Read and Enjoyed end of June version

It’s time again to clear out the collection of read books.

Any Given Moment 

Any Given Moment

Life can change at any given moment. Good or bad, one must make the most of it. Samantha Shaw thought she was giving each moment of her life a fair shot until former pro-football quarterback Wiley Black saunters into her world and shows the sassy tomboy exactly what she’s been missing.
A sweet sports romance for fans of happily-ever-afters

 

 

Get Up, Eleanor 

Get up Eleanor

 

 

Eleanor Petersen’s life shatters when her mother falls on the ice outside her Wisconsin farmhouse. In the process of settling her mother’s estate and sorting loose ends, Eleanor discovers the joy her mother brought to her little town. Despite her spiritual doubts, Eleanor forms an instant bond with a widowed Lutheran pastor. And she uncovers a secret that upends her view of her parents … and of herself.

 

A Ring And A Prayer (Book 1 Golden Bowl Series)

A Ring and a Prayer

Annie Brewster has dedicated her life to helping others, but now she’s going to need a little help of her own.
A beautiful gold bowl sits on a pedestal on the front porch of The Golden Bowl restaurant in Marberry, Maine, where patrons are invited to leave a prayer and take a prayer. Annie Brewster, the owner, has made it her life’s mission to feed people both body and soul.
When her beloved husband Russ died ten years ago, Annie threw herself into making the restaurant a success—to the detriment of everything else in her life: her finances, her home, even her heart. Annie believes in prayer and in miracles too, and she’s going to need plenty of both because her life is about to be turned upside down and inside out .

A PATH LESS TRAVELED (A Miller’s Creek Novel Book 2)

A Path Less Travelled

A recently-widowed woman is tired of being rescued. Though surrounded by friends and family, Trish is determined to blaze a path for herself and her daddy-starved little boy without outside help. Unfortunately, her attempts to run a small town business just doesn’t pay the piles of bills. Though the new attorney in town seems interested in both her and little Bo, the timing is all wrong. At heart, she’s a small town girl, but will her current life circumstances mean leaving Miller’s Creek?

When a world-weary lawyer starts a new practice in Miller’s Creek, he’s prepared for business challenges, but not for falling in love. Can the new attorney romance Trish and get through the wall of stubborn hurt encasing her heart? And can they see past their limited human understanding to take a path less traveled?

PoustiniaConsider the thornsThe One Who Rocked Aawy

Forget me nowOne Season of hopeKill Order

The Billionaire's Destined BrideBush Country CowboyA summer Romance Collection

Three Christmas NovellasJake's HonorThe Mail-order Bride carries a gun

Loving the Texa LawmanLoving Her Texas ProtectorLoving the Texas Negotiator

Loving the Texas StrangerLoving the Mysterious TexanMail-Order Refuge

Desert WillowThe Ransome

Cotton Tree Ranch

Happy Reading!

 

Free and bargain books June 30, 2020

A FREE suggestion today

Crime of Fashion (The Hartfield Mysteries Book 2)

Crime of Fashion

Amazon quote:

Her unexpected and unwilling entrance into the world of “true crime” showed mystery author Alexa Hartfield an uglier side of life—one she would have been thrilled to avoid. Relieved that the horror is over, she settles back into her quiet life in Fairbury and begins work on her next novel, confident that the Fairbury police force—and Officer Joe Friedan—can and will keep any other crime far from her doorstep.
And they do.
However, life is full of change, and if Alexa thought everything would go back to normal, she’ll be disappointed! Her life just got a makeover—new house, new and changing friendships, new business venture—and with it, a new murder to rock her world.
When things start going wrong with the new business, Alexa grows concerned. When someone dies and others are threatened, Joe and Alexa begin to wonder if her life isn’t in danger as well. As they race to discover who could possibly want to hurt the new fashion line and her business partners, Alexa begins to fear for the safety of her heart as well.

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

If you enjoy Cozy Mystery there is a bargain for you. $1.40

Milkshake Up (Crime à la Mode Mysteries Book 2)

Milk Shake Up

Amazon quote:

When ice cream lady Serena Lavinia’s best customer doesn’t show up to buy his daily treats, she has no choice but to find out if he’s okay.

She didn’t expect to find him lying dead amid the wrappers of her wares.

As an investigation begins and all the evidence points to Serena, she has no choice but to clear her name. With the help of her trusty dog Scoops and her new frenemy Webster Newsome, she’s determined to find the bad guy before her life gets the ultimate shake up and she spends the rest of her days behind bars . . . and not of the frozen indulgence variety.

