The Calamity Café {+ Giveaway}

◊ THE CALAMITY CAFE by Gayle Leeson

◊ Series: A Down South Café Mystery (Book 1)

◊ Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages

◊ Genre: Cozy Murder Mystery

◊ Publisher: NAL (June 7, 2016)

◊ Language: English

◊ ISBN-10: 1101990783

◊ ISBN-13: 978-1101990780

SYNOPSIS:

Aspiring chef and small-town Virginia native Amy Flowers is ready to open her own café offering old-fashioned Southern food. But her dream may go up in smoke when someone kills the competition...

          Tired of waiting tables at Lou’s Joint, Amy Flowers doesn’t just quit—she offers to buy the place from her bully of a boss, so she can finally open the café of her dreams. Amy can't wait to serve the kind of Southern, down-home treats and dishes that her grandmother always loved to the kooky cast of regulars at the restaurant. She knows her comfort food will be the talk of the sweet, small town of Winter Garden, Virginia.
          At first Lou Lou refuses to sell, but when she seems ready to make a deal, she tells Amy to come see her.  Showing up at the eatery ready to negotiate, Amy is shocked to find her former employer murdered. As the prime suspect, Amy will have to clear her name by serving up the real killer—and with Lou Lou’s stack of enemies, that’s a tall order.

Includes delicious Southern recipes!

When an author can make you feel like you’re surrounded by a warm, friendly sensation, then you know it’s going to be entertained by a delightful tale.

Author Gayle Leeson translates those feelings through her talented writing in the first installment of her new Down South Café Mystery series. The friendly, close-knit atmosphere of a small community encircles you despite the fact a murder has been committed. The delectable aroma of good old Southern cooking can almost be smelled through the author’s vivid descriptions. It’s an added bonus that several of the recipes are actually shared in the book.

The characters are well-developed and likable. Their easy-going manner will pull you in as the twists and turns keep you guessing. The story flows at a steady pace and holds your attention until the very end.

A good mix of suspense, laughter and a touch of romance make this a pleasurable start to what looks like will be an amusing new series. Cozy mystery fans won’t be able to put down THE CALAMITY CAFÉ until the last drop of entertainment has been absorbed.

The Calamity Café by Gayle Leeson, A Down South Café Mystery (Book #1), Obsidian (NAL), @2016, ISBN: 978-1101990780, Mass Market Paperback, 304 Pages

FTC Full Disclosure – A copy of this book was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review. The thoughts are completely my own and given honestly and freely.

Thanks to the wonderful folks at Penguin/Random House, I have a print copy of THE CALAMITY CAFÉ by Gayle Leeson to giveaway. The giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. only and will end at 12 a.m. (EST) on Thursday, June 16.

To enter the giveaway, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load so please be patient. A winner will be selected by the Rafflecopter widget and I’ll send an email with the subject line “Thoughts in Progress Giveaway.” The winner will have 72 hours to reply to the email or another winner will be selected. PLEASE be sure to check your spam folder from time to time after the giveaway ends to make sure the notification email doesn’t end up there. If you win and you’ve already won the book somewhere else or you just decided for whatever reason you don’t want to win (which is fine), once again PLEASE let me know.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope I’ve enticed you to check out this new series and the fun first installment. Do you have a favorite café you like to visit? What’s your favorite food to enjoy at a café?

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The Past Life Perspective {+ Giveaway}

It’s a pleasure to welcome author Ann C. Barham to Thoughts today to talk about her just released book, THE PAST LIFE PERSPECTIVE: Discovering Your True Nature Across Multiple Lifetimes.

Ann’s book, published this month by a division of Simon & Schuster, is quite unique. To celebrate the release, I have a print copy to giveaway. Please see the end of the post for more details.

Ann is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a certified regression therapist (with training in transpersonal psychology, hypnosis, therapeutic imagery, and trauma). She's truly original and so is this book. It blends psychology and spirituality in a way that speaks to the many people today craving alternative therapies that have a foundation in traditional psychology and psychotherapy but that draw upon the possibility of past lives. She is passionate about the way her work in the spiritual realm transcends individual religions and instead focuses on the universality of spiritually, faith, rehabilitation and ultimately happiness.

