriller’s then you should pick up Cliff’s Edge. It’s the second novel in the series but it stands on it’s own and can be read without having read the first novel. I did and it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the novel at all. In fact, now I’m curious about Solace Island and am going to put it on my TBR! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a free copy of this ARC through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“This book was everything that I wanted in a romantic suspense. I loved watching the development of Eve and Rhys’s relationship because both of these characters have a background filled with betrayal and heartbreak and neither one trusts easily.” The Reading Chemist

Click this link to purchase!* Cliff’s Edge (Solace Island Series Book 2)

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights reserved

*Amazon Associate

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This Chicks Sunday Commentary: BookLoversCon #BLC19 Finale!

I’m sitting in line at the FedEx store waiting for it to open so I can mail home a box of books. I’ve whittled down the stash so that I am bringing the most anticipated, new to me authors, and swag. Most fit in my two bags but for a little 20 book pile. Oh to have those problems, right? This trip has been so much fun and I probably haven’t taken enough pictures to show but here’s a few.

Heather Graham showed up to the Historical Fiction party in her full Voo Doo regalia. She hosts an evening function with a different theme and kind of combo’d the historical dress with the VooDoo head gear. She was charming, beautiful and very down to earth. I loved this chance to chat briefly with her.

This picture shows the set up for most of the functions with one host per table. Some are themed-this was Entangled’s Candy and Spoons game. Always a very popular one as the winner walks away with a stack of about 15 new books. My sister was a lucky winner and her table got super rowdy! All in good fun but they pass out bandaids for a reason! Lol.

This picture shows my day two of swag. I received a few ARC’s at a Berkley Blogger party that I’m very excited about!

Book Fair! Some authors just show up for this super large signing. I took a couple of snapshots of a few I was excited to see!

Jasmine Guillory!

Susanna Kearsley!

Shannon K. Butcher/aka Anna Argent!

other big names including Kristen Ashley, Christina Lauren, Rebecca Zanetti, and so many more! It was overwhelming and fun!

This morning we end with a brunch which I hope to make but first priority mail those books!

Looking forward to next year when Booklovers Con will be in my city! Nashville!

Deborah

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This Chick Read: The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Dressed in a horrible green bridesmaid dress, Olive Torres figures it’s par for the course. After all, her twin sister Ami has always been the lucky one, winning contests, getting favorable jobs, and now marrying her dream guy. When the entire wedding party and guests get food poisoning with the exception of Olive and Ethan-brother to the groom, the tables are turned and Olive’s luck starts to change. When she and Ethan are offered the chance to take a free honeymoon in the place of the bride and groom, she has some misgivings but accepts. She’s always found Ethan to be somewhat of a bore, but figures she can suck it up for this chance in a lifetime vacation.

The Unhoneymooners has got it all going on! Humor, attraction, great dialog, and my favorite trope of enemies to lovers, what’s not to like? The exchanges between Olive and Ethan are really clever and outright funny. Olive is kind of a beautiful mess, but that mess is mostly in her own head. Written mostly from her POV, we get to see how her adorableness contrasts with how she views herself. That dichotomy really made me root for Olive! Not only didn’t I view her the same way she viewed herself, but could see a little bit of her in me, in her insecurity and self consciousness. I think a lot of readers will identify with her character and that will make her HEA even more sweet to read.

Ethan was a little harder to grasp, but I think that was because we were seeing through Olive’s eyes, and those eyes were a bit clouded. Once they cleared a little, Ethan was as good as it gets. Handsome, charming, and not as full of himself as Olive first believed. What won me over though was how funny they were together. The dialog in this novel was what made it work. Christina Lauren’s self deprecating humor struck a chord and I really did laugh out loud quite a bit!

If you are looking for a fast, fun, vacation bound book then you must give The Unhoneymooners a try out. If your own vacation is lacking that sizzle and spark -this novel will fire you right up! Plus give you a good laugh as well. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received an ARC of this novel through NetGalley for my honest review and I was honest!

