Random happenings June 27, 2020

Today is another off-day for book suggestions but it has been a good day for reading. Well, in between bouts of gardening.

I’m currently reading book 5 in the series I’ve been working on all week. I think in the end my favorites have been books 2, 3, and 4. I’ve been skimming book 5 just like I did with book 1. The middle books were similar and they seemed to work well to hold my interest. 1 and 5 are quite different and somehow they just didn’t catch my attention the same. I’m not finished 5 yet and I do want to see who-dunit.  They are all still offered at bargain prices.

Loving the Mysterious Texan: A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense: Garrison’s Law Book 5 

It’s probably a good thing I’m not enjoying Loving the Mysterious Texan all that much. Some deadlines are looming in my garden and I need to put the book down and get to work.

This is the year for a garden makeover. In the eight years I’ve been in this house I’ve not changed anything really, just tried my best to maintain the beautiful landscaping the previous owners loved so much. Things change. Grow too big, don’t grow well, need to be replaced for one reason or another.

Hydro took out a couple of beautiful big Spruce trees in the back a year or two ago as they were getting too big. That’s left a big hole in the landscaping. Then last fall’s big storm blew down the pretty flowering tree in my front yard, now it needs to be replaced.

Today I ordered new shrubs and trees and they will arrive here early next week. In the meantime the beds need to be cleaned up and ready to receive them. I’m very excited to see how much better everything will look with these changes.

This whole thing has been a learning curve for me. I wasn’t the gardener in the family when it came to landscaping. Vegetable gardens were my thing, back in the day when canning and freezing was a worthwhile activity for our family. Now I’m having to be brave and try my hand at pruning and other things I’ve never done before. It’s working out not too badly if I do say so myself.

20200626_134658

Three leggy Lilac bushes in the foreground have been cut down and will be replaced with Hydrangeas. They should grow better in the spot, hopefully. The neighbors tree has gotten so tall the bed no longer gets enough afternoon sun to suit the lilacs.

There are a lot of flower beds in this yard but the one in the back right is my favorite.

I can’t decide which I love more. My pretty yard or books. I think it’s a tie.

Happy Reading y’all

 

 

Free and bargain books June 26, 2020

BookBub has a bargain book collection suggestion for us. $0.99 Another new author for us. This sounds like it could be fun.

The Sweetwater Island Ferry Collection: A Heartwarming, Feel-Good Trilogy

Sweewater Island Ferry

Amazon quote:

If you like a good fixer-upper, fresh donuts and fun storytelling, jump on the ferry and make your way over to Sweetwater Island! Get ready to meet a delightful cast of friends and family who’ll remind us that a happy, fulfilling life requires having big dreams, faith in the impossible, and a little TLC.

BOOK#1 – For Love…and Donuts:
Virginia’s entire life needed a renovation, but it took inheriting her aunt’s seaside cottage to realize it. Crafting gourmet donuts, hanging out with her sister, and maintaining her slightly off-kilter relationship have become the epicenter of Virginia’s life. But looking in the mirror, she has to admit that life hasn’t turned out exactly like she planned.

BOOK #2 – To Love…and Renovate:
First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a huge B&B renovation…Or if you are engaged couple Virginia and Tristan, you try to juggle all three simultaneously.

BOOK #3 – With Love…and Reality TV:
With their new married life underway, Virginia and Tristan have finally got it all together…or do they?

*****************

1531 Entertainment has a FREE suggestion for us.

Coming Home: The Route Home: Book 1

Coming Home

Amazon quote:

He was why she left. Now she’s falling for him.

Logging camp owner Seth Blake is Becca’s first love, her brother’s best friend, and the reason she turned her back on her hometown.

In 1881, at the end of the Oregon Trail, head-strong, impetuous Becca Wilson is a university student, determined to be a modern woman and not a resident of a frontier boomtown. Now her brother’s dead, and she needs Seth’s help to find justice. If only she can avoid falling in love with Seth and keep herself out of the killer’s sights.

Quiet and steady Seth joins Becca in her search justice until a piece of evidence implicates him in her brother’s death. If he tells her, he risks Becca leaving again.

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I’m still reading the collection from yesterday. By now I’m on book 4. The characters in books 3 and 4 are similar in temperament. The story details are different but the strong willed, take-no-prisoners attitude is the same. The sameness hasn’t prompted me to move on to something else just yet. One more book after this one. I think this is still at bargain price too. There is a lot of shooting and tense life threatening moments in this series.

