Are you an avid reader looking for your next "fix"? Can't bear to be without some form of reading material in your spare time? Welcome to my world! Whether you are seeking a new book to "feed your need", or you are an author seeking an unbiased point of view on your own recent masterpiece, this is the place to be. With life as with books, you never know where the next step might take you...

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Happy BOOK BIRTHDAY to... A LEGEND IN THE BAKING by Jamie Wesley- REVIEW!

It's that time again!
Time for another BOOK BIRTHDAY celebration to kick off the release of something you won't want to miss! This time around, we're bringing you a new title out TODAY via St. Martin's Press...


by
Jamie Wesley 
9781250801883
St. Martin's Press 


About the book...
August Hodges was supposed to be the silent partner in Sugar Blitz Cupcakes. Emphasis on silent. That is until his impromptu feminist rant about how women bakers are the backbone of the industry and baking cupcakes isn’t a threat to masculinity goes viral, making him the hottest bachelor in town. With a new location in the works, August and his partners decide to capitalize on this perfect opportunity to help cement their place in the community. But the hiring of his best friend’s younger sister, the woman who has haunted some of his best dreams for years, was as much of a shock as his new-found fame.

Social media manager Sloane Dell fell hard for her brother’s best friend the moment she met him more than a decade ago, but that teenage infatuation cost her dearly. Still, she accepts her brother’s request to revamp the bakery’s social media presence to take advantage of August’s newfound popularity, knowing it’s the big break her fledgling career needs. She’ll just ignore the fact that August is still August, i.e. sexier and sweeter than any man has a right to be. And that he drives her crazy with his resistance to all her ideas.

They vow to leave the past in the past. But when an explosive make-out session makes it clear their attraction burns hotter than ever, Sloane and August are forced to reconsider what it means to take a risk and chase your dreams.

As they’re both about to find out, all’s fair in love and cupcakes.



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Can I get a WOOT WOOT for that fab cover?! Okay, okay, let me focus. 

Today's book birthday spotlight shines on this delicious release that's about to romcom up your TBR. Take one part hot 🔥 bachelor that's a dynamite... in the kitchen (mind out of the gutter people!), one part social media manager with a past crush that isn't so much in the past, and you've got a recipe that's sure to ignite reader's tastes buds and/or imaginations 😉.

I really enjoyed this fun little romp through the pages. The culinary aspects mixed with the will-one-of-you-just-admit-to-your-feelings moments, and the positive voice for women in what can still be considered in the professional side of things a man's world. There's a bit of spice, but it sure tastes nice, and, as they say, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!

🧁 Add this sweet treat to your reading escape list today for a delightful way to step away from the holiday hubbub and enjoy some me time! 


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Special thanks to the Sara and the St. Martin's Griffin team for the chance to share this title with you and the egalley for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now wherever books are sold. 

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!










RRR presents... Santa Maybe by Carla Luna - REVIEW!


Happy holidays!
Is it too early to be saying that?  GOOD QUESTION!  Technically, I'm undecided on the matter, but I do think that Thanksgiving is being given the bum rush at this point.  Poor little holiday isn't getting the attention it truly deserves anymore...but I digress.  Today's blog tour guest comes to us via Rachel's Random Resources, and stars the latest holiday release from author Carla Luna!  I've reviewed her work before, and happily doing so once again because it was A LOT of fun!  So whether you're HO-Ho-holiday-ing it up, or Bah-Hum-Bugging about, put a jingle in your reading with today's blog tour guest and ebook of choice...



Santa Maybe
by
Carla Luna


About the book...
Have yourself a merry little fauxmance—with a dashing Santa who just might make it real.

Rosie Gonzalez isn’t having a wonderful Christmas time. Not when she’s at risk of losing her job as assistant manager of the Duchess—Victoria’s oldest boutique hotel. If she and her team can’t bring in more guests by the end of December, she’ll be let go. Adding to her stress is a calendar filled with family gatherings where her mom will inevitably nag her for still being single.

Drew Richardson isn’t faring much better. As if working alongside his ex at Northlife Fitness wasn’t bad enough, now she’s invited him to her December wedding. And since all his coworkers will be there, bailing isn’t an option. To get through it, he’ll need a plus-one for moral support.

So, when Rosie recruits him to play Santa for her hotel’s activities, he also proposes a fake-dating scheme to benefit them both. Just for the holidays—nothing more. But as things between them turn from nice to naughty, they’ll have to decide whether a real relationship could be the best Christmas gift of all.






