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Friday Finds & Reader Recommendations – 09-24-2021

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HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!!! It’s time to fire up the latest “Friday Book Finds” and I’m still working on these as we speak (so keep checking back, and if you have one for me, let me know and I’ll add it!)

Right off the bat I’m starting us with a HUGE deal that can’t be missed. Mind you, I’m already a member of both, so I can’t get in on this, but maybe you can? ➔➔➔ THREE MONTHS FREE (Audible & Amazon Music)

Also… don’t forget to check out today’s Friday Finds newsletter sponsor (and trust me… this book sounds right up our marital strife… danger-zone angsty alley!!!! I want to read this HARD!!)  ➔➔➔ Marital Strife Alert!! Rachel Blaufeld’s “Faded Sunset” is live, and she’s sent over fun facts + she’s giving away a signed copy!!

TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE FOUND FOR THE WEEKEND :D !!

➔➔➔ THREE MONTHS FREE (Audible & Amazon Music) <— WOW!!! 😮 🤩

  • Shattered Chords: A Rockstar Romance (The Encore Book 3) by N.N. Britt <— LIVE!! N.N. BRITT ROCK STAR ALERT!! AND SHE’S A SINGLE MOM!! “…At thirty-four, Camille Rockwell thinks she has it all figured out. As a successful businesswoman and a busy single mom, she swore off men years ago and isn’t looking for a relationship. That is, until reformed bad boy rock star Dante Martinez buys her fifteen-year-old daughter an expensive gift at a local guitar shop and offers to be her tutor. Dante’s instantly smitten with the feisty, overprotective redhead…”
  • My Sweet Girl by Amanda Jayatissa <— TASHA J 5-STARRED THIS ONE!!

Tasha J: I’m still reading My Sweet Girl. About to the halfway mark. I’m enjoying it. I like the flashbacks to Sri Lanka more than present day, I think. The girl is so jaded and has a foul mouth. It’s off putting. I read a review recently that said it was like a mix of Broken Girls (loved) and Girl on a Train (never read) and I’m hoping it’s a win for me.

Tasha J: I finished Sweet Girl. Took longer than I’d wanted, but I gave it 5⭐️. I could totally see why this book could be hit or miss for some people, but for me it was a hit.  The last 3rd probably cemented that rating more than the lead up. Maybe 4.5⭐️…bc of my previous complaints. But, that punch. It got me.

Kathy: Just finished The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle and really enjoyed it. It kept me sane over the last week when I had to fly up to Spokane to take care of my college son (yes, just two weeks into college) who broke his wrist and needed emergency surgery…

Michele G: Last night I finished Amy Harmon’s The Songbook of Benny Lament….again…what a story!!! I love Amy Harmon’s writing anyway, but this one was really something special! I highly recommend!

Linda: Just finished Sixteen Summers by Caitlin Moss. I always try to go in blind when I choose my reads. Therefore I keep my words minimal and I just sound repetitious with my recommendations!! This. Book. Was. Amazing!!

My ONLY complaint is I prefer dual perspectives but I know that’s not an issue for most of you. All the feels. Loved it!!

Michele G: Maryse, I finished The Burning Girls and definitely recommend it. I’ll be giving it 4 1/2 stars. It was a creative and creepy book with a strong plot. I really enjoyed it! …The creep factor is absolutely there and I love it!!

Lisa C: I just finished The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. I’m pretty sure Tasha recommended it maybe?????

I have not gotten into a book this well in awhile. Slow burn deliciousness!!!!!!!! The writing is very good. It’s a fake dating trope but it was done so well. I loved the academia background of the story. Made it so interesting. All the h’s POV!!!!!! Oh and it makes you wonder what he’s thinking big time.

I borrowed it from the library but I kinda want to read it again. I loved it that much!!!!!!!

AUDIOBOOK L:DVERS!

➔➔ Not a member of Audible yet? Get a free 30 day audible trial (which includes one title from their premium selection of best sellers and listen all you want to thousands of titles in their growing Audible Plus Catalog.)

➔➔ AND! Audiobook Matchmaker!! <— Find out which of YOUR Kindle books are available as audiobooks at a BARGAIN-PRICE! This is how it works. Click on that link & Amazon will show you all of your Kindle books that are also available as an audiobook at a seriously discounted price. This way, you can switch back and forth, seamlessly between your ebooks and your audiobooks. VERY COOL!

Aimee: I also listened to It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover on audible. It was really good.. trigger warning with that one if anyone was ever abused. It had me with anxiety and left me wondering how it worked out in the long run with certain characters…

Maryse: I loved that one! And yes it was extremely painful at times.

PREORDERS (going live soon!!! 😀 )

➔➔➔  Looking for more book releases? Check out the upcoming new releases here or check out the latest new releases here.

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Marital Strife Alert!! Rachel Blaufeld’s “Faded Sunset” is live, and she’s sent over fun facts + she’s giving away a signed copy!!