Loving the Texas Stranger: A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense (Garrison’s Law Book 4)

Loving the Texas Stranger

Amazon quote:

An assassin takes a shot and hits two people with one bullet.
Natalie Brewster, a deep undercover agent for a group that doesn’t officially exist, saw the gunman aiming. He definitely waited, lined up the shot, and tried to kill both of them. Nat and Case Garrison hit the ground bleeding. They both come up shooting and kill the assassin—but that just makes him mad.
Now Case and Nat, who have never before met, have to figure out what they have in common to make them prey for a killer.

***************

Happy Reading…

from my house to your house, on a warm day.

Between the lingering warmth of the day and eyes that want to drift closed after hours spent out in the flower beds today, I think reading for me will have to wait until tomorrow. A very sad way to start the weekend!

Progress has been made so I am a happy camper.

Free and bargain books June 25, 2020

BookBub has a FREE suggestion for us. We’ve seen this author before, fairly often in fact.

Jake’s Honor: Cowboys of Coulee Crossing (Romancing the West Book 1) 

Jake's Honor

Amazon quote:

Connie has always been the plain one. The responsible one. The dutiful one. She always stood in her beautiful cousin’s shadow, but now her cousin is dead. Connie is left to pick up the pieces and do right by her little niece, Megan, which means delivering the girl to her father. But nothing is as it seems. Jake denies being the father. Worse, the attraction Connie once felt for the enigmatic rancher still exists, though she has always been invisible to him.

Jake Hooper lost his mother, his father, and then his sweetheart, who left him without so much as a word of explanation. When Connie shows up with a child she claims is his, he knows it can’t be true.

Jake determines to take Connie and Megan to Fort Macleod. They aren’t his responsibility. And after all the loss he has suffered, he can’t bear to open his heart again.

**************

A interesting looking bargain book by a new-to-me author. This was found in the Amazon suggestion ribbon. $1.31

The Cowboy’s Best Friend (Sweet Water Ranch Western Cowboy Romance Book 1)

The Cowboy's Best Friend

Amazon quote:

Palmer wouldn’t trade his family’s land for the world. But the only way to save the ranch from financial disaster and claim his billion-dollar inheritance is to find himself a wife. His happily-ever-after would be complete if he could just hitch his wagon to the woman who sees him only as her best friend.

Ames’ free spirit can’t be tied down. So she’s more than willing to help Palmer find the perfect bride before she takes off to pursue her dreams in LA. But every time she thinks about the rugged cowboy with another girl, her heart burns with jealousy.

Though Palmer tries to enjoy his new match-made companions, he can’t keep his mind off Ames. And now he worries her wanderlust is blinding her to what’s right in front of her eyes.

***************

A bargain book collection looks interesting too, I think. I’m not totally sure although I have read this author before. At $0.99 it’s easy to take a risk to find out. Five books is awesome.

Grant Us Grace Box Set: Books 1 – 5 (Elizabeth Maddrey Box Sets)

Grant us Grace

Amazon quote:

This omnibus edition includes the complete Grant Us Grace series and is more than 1000 pages of realistic, relatable romance.

In this charming collection of inspirational romances, five friends support each other through the ups and downs of life — but can they follow God’s plan and find the love they’ve each been waiting for?

***************

It doesn’t look like much at first glance but there are seven books in this list. Not too shabby after all.

****************

Currently I’m reading book 2 in the series mentioned yesterday. There was a lot of skimming happening in book 1 even though I enjoyed the story. Book 2 is much different. I haven’t been tempted to skim a single page let alone a paragraph. There are no similarities in the stories, which is wonderful, although the main characters are brothers and there is the family connection. The cover makes you think cowboy, the story doesn’t. It feels military actually. It’s still a bargain if you are tempted to read along, to see if you agree with my assessment.

Loving Her Texas Protector: A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense (Garrison’s Law Book 2)

Loving Her Texas Protector

Amazon quote:

Jacie Moreau is a tough-as-nails security specialist who works with the Long Pine Texas police. She takes care of herself and doesn’t ask for help from anyone.

Brett Garrison is an odd-man-out in the Garrison family. He’s a soft-hearted veterinarian from a family of daring Texas lawmen.

Jacie runs afoul of a hired killer and no one is there to step between her and danger but Brett.

Brett’s good-hearted plan is to care for the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen draw an assassin’s attention.

*****************

Happy Reading!

 

 

Loving the Texas Lawman, bargains June 24

My current read today was book 1 in the Garrison’s Law Series. Good news — it’s still on at a bargain price.