Click this link to purchase!* The Unhoneymooners

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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Booklovers Con! #BLC19

The first two days at the Booklovers Con have come and gone and my good intentions to post pictures every day has fallen by the wayside because of my need for sleep. Sorry guys! However, today I’ll give you two days of pics to satisfy your book loving needs!

I’ve met some really great authors and taken a few pictures to share. The first night was the kick off party with a Jazz Fest theme, after all we are all in New Orleans! We paraded into the ballroom to a great jazz marching band.

There were authors stationed around the room and I bee-lined towards Christine Feehan to say hi and take her pic.

Christine Feehan!

I’ll admit that I didn’t want to stand in line for food but there were food trucks galore and the band was fab. My sister and I ducked out to eat at a little Vietnamese place we spotted down the street. Yum!

Thursday was chock full of events. A Harlequin author signing and Indie author soirée were fun! Although the lines…not so much. Lol.

Julia London! (On the right)
Rebecca Zanetti!
Ooohhh my feet!

I really learned a lot from a workshop for bloggers and publishers and will endeavor to meet some new goals!

The evening wrapped up with a pretty amazing Fairy gala with a full dinner. The costumes and decorations were pretty spectacular!

Packaging paper turned into a magnificent dress!

Gorgeous centerpieces!

My sister and I were VIP’s ( we won it in a lottery) and got to sit for dinner at a table with an author. I sat with the wonderful fantasy author C. L. Wilson and she sat with Amanda McIntyre. It was a great hour spent getting to know these authors.

At the end of the day I had a pretty good book haul! Not as much in the past and definitely a smaller amount of swag, but you know what? The experience has been so much better and more intimate!

This is only day 1’s book haul!

I’ll try to get out one more post possibly Sunday from the airport! We are packing in the fun at the BLC19!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads7 Comments

This Chick Read: The Good Luck Charm by Helena Hunting

Lilah and Ethan have been best friends since they were six years old. High school sweethearts, Ethan goes off to college on a hockey scholarship with plans for Lilah to join him when she graduates the following year. Instead, he gets drafted by the NHL and dumps Lilah over the phone and they never see each other again. Eight years later, Ethan’s dad has a stroke and is in the hospital where Lilah is a nurse. Ethan takes this chance to be close to Lilah again, now that he’s been transferred to her hometown hockey team. In his eyes they were so good together and he wants that magic back, but does he want it for them? Or to make his hockey career successful again?

Helena Hunting really knows how to write sizzling scenes, and the Good Luck Charm has a ton of them. She is also great at emotional encounters, and it’s those that stick with you after you finish reading this romance. It was so easy to love Lilah. When she see’s Ethan for the first time in eight years on the same day her divorce papers are signed she is floored. Ethan was the love of her life and he broke her heart. She is not quick to forgive him and he has to work really hard to win her back.

Ethan has also had a tough time, but well, he’s in the NHL so how hard could that be? It is tougher to like him as he was the one that wronged Lilah, but when he reveals everything that was going on at the time and the pressure he felt you kind of understood. The problem was that he wanted to go back to the way things were, and Lilah was not that person anymore.

I really enjoyed this book but it was also kind of hard to read. I’ll try to explain. I understood both of these characters, but they wanted things to be the way they used to be and to make up for all that lost time that it shaded my feelings for them as a couple. They were both kind of desperate for each other and that was the hard part to read. When the conflict happened, I thought finally! Let’s get some resolution to that plot line. Which doesn’t mean I didn’t like the book, I did. I just didn’t want all of that handsy glomminess. LOL. I still gave it a four rating though. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“The book above sounds kind of cute (and I know this shouldn’t matter but the cover is adorable). The blurb is the reason that I put it on my TBR and requested it from the library….What I got instead was a shallow, plot-less novel that has practically nothing at all to do with hockey & just seemed to me to be boring scenes interspersed with a lot of doing it.” Velvet Spade Reads

“The Good Luck Charm was a sweet and feel good second-chance romance and fans of Helena Hunting definitely won’t be disappointed” The Romance Corner

Click this link to purchase!* The Good Luck Charm

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads5 Comments

This Chicks Sunday Commentary (Yes, I know it’s Wednesday!): April ’19 Wrap Up!

