Book Review and Giveaway!

Blog Tour Schedule

I am so excited to be part of the blog tour for The Sheik's Ruby. I read it while I was on vacation and funny story, I had just finished another book and was getting ready to read this one, but thought I hadn't read the bonus material at the end of the book I'd just finished. I picked up my Kindle and started reading that and was immediately hooked, thinking, whoa, I am definitely going to buy this book.  I was two chapters in, when I realized I was actually reading The Sheik's Ruby! I know, silly me, but this book was so captivating right from the very beginning.  I loved how easy and confident Shelby was and how the author described the first meeting and attraction between Shelby and Hakim. Hakim is swoon-worthy, of course, and I didn't even try to put the book down when they were together. I loved their scenes!

It was fun seeing Hakim, a prince, doing some mundane American things and the author made it easy to really feel a connection to him and the sheltered life of privilege he'd led to this point. And Shelby was the perfect woman to show him what it means to fall in love, even in her fish out of water status when she's in his country.  The plot was ramped up with a terrorist angle and some suspense which was really well done, using a lot of the supporting cast. I loved Kadir and Nasir and even the Sheik. The middle eastern culture was described well and it really added to the story. Definitely one for my keeper shelf. Five stars from me!

Don't forget to scroll all the way down to enter the giveaway!

Here's the back copy:

 Shelby wants to break away from the mold of her small town and make a name for herself in the big-city journalism world. While skiing, she meets mysterious stranger Hakim who is actually the prince of the Middle Eastern kingdom of Khali-dar. When his enemies learn of Hakim’s connection to an American girl, they target Shelby. Fleeing to the safety of Khali-dar, Shelby falls deeper in love not only with the prince, but with his country. As she struggles to survive terrorist attacks, withstand the Sheik’s prejudice, and find her place in a world she doesn’t understand, she must choose which life she is willing to sacrifice—the comfortable one she has worked so hard to create, or the one with the man she loves.

Amazon * Wild Rose Press * Barnes & Noble

Excerpt “Does your father know you’re asking me?” Hakim gazed over her shoulder and took a deep breath. “He knows.” “But he doesn’t want me to come, right?” “I will bring a companion of my choice tomorrow.” He locked his gaze onto Shelby’s and leaned toward her. “You are my choice. Will you please come?” The Sheik apparently doesn’t buy into the whole “guests are gifts from Allah” idea. “Of course, I would love to come.” She smiled, but knew it didn’t appear convincing. She hated feeling like she was the source of their discord. “You are nervous. Please do not feel uncomfortable.” “I’m worried I’ll say or do something stupid.” She winced. “I’m not exactly a refined debutante who knows how to act in formal situations. I don’t want to embarrass you, Hakim.” “I do not want you to be a refined debutante. I have spent enough time with those people to know they are not what I want.”Hakim maneuvered his horse until he faced Shelby and their legs were nearly touching. He leaned closer, his gaze earnest. “What I want is you, Shelby Jo.” He cupped her cheek in his hand. Shelby felt her heart flutter and her nerve endings tingle as she lost herself in the deep brown pools of his eyes. His thumb stroked her skin, leaving a trail of heat in its wake. He slid his hand into her hair and drew her closer, his lips covering hers. When she drew away, Shelby inhaled deeply and grinned. “Hearing you put it that way, how could I possibly refuse?”

 

 
Praise for Sheik's Ruby “What a fun read! THE SHEIK’S RUBY is a fabulous Cinderella story with both ancient and modern tones you don’t want to miss.” ~Josi Kilpack ~*~ “THE SHEIK’S RUBY is a perfect blend of romance and adventure, set in locales both familiar and exotic. When I finished, I wanted to start over and enjoy it again. ~Nancy Allen  


Author Jennifer Moore Jennifer Moore is a passionate reader and writer of all things romance due to the need to balance the rest of her world that includes a perpetually traveling husband and four active sons, who create heaps of laundry that is anything but romantic. She suffers from an unhealthy addiction to 18th and 19th century military history and literature. Jennifer has a B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Utah and is a Guitar Hero champion. She lives in northern Utah with her family, but most of the time wishes she was on board a frigate during the Age of Sail.

Website * Twitter * Facebook

Also by Jennifer Moore: Becoming Lady Lockwood (2014 Whitney Award Winner), Lady Emma's Campaign & Miss Burton Unmasks a Prince.

 

Blog Tour Giveaway $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 7/17/15 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Freebie Friday

Today's Friday Freebie is a YA paranormal romance by Stacy Claflin called Deception.  I recently discovered this author when I read a romance of hers and saw that she had a paranormal series out as well and thought I'd give it a try.  