Loving the Texas Lawman: A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense (Garrison’s Law Book 1)

Loving the Texa Lawman

The premise of the story was unique and appealing. The frustration (for me) was a leading character stubbornly lacking in common sense. I can see why characters are written this way – common sense is, after all, boring. Doesn’t mean I have to like it though.

Naivety coupled with the lack of commonsense spells double trouble. In spite of all that I did like her.

There were other redeeming qualities though. The supporting character counter balanced her weaknesses. That was a plus.

Apart from character flaws, the story moved too slowly for my patience. It finally seemed attractive to read every other chapter until closer to the end. It worked well for me, I didn’t have to go back to catch up.

Overall I did like the story and wanted to read the ending for sure.

There are four more books in the series and I plan to keep going, until I can’t.

Amazon quote:

Trudy Jennings is a college professor with a string of bestselling pop psychology books about answering all of life’s troubles with love.
Ben Garrison is her student. He’s a hardened cop who needs this class to get his degree, but he can’t keep a straight face. He tells her she’s right, as long as she lives in her cushioned, safe life. But for him, using her philosophy, he’ll be dead by the weekend.
A stalker is coming after kindhearted Trudy, and Ben is there to protect her. Trudy faces her first true challenge to turning the other cheek. Her stalker keeps coming despite her kindness and she feels like a failure that she can’t help the confused and frightening man.

*************

The other four …

They are all still at bargain price. Read along with me and see what you think.

I’m moving on to book 2

Loving Her Texas Protector: A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense (Garrison’s Law Book 2)

****************

I did find one interesting new (to me) author as I researched prices on the above series.

It’s mystery/suspense. It promises to keep me on the edge of my seat. I’m not handling edge of my seat well these days but I’d like to experience this author so I’ll give it a shot. Besides you may handle suspense perfectly well, thank you very much, so this is for you too.

Always Look Twice (Uncommon Justice Book #2)  ($0.99)

Always look twice

Amazon quote:

At the advice of her therapist, homicide survivor Harper Reynolds has traded her job as a crime scene photographer for a more peaceful life taking photographs of the natural world. But her hopes for a life surrounded by the serenity of the outdoors are dashed when she inadvertently captures a murder being committed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She flees the scene in fear–and loses the camera.

Former Green Beret Heath McKade is a reserve deputy in an understaffed county who has been called in to protect Harper, a childhood friend he is surprised to see back in the area. When Harper learns that the sheriff’s department can’t find any evidence of the murder she witnessed, she is determined to do what she can to see that justice is done. What neither Harper nor Heath could know is how many explosive secrets from the past will be exposed–or how deeply they will fall for each other.

*****************

Until tomorrow…

Happy Reading.

Slow but good day.

It’s been a slow day for book suggestions but it was a good day for blogging suggestions. A fellow blogger always has funny, entertaining, and sometimes, even wise things to say. (I’m kidding, he often has wise things to say.) Today was no exception. It’s his seventh blog anniversary. If you aren’t following him you should be. Check out his birthday blog post, you will be glad you did. Paul, The Captain’s Speech

I took to heart one piece of advice he had in regard to blogging. Say something even when you have nothing. Even if it’s only one line. So that’s what I’m doing.

The usual sources of book suggestions were bare today. On top of that I was busier than usual with my day job. (A pleasant state of affairs.)

I normally spend time browsing Amazon but warm weather was calling me. I had a deadline to clean some flower beds before the tree man comes to remove old stumps. I need them gone so I can replace the less than healthy bushes I cut down last fall.

It was a pleasure working warm but not too hot and 3 1/2 – 4 hours was good for progress.

I’m stiff after all the bending and squatting but I’m happy. Clean looks good and I’ll sleep well tonight, guaranteed.

Well, there you have it. One line turned into more somehow.

Free and bargain books June 22, 2020

1531 Entertainment has a FREE suggestion for us. An author new to me.

The Ransom (Legacy of the King’s Pirates Book 4)

The Ransome

Amazon quote:

Can a woman run a business and provide for a family in Jamaica in 1692? Juliana Dutton intends to find out. With an ailing father and a wastrel for a brother, she has no choice. But she must keep her activities a secret or face destitution. When a nosey suitor threatens everything, she spurns him and instead becomes engaged to the town idiot, Lord Munthrope. But is he an idiot? The more her problems push her closer to the man, the more she realizes he is not who he seems.

