Blog Tour for Beauty and The Clockwork Beast

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I'm so happy to be part of the blog tour for Nancy Campbell Allen's new release, Beauty and the Clockwork Beast. I received an advanced copy of the book a while ago and couldn't wait to read it. I reviewed it the moment I finished and you can see what I thought here. (I was worried about it being steampunk and historical, but I shouldn't have. It was amazing!)

Here's the back copy:

When Lucy Pickett arrives at Blackwell Manor to tend to her ailing cousin, Kate, she finds more than she bargained for. A restless ghost roams the hallways, werewolves have been reported in the area, and vampires lurk across the Scottish border.

Lord Miles himself is clearly hiding a secret. He is brash and inhospitable and does not take kindly to visitors—even one as smart and attractive as Miss Pickett. He is unsettled by the mysterious deaths of his new wife, Clara, and his sister, Marie. Could Miles himself be to blame for the deaths?

Working together, Miles and Lucy attempt to restore peace to Blackwell Manor. But can Lucy solve the mystery of Miles? Can she love the man—beast and all?

You can buy your own Kindle copy here

A Sale For Historical Fiction Fans! Today Only!

If you are a Julie Daines fan or love historical books with a bit of superstition and magic in them, then you've got to download her book, Unraveled. It's .99 cents today only! (Which is nearly $10 off the publisher's price.)

Here's the back copy:

In the years since the fever that took both her family and her ability to walk, sixteen-year-old Bronwen has been relegated to the lonely status of cripple. But when a fortuitous encounter with a mysterious mountain witch reveals the magical possibility of regaining the use of her legs, Bronwen can’t help but envision the life she never had. Powerless to resist the promise of a second chance, Bronwen dons the enchanted but homely shoes the witch gives her and embarks on a journey that takes her from her small village in the countryside to the glittering court of the king—and from a lonely life of solitude to a life filled with attention from two very different young men. But when Bronwen’s desire to be accepted leads to compounding lies and a mountain of trouble, the power of true love is tested. Can Bronwen’s dream of being happy, whole, and loved ever be attained?

You can download your copy for only .99 cents, here!

Book Review: I Am Delilah

Today's review is one of Josi Kilpack's earlier works from 2004 called I Am Delilah (Originally titled Star Struck.) It's tough to classify this one. It's not a romance. It's not women's fiction. It's not a mystery. It's just a story about a small town girl and an A list actor whose paths cross briefly.

Sam Hendricks has worked hard to be a good actor. He's up for an Academy Award and each year he takes a plain girl, makes her over, and then she becomes his date for the Oscars. This year, however, he chooses a girl who says no. On camera. It's a publicity nightmare and he'll do anything to fix it---including spend two weeks working on her family's dairy farm.

Delilah doesn't want to have anything to do with Sam or his glamorous lifestyle. She thinks she has the perfect plan for him to leave her alone---make a deal that if he works the dairy farm for two weeks, then she'll say yes to going to the Oscars with him. In her mind, there's no way this pampered actor will ever be able to get through two weeks of hard work.

Of course Sam takes the challenge and the rest of the story is how he slowly changes through his experience with Delilah and her family. Sam starts to see things through a different lens and his perspective slowly changes. It was a nice story, but I wish there would have been a little romance, though. It was missing that Josi Kilpack spark without it. Since this is a re-release there were also several editing errors and missing words, but not enough to distract from the story. Since it was written over ten years ago, they didn't have all the modern day conveniences of smart phones and such, which made me see how much the world has changed in such a short time. Overall, this story had a setting that was easy to imagine and solid characters that project a message about being true to yourself, A nice afternoon read.

Here's the back copy:

Although Delilah works in New York, she’s a small-town girl and eager to finish her job as a nanny and return to Big Fork Montana where she’ll marry her high-school sweetheart. When she ends up the focus of a Hollywood stunt centered around her being the Oscar date of Hollywood heartthrob Sam Hendricks, life as she knows it becomes a thing of the past. Delilah promptly refuses him, only to find that it isn’t so easy to step out of the limelight once you’ve ended up in the middle of the public eye.