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Faded Sunset <— HAPPY FRIDAY!!! Check out this new release and it’s sounds all sorts of angsty and right up my marital strife alley! Eeeeeep! And the author is celebrating her release by sponsoring todays newsletter, and she’s sent over fun facts about herself in relation to the book, an excerpt PLUS she’s giving away a signed copy! 😀

So what’s it about?

To the outside world, my universe is bright and shiny. No one would imagine how dim and dark my life really is. With a fractured heart and a broken body, I dream about breaking free.

When I meet Mick Grantham by chance one day, it feels serendipitous. At first, he thinks I’m just another vibrant lady who lunches, but my situation brings out his compassion.

It’s dangerous to get to know him—one of us is likely to get hurt—but something undeniable draws me to him. Our path seems fated . . . until the day we’re forced to a halt and hard decisions must be made.

Not all happy endings are born easily, but those won through adversity are often the most satisfying.

And now the author has some fun stuff for us!! 😀

This book takes me way back to my writing roots. It’s angsty, super tense, and messy! Of course, it ends happily (which is what is important to remember when it comes to a messy romance).

This is the type of story I love to read so when I write one, I get super involved in all the emotions. I find myself crying and pinching myself throughout writing.

I think a big part of the draw is how I grew up. My stepdad raised me and when my mom married him, I said, “THIS is a DREAM COME TRUE.” It took my mom a while to get her happy ending, but she did! This is why I’m drawn to stories where two people find love the hard way. It can be messy and imperfect, but it makes me FEEL something really awesome in the end.

FIVE facts about me as an author…related to this book.

  1. I drink my coffee with milk like Margo. As a side note, I brew a fresh pot of coffee every time I want a cup. I don’t like K-cups, so I grind my beans, brew my extra hot coffee, and enjoy!
  2. I also ride my Peloton for stress relief like Mick does (although I’m not an alpha millionaire).
  3. There is a dog in the book (I think most of my books have dogs because I’m a huge dog lover and allergic to cats). This dog is a lab, and at one point I had the best lab. He’s no longer with us but I miss him every day.
  4. I’ve been to Boston many times and have met my “sorority little sister” for lunch at Stephanie’s on Newbury, which is a real place featured in the book.
  5. Fun fact about all my stories, I write the epilogue towards the beginning of my writing process. I have to know where my characters are going to end up, and then I get them there!
    * and you can also include an excerpt (but these need to be more “PG” in nature since I may have younger readers on the blog on occasion).

Excerpt:

Leaving my phone on the bar right side up, I met a pair of dark brown, almost onyx eyes, framed by a head of tousled coal-black hair. Just my luck, masculinity radiated off the verbal offender, catching me in a weak moment, forcing me to pardon his bad taste in pickup lines and offer the seat to him.

I tried to think of a reason to say no. I was married and a mother, and the chair wasn’t mine to offer. But he asked me, and so I obliged.

“It’s all yours—free of charge,” I said with a touch of humor. I was already nervous enough with this unfamiliar midday tension, and now lust radiated from this guy, drawing all the oxygen from the air around me.

“Thanks.” He pulled out the high-back stool next to me and slid onto it.

His shirt was untucked and hung over his European-cut suit pants. I couldn’t help it; I had to take a second look. I imagined his tie was wherever he’d left his jacket, thrown over a chair somewhere. No doubt, a bedroom—maybe not even his—or an office nearby.

My heart hoped for the latter. My married but miserable heart.

Back to sipping my cabernet, I scrolled through the emails on my phone, shoving the mystery man to the back of my mind, despite his scent invading all my senses. Masculine, with a hint of cologne and shampoo from earlier in the day, heavy on the tea tree oil.

My preference would have been to push him all the way out of my head, but beggars can’t be choosers. I forced myself back to the present and the competitive knot twisted in my belly over my earlier meeting. Finally, I had the chance to write about something I wanted. I needed to do my best, and then I could generate more work and be rid of Tommy—if he’d allow it. I knew he’d fight it, which was another good reason why I wasn’t sitting at the bar trying to meet men.

Opening my calendar app, I made a note to message a few of the designers tomorrow and introduce myself.
“Can I get you another?”

This time the man’s voice was raspier, pure gravel traveling through his vocal cords as even more cliché nonsense came from his mouth. He was now comfortably settled next to me, drinking a bourbon, impervious to the wedding band on my hand.

“If I want one, I can get my own,” I told him matter-of-factly. The independence felt as comforting as my robe on a rainy Sunday morning. I never got my own anything anymore.

I actually wrote most of this book to CLASSICAL music! Seriously. My son who is a musician was in online school during the pandemic and practicing a number of pieces at home. I started listening to various versions of what he was playing on my laptop and that’s how my writing took off.

Now for the giveaway!

The author is giving away a signed print copy of Faded Sunset. 

How to enter for a chance to win it?