Alexander Hyde, the Pirate Earl, is the most feared pirate in the Caribbean—feared, successful, wealthy, handsome, and bored, so terribly bored. When an unexpected event allows him to get close to Juliana, a woman he has loved from afar for years, he takes it. But leading a double life causes more problems than it’s worth. A restless crew and a long-time enemy out to capture and hang Alex, put Juliana in grave danger.

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LPC Books has a number of FREE suggestions for us. I’ve read some of them.

Double Jeopardy

Double Jeopardy

Amazon quote:

New York City socialite Becky Campbell inherited more than a speck of her father’s wanderlust. Now his murder bequeaths her a mystery, a ramshackle homestead, and a silver mine.

Zeke Graumann signs on as Becky’s foreman to keep his portion of his family’s ranch. He shares the workers’ reservations about a woman boss, especially one who burns water and prances around in dungarees. Even though she did look awful good in the dungarees.

Then a series of accidents add threat to tension. Can Becky trust Zeke, find her father’s killer, and turn her mine into a profitable venture? Will Zeke be forced to give up his ranching dream to win Becky’s heart?

***************

The Children of Main Street

the Children of Main Street

Amazon quote:

The children come—scores of them. Broken. Suffering. Learning to survive. These are not the clients Katie Collier expected to help when she went to work at the mental-health clinic.

But Katie and her husband can’t have children of their own, so her natural compassion flows. Still, Katie wonders why God gives babies to some women who seem unwilling to care, feed, love, shelter—even hold, and leaves other women barren.

Then one day it happens. A little girl named Bailey walks into Main Street Clinic … walks straight into Katie’s broken heart.

Forced to choose between her husband and her career, Katie fights to hold onto both in order to save Bailey. When her husband gives her the ultimate ultimatum, Katie finds the children of Main Street are not the only ones feeling cast out and lost.

***************

Murder for Emily’s Sake 

Murder for Emily's Sake

Amazon quote:

On a moonlit night in Wichita, Kansas, a tormented father stands by the grave of his teenage daughter, Emily, and makes a chilling vow to avenge her death. Once he gets his hands on the three women responsible for his daughter’s death, they will regret the day they met Emily outside the abortion clinic. He will expose their dark secrets. He will bury them, as he buried Emily. Bury them alive. And after their caskets are in the ground, they will die for Emily’s sake.

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Lake Surrender – Her journey ends where the lake begins.

Lake Surrender

Amazon quote:

Quicker than you can say “downsized, unemployed, and divorced,” Ally Cervantes finds herself with the Pacific Ocean in her rearview mirror as she and her two children head to Lake Surrender in rural Northern Michigan to live with her aunt. The dry hills of California are a metaphor for her empty soul, but she can’t afford to wallow in self-pity with an autistic son who can’t make eye contact and a precocious twelve-year-old daughter counting on her to get it together.

With no other available jobs, Ally steps through the only open door for employment, working as head cook at a dilapidated Christian camp. Problem is, she doesn’t cook and doesn’t like religious fanatics.

But despite everything, she finds herself strangely hopeful as she learns her journey ends where the lake begins.

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I’ve just finished an old (been around for a while) four book collection and I’m about to start another (recent)  collection that is still a bargain $1.40. I like Christmas anytime of year.

Three Christmas Novellas: Longhorn Christmas * The Sweetest Gift * The Christmas Candle 

Three Christmas Novellas

Amazon quote:

Longhorn Christmas
Netty Lewis, a lonely young widow is saved from a raging mama longhorn by a passing cowboy who’s been wandering since the end of the Civil War.
She needs help surviving her rugged life and caring for Jeremiah, her young son. And that means rounding up a nice-sized herd of wild-as-wolves longhorns.
Netty and Roy, along with Jeremiah begin a journey toward Christmas, family, home and love.
And a herd of longhorns are making the way hard.

A sweet re-telling of The Gift of the Magi–with a happy ending
The Sweetest Gift
She longs for music. He needs a valuable horse to improve his herd.
When Christmas comes the gift they truly give is the gift of love.

The Christmas Candle
A lonely widower with a pair of out-of-control sons he never got to know while their mother was alive.
A woman with a love of nature and beauty and scent…and the little boys seem determined to destroy her way of life.
A feisty Ozark mountain granny who doesn’t put up with much nonsense.
The gift of a candle for Christmas and a Christ child who is a perfect match for this scent of heaven.

**************

Happy Reading!