Here's the back copy:

What if your whole life was a lie?

Alexis Ferguson thinks she has everything figured out, but has no idea how wrong she is. Set up on a blind date, she meets a gorgeous stranger and feels that she’s known him her entire life, but she has never seen him before.

He awakens in her long-forgotten dark memories, and now she must face the one who ordered her death years ago. Will she learn to use her strange new powers in time to save herself? Will she let him help her? Should she trust him?

You can download your free Kindle copy here

Focus On The Joy

As I've been experiencing some ups and downs with getting my words in and accomplishing my goals, I found this old pep talk from Brandon Sanderson.  In it he talks about how he was pretty much in despair, wondering where and if his writing career would ever take off. He had a huge stack of unsold novels and no sales/deals in sight.What he didn't know is that in a few months an editor would read the book he'd submitted a year earlier and his life would change.  But what if he'd given up?

But here's what he said that struck me:

"You could be writing the book that changes your life. You could have already submitted it, or self-published it. The spark could be starting a fire for you as well. You don’t know, and you can’t know. That is the thrill of being an artist, of working for yourself, and of telling the stories you want to tell.

Don’t give up. Keep your eyes on the project you’re working on right now, and make it the best that it can be. More importantly, love that process."

I do love the thrill of being an artist and sharing my stories.  And some days I do love the process, but more often than not, I slog through it.  Reading this little pep talk today reminded me of the joy I've felt when I've finished a story, shared it with a friend, or read a good review.  

And that's what I want to keep in the forefront of my mind.  I think I'm going to write "Love the Process" on a recipe card and tack it up on the wall where I can see it every day.  Somehow, when I read that, I'm reminded of how much I DO love the process.

Focus on the joy. That's what I'm working on.

(You can read the full pep talk by Brandon Sanderson here.)

Writer Goal Wednesday

Well, I met AND EXCEEDED my goal from last week. I had an amazing writing week and I'm not afraid to be happy about it!

The muse was musing all over the place for me and I even got a plot twist worked out! I really love this book and am so excited about the new series and the characters that I hope you'll love as much as I do.

I've been thinking a lot about what made the difference between last week and this week,and I really think dropping my goal to something small like three pages helped me mentally focus less on the goal and more on the joy of writing.  Once I felt like I didn't have ten pages hanging over my head, merely three, it seemed more do-able somehow and then I exceeded the three and got the ten anyway! Go figure.

Whatever it was, I'm so glad.  How did you do on your goals this week?

My New Audio Book!

I'm so excited to finally announce that my novel, Through Love's Trials, is available in audiobook!

You can go here to listen to a sample.

Here's the back copy:

Attorney Kenneth King can't wait to get away on vacation and leave the courtroom behind. He only has one last errand to do for his boss: drop off a flash drive to fellow attorney Emma James. But as soon as the drive is in his hands, his boss is murdered and Kenneth becomes the next target. With nowhere left to turn, he reaches out to Emma for help, but that only puts them both in danger. 

Emma James just wants to settle into her new job and provide a good life for her little girl. That is all threatened when she gets a flash drive with information on it that points to an imminent terrorist attack on US soil. With her choices dwindling and her vulnerabilities made crystal clear, Emma is pushed to the limit by those who want her dead, and the rest of the country to suffer. How far will she be forced to go to save the lives of everyone around her, including those she loves? 

Kenneth and Emma have to find a way to work together to stop the terrorists, but it's the most difficult trial of their lives - and the verdict will be life or death.

  I can't wait to hear what you all think of it!  *throws confetti*

Double Book Review!

I have two awesome books to tell you about today!  The first one is Attractive Nuisance by Jennifer Griffith. This was a light-hearted romance that really stole my heart! I really enjoyed it.

Attorney Camilla Sweeten is determined to win the Deputy County Attorney spot and works super hard to get it. She's an over-preparer and goes over every minute detail in her cases so she can do her best work.  Until the day that she's in the middle of closing arguments and hot attorney Zane Holyoke catches her eye.  She flubs her closing in front of her boss, but thankfully doesn't lose the case. Only, she's now in danger of losing her heart!

Camilla has some relationship issues, however, and doesn't let Zane too close, especially when she finds out they're both competing for the Deputy County Attorney job.  He's a charmer, a "Jury Whisperer" and while Camilla is wildly attracted to him, she's also very careful with keeping her distance. I loved their interactions and seriously laughed out loud at some of them. The author did a great job with their dialogue and how fun Zane and Camilla were together.  The supporting cast was fantastic as well, really adding to the story.

If you are looking for a fun, sweet romance, you have to get this one. Five stars from me! (You can get your Kindle copy herefor only $2.99!)