Sam Hendricks is not used to taking no for an answer, and when his rejection become a leading story, he determines to do whatever it takes to turn the tide of public opinion back in his favor. Again and again Delilah refuses him until she proposes an offer—if he’ll spend two weeks on her family’s dairy farm, she’ll be his date to the Oscars. In no way is this a fair trade, but Sam feels he has no choice and therefore agrees to her proposal—they both agree no one will ever know.

Unfortunately for them both, there are plans other than their own at play, and when everything goes wrong they are faced with another fallout, bigger than the first.

You can download your Kindle copy here

Friday Freebie

Today's Friday Freebie is a clean romance by Marcia McClure called Dusty Britches. I haven't read it, but it was recommended to me, and looks like a fun afternoon read, so I'm passing it along!

Here's the back copy:

Angelina Hunter was seriously minded, and it was a good thing. Her father’s ranch needed a woman who could endure the strenuous work of ranch life. Since her mother’s death, Angelina had been that woman. She had no time for frivolity; no time for a less severe side of life. Not when there was so much to be done—hired hands to feed, a widower father to care for and an often ridiculously lighted-hearted younger sister to worry about. No. Angelina Hunter had no time for the things most young women her age enjoyed.

And yet, Angelina had not always been so hardened. There had been a time when she boasted a fun, flirtatious nature even more delightful than her sister Becca’s—a time when her imagination soared with adventurous, romantic dreams. But that all ended years before at the hand of one man. Her heart turned to stone…safely becoming void of any emotion save impatience and indifference.

Until the day her dreams returned, the day the very maker of her broken heart rode back into her life. As the dust settled from the cattle drive which brought him back, would Angelina’s heart be softened? Would she learn to hope again? Would her long-lost dreams become a blessed reality?

You can download your free Kindle copy here

Look What Came In The Mail!

We have a Bellon Family Book Club and this was our pick of the week from my little ones. After I read it, I had to own it! The story was cute and funny and I know it's one I wouldn't mind reading to them over and over again. 

Here's the back copy: 

We all know the story of the Big Bad Wolf and the three little pigs ... or do we? Meet the great-great-great-great-grandson of the original Big Bad Wolf, also hot on the trail of some little pigs. Is he also up to no goodor is he trying to make friends at last? A hilarious twist on the original Three Little Pigs story, with stunning illustrations from acclaimed artist Eva Montanari.

Gets yours here!

What I'm Reading Wednesday

I have been reading H.B. Moore's thriller Slave Queen. It's another installment of her Omar Zagouri stories and it is fantastic! An antiquities collector who is also trying to safeguard the lineage of the Royalists from the Ottoman Empire has discovered a letter that proves the rightful heir was wrongfully executed in the 1500s. With that evidence, he can recruit more people to his cause, perhaps make a name for himself in history. That is, until Omar is put on the case.

This story is a thrill ride. I loved catching up with Omar and his quick-wittedness in the field. As always, Ms. Moore's research and setting are incredible and add another layer of believability. The characters are deep and well-drawn and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The roller coaster was non-stop from the story of the sultan and his bride to Omar tracking down a killer. Make some time for this one because there's no good place to stop!

Here's the back copy:

Special Agent Omar Zagouri’s latest case is his most dangerous—and his most personal yet. The discovery of secret sixteenth-century letters unveils a plot between the sultan Suleyman and his chief wife, Roxelane, to change the course of the Ottoman Empire. A descendent of Roxelane, Zagouri learns he has an enemy whose revenge has been centuries in the making.

Targeted by an antiquities collector who’s also descended from a chief rival for the ancient throne, Zagouri soon uncovers a modern-day conspiracy that threatens the lives of his family and the security of a nation.

To expose the plot, Zagouri must team up with Naim, the son of his nemesis, who heads an international black-market operation that may have ties to the killings. From ancient Constantinople to the present-day Middle East, Zagouri is on a collision course with history. Time is running out to solve a royal mystery and stop a ruthless killer—one who has Zagouri’s name on his hit list.

You can preorder your copy here

No Castle But Kiefer's Back!

So, all of you know how sad I am that there is no new season of Castle to look forward to. It's been a staple of my TV viewing for so long it's like I've lost a friend.

But, I did notice that Kiefer Sutherland is coming back to the small screen and the show looks really good. I was a big fan of 24 and this just might help my Castle withdrawals. (No, it doesn't look anything like Castle, but I like Kiefer, so I think I'm going to watch and see.)

Here's the trailer. What do you think?