Story prompt Skin

Disclaimer: Please do not read this post if difficult personal story is not your cup of tea, or if it could trigger or offend you.

This is week six in the Sunday Scribblings  prompt hosted by Peckapalooza: The Confusing Middle.

Normally I hook these challenges together to create an ongoing chapter story. It pleases me to get as much mileage as possible out of my writing attempts. I did have a plan in mind to work this week’s prompt into today’s chapter (6) while advancing my story. At least I did until yesterday’s post with reference to Father’s Day. Plans have changed.

I consider myself thick skinned when it comes to my personal history. Much of the time I can talk about most of it matter-of-factly while minimizing the truth of our abusive family life. No big deal.

Yesterday I made reference to abusive relationships because, just like there are many who find Mother’s Day traumatic, there are many who find Father’s Day a traumatic experience. The reasons are different but still painful.

Now, working my way emotionally through the aftermath of yesterday, I realize trauma related to Father’s day goes deeper than first thought. Generally, the deeper the trauma the less likely we are to speak about it. Many are vocal every year about their negative experiences surrounding Mother’s Day. Today for the first time, I realize we are hearing a complete lack of corresponding comments surrounding Father’s Day. The silence speaks loudly, if we happen to be listening.

Yesterday I wanted to acknowledge mostly-forgotten hurting hearts. To be seen and understood means a lot to those living with unimaginable pain. It felt like the right thing to do, to offer support and encouragement.

It’s no surprise to find, once again, my conscious mind can’t handle the truth of my own life. It has deeply buried the negative and bought into the never-happened, no-big-deal lies. My brothers insist I need to face the uncomfortable truth. I find I don’t want to/can’t remember. Inappropriate (not fitting the situation) triggered responses are the only evidence of truth.

The triggered reaction arising out of yesterday’s sharing was a shock to my system. The emotional upheaval I woke up to this morning was a shock too. As a result this has been a recovery day. As the day wears on I’m starting to feel better.

My skin appears to be thinner than I believe it is.

I’m sharing all this now because I feel compelled. Partly because I know the power of story to comfort and help others. Partly because I know the value of expression to release pent up emotions. I’m trusting that life will be incrementally better after acknowledging another sliver of truth. So far it always has been and I have great expectations for now too.

May life be better for you too, as you acknowledge the truth (as you are able) of your situation.

Next week will be soon enough for anther installment in my continued story about Carly, an exposed woman in Witness Protection.

Hoping this all made sense…

Janette

 

Free and bargain books June 21, 2020

BookRunes has a FREE suggestion for us today.

Aiming for Love (Brides of Hope Mountain Book #1)

Aiming for Love

Amazon quote:

Josephine Nordegren is one of three sisters who grew up nearly wild in southwestern Colorado. She has the archery skills of Robin Hood and the curiosity of the Little Mermaid, fascinated by but locked away from the forbidden outside world–a world she’s been raised to believe killed her parents. When David Warden, a rancher, brings in a herd much too close to the girls’ secret home, her older sister especially is frightened, but Jo is too interested to stay away.

David’s parents follow soon on his heels, escaping bandits at their ranch. David’s father is wounded and needs shelter. Josephine and her sisters have the only cabin on the mountain. Do they risk stepping into the world to help those in need? Or do they remain separated but safe in the peaks of Hope Mountain?

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While checking out this free book (above) I found bargain books for most of another series by this same author. A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense. It’s cool to have easy access to this much of a series, although a box set would have been even better. They are all in the $1.40 range.

Loving the Texas Lawman: A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense (Garrison’s Law Book 1) 

Loving the Texa Lawman

Amazon quote:

Trudy Jennings is a college professor with a string of bestselling pop psychology books about answering all of life’s troubles with love.
Ben Garrison is her student. He’s a hardened cop who needs this class to get his degree, but he can’t keep a straight face. He tells her she’s right, as long as she lives in her cushioned, safe life. But for him, using her philosophy, he’ll be dead by the weekend.
A stalker is coming after kindhearted Trudy, and Ben is there to protect her. Trudy faces her first true challenge to turning the other cheek. Her stalker keeps coming despite her kindness and she feels like a failure that she can’t help the confused and frightening man.

Loving Her Texas Protector: A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense (Garrison’s Law Book 2)

Loving Her Texas Protector

Amazon quote:

Jacie Moreau is a tough-as-nails security specialist who works with the Long Pine Texas police. She takes care of herself and doesn’t ask for help from anyone.