Here's a synopsis of THE PAST LIFE PERSPECTIVE:

A unique, insightful, and practical look into the enormous power of past life regression therapy to unlock a healing pathway that can help you resolve enduring personal issues, enrich your life, and answer burning spiritual questions about your purpose on this earth.

          In this rare and fascinating intimate glimpse at past life regression therapy, licensed therapist Ann Barham invites us into her office as she helps her clients mine their unconscious memories for the key past life experiences that can provide specific guidance for their current situations. No longer simply the stuff of new age practitioners, past life regression therapy is a powerful tool that can improve your understanding of your personal challenges and deepen your connection with the world around you. Barham demystifies this intriguing phenomenon, sharing her client’s astounding stories, each a clue to the profound influence the personalities of the past have on our thoughts and actions today.

As modern science and technology advance at overwhelming rates, many of us crave the healing insights and feelings of eternal love that survivors of near death experiences frequently report. Through past life therapy, everyday people are able to experience prior lifetimes all the way through their deaths, tapping into abiding spiritual truths and answering essential questions about human existence.

Ann has graciously answered some questions about her writing and book. Please join me in giving Ann a warm welcome. Ann, welcome.

What is past life regression therapy?

Ann:

Past life regression is a therapeutic approach that helps people to recall and work through their unconscious memories from their prior lifetimes. (To regress simply means to go back in time.) Often these past life experiences are impinging on emotional, physical and relationship aspects of our current life without our knowing it. By uncovering, working through, and integrating our past life experiences into our current consciousness, we can often resolve issues and dynamics that are troubling us and that have been resistant to other approaches. 

In addition to helping in problem solving, past life work allows us to access an amazing degree of individualized spiritual guidance that can help us on many levels. We can plug into strengths and life lessons from the past that can be very applicable to our present lives. And by bringing an awareness of past lifetimes into mainstream consciousness, we can help people realize that our outward differences are only an illusion, helping us to heal the divisiveness that challenges our planet.

Why are so many people seeking it out?

Ann:

Despite the amazing advances of modern science and technology, there is a growing hunger to know the mystery of life, the divine energies, the deeper purpose of our human existence.  Increasingly, people are calling themselves “spiritual, but not religious,” part of an emerging consciousness based on personal experiences of a spiritual nature rather than religious doctrine. The popularity of books describing near-death experiences (NDEs), such as Anita Moorjani’s Dying to be Me, speaks to this burning desire. 

Past-life therapy is a window into these other realities – in a way that is much less traumatic than going through an actual NDE. In addition, we are able to help people resolve a myriad of issues in rather quick order, as compared to sometimes years of traditional counseling. Given the fast pace and desire for quick results in our modern society, it is an approach that appeals to more and more people.

The types of issues that have been addressed with past life work include:

·        difficult relationship dynamics with family, lovers, or co-workers, or intense new attractions

·        enduring emotional challenges like depression, low self-esteem or guilt

·        some physical challenges that have defied the medical community, for example clients have looked into insomnia, infertility, back pain, irritable bowel, and birthmarks

·        unreasonable fears and phobias

·        reconnecting with loved ones who have passed by seeking prior lifetimes together, which can greatly ease grieving and also helps us lose the fear of death

There are many people who seek past life work for help in discovering their life purpose or adjusting career direction. And many others seek to expand their spiritual exploration. The possibilities offered by past life work are seemingly endless.   

What are some of the most life-changing experiences you’ve seen using past life therapy?

         

Ann:

The client stories that really stick out for me are the ones where the regression experience was very dramatic as the story unfolded. One that comes to mind is a young woman who ran into severe writers block when trying to complete college papers. She actually would exhibit signs of a panic attack. She went to a lifetime some centuries back where her prior personality – also a young woman – had her hands cut off for writing a love letter to another woman. It was a very intense session. After we worked through the trauma of that memory, the client found that she could now approach writing her college papers without the panic.

As far as really turning someone’s life around, one client came to me after working in conventional therapy for years on her unexplained feelings of terror and dread. They still persisted, and were really getting in the way of a functional life. We worked through a number of lifetimes where she lived in terror: as a young Jewish girl taken by the Nazis and forced to bury bodies in mass graves in the prison camp; as an English sailor who was captured by pirates and forced into slavery; as a young girl who was strangled to death by an abusive, alcoholic father – to name a few! By clearing these experiences and releasing the fear, abuse, pain and sadness from those lives, this client found immense relief in her current life.