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

If you enjoy serious Mystery here is another bargain. $0.99

Secrets She Knew: A Secrets and Lies Suspense

Secrets She Knew

Amazon quote:

Boston police detective Dani Lake dreads returning to her small hometown of Skye, Alabama, for her ten-year high school reunion–and not just for the normal reasons.

At only fifteen, Dani tragically discovered the body of her murdered classmate, setting in motion the process that led to the unjust conviction of her dear friend and an unshakable burden of guilt she carries to this day. So when new evidence surfaces during her trip home which suggests the truth Dani’s always suspected, she embarks on a mission to expose the real killer, aided by Skye detective Chris Newton–who happens to be the man Dani’s best friend is dying to set her up with, and also the only person who believes her.

But when Dani pushes too hard, someone pushes back, endangering Dani and those closest to her as she unearths secrets deeper and darker than she ever expected to learn–secrets that may bring the truth to light, if they don’t get her killed first.

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

If it’s Romantic Suspense you enjoy, this one is FREE

KNOX: The Montana Marshalls – An Inspirational Romantic Suspense Family Series

Knox

Amazon quote:

He’s not looking for trouble…

Montana rancher Knox Marshall’s danger years are behind him. A former bull-rider, he now runs the Marshall family ranch, raising champion bucking bulls for the National Professional Bullrider’s Expo (NBR-X). Wealth and success are his, but life is stable, expected, and…ordinary.  But he wants more from life…

But trouble is looking for her…

Kelsey Jones just wants a safe life, a family, a home. Onstage, the beautiful rising star of the Yankee Belles becomes the person she longs to be – vivacious and confident – burying the brokenness she carries from a violent assault. Becoming NBR-X’s next country act is key to outrunning her past and achieving the success and security she craves.

When trouble finds them both…

Knox and Kelsey’s paths collide when an explosion at an NBR-X event traps them in the rubble and leaves them reeling. Kelsey’s crippling nightmares return, but for Knox, an obsession to find the bomber is ignited.

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

Happy Reading …

… from a warm Manitoba, Canada, a humid 29 C. They promise there will be more. On the bright side, we don’t need the furnace to feel comfortable.

 

Free books June 29, 2020

BookBub has a FREE suggestion for us today. A Mystery from a favorite author.

Dark Water (Lantern Beach Blackout Book 1)

Dark Water

Amazon quote:

A FORMER NAVY SEAL HAUNTED BY HIS PAST

Colton Locke can’t forget the black op that went terribly wrong. Desperate for a new start, he moves to Lantern Beach, North Carolina, and forms Blackout, a private security firm. Despite his hero status, he can’t erase the mistakes he’s made.

A WIDOW WITH SECRETS

For the past year, Elise Oliver hasn’t been able to shake the feeling that there’s more to her husband’s death than she was told. When she finds a hidden box of his personal possessions, more questions—and suspicions—arise. The only person she trusts to help her is her husband’s best friend, Colton Locke.

THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE

Someone wants Elise dead. Is it because she knows too much? Or is it to keep her from finding the truth? The Blackout team must uncover dark secrets hiding beneath seemingly still waters. But those very secrets might just tear the team apart. 

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

LPC Books has FREE book suggestions too.

Desert Willow 

Desert Willow

Amazon quote:

After a failed engagement, Captain Andrew Lee James has focused on building a career in the Army he loves. That commitment includes helping a feisty, out-of-work ballerina whose devotion to her grandmother’s dying wish immediately grabs his heart. She’s the one, but will he be able to win the heart of a woman who has vowed to never be involved with a soldier?

College graduate Clara Malone swore to never love anyone in the military again but when her dying grandmother asks her to deliver a love letter to the general who broke her heart decades ago, she agrees and finds herself escorted by a handsome Army captain whose kindness challenges her beliefs. Surrounded by desert willows that shower her path with pretty pink flowers and sing with the buzzing of hummingbirds, Clara enjoys the wild beauty of El Paso—and her time with Andrew—more than expected.

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

The Forgotten Life of Evelyn

The forgotten life of Evelyn Lewis

Amazon quote:

Facing bankruptcy, a high-end interior designer returns to her childhood Tennessee to salvage her company and finds herself tangled in relationships, property disputes, and a past that refuses to be silenced.

In a desperate attempt to save her company from bankruptcy, designer Evelyn Lewis decides to sell the only memento from her past worth anything—the family farmland. Determined to get in and get out of the abandoned property, she finds the valuable land tangled in a trust, and wonders who she can really depend on. Certainly not the property manager and affable Southern gentleman, Taylor Simpson.