Brett Garrison is an odd-man-out in the Garrison family. He’s a soft-hearted veterinarian from a family of daring Texas lawmen.

Jacie runs afoul of a hired killer and no one is there to step between her and danger but Brett.

Brett’s good-hearted plan to care for the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen draw an assassin’s attention.

Jacie never needs help, but Brett’s kindness when she is so vulnerable sneaks past all the emotional walls she’s built around her heart.

The killer keeps coming and their only hope is to run. And as they run they try and figure out who’s hired a killer, and why, and how to stop him.

Loving the Texas Negotiator: A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense (Garrison’s Law Book 3)

Loving the Texas Negotiator

Amazon quote:

Not all the Garrisons are guys.

Beth Garrison is the top hostage negotiator in Rocky Ridge, Texas. She’s called to serve on a task force to investigate a killing that is a copycat of her first bust as a rookie.

Tate McCade has a reputation for steamrolling anyone who gets in his way and he’s had a run-in with Beth and her oversized ego before. He’s got a bruise on his face to prove it.

They have to work together and sparks are flying that aren’t all about the job.

 

Loving the Texas Stranger: A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense (Garrison’s Law Book 4) 

Loving the Texas Stranger

Amazon quote:

An assassin takes a shot and hits two people with one bullet.
Natalie Brewster, a deep undercover agent for a group that doesn’t officially exist, saw the gunman aiming. He definitely waited, lined up the shot, and tried to kill both of them. Nat and Case Garrison hit the ground bleeding. They both come up shooting and kill the assassin—but that just makes him mad.
Now Case and Nat, who have never before met, have to figure out what they have in common to make them prey for a killer.
And they have to do it while running for their lives because, despite the two of them being highly skilled at keeping a low profile, the killer keeps finding them. They are running at break-neck speed, hiding with all the skill of long-time undercover agents, and falling in love with a passion that might be part of what brought a killer down on them.

Loving the Mysterious Texan: A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense: Garrison’s Law Book 5

Loving the Mysterious Texan

Amazon quote:

Garrison’s Law enters the Gothic Romance Genre.
Amnesia, murder, treasure and ghosts.
A woman wakes up next to a dead man with no idea how she got there, who he is…..who SHE is.
Grey Devereau drags a terrified woman out of his cousin’s bed…his very dead cousin. It looks for all the world like she killed him. But then everyone who knows Victor wants to kill him eventually. Grey included.
Lanny Cole, the young woman hired to research the history of the Devereau family, can’t remember a thing.
Grey steps in with an alibi and Lanny realizes that if Grey is her alibi, then she’s his. She decides to trust him, but then she’s suffered a head injury. So she’s probably making one stupid decision after another.
And then someone else dies. And a hurricane cuts them all off from help. And then someone else dies….
And the rumors of ghosts and treasure can’t be true. Sure Grey saw the ghost, in fact, he’s pretty sure the ghost saved his life as a child. But he was upset at the time and he doesn’t believe in ghosts.
Chills and thrills abound in an old island home built by a loathsome pirate. He’s not a Garrison, but when he gets in trouble, he turns to his old friend Case Garrison for help.
Garrison’s Law just got spooky.

**************

A change of pace, by the same author. $1.32

Three Christmas Novellas: Longhorn Christmas * The Sweetest Gift * The Christmas Candle 

Three Christmas Novellas

Amazon quote:

Longhorn Christmas
Netty Lewis, a lonely young widow is saved from a raging mama longhorn by a passing cowboy who’s been wandering since the end of the Civil War.
She needs help surviving her rugged life and caring for Jeremiah, her young son. And that means rounding up a nice-sized herd of wild-as-wolves longhorns.
Netty and Roy, along with Jeremiah begin a journey toward Christmas, family, home and love.
And a herd of longhorns are making the way hard.

A sweet re-telling of The Gift of the Magi–with a happy ending
The Sweetest Gift
She longs for music. He needs a valuable horse to improve his herd.
When Christmas comes the gift they truly give is the gift of love.

The Christmas Candle
A lonely widower with a pair of out-of-control sons he never got to know while their mother was alive.
A woman with a love of nature and beauty and scent…and the little boys seem determined to destroy her way of life.
A feisty Ozark mountain granny who doesn’t put up with much nonsense.
The gift of a candle for Christmas and a Christ child who is a perfect match for this scent of heaven.

****************

I’m currently reading and enjoying a collection from December 2019 that is no longer a bargain.