On the lighter side, a male client who was working as an attorney made a significant career adjustment and international relocation after exploring a lifetime as a significant figure in the Italian Renaissance. He received considerable spiritual guidance in session regarding all the strengths he was carrying forward from that lifetime, and he was pointed toward new directions in his current life.

Ann, thanks so much for joining us today and giving us this insight into past life regression therapy. It does make one stop and think.

Author Ann C. Barham

Now here’s a bit of background on Ann, an MA, LMFT, Certified Past Life Therapist.

Although raised in a conventional Catholic home, Ann had always been fascinated with reincarnation and the stories of prior lifetimes that people recalled under regression. However, she really questioned whether she could have such an experience herself. Then, when pursuing her mid-life career change from business management to counseling, she had an unusual experience in graduate school. You can read more about it and Ann HERE.

For more on Ann, you can also visit her website.

This giveaway is for one print copy of THE PAST LIFE PERSPECTIVE: Discovering Your True Nature Across Multiple Lifetimes by Ann C. Barham. The giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. only and will end at 12 a.m. (EST) on Wednesday, June 15.

To enter the giveaway, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load so please be patient. A winner will be selected by the Rafflecopter widget and I’ll send an email with the subject line “Thoughts in Progress Giveaway.” The winner will have 72 hours to reply to the email or another winner will be selected. PLEASE be sure to check your spam folder from time to time after the giveaway ends to make sure the notification email doesn’t end up there. If you win and you’ve already won the book somewhere else or you just decided for whatever reason you don’t want to win (which is fine), once again PLEASE let me know.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. What are your thoughts on past life regression therapy? Do you sometimes feel you have lived another life or wonder if you have?

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What Happens in Texas {+ Giveaway}

I’m delighted to be participating in the Spotlight Tour for WHAT HAPPENS IN TEXAS by Carolyn Brown.

In celebration of Carolyn’s release today, she’s offering a tour-wide giveaway for 10 copies of WHAT HAPPENS IN TEXAS. The giveaway will run through June 22. Please see the end of the post for more details on the giveaway.

Title: What Happens in Texas

Author: Carolyn Brown

On Sale: June 6, 2016

Formats: Mass Market & eBook

ISBN: 978-1492638742

Carolyn Brown brings her unique voice to this tale of twin sisters finding love in a small Texas town

Cathy Andrews’s biological clock has passed the ticking stage and is dangerously close to “blown plumb up”. While her twin sister Marty thinks settling down with one man is just a waste of good cowboys, Cathy wants it all: the perfect husband, the baby, and a little house right there in Cadillac. But even as the town is laying bets on whose wedding will be next, Cathy doesn’t see happily-ever-after happening anytime soon.

Fortunately, Cathy and Marty have best friends who aren’t afraid to stir up a ruckus—and if it means Cathy’s got to bust out and set the town on its ear they’ll back her up—no matter how hot things get.

WHAT HAPPENS IN TEXAS is available at the following sites: Amazon, Apple, BAM, Barnes and Noble, Chapters, Indiebound, and Kobo.

An excerpt for your reading pleasure:

If Prissy Parnell hadn’t married Buster Jones and left Cadillac, Texas, for Pasadena, California, Marty wouldn’t have gotten the speeding ticket. It was all Prissy’s damn fault that Marty was in such a hurry to get to the Blue-Ribbon Jalapeño Society monthly meeting that night, so Prissy ought to have to shell out the almost two hundred dollars for that ticket.

They were already passing around the crystal bowl to take up the voting ballots when Marty slung open the door to Violet Prescott’s sunroom and yelled, “Don’t count ’em without my vote.”

Twenty faces turned to look at her and not a one of them, not even her twin sister, Cathy, was smiling. Hell’s bells, who had done pissed on their cucumber sandwiches before she got there, anyway? A person didn’t drop dead from lack of punctuality, did they?

One wall of the sunroom was glass and looked out over lush green lawns and flower gardens. The other three were covered with shadow boxes housing the blue ribbons that the members had won at the Texas State Fair for their jalapeño pepper entries. More than forty shadow boxes all reminding the members of their history and their responsibility for the upcoming year. Bless Cathy’s heart for doing her part. She had a little garden of jalapeños on the east side of the lawn and nurtured them like children. The newest shadow box held ribbons that she’d earned for the club with her pepper jelly and picante. It was the soil, or maybe she told them bedtime stories, but she, like her mamma and grandma, grew the hottest jalapeños in the state.

“It appears that Martha has decided to grace us with her presence once again when it is time to vote for someone to take our dear Prissy’s place in the Blue-Ribbon Jalapeño Society. We really should amend our charter to state that a member has to attend more than one meeting every two years. You could appreciate the fact that we did amend it once to include you in the membership with your sister, who, by the way, has a spotless attendance record,” Violet said.

Violet, the queen of the club, as most of the members called it, was up near eighty years old, built like SpongeBob SquarePants, and had stovepipe jet-black hair right out of the bottle. Few people had the balls or the nerve to cross her, and those who did were put on her shit list right under Martha, aka Marty, Andrews’ name, which was always on the top.

Back in the beginning of the club days, before Marty was even born, the mayor’s wife held the top position on the shit list. When they’d formed the Blue-Ribbon Jalapeño Society, Loretta Massey and Violet almost went to war over the name of the new club. Loretta insisted that it be called a society, and Violet wanted it to be called a club. Belonging to a club just sounded so much fancier than saying that one belonged to a society. Loretta won when the vote came in, but Violet called it a club anyway and that’s what stuck. Rumor had it that Violet was instrumental in getting the mayor ousted just so they’d have to leave Grayson County and Loretta would have to quit the club.

Marty hated it when people called her Martha. It sounded like an old woman’s name. What was her mother thinking anyway when she looked down at two little identical twin baby daughters and named them after her mother and aunt—Martha and Catherine? Thank God she’d at least shortened their names to Marty and Cathy.

Marty shrugged, and Violet snorted. Granted, it was a ladylike snort, but it still went right along with her round face and three-layered neck. Hell, if they wanted to write forty amendments to the charter, Marty would still do only the bare necessities to keep her in voting standing. She hadn’t even wanted to be in the damned club and had only done it because if she didn’t, then Cathy couldn’t.

Marty slid into a seat beside her sister and held up her ballot.

Beulah had the bowl in hand and was ready to hand it off to Violet to read off the votes. But she passed it to the lady on the other side of her and it went back around the circle to Marty, who tossed in her folded piece of paper. If she’d done her homework and gotten the numbers right, that one vote should swing the favor for Anna Ruth to be the new member of the club. She didn’t like Anna Ruth, especially since she’d broken up her best friend’s marriage. But hey, Marty had made a deathbed promise to her mamma, and that carried more weight than the name of a hussy on a piece of paper.

The bowl went back to Violet and she put it in her lap like the coveted jeweled crown of a reigning queen. “Our amended charter states that only twenty-one women can belong to the Blue-Ribbon Jalapeño Society at any one time, and the only time we vote a new member in is when someone moves or dies. Since Prissy Parnell got married this past week and moved away from Grayson County, we are open for one new member. The four names on the ballet are: Agnes Flynn, Trixie Matthews, Anna Ruth Williams, and Gloria Rawlings.”

Even though it wasn’t in the fine print, everyone knew that when attending a meeting, the members should dress for the occasion, which meant panty hose and heels. Marty could feel nineteen pairs of eyes on her. It would have been twenty, but Violet was busy fishing the first ballot from the fancy bowl.

Marty threw one long leg over the other and let the bright red, three-inch-heeled shoe dangle on her toe. They could frown all they wanted. She was wearing a dress, even if it only reached midthigh, and had black spandex leggings under it. If they wanted her to wear panty hose, they’d better put a second amendment on that charter and make it in big print.

God Almighty, but she’d be glad when her great-aunt died and she could quit the club. But it looked like Agnes was going to last forever, which was no surprise. God sure didn’t want her in heaven, and the devil wouldn’t have her in hell.

“One vote for Agnes,” Violet said aloud.

Beulah marked that down on the minutes and waited.