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Fake romance trope, anyone?
How about a potential marriage of convenience?
Or maybe break it down to the base level of holiday romance?
Anyway you slice it, it comes off with a lot more attention than the last slice of holiday fruitcake.
Okay, so at my table that wouldn't be too hard to do...LOL...but seriously, this was a lot of fun!

From the various tropes running around that will draw their individual fan bases to the fabulous characters you'll be cheering on from the word go, the story potential was BIG and it lived right up to it!  I loved our leads, both Rosie and Drew.  They each had their histories, some shared and others not so much, and they each had their own challenges of the moment, which of course leads to the proposed solution for them both, but in the end, their hearts were totally in sync, and their chemistry was off the charts.  😉  ...no mistletoe needed, although the tree setup was PERFECTION!

If you're looking for a great holiday romance?  Check into The Duchess Hotel (see what I did there?!) and experience a staycation you won't want to forget.  OH, and did I mention it appears to be the first in a potential series?  Oh yeah...I'll be keeping room on my TBR for me!



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About the author...


Carla Luna writes contemporary romance with a dollop of humor and a pinch of spice. A former archaeologist, she still dreams of traveling to far-off places and channels that wanderlust into the settings of her stories. When she’s not writing, she works in a spice emporium where she gets paid to discuss food and share her favorite recipes. Her passions include Broadway musicals, baking, whimsical office supplies, and pop culture podcasts. Though she has roots in Los Angeles and Vancouver Island, she currently resides in Wisconsin with her family and her feisty Siberian cat.





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Special thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for the chance to bring this tour to you, and for the ecopy for review! (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, this promotion, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. Be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun!



Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!




Monday, November 18, 2024

AWARENESS TOUR: The Mystery of Mystic Mountain by Janet Fox - GUEST POST + GIVEAWAY!


HI there!
Today, we're back with another AWARENESS TOUR making its way through the blogosphere via The Children's Book Review.  It features an adventure filled Middle Grade Fiction novel that's sure to capture the hearts and minds of Young readers, but that's not EXACTLY why I'm here today.  Check out the previous stops for reviews (and more), and keep reading right here as I welcome author Janet Fox for a special GUEST POST all about Crafting Courageous Heroines!



by
Janet Fox
9781665956666
Simon & Schuster Books (2024)

About the book...
A girl tackles a summer filled with mystery, treasure, and learning to be her true self in this middle grade adventure that’s a modern-day Holes set on a dusty dude ranch in Montana.

Becca Soloway’s perfect summer goes up in smoke when her mom flees a looming divorce by dragging Becca to a Montana resort. To make matters worse, her mom’s hasty booking lands them not at a spa, but an aging dude ranch called Far Away.

Becca is miserable until she meets the wrangler’s son, Jon, who shows her what might be the first clue to a century-old mystery: the lost treasure of a Robin Hood–like outlaw known as Pearlhandle Pete.

As they slowly uncover the true history of Pete, venture into the mountains, search haunted ghost towns, and are threatened by a treasure-hunter-social-media star, Becca discovers that treasure is in the eye of the beholder and the important things in life are always worth fighting for.






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~~~ GUEST POST ~~~

Crafting Courageous Heroines: Building Becca’s Character in THE MYSTERY OF MYSTIC MOUNTAIN by Author Janet Fox


My favorite part of writing is building characters. Especially my main characters. Main characters, or protagonists, like Becca Soloway in my newest novel THE MYSTERY OF MYSTIC MOUNTAIN, need to be complex and interesting because one of their most important functions in story is to show how they change from start to finish. And one of the greatest changes a character can make is to learn the meaning of courage.


My job is to understand everything about a character like Becca – her flaws, her strengths, her dreams and desires, and so on – so that at the beginning of the story readers feel an attachment to her and by the end they can see that she has grown and has attained both her external goal and a deeper understanding of her own nature. 


The External Story Problem


When I come up with a story idea, here’s one place I begin to brainstorm: what is the story problem that this protagonist will face? In MYSTERY, I had the idea of a treasure hunt, so of course that meant that a number of characters might want to find the treasure – i.e., a competition. A race. Solving riddles and puzzles. Matching wits, and a ticking clock. Companions and enemies. 


That race to find the treasure became the external goal or story problem. Then I had to define the characters – especially Becca, the protagonist – who would face that problem. And to show how she would change and grow while doing so.


Courage, or a willingness to stand up against big odds and face big challenges, is something that readers want in characters, so it’s one of the traits that I need to show in a protagonist. In Becca’s case, I needed to give her both the external problem of the treasure hunt but also internal issues that may have nothing directly to do with that external problem. This would carve a path to show how she could exhibit the kind of courage that would take her through an internal arc of change.