A Summer Christian Romance Collection: Wildflower B&B

A summer Romance Collection

I see I have read book 1, a few years back, but I’m reading it again as a refresher before moving on to book 2.

Island Refuge

A heartbroken chef and a burned-out doctor seek solace and a new beginning on a tiny Puget Sound island at the Wildflower B & B, and discover the bed and breakfast is a place of healing, adventure, and romance. Book one in the series.

Island Dreams

A land developer with something to prove comes to Wildflower Island to develop her family’s land. She soon finds herself at odds with adjoining property owner. If only she wasn’t attracted to him. Book two in the series.

Island Christmas

A sous Chef returns to Wildflower Island looking for a fresh start for herself and her young son but discovers that life has a lot of bumps in the road even on idyllic Wildflower Island.
A self-proclaimed workaholic comes to Wildflower Island hoping to take life at a slower pace. When a new guest at the Wildflower B&B catches his eye, he is drawn to her. But how will a woman and her young son fit into his future—a future that’s uncertain at best? And most of all, how can he reconcile her lack of faith in God with his strong religious beliefs. Book three in the series.

Island Hope

A metal sculptor gave up on art when her creativity was zapped by another person’s actions, she takes a job on Wildflower Island. She never imagines that a job at the Wildflower Resort will turn everything in her life upside down.

A lonely widower throws all his energy into raising his teenage daughter, but when he is promoted to manager of the Wildflower Resort, things at home don’t go as smoothly as planned. Worried about his relationship with his daughter, he seeks advice from a feisty-but-sweet newcomer. Will she help smooth his path or will things only get more complicated? Book four in the series.

A Love To Treasure (a new series)

School teacher Nicole Davis is on summer break, but this vacation is unlike any other. Her beloved Grandmother’s final wish has landed Nicole smack in the middle of her favorite destination—Sunriver, Oregon, following Grams’ clues on a mysterious scavenger hunt. Unexpectedly, Nicole finds more than just a fellow sleuth in a handsome police officer, Mark Stone. But Mark must return to his job in Portland at summer’s end, and Nicole must guard her heart. 

Mark is hoping for a quiet summer in Sunriver as he contemplates his future in law enforcement, but a string of burglaries draws him from his self-imposed break from detective work and thrusts him into the middle of the investigation. To complicate matters, Nicole is in jeopardy, and he knows his growing feelings for her could cloud his judgment. Will their differing career goals be the end of their summer romance—or just the beginning of forever after? Book one in the series—book two and three available on Amazon or via Kindle Unlimited today!

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Happy reading

on this cloudy and coolish day. It’s crazy how we go from Air Conditioning to Furnace in just days. Today is a furnace day for sure. A good day for the comfort of reading.

Free books June 20, 2020, and Dads

FREE suggestions for us today.

Princess Paisley (Not-So-Fairy Tales Book 1) 

Princess Paisley

Amazon quote:

Fairy tales aren’t just for children anymore! Welcome to Jackalopany! Meet King Jack and Queen Felicia and their estimable children, Paisley and Jackson. Paisley has reached the year of her majority and is about to endure her “Majority Ball.” She’s unique, prank-loving, and not ready to change her life. She’d rather continue her days herding sheep, playing her harp, and avoiding the responsibilities associated with the Jackalopian throne. The shepherd Henry, Prince Rupert of Froggilandria, Kyle of Kaiandra, Marcus of Wellsbiundia, and the amusing Cletus of Rednecky all battle for the hand (and possibly the rest of) Princess Paisley. Will Darius of Griffinland foil the plans of so many? Will tragedy leave the Jackalopian throne bereft of an heir? And last but not least, will the narrator ever stop yammering about the rigors and rules of the fairytale genre?

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The Mail-Order Bride Carries a Gun (Brides of Sweet Creek Ranch Book 1)

The Mail-order Bride carries a gun

Amazon quote:

The mail-order bride seeks justice. Not a husband…

ELLA HUNTER never thought she’d be a mail-order bride. But when she sees a photo in the Marriage Gazette of the man she believes killed her brother, Ella agrees to marry the Civil War soldier turned cowboy. Prepared to confront a cold-hearted killer then return home, she finds all her expectations dashed when her intended husband appears to be a good man. Ella’s loyalties are torn between honoring the memories of her family and her undeniable attraction to Ty Haven.