Violet enjoyed her role as president of the club and took her own sweet time with each ballot. Too bad she hadn’t dropped dead or at least moved to California so Cathy could be president. Marty would bet her sister would get those votes counted a hell of a lot faster.

There was one piece of paper in the candy dish when Beulah held up a hand. “We’ve got six each for Agnes, Trixie, Anna Ruth, and two for Gloria. Unless this last vote is for Agnes, Trixie, or Anna Ruth, we have a tie, and we’ll have to have a runoff election.”

“Shit!” Marty mumbled.

Cathy shot her a dirty look.

“Anna Ruth,” Violet said and let out a whoosh of air.

A smile tickled the corner of Marty’s mouth.

Saved, by damn!

Agnes was saved from prison.

Violet was saved from attending her own funeral.

The speeding ticket was worth every penny.

Author Carolyn Brown

New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author and RITA® Finalist, Carolyn Brown, has published more than sixty books. Carolyn presently writes both women's fiction and cowboy romance. She has also written historical single title, historical series, contemporary single title and contemporary series.

She lives in southern Oklahoma with her husband, a former English teacher, who is not allowed to read her books until they are published. They have three children and enough grandchildren to keep them young.

For a complete listing of her books (series in order) check out her website. You can also connect with Carolyn on Facebook. 

This tour-wide giveaway is for 10 copies of WHAT HAPPENS IN TEXAS. To enter for your chance to win one of the copies, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load so please be patient.

Thanks for stopping by today. Do you have a favorite setting you like to read about? How do you feel about small town settings?

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Deadly Ever After by Hope Irving Cover Reveal

It’s a pleasure to be participating in the Cover Reveal for Hope Irving’s DEADLY EVER AFTER, the second installment in her Black Angel Book Series.

◊ DEADLY EVER AFTER by Hope Irving

◊ Series: Black Angel Book Series (Book #2)

◊ Print Length: 417 pages

◊ File Size: 1846 KB

◊ Genre: Romance, Paranormal, New Adult

◊ Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

◊ Publication Date: June 2, 2016

◊ Language: English

◊ ASIN: BO1FPYABCW

Blurb:

          I, Virgil, know that people prefer to remember the happily ever after ending rather than the dark side in every fairytale. I know better. I learned about the dark side of those stories and the consequences. The fairytale I inherited from the Irish star-crossed lovers didn't turn out so well the first time. I had a shot at bringing the souls of the monk and the witch back together last summer and I failed miserably.

          How foolish of me to believe in the awakening of the princess thanks to the handsome prince's kiss when I am no prince! Sharing our true nature with Rose, my clueless soulmate, is a necessary evil. I am on a mission. I trust my soul and our attraction to succeed. I don't trust Bruce, her providential knight in shining armor. He's not who he claims to be. Rose can't be with him. She can only fight our chemistry and her growing magical powers for so long. I need to step back into her life. Woo her, with a vengeance. I'm deadly serious.

          I, Rose, used to be numb, until I discovered what it was to feel again, thanks to Virgil. He messed up my mind and overwhelmed my heart with unknown sensations. For once, I was willing to welcome some of those irrational emotions. It's unfortunate that Virgil's indecisions sent me to New York with my summer fling.

          How foolish of me to believe in the perfect fairytale Bruce offered me when I am no princess! Some say I am an Amazon. My mind is content with my life but my heart yearns for the wolf to change its course. What if I decide to be an Amazon princess? I'm deadly serious.

          Could we actually be soulmates, brought back together by an ancient spell, destined to embrace this unorthodox fairytale and a happy ending?

          That would be deadly wicked.

DEADLY EVER AFTER can be found on Goodreads and Amazon Kindle.

 

Hope Irving is the proud mother of a lovely and witty young lady, and the lucky wife of a loving and supportive husband. She's a debut indie author who lived in Paris, France, most of her life and also in the US, where she graduated with a master degree.

She loves Nutella and Camembert cheese (not together), carrot cake and cinnamon Altoids.

Her favorite fictional characters are Eric Northman (Sookie Stackhouse series, Charlaine Harris) and Sean Bateman (The Rules of Attraction, Bret Easton Ellis).

For more on Hope and her writing, visit her website, sign up for her newsletter and connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Amazon, and Goodreads.

 

Now for an excerpt from this tantalizing book.

“You know Rose, trust my experience, don’t dwell on guilt. I can tell that you’re not comfortable in your own shoes for living with that Bruce guy and not forgetting about… what’s his name?”

“Virgil.” The six letters roll down my tongue like honey. I love saying his name. I love his name. A peculiar name for a peculiar guy. Inspired by Dante. Virgil, the guide through Hell.

As much as I hate to admit it, Meghan, a perfect stranger has a point.

“You ran into Bruce’s arms after Virgil rejected you, twice if I heard you correctly. What’s the big deal? You chose Bruce and he chose you. You’ll figure things out if or when Virgil is back in the picture. This is not the time, and maybe you won’t feel the same when you guys meet again. Or maybe you’ll want to break it off with Bruce. Take this one step at a time. Thinking about Virgil doesn’t mean you don’t have feelings for Bruce. And even if you don’t, at least you have great sex.”

When she says it like this, it sounds so simple.

“Has Bruce ever complained?” I shake my head no. “See, you’re both getting something out of this relationship. Think positive. Enjoy yourself.”

“Meghan’s right, Rose. You’ve been depressed enough for a lifetime!”

“Listening to you… and again, sorry for eavesdropping… let me tell you, stop judging yourself. I bet you think you’re a bitch for using Bruce in a way.”

That’s a way to put it. Let’s see where she’s going.

“In his own way, he’s using you, too. We’re all using people one way or another. You shouldn’t care what other people think. Nobody would question your behavior if you were a guy. They’d call you a Don Juan or a manwhore and look at you in awe. And it’s not like you’re even screwing the whole neighborhood. Look, you only got one life. One chance to test and learn. You will screw up eventually, we all do. But you got back on your own two feet the first time, didn’t you?”

Sure, Guillaume ruined a year of my life because I let him.

“You should have the upper hand. You’re in control of your own life.”

Am I? She sees my doubtful pout.

“Seize the day.” That does ring a bell. I succeeded in forgetting my own motto from Bret Easton Ellis’ book Rock’ n’ Roll, deal with it… “Every girl should. You’re an Amazon, strong, independent. Embrace your life as it is, Rose.”

More words of wisdom. And with that she strides to the cash register. She thanks us for the nice chat and says she’ll see us around, eventually.

“Take care girls.” She waves at us, smiling. Hopefully she’ll have fun with her boyfriend tonight…

As for me, I do miss Virgil. I love my life here but if I had the choice between this and a go with Virgil, I wouldn’t hesitate. I want him completely, flaws included. Demi should know this to understand where I’m coming from.

Why hadn’t I thought about this before? I’m glad I told her. She doesn’t judge. She doesn’t berate. She doesn’t pretend.

© 2016 Hope Irving

Thanks so much for stopping by today during this cover reveal. Do you enjoy reading excerpts of books, especially those that are in different genres than what you read?

Hot Cowboy Nights by Carolyn Brown

◊ HOT COWBOY NIGHTS by Carolyn Brown

◊ Series: Lucky Penny Ranch Series (Book #2)

◊ Narrator: Chelsea Hatfield

◊ Audible Audio Edition

◊ Listening Length: 9 hours and 30 minutes

◊ Program Type: Audiobook

◊ Genre: Romance, Western, Contemporary

◊ Version: Unabridged

◊ Publisher: Hachette Audio

◊ Audible.com Release Date: May 31, 2016

◊ Language: English

◊ ASIN: BO1FTOEOHE

SYNOPSIS:

Let's give 'em something to talk about....

If gossip is the lifeblood of a small town, then Lizzy Logan has been its beating heart. After being dumped by her fiancé for another woman, she could have decided to crawl under a rock. But no, she'd rather really set tongues wagging by "moving on" with one of the hottest cowboys in Texas, who happens to live next door at the Lucky Penny Ranch. Those busybodies don't have to know it's actually all pretend. And just because Lizzy has no aim to tame her wild, blue-eyed neighbor doesn't mean she can't enjoy the ride of her life.