I feel like I just did my March wrap up, the days are just flying by too fast. April was a solid month for reading. I finished 17 books, including a few audiobooks and feel like I’m making progress on my stack of ARC’s. Do you ever feel like you’ve overcommitted yourself? Me too! I hate it when my favorite authors all have books coming out on the same day. Yet, I love it at the same time. It’s a love hate thing. LOL. Anyhow, here is what you missed if you haven’t been keeping track of The Reading Chick!

GREAT APRIL READS!

Pretty Face (London Celebrities #2) by Lucy Parker

I blew through the rest of this series in the month of April, but this book was my favorite!

“I think I wrote on Goodreads that I am now obsessed with Lucy Parker novels. I really am. Her stories could so easily be fluffy romances, but they aren’t! They are well written, her characters are rock solid and the build up in the romance is riveting to read. Her dialog isn’t too shabby either, it’s actually really fun!”

Full Tilt by Emma Scott

I actually read this book a couple months ago but had to clear my thoughts before writing the review. It was soo good, yet emotionally wrenching.

“I have never read a novel by Emma Scott, but after reading Full Tilt I know I will definitely be looking through her backlog for my next fix. Full Tilt was heavy, dark, desperate, uplifting, sad, and joyous. By the third chapter I was all in and I think I must’ve gone through a box of Kleenex while rooting for this couple to overcome the odds.”

Love Hacked (Knitting in the City series #3) by Penny Reid

Every time I read a book in this series I say, THIS is my favorite! I definitely chanted that mantra after reading Love Hacked.

“Needless to say, I loved this novel. I had picked it up so many times and put it down. I’m not sure why and am kicking myself for not enjoying their story before now. However, sometimes those novels that surprise you with their strength and your emotional impact to them are read when you need to read them. This was the perfect time for me.”

BLOGGER TO BLOGGER SERIES

We all met a few interesting bloggers this month on my series Blogger to Blogger. If you haven’t had a chance to read their interviews, please check them out!

Tina @ Reading Between the Pages

Kyle and Hannah @ But, First, Fiction

I am mulling over putting my Blogger to Blogger series on hiatus. If you would like to be featured, please contact me and let me know, and I’ll fit your blog in before I take a break.

THIS CHICKS SUNDAY COMMENTARY

Part of the reason I want to take a break from Blogger to Blogger is to spend more time coming up with topics for my Sunday discussion posts. I’ll admit, with a full time job it’s hard to find the energy, but I want to do better. Here are my posts from last month. If you missed any please click the links below to check them out.

March’19 Wrap Up!

My May’19’s Most Anticipated Releases

Happy Easter from the Reading Chick!

MAY’S TBR PILE

OH, Boy! I know I mentioned above that I’m backed up a little bit on my ARC’s. As you can see from this NetGalley snapshot, there are several releases that are all on the same day! Usually I try to space them out, but either I wasn’t paying attention or was overcome with greed at the thought of reading all of these great novels. I have read Romanov already (review to come this week!), but need to start on Finale to stay on track.

THEN you have the books on my Kindle that I’ve purchased, like Kristen Ashley’s FREE and Slow Burn, and my library books that are about to expire like Daisy Jones and the Six, and well, you get the problem!

On top of that my sister and I are going to the Booklovers Con in New Orleans 5/15-5/19! Woo-Hoo! Expect to see a daily post from me regarding all of the authors I will see and the fun activities to be had! I’m excited about that trip, but conventions don’t leave a lot of time for reading. LOL. Oh well, c’est la vie!

May looks to be a much more exciting month than April, and I can’t wait to read ALL of these books! LOL. (yeah right!)

Are you sitting on a big pile of ARC’s too? Give me a shout in the comments section and let me know I’m not the only one in this boat!

Until next Sunday, (or Wednesday, Tuesday or Saturday…)

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads