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Lilly Gayle Romance

Lilly Gayle Romance

Tag Archives: Contemporary Romance

My Review of Laura Browning’s Last Call

28 Thursday Jun 2018

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Book Reviews, Contemporary Romance, Laura Browning, romance novels, Romance Series

Summer is in full swing, and I’m finally reading again. If you’re like me and like finding great stories to read during the summer, check out the latest by Laura Browning.

Last Call (A Place to Call Home Book 3)

Blurb:

A Place to Call Home…
It’s exactly what Caleb Allred wants and exactly why he’s returned to Mountain Meadow, Virginia to open his dream of a sports bar. Last Call is his only baby. Or so he thought.

The last person Leah Scott wants to see face to face is Caleb. They already have a history. He just doesn’t know about it, and at this point, she’s not telling.

Fate has a way of changing things, though, and now Caleb and Leah have to find a way to pull together for the sake of the son they share.

Don’t miss Last Call, book three of a sexy new contemporary series from author Laura Browning.

My Review:

Ms. Browning puts a new spin on the secret baby trope in this romantic family drama featuring another Allred sibling. Leah is not your typical accomplished heroine, but she is determined. Her trashy family and abusive father have made her a virtual outcast in the Blue Ridge town where everyone knows and respects the Allred family. If not for that one night, Caleb Allred wouldn’t have given her a second look…or would he?

Caleb isn’t as oblivious to Leah has always believed, but she was always so shy, and her family so unlike Caleb’s family or any other family he knows in town, he didn’t think twice about leaving town and making a name for himself along the coast. But when he returns to Mountain Meadow, Leah is not only a beautiful woman trying to make a living at the local florist and get out from under her father’s thumb, she’s also a single mother. And her son looks hauntingly familiar.

I love this series. I’ve read the first two books in Ms. Browning’s A Place to Call Home Series, and while I enjoyed the first two, this book is my favorite…so far. But there’s another book in the series that features Caleb’s twin brother, and if the teasers in Last Call are any indication, I might just like the next book even better than this one.

Last Call is available through Amazon and most online retailers.

About the Author:

Laura Browning graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in Journalism mainly because a wise person, namely her father, suggested Journalism might be a steadier income than trying to write romance. She has worked in television markets in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and North Carolina. In 2001, she won a Regional Emmy for her work writing and producing.

After dealing with reality for far longer than she should have, the urge to spin stories from the fiber of fiction outweighed her desire to report only the facts. Now she combines her writing career with teaching English.

Browning lives in the South with her husband, son, and a menagerie of animals that runs the gamut from horses to a lizard. When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys reading, photography, baking and contemplating actually having time to ride her horses.

Reviewing Reese Ryan’s Playing by the Rules

27 Wednesday Jun 2018

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book review, Contemporary Romance, Reese Ryan, romance, romance novels

Playing by the Rules

Playing by the Rules is part of Reese Ryan’s Playing by the Rules Series, which is set in London. The series focuses on a female cousins who find love when they least expect it. This is book one in the series and my first book by this author, but it most definitely won’t be the last book I read by Ms. Ryan.

Blurb:

When Meredith Jane encounters her ex’s elder brother at a saucy Valentine’s Day party for singles, the last thing she expects is to spend ‘seven minutes in heaven’ with him or to discover that he has feelings for her.

Hunter Westbrook adored Merrie long before his competitive younger brother asked her out. Now that their relationship is over and done, he faces the hardest decision of his life. Will he risk his relationship with his brother and jeopardize the future of their family’s luxury resort empire by pursuing the woman he loves? Or will he suffer in silence to keep peace in the family and risk losing her forever?

Merrie has spent her entire life playing by other people’s rules. One of the few women on the management team at her firm, she can ill afford to get caught up in the gossip and scandal sure to come if she chooses to be with Hunter. Nor does she wish to hurt Liam’s family or disappoint her own. Nevertheless, she has discovered a startling truth: She’s been with the wrong brother all along.

In a society where perception is everything, is true love worth risking everything they’ve both worked so hard for?

My Review:

Six months after Meredith breaks up with her boyfriend, her cousin invites her to a Valentine’s Hook-up party. Meredith is reluctant to go, but she knows she needs to move on from a bad break-up or she’ll go back to her jerk ex-boyfriend. Again. When  she runs into Hunter at the party, she’s more than relieved. She’s always liked Hunter, probably more than she should, but Meredith always plays by the rules.

Hunter has always had a thing for Merrie, and seeing her again reminds him of just how much he wants to make her his. There’s only one problem. Merrie is his brother’s ex, and both he and Merrie would never do anything to hurt his family. He stepped aside once before. He’s not going to do it again, even if it means breaking the rules.

Everyone knows bro code says don’t mess with a buddy or your brother’s ex, but there is a time and place for breaking the rules, and Ms. Ryan sets this up beautifully, giving Hunter and Merrie their happily ever after.

I got my copy on Amazon, but Breaking the Rules is available through most onlilne retailers. Get your copy and start this awesome series.

About the author:

Reese Ryan writes sexy, deeply emotional romances with family drama, surprising secrets, and unexpected twists.

Past president of her local Romance Writers of America chapter and a panelist at the 2017 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Reese is an advocate for the romance genre and diversity in fiction.

My Review of Donna Steele’s Contemporary Romance, Before You

09 Friday Sep 2016

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Contemporary Romance, Donna Steele, mystery, paranormal romance

Blurb:

When Jocelyn decides to take a two-week vacation away from the chaos of the city and work, she expects to just relax and enjoy. Instead, after taking an impromptu exit off the highway the car quits and she’s stuck in some Podunk town in nowhere North Carolina. But the scenery is great – especially the guy who tows in her car.

Noah is helping his cousin out for the afternoon at the garage and is more than pleasantly surprised when the city girl shows up needing help.

Neither can foresee what drew her to that exit or what they will uncover trying to discover what has frightened her so. But they will do it, together.

“Mystery and romance collide in this fast-paced read filled with wonderful secondary characters and a touch of the paranormal. One of Steele’s best.”

I had the pleasure of reading a rough draft of this novel and fell in love with the characters and the story. The published version, which I purchased on Amazon, is even better. The characters are fully developed, and the secondary characters add depth without taking over. Although, I must confess, I’d love to see Moe get his own story.

As with any story, there is a backstory, and Steele flawlessly tells it without narration or dumping the info on the reader all at once. As the mystery unfolds, the reader learns the truth along with Noah and Jocelyn, and there’s just enough of the paranormal to cause goose bumps.

Before You is available through Amazon and most on-line retailers.

About the Author:

 

Donna Steele is an author of science fiction and paranormal romance novels and small town romance novels, often with an eco-twist.

You can get to know more about her and her wonderful stories by visiting her at Steele Stories.

 

Chrys Fey~My Review of her Latest Release, Seismic Crimes~and a Giveaway

10 Friday Jun 2016

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Amazon books, Contemporary Romance, Giveaway, Kindle, Nook books, romantic suspense

I had the pleasure of reading a rough draft of Seismic Crimes awhile back, so when the book released last month, I couldn’t wait to get my copy. And what a pleasure it was to find my quote inside Chrys’ book.

“From the remnants of a Florida hurricane to a San Francisco earthquake Fey puts you in the middle of the action as Donovan and Beth forge the bonds of a new love while tracking a killer across the country in this nail-biting suspense.”~ Lilly Gayle

And that is what I thought of the rough draft. The finished product is so much better! Beth is more likeable than I remembered from the first draft, and Donovan is sexier than ever. Donovan is a tall, sexy monster truck driver with a sense of humor that would make any woman swoon. But Beth is no push-over. She’s a self-defense instructor who is forced to put her talents to use when she and Donovan get separated after the earthquake.

Seismic Crimes is different from most romance novels, as the hero and heroine have already confessed their love to one another…but did they confess too soon?

Will their romance be reminiscent of Annie and Jack’s from the 1994 movie, Speed?

Jack- “I have to warn you. I’ve heard relationships based on intense experiences never work.”
Annie
– “Okay. We’ll have to base it on sex, then.”
Jack
– “Whatever you say, ma’am.”

We all know how that romance turned out–or at least, those of us who watched the less worthy sequel, Speed 2, Cruise Control. Keanu Reeves, aka Jack, wasn’t in the sequel. In the second movie, Annie, Sandra Bullock, is with Alex, Jason Patrick.

So, how do Donovan and Beth fare in this sequel? Does their relationship from book one that was based on an intense experience help them in book two? Or does their new love fizzle and die?

Although this is the second book in a series, (and I haven’t yet read the first book) Fey quickly catches the reader up with our hero and heroine as they enter the police station after the hurricane featured in the first book, Hurricane Crimes, and Donovan is cleared of his brother’s murder. Yet there seems to be nothing he can do to help the police find the corrupt officer responsible for his brother’s death.

After riding out the end of the storm at the police station, Beth moves in with Donovan, as her house was destroyed in the first book. As the two begin to draw closer, Donovan becomes more obsessed with finding his brother’s killer, which puts a strain on their new and budding relationship and eventually, leads the couple to San Francisco. And that’s where the action begins as the two arrive shortly before a massive earthquake.

Fey does a good job of building suspense and putting the reader in the middle of the action, while continuing to build on the relationship between Donovan and Beth.

For those who love action, adventure, romance, and suspense, this book will be right up your alley.

I bought my copy on Amazon, but it’s also available from other online bookstores.

Digital Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.com/B01CRJSPIU

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01CRJSPIU

Amazon CA: http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01CRJSPIU

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seismic-crimes-chrys-fey/1123508790?ean=2940158028380

KOBO: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/seismic-crimes

Print Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.com/1509207252

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1509207252

Amazon CA: http://www.amazon.ca/dp/1509207252

The Wild Rose Press: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=191&products_id=6793

BLURB:

An Internal Affairs Investigator was murdered and his brother, Donovan Goldwyn, was framed. Now Donovan is desperate to prove his innocence. And the one person who can do that is the woman who saved him from a deadly hurricane—Beth Kennedy. From the moment their fates intertwined, passion consumed him. He wants her in his arms. More, he wants her by his side in his darkest moments.

Beth Kennedy may not know everything about Donovan, but she can’t deny what she feels for him. It’s her love for him that pushes her to do whatever she has to do to help him get justice, including putting herself in a criminal’s crosshairs.

When a tip reveals the killer’s location, they travel to California, but then an earthquake of catastrophic proportions separates them. As aftershocks roll the land, Beth and Donovan have to endure dangerous conditions while trying to find their way back to one another. Will they reunite and find the killer, or will they lose everything?

crysAuthor Bio:

Chrys Fey is the author of Hurricane Crimes, Book One in the Disaster Crimes series, as well as these releases from The Wild Rose Press: 30 Seconds, Ghost of Death, and Witch of Death. She is an administrator for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group and has participated in the Blogging from April A to Z Challenge.

When Fey was six years old, she realized she wanted to be a writer by watching her mother pursue publication. At the age of twelve, she started writing her first novel, which flourished into a series she later rewrote at seventeen.

Fey lives in Florida and is always on the lookout for hurricanes. She has four adopted cats who keep her entertained with their antics, and three nephews who keep her entertained with their antics. You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and through her blog, Write with Fey. She loves to get to know her readers!

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website www.ChrysFey.com

Blog www.writewithfey.blogspot.com

Facebook www.facebook.com/chrysfey

Twitter https://twitter.com/ChrysFey

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A Free Read for the Fourth

03 Friday Jul 2015

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Contemporary Romance, Free Read, Military Romance

In honor of America’s Independence Day tomorrow, my guest, contemporary memoriialromance author, Skye Taylor,  is sharing a free read. I’ve read several books in Ms. Taylor’s The Camerons of Tide’s Way series, and I have fallen in love with the characters and her fictitious little beach community, Tide’s Way, North Carolina.

Her free read, Happy Birthday 4th of July, is set in Tide’s Way.

IMG_1168

“I’m not going.” Natalie plopped her chin onto her fisted hands and slumped in her chair. Mutiny glared back at me from her pretty green eyes. Eyes almost as green as her father’s.

Truth be told, the last place I wanted to be on this day of celebration, parades and fireworks was at a beach party. Today was my birthday, too, and staying home and close to the computer in case Jeff found a moment to Skype with us would have been my preference. But we didn’t have a choice. I’d not only committed myself to attending the Camerons’ annual Independence Day party, but I was in charge of churning the homemade ice cream.

“We have to go, honey. Remember we cooked all that ice cream last night? Now we have to go so we can churn it, and everyone gets to taste how wonderful we made it. We promised.”

“I didn’t promise anyone anything.”

“You promised daddy you’d be good while he was gone, and that you’d help me whenever I needed helping.”

Natalie kept her unhappy pose, but the rebellion was fading from her eyes. My daughter and I had a lot in common and unquestioning love for Jeff was one of them. Even as a brand new bride, I’d never questioned Jeff’s decision to accept a commission in the Marine Corps, and I’d promised to be strong every time he deployed. It just never got easier.

I hauled the cooler to the center of the kitchen floor and began loading the tubs of pudding that would become ice cream with the help of a lot of ice, a little salt and an hour or so in a churn.

Natalie slid off her chair and squatted beside the cooler.

“Don’t forget the Oreos.” Cookies and cream was her favorite flavor.

I handed her a baggie with the already crushed cookies, and she hugged them to her eight-year-old chest. “Are you making Daddy’s favorite, too?”

I reached for a second baggie, this one filled with crushed Heath Bars. “Yup. We’re making strawberry with real strawberries, and chocolate, too.”

“That’s a lot of ice cream,” Natalie remarked getting to her feet.

“Well, there’s going to be a lot of people to eat it. Go get your bathing suit and a towel and we’ll be on our way.”

***
Two hours later, I pushed my damp bangs off my forehead with the back of my hand before lifting the last batch of ice cream from the bucket of ice.

Distracted by the crowd of kids frolicking in the ocean and making sand castles on the beach, Natalie had put aside her worries about her missing father. I wasn’t so fortunate. All around me were happy families. Happy wives whose husbands tended the grill, or set up tables and chairs. Occasionally one of those husbands would pass his wife and pause long enough to offer an affectionate kiss or pat her bottom with an appreciative hand. One of the tall Cameron brothers stood with his arms about his wife’s waist, his chin resting atop of her head, while they kept watch over the kids in the water.

Everything in me ached for Jeff. He’d been gone so long I almost didn’t remember what it felt like to have him around, patting my bottom and claiming kisses when I was busy with some project and barely aware of his presence until he touched me. Every time he returned home, I promised myself that I was going to remember every touch, every funny little thing he did that made me smile. But then he’d deploy again and as the weeks turned into months, the memories would fade. The only things that never faded were the love in my heart and the ache of missing him.

“Here, I’ll take care of that,” Ben Cameron squatted beside me and reached for the bucket full of salty, icy water and half melted cubes. “You okay?” He peered at me with a furrow between his eyes.

I forced a smile to my lips. “I’m fine.” I stood up and stretched my cramped muscles. Four churns full of ice cream had kept me hunched over the churn almost since I’d arrived at Ben’s parent’s home.

“It’s not easy,” Ben said softly as he straightened up. He glanced toward the group of kids where Natalie stood slightly to one side, momentarily remembering what was missing from her life.

Ben knew better than most. He’d married a Marine, too.

I shook my head, agreeing with him, but unwilling to talk about it.

Ben wrapped an arm about my shoulders and gave me a quick hug. “You’re not alone, you know. You can call me any time if you need anything.”

My eyes stung with sudden tears. “Thanks.” I didn’t trust my voice to say more because the understanding in his kind blue eyes almost undid me.

Ben hefted the bucket and trudged off to dump it.

I blinked hard to get my raw emotions back under control, and a few minutes later Sandy Cameron announced that it was time to eat. A mad dash for the tables began.

I backed away from the jostle and chatter, still doing my best to pull myself together and put on my happy face again. Even Natalie was caught up in the bustling line of people reaching for plates and loading them with food. I was alone at the edge of the happy celebration. My heart was half a world away.

Suddenly everyone was looking my way. Natalie turned from the table and dropped her plate with a shriek. For a moment I just stood there, puzzled and uncomprehending. Then the sensation of his presence hit me, and I sucked in a gasp of shock and surprise.

Jeff was home. He was with me. Not half a world away. I turned just as his strong arms closed around me. The real fireworks wouldn’t happen for hours, but they paled in comparison to the explosion of joy in my heart.

Natalie barreled into us, and Jeff scooped her up to join in our embrace. He kissed Natalie’s cheek, then my mouth. A long and hungry kiss full of promise.

“Happy Birthday sweetheart,” he whispered. “How did you like your present?”

SkyeTaylor2About the author, Skye Taylor

Skye Taylor lives in the oldest city in the US where she finds inspiration dressing up to participate in historical activities and walking on the beach. She loves travel and adventure and has jumped out of perfectly good airplanes, camped on remote tropical Islands, climbed a volcano, ridden an elephant and rafted down rivers in Southeast Asia and explored old castles in Europe. She spent two years in the South Pacific as a Peace Corps volunteer (2002-2004) She’s a mom and grandmother and the author of the Camerons of Tide’s Way contemporary romance series: Falling for Zoe, Loving Meg, Trusting Will, Loving Ben and Mike’s Wager as well as a mainstream political intrigue: Whatever It Takes. She is a member of Florida Writers Association, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Romance Writers of America and Ancient City Romance Authors.

From the Camerons of Tide’s Way Series:

Loving Meg (on sale Now!)Loving Meg - 600x900x300

When Meg Cameron, a Marine MP, returns from a war zone, she and her husband Ben struggle with the toll guilt & loss have taken on their marriage. Ben is also fostering a police dog named Kip who lost his handler and his spirit to a perp with a gun. As Ben tries to help his wounded warriors find healing, Meg strives to fit back into her civilian life and debates a return to active duty. Ben’s fears mount. What if her pain and confusion take her back into harm’s way again, and he lost her forever?

Available on Amazon

Trusting Will - 600x900x300(1)Trusting Will

Brianna Reagan’s life fell apart when her husband was killed in combat. Now, she has a new life and a new job in Tide’s Way, and she’s convinced that her eight-year-old son Sam is all the man she needs in her life. Then Sam joins the Cub Scouts and Brianna meets his scout leader. Will Cameron has a killer smile, and he isn’t shy about his interest in her. Unfortunately, he’s a state trooper. Another fearless hero who puts his life on the line for the sake of others. Can she put her heart in harm’s way again for him?

Available on Amazon

And you can find the rest of the books in this heart-warming series on Amazon as well.

 

 

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