Toby Dawson never was and never will be the settling-down type. But what harm could there be in agreeing to be Lizzy's pretend boyfriend? They'll put on a show for a few weeks and be done. Yet the more he gets to know Lizzy - really know her - the harder it is for him to keep his hands off of her in private. Soon this rough-and-ready cowboy is hoping to heal Lizzy's bruised heart and turn their fake affair into a true romance..

Every time I begin a book by author Carolyn Brown, I know I’m in for a rip-roaring good time with characters that are a hoot with hearts of gold.

Narrator Chelsea Hatfield does an excellent job bringing the warmth and strength of Brown’s characters to life. Her accents and cadence enhances this already entertaining tale. Her timing and interruption of the actions is spot on.

Brown has developed characters that are realistic, likable and easy to relate to. Their bantering adds depth, while their antics will remind you of people you really know.

The small town setting has the perfect feel-good atmosphere about it, even though everyone knows everyone’s business two seconds after it happens. Brown shows communities, as well as families, may bicker but come together in a crisis.

Filled with hunky cowboys, feisty country girls, steamy romance and grumbling townsfolks, HOW COWBOY NIGHTS is a tantalizing tale. This story can be read/listened to on its own even though it brings back characters from the first installment in the series.

Grab a cold glass of sweet tea or a cold beer, settle back and be ready to be thoroughly regaled by the group from the Lucky Penny Ranch series. Steamy, sexy, strong, and supportive make for a perfect combination in this latest release by Brown.

Hot Cowboy Nights by Carolyn Brown, Lucky Penny Ranch Series (Book #2), Narrated by Chelsea Hatfield, Hachette Audio, @2016, ASIN: BO1FTOEOHE, Unabridged, Audible Audio Edition, Run Time: 9 Hours and 30 Minutes

FTC Full Disclosure – A copy of this audio book was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review. The thoughts are completely my own and given honestly and freely.

Thanks for stopping by today, I so appreciate it. If you’re not into listening to audio books, HOT COWBOY NIGHTS is also available in print and eBook formats. Stories that bring opposites together are always interesting. Do you find those type stories plausible? Do you like stories that have bad boys really being good at heart?

Flight Pattern by Karen White

◊ FLIGHT PATTERN by Karen White

◊ Hardcover: 416 pages

◊ Genre: Women’s Fiction

◊ Publisher: NAL (May 24, 2016)

◊ Language: English

◊ ISBN-10: 0451470915

◊ ISBN-13: 978-0451470911

SYNOPSIS:

 The New York Times bestselling author of The Sound of Glass and coauthor of The Forgotten Room tells the story of a woman coming home to the family she left behind—and to the woman she always wanted to be...

            Georgia Chambers has spent her life sifting through other people’s pasts while trying to forget her own. But then her work as an expert of fine china—especially of Limoges—requires her to return to the one place she swore she’d never revisit...

            It’s been ten years since Georgia left her family home on the coast of Florida, and nothing much has changed, except that there are fewer oysters and more tourists. She finds solace seeing her grandfather still toiling away in the apiary where she spent much of her childhood, but encountering her estranged mother and sister leaves her rattled.
            Seeing them after all this time makes Georgia realize that something has been missing—and unless she finds a way to heal these rifts, she will forever be living vicariously through other people’s remnants. To embrace her own life—mistakes and all—she will have to find the courage to confront the ghosts of her past and the secrets she was forced to keep...       

Author Karen White weaves an enchanting tale of past and present coming together to form a hopeful future in this latest release.

The characters in this moving story are likable and well-developed. Their interactions will draw you in as they each deal with their own secrets and ghosts. Told from different viewpoints adds depth to the story.

The author details the various settings in such a way you feel connected to each place. While beekeeping and china patterns seem to have little, if nothing, in common, White brings the two elements together in an entertaining and educational way.

FLIGHT PATTERNS is a mesmerizing story that moves at a quick pace holding you spellbound until the end. The story is suspenseful as it blends the history of World War II in Europe with modern day for an intriguing look at secrets and how they can mold lives. A must read for your summer pleasure.

Flight Pattern by Karen White, NAL, @2016, ISBN: 978-0451470911, Hardcover, 416 Pages

FTC Full Disclosure – A copy of this book was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review. The thoughts are completely my own and given honestly and freely.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Do you have a favorite china pattern? Do you have a set or piece of china that has been passed down through generations in your family?