Caught up in the mechanics of a farm, a legal document she can’t break, and pressure from her company for money, Evelyn turns to her own wiles and willpower…but can she resist the South’s wooing?

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

Summer of Deception

Summer of Deception 

Amazon quote:

Determined to unearth the truth about her DEA agent brother’s reported death, Rachel York takes a nanny position at an historic Charleston tea plantation. She finds she is ill prepared to deal with the plantation’s new owner who is overflowing with bitterness and distrust.

Widowed and wounded, former Marine Corps Special Forces operative, Luke Barrett, has enough to handle with his little girl and an historic property to upkeep. The last thing he needs is a feisty, stubborn woman with whom to contend. Yet, Rachel’s determined spirit awakens something in Luke that he thought died a long time ago.

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

Mail-Order Refuge

Mail-Order Refuge

Amazon quote:

Rand Stafford isn’t looking for true love. He’d ridden that trail until his fiancée left him with a shattered heart. What he needs now is a wife to help him care for his orphan nieces. Desperate, he sends an advertisement to a Baltimore newspaper and hopes for the best.

Fleeing her former employer who would use her to further his unlawful acts, a newspaper advertisement reads like the perfect refuge to Carly Blair. The idea of escaping the city, the intrigue, and the danger to hide herself on a cattle ranch in Kansas is her best shot for freedom.

But its sanctuary comes with a price—a husband. While marrying a man she doesn’t know or love means sacrificing her dreams, it’s better than being caught by the law.

Or is it?

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

How is the weather at your house today?

It’s 27C here at the moment with an expected high of 31C feels like 40C with the humidity. It was warm yesterday too.

It was quite windy last evening, enticing me to sit outside and cool off a little. It felt like it could be the edge of a storm, turned out it was. We heard this morning a major storm hit further west of us. There was heavy flooding with torrential rainfall. Power outages due to wind damage. The destruction looks like a tornado hit but that’s not been confirmed yet. With so many roads washed out it’s slow-going to restore power.

Life is never boring around here when it comes to weather.

I plan to lay low again today. I know it’s shocking but I’m needing a break from reading. Maybe I’ll break out the new jig-saw from Christmas. I love jig-saws.

It will end up being both. No question.

Happy Reading y’all

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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?

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

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!

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

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 15, 2020

Happy Monday everyone.

We have a few sources with book suggestions this morning.

1531 Entertainment mentioned a FREE book in their email this morning. I’ve read and enjoyed a number of this man’s books. By the glowing review I’m looking forward  to this one too.

Get Up, Eleanor 

Get up Eleanor

Amazon quote:

Eleanor Petersen’s life shatters when her mother falls on the ice outside her Wisconsin farmhouse. In the process of settling her mother’s estate and sorting loose ends, Eleanor discovers the joy her mother brought to her little town. Despite her spiritual doubts, Eleanor forms an instant bond with a widowed Lutheran pastor. And she uncovers a secret that upends her view of her parents … and of herself.

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

LPC Books has a number of FREE suggestions for us. Most of these I’ve seen before although I don’t think I’ve read them all.

The Caretaker’s Son (Secrets in Savannah Book 1) 

The Caretaker's son 2

Amazon quote:

Symon Sinclair grew up in the caretaker’s cottage. Now a successful writer in New York, he’s returned home to Savannah to thank his mentor, Miss B, for all her support. But it’s her niece Annabelle who greets him at the door. Symon remembers the little rich girl who never gave him a moment’s notice. Now she’s a beauty who has more depth than he’d ever imagined. As they spend time together, Symon begins to question his attitude toward life—and Annabelle.

Former beauty queen Annabelle Yarwood had her life all planned out—until she came face-to-face with the caretaker’s son. Suddenly those plans seem stifling. Just as Annabelle begins letting Symon into her heart, she discovers he’s been keeping a secret about his life in New York. Has their love story ended before it’s even begun?

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

I’ll Watch the Moon 

I'll Watch the Moon

Amazon quote:

A single mother embittered by an abusive marriage. An adventurous 14-year old son and the 10-year old daughter who adores him. A boarder in the house, a war refugee with a murky past. It’s the summer of 1948, hot, and Polio stalks the children, taking them one by one. When it strikes the son, she wonders if he will be in an iron lung the rest of life? And when redemption comes, it arrives from a most unexpected source.

 

 

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

Whatever Is True

Whatever is True

Amazon quote:

Bullfighter and ranch hand Clint Palmer yearns for a family of his own and desires a relationship with barrel racer Lacy Roberts, a fellow ranch employee. But what would she see in a guy who was abandoned by his father and has an alcoholic mother? If he’s ever going to be seen in a different light by Lacy, he needs greater financial security than what a ranch-hand position provides.