Just leave a comment below (and better yet, let me know your favorite book that has marital strife and/or starting over) and by 10pm EST, September 26th, 2021, I will randomly select one lucky commenter as the winner.

The winner will be contacted and will have 48hrs to respond confirming their mailing address, so if you are picked, do not delay or you will lose your chance. The signed book will be sent to the winner by the author.

OPEN TO US only however everyone is welcome to comment. 🙂

➔➔➔ Love this author? Check out more of my Rachel Blaufeld features on my blog!

Reader Question – The book about the mafia wife assassin that lost her memory and didn’t remember….

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Gina is looking for this book! Ooooh tumultuous!!!!!!! Do you know it?

She asks:

Hi

I’m trying to find a book a read awhile back but I can’t remember the name.

It’s a Mafia romance. I believe it’s a arranged marriage and I think the wife is also an assassin.

I believe she was trained and abused by her father and ended up having lost her memory.

And didn’t remember she was a assassin.

But apparently everyone that knew her name was frightened by her.

That’s all I can really remember. I’m sorry.

Anyone have a guess?

Melanie: Maybe the Touch of Death duet by LP Lovell?
Book 1: Loathe Me
Book 2: Love me

➔➔➔  Browse more reader questions (solved & unsolved) here. 😀 Maybe you’ll find a solved one to read or have a guess for us for one that’s still unsolved.

Have a reader question for us to solve? Send it to me here.

➔➔➔  Love this trope? Browse more  Mafia Romance & Arranged Marriage Romance features and reviews on my blog. 😀

 

Reader Question… Solved! The comedy romance book about the heroine who is a military deserter and her brothers are policemen…

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Christabel is looking for this book! Ohhhhh …. Uniforms. You know me. 😉 I must know this. I almost want to say it’s the Heller series but I haven’t read a single book from that series as of yet, so what do I know? 😉

She asks:

Please there is this series that I read but I have  forgotten the name.

It’s about a woman who is an army or navy deserter she has like three brothers all police officers, most of her family members are policemen.

She has an FBI agent as a boyfriend but later falls in love with her boss who owns a PI firm. It’s also comedy.

Thank you

Anyone have a guess?

Tasha J: The Lexi Graves series by Camilla Chafer marks all the boxes except being an army or navy deserter. She does eventually become like a PI though.

Christabel: Thank you so much found my book

Tasha J: Yay, glad I could help! Thinking back, I think you’re right & she was briefly in the army. I was obsessed with this series years ago & got family members hooked on them. Back when we shared on a Nook, lol. Wonder if the author has written anything else. 🤔

Maryse: YAY!!! Another one solved, and by my very own book-twin!! 😀

➔➔➔  Browse more reader questions (solved & unsolved) here. 😀 Maybe you’ll find a solved one to read or have a guess for us for one that’s still unsolved.

Have a reader question for us to solve? Send it to me here.

➔➔➔  Love this trope? Browse more military romance features and reviews on my blog. 😀

Guest Review (my sister!!) – The Last of the Stanfields by Marc Levy

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The Last of the Stanfields by Marc Levy <— A new review form my sister!! Usually she’d be doing it from my house on her vacation here, but due to Covid… she’s home so far away from me.

BUT!! She sent me this and I’m thrilled!

Hi sweetie!

I have read a book last month and I saw that it is available in English and that it was on your “new releases” list of January 2019. So I wrote a review !!!

The Last of the Stanfields – Marc Levy

4.5 stars

My best friend Denyse (we’ve known each other since we were 4) lent me books months ago. Oh shoots! I think it was more like years now that I think of it… it was even before Covid-19. Well, I do not read as much as I would like to with my busy schedule, but I’m happy to have taken some time for myself with this book!

I read it in French, since Marc Levy is a French author, but I was happy to see that this man has books translated in many languages. So you too will be able to get into this tightly twisted story, full of entertaining characters.

Is there romance in that book? Oh yes there is! But first and foremost, you are taken into an intrigue that reveals itself little by little, through all sorts of means.

It all starts with anonymous letters. One condemning Eleanor-Rigby’s mother of a crime that she hid from her family. The other, condemning George-Harrison’s mother of the same. What have they done, apart from having sick humor in naming their kids, that would be considered a crime? She leaves London, and him Quebec, to meet the anonymous writer in Baltimore. But the writer is nowhere to be seen… And together, they will start investigating to discover something that has roots way back during the Second World War… something that will change forever how they see each other.

This will be a short review because each time I think of something cool to tell you, I feel like I’m going to spoil it for you. 😉

What got me into it are the characters. They’re normal people. They scream, get mad, do stupid things, all with passion, trying to get through life doing the best they can. Like us, they are living the existence they are in, not knowing or thinking much about what came before them. What don’t we know about our parents, about their parents… the passions, the mischiefs, the crises and all the choices they had to make, and what would we be willing to do, to really know?

Thank you my wonderful sister!!!! I LOVE THIS!!!

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