The Internal Story Problem


I decided that Becca’s internal problem would be, first, that she was at the age where she was trying to figure out what kind of person she wanted to become. She was a nerd, and loved puzzles and figuring out mysteries, but right before the story starts, she was given the opportunity to become a part of the “in crowd” in her school, a member of the gang of cool girls. But that would mean abandoning everything she believed and also meant leaving behind her best friend who was being excluded. Would Becca try to fit in for the sake of popularity? Be cruel to her friend? Redefine herself through disloyalty? This was an internal problem providing great challenges for Becca.


I also decided that Becca’s parents were on the verge of separating, and maybe divorce. Both of these complications in Becca’s life – her fraught self-examination and the loss of family stability – would mean she had to spend time in the story figuring out her place in this new world order. Creating internal questions like these is one way to put a protagonist into a place of requiring courage, and having a protagonist confront obstacles to the external goal is another.


Bringing Everything Together


Weaving internal and external drivers together is the writer’s challenge. The treasure hunt needed to be important enough to Becca that she’d want to get it done, but I also needed to push her into scenes where she would have to make decisions that mirrored her internal problem. This meant making her act in ways that would show betrayal and insecurity, and taking her from there to a place where she could begin to chart a better path as a person. Her interactions with the secondary characters and especially her new friend Jon would set the stage for her development.


I really had fun creating this complicated web of issues. How Becca handled the needs of Jon versus her own needs was central to building the story. Becca was forced to make choices and through those choices to see how she created problems for both herself and for Jon. She was forced to examine her relationship to friends new and old. She was forced to uncover the true needs of her parents and what made the people around her happy, or unhappy. And she was forced to uncover the true value of treasure.


Courageous heroines don’t need to be defined by acts of great valor. They don’t need monumental battles or death-defying stunts to exhibit courage. Courage comes out in actions small and seemingly insignificant – like standing up for a friend even if it means losing status or being honest with yourself even if that introspection hurts.


My Writerly Goal


As a writer I don’t want to teach lessons to my young readers. I want to show them how we can become better people in those small and seemingly insignificant ways. Whether my readers will ever participate in a treasure hunt in Montana is beside the point. They will almost certainly face discrimination or hurtful behavior, and they surely will have to make their own choices as to the kind of people they want to be. They will hopefully absorb the idea that character – by which I mean decency, integrity, honor, and yes, courage – matters.


I hope my books provide entertaining blueprints for living a courageous life like Becca’s.





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ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Janet Fox is an award-winning author with a deep passion for the magic of storytelling. Her writing journey began at age 8 with a poem published in the town newspaper, setting the stage for a career dedicated to writing captivating tales for young readers.

As a writer, Janet strives to create books to help grow young hearts and minds. Her 12 award-winning books span the spectrum of picture books through young adult, in a broad variety of genres.

As a mentor and book coach with 25 years in publishing, Janet’s mission is to guide writers through the twists and turns of their creative odyssey, turning struggles into triumphs. She has helped scores of writers achieve their dream of writing, revising, and, yes, publishing their children’s books.

For more information, check out janetsfox.com.





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~~~ GIVEAWAY ~~~

Enter the giveaway for your chance to win a signed hardcover copy of The Mystery of Mystic Mountain, some fun swag, and a signed copy of Carry Me Home!





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Special thanks to Bianca at The Children's Book Review for the chance to bring this tour to you and to the author for sharing a bit of themselves with the guest post. (THANKS!) This post is sponsored by Janet Fox. The review and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal view. For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, this tour, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. Be sure to check out the rest of the stops on the tour for more bookish fun!


TOUR SCHEDULE

Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Book Review of The Mystery of Mystic Mountain

Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Instagram Post about The Mystery of Mystic Mountain

Thursday, October 31, 2024
Book Review of The Mystery of Mystic Mountain

Monday, November 4, 2024
Book Review of The Mystery of Mystic Mountain

Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Book Review of The Mystery of Mystic Mountain

Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Book Review of The Mystery of Mystic Mountain

Monday, November 11, 2024
Book Review of The Mystery of Mystic Mountain

Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Interview with Janet Fox

Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Book Review of The Mystery of Mystic Mountain

Thursday, November 14, 2024
Book Review of The Mystery of Mystic Mountain

Friday, November 15, 2024
Interview with Janet Fox

Monday, November 18, 2024
Guest Post about The Mystery of Mystic Mountain



Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!




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