Here's the back copy:

Camilla Sweeten is serious about her job in the County Attorney’s office. She’s even working up the courage to ask her boss to consider her for promotion to deputy.

Then, into court walks the gorgeous Zane Holyoake, and disaster strikes—in the form of a total brain fog right in the middle of her closing arguments. In front of both her boss and the meanest bear of a judge in the county, Camilla hears herself saying, “Like, I totally made my point,” as though she’d flown in from1980s California in a time machine airplane.

Now her boss will never consider her for deputy—especially since Zane turns out to be a new lawyer, possibly brought in to steal her dream job.

But when a notorious criminal is caught in their county, Camilla must focus on getting the thief convicted and not on Zane, who smells heavenly and is bent on distracting her with lunch offers and wacky Boy Scout stories that may melt her many resolves.

It’s going to take incredible willpower to ignore this attractive nuisance.

The second book I want to tell you about today is Seaside Surprises by Stacy Claflin. I've never read this author before and was pleasantly surprised. She has a nice, easy style, and creates characters that are likable.

This story is about Jake Hunter who has lost his sister to cancer. His family is trying to cope and doing a terrible job of it. He's pulling double duty at the family shop and isn't exactly happy about it, but doesn't know what to do, really.  He meets Tiffany Saunders, a beautiful and mysterious woman who is passing through town. At least, she thinks she is, until she has some car trouble and has to stay a little longer.

Tiffany has a terrible background. She's running from her abusive husband and her grandpa is helping her hide her identity and start over.  Stopping in Kittle Falls and meeting Jake is a twist of fate she wasn't expecting and she ends up staying and getting to know him better.  Her self-esteem is pretty low due to her abusive marriage, but her interactions with Jake show her that she can have a chance at love again, if she'll only take the risk.

This story dealt with some heavy material and definitely wasn't a fluffy beach read. I liked the ocean setting and the fact that this is a start of a series. (Jake's brothers will probably get their own stories.) I thought the author did a great job dealing with the grief of Jake's family and the fear and abuse on Tiffany's side, showing that two people who are broken can heal.

You can get your Kindle copy here for only $2.99!

Here's the back copy:

Tiffany Saunders is on the run. When she winds up stranded in a seaside town, she wants nothing more than to forget her horrific past and kept moving. But a chance meeting with a handsome local changes everything.

Jake Hunter has some deep emotional scars and is trying to cope with running the family business. The last thing he wants is a relationship—until a mysterious brunette walks into his store and complicates it all.

Tiffany prefers to keep the painful memories of the past where they belong—in her rear view mirror. But dark secrets cannot stay hidden forever. Just as the walls around Tiffany’s heart start to come down, the past catches up with her. Will true love be able to conquer all?

Freebie Friday

Today's Friday Freebie is a clean mystery/suspense called Hazardous Duty by Christy Barritt. This one might go to the top of my TBR pile. It sounds good! You can download your free Kindle copy here

Here's the back copy:

Buying a gun to kill your wife: $3,000
Hiring Trauma Care to clean afterward: $1,500
Having that same cleaner uncover evidence that frames you: Priceless

On her way to completing a degree in forensic science, Gabby St. Claire drops out of school and starts her own crime scene cleaning business. When a routine cleaning job uncovers a murder weapon the police overlooked, she realizes that the wrong person is in jail. But the owner of the weapon is a powerful foe . . . and willing to do anything to keep Gabby quiet.

With the help of her new neighbor, Riley Thomas, a man whose life and faith fascinate her, Gabby plays the detective to make sure the right person is put behind bars. Can Riley help her before another murder occurs?

And just as a heads up, Sariah Wilson's book Royal Date (which I really enjoyed!) is on sale for only $1.99!  You can download your copy here

Here's the back copy:

This Cinderella didn’t plan on a prince . . .

Kat MacTaggart is a girl who has a plan for everything—including her holiday ski trip to Monterra with her best friend. Everything is going according to plan until she finds herself careening out of control down a mountainside and being rescued by a guy who looks like Superman’s hotter Italian cousin.

HRH Prince Nico is intrigued by the woman he saved on the slopes and her refusal to date him. He offers Kat a deal—let him show her his country and he’ll pay her to write articles that will help Monterra’s tourism industry. Kat agrees, but given her past and lingering distrust of men, she has one condition—absolutely no kissing.

Thanks to the claims of a jealous British noblewoman and the schemes of a meddling paparazzo, Kat’s rule doesn’t seem to be a problem at first. But the more Kat gets to know Nico and the people around him, the harder it is to remember her keep-your-distance plan. Should she stick to it or risk everything for a chance at happily ever after?