Lacy’s parents have scorned her ever since she opted for ranch life rather than pursuing a business career. She’s attracted to Clint, who has shown enough interest in her that she reveals a secret about her past—only to be rejected by him. She’s about to move on when Clint learns a secret related to his own life that changes everything.

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

When You Come

When You Come Home

Amazon quote:

Taking its title from a poem Daphne sent her soldier-husband during World War II, When You Come Home tells of the couple’s young love in the heartland of America on the brink of war, and of the crushing uncertainty and fear they feel as they find themselves a ripped apart. Through pain and worry, the grieving young wife finds that her faith provides hope and healing amidst the uncertainty of war.

 

 

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

Currently, I’ve just started a thriller, on my TBR list since October last year. Haven’t gotten far enough to know if I’ll finish but it does look promising.

Kill Order

Kill Order

Grammy-winning pianist Landon Jeffers’s brain cancer has given him only a few years to live. But when he sleeps, the forgotten terrors of his past torment him. When he wakes, shameful memories come rushing back. Desperate for answers, Jeffers discovers that a brain implant intended to treat his cancer is really a device to control him, forcing him to commit terrible crimes. Now he’s being manipulated by an evil crime syndicate and a crooked cop.

When he sleeps, the forgotten terrors of the past come alive … and his future is a dead ending.

 

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

Happy Reading

On this warm and hazy day.

Bargain books June 13, 2020

BookBub has a bargain suggestion for us. $0.99. It seems we did see book 1 (Unknown Enemy) in this series back in November 2019.  I haven’t read it yet and book 2 is a good reminder I need to.

Hidden Secrets: A Green Dory Inn Mystery (Green Dory Inn Mystery Series Book 2)

Hidden Secrets

Amazon quote:

The secrets of Captain Hiltz may not have died with him.

When Landon Smith returns to the Green Dory Inn, she finds innkeeper Anna Young still shaken by the recent vandalism and unable to cope when the inn is targeted in an online vendetta. Prickly neighbour Bobby Hawke can help with Anna’s cyber woes, but when the attacks escalate to physical threats, Landon and Bobby must work together to unmask the culprit.

A cryptic message about a tunnel points to the property’s original owner, a notorious Prohibition-era sea captain rumoured to have left hidden wealth. Contraband, treasure, evidence of things better left buried…

How far will Anna’s enemy go to claim the tunnel and its contents? Protecting Anna will require courage and faith as Landon battles the locals’ attitudes and the scars of her past. Even then, she and Bobby are tracing the faintest of clues. With Anna on the brink of emotional collapse—and danger rising like the tide—time is running out.

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

Awesome, another bargain with an unknown author. $1.32

Lost Down Deep (The Mosaic Collection) (The Rose Tattoo Trilogy Book 1)

Lost Down Deep

Amazon quote:

She is the only one who can tell the police who attacked her in her home.
If only she could remember …
Summer Velasquez is on the run from a man she has no recollection of after an attack she can’t recall.
Every face in the crowd is a potential suspect, so how is Summer supposed to know who is a threat to her and who isn’t?
After fleeing her assailant and the parents who lied to her about what happened, she changes her name and seeks refuge in Elora, Ontario. The small town feels familiar, although she has no memory of ever having been here.
Even in what should be a safe place, she can’t shake the feeling that she is being watched.
When Ryan Taylor strolls into the Taste of Heaven Café where she works, Summer is immediately drawn to him. However, he may not be who he says he is either. As her suspicions grow, Summer prepares to run again.
But at least one person is determined to stop her. Permanently. And if she can’t remember who he is, this time he may succeed.

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

A bargain boxed set with a new to us author, actually there are a number of different authors in this set. $1.41. Recently, there was another box set with the same name. Not the same.

Second Chances: Inspirational Box Set

Second chances inspirational boxed set

Amazon quote:

Miralee Ferrell—The Other Daughter— The girl standing at the door took a deep breath, pulling her suitcase a little closer. “My mama’s dead. He’s my daddy.” Susanne Carson knows she can trust her husband, David—until she discovers an unkempt young girl on their doorstep, claiming to be David’s daughter. Their marriage isn’t perfect—David’s decision to embrace Christianity strained their relationship. Susanne may not agree with his beliefs, but she trusts him. As David confronts his past, Susanne must face her own moment of truth as her marriage is taken to the breaking point and the life of one young girl is left in her hands.

Melanie Campbell—One Woman Falling—*Selah Award Finalist*

After an