TY HAVEN needs a wife. The ranch he runs in the wilds of Wyoming Territory could use a woman’s influence. Frankly, so could he. So when Ella arrives like a gift tied up in a cornflower-blue hair ribbon, more intelligent, practical, and, yes, beautiful, than he could have imagined, he hopes she will give him and the West a chance. Turns out, he doesn’t just need a wife. He needs Ella. But she has a secret, and it might destroy their marriage almost before it’s begun.

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As I write this, it’s Father’s Day tomorrow. Actually, I guess it’s today in many parts of the world. A day to honor our fathers.

My father has been gone for many years. Maybe if he was still alive he would have had time to change his ways and become a good father. We will never know. One thing I am grateful for today; his abusive behavior has not carried on through the generations even though it could have. My grandchildren enjoy loving fathers and I feel blessed.

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Life is not perfect. It never has been and never will be. Life can, and does, go on in spite of it all. If we let it.

I chose, and continue to choose, to forgive and move on. Not an easy thing to do. As I look on my family and the legacy of love, I’m grateful for making this choice, over and over again.

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I can’t help but think about people like me with a past our conscious minds cannot bear to acknowledge. I hear pain, I see pain. All this talk about fathers is dredging it up. I cannot actually see or hear you but I can acknowledge you.  You are not alone. Look around carefully. There are others like you close by. Support one another.

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Some of you will think I am crazy for saying all of this.

Statistics show that one in four women/girls have been abused or will be abused at some point in their life. As I share my story (sparingly) I’m finding this number believable. Feeling alone is a result of conditioning by our abusers. No one will believe you. It’s all your fault. It was an important day in my life when I admitted I was not alone. there were fellow sufferers who knew exactly what I was talking about. I still experience days like that from time to time, it’s always a surprise.

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Father’s day is still a day to celebrate. The good do not need to be brought down because of the bad. I will be the first to stand and give honor to the good dads of the world. We love and appreciate you.

Free and bargain books June 19, 2020

BookBub has a clean bargain book suggestion for us.

The Billionaire’s Destined Bride: (The Blushing Bride Series Book 8) ($0.99)

The Billionaire's Destined Bride

Amazon quote:

She needs to save her company. He’s running from a public breakup. To get what they both want, they’ll have to make a deal.

Sophia Hansen’s work is her life, putting her dreams of having a family on the back burner. But when her father declares his plans to step down as CEO of the family company, she must find a way to beat her scheming brother for the top spot, but it’ll come at a cost in the form of an alliance with a charming billionaire.

Cole Bradford is the most eligible billionaire bachelor in the Pacific Northwest. After a public breakup with an A-list actress, he’s tired of hiding from the media. When his business partner, Sophia, expresses her concerns about the future of her company, he comes up with a plan to save both of their jobs… a proposal. 

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BookRunes has a FREE suggestion for us.

Henry

Henry

Amazon quote:

Book Synopsis: Sent to a small town outside Astoria, Oregon, Prue Collins is under the protection of the most unlikely guardian—rude and sarcastic, Ex-Officer Henry Clay wants nothing to do with his new roommate and doesn’t mask any hard feelings, only secrets. His wheelchair gives Prue a glimpse of his tragic past and she can’t fight curiosity as more clues come her way, opening her eyes to the true stranger she’s been sent to live with—and possibly, meant to help save. But the truth is like a loose string on an old shirt—pull at it, and the entire fabric could come undone. Will Prue leave well enough alone, or risk everything, even her own heart, to know the truth?

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Browsing unearthed another bargain ($1.32) with an author unknown to me.

The Billionaire’s Convenient Bride (Billionaire Cowboys Book 3) 

The billionaire's convenient bride

Amazon quote:

Marianne Lawson is a devoted single mom, working her fingers to the bone to support the light of her life, her daughter Zoe. When her own mother falls on hard times due to her savings disappearing in a fraud scandal however, Marianne takes it upon herself to look after her too, but she’s quickly reaching the end of her rope.

Billionaire cowboy Jay Parish was left with big shoes to fill when his industrialist parents passed away. Not only that, but he was also left with a big, fat secret: he isn’t the full-blooded American he thought he was. The billionaire CEO, in charge of carrying out the legacy of his parents’ company, was illegally adopted—from a country he’s barely even heard of!

Needing a quick fix to his citizenship issue, Jay hatches a plan. Marianne soon finds herself in Jay’s office, with the deal of a lifetime before her eyes—be his green card bride, and never have money troubles again—she knows it’s an offer she shouldn’t refuse, but her mother’s hatred of the misunderstood tycoon definitely complicates matters.

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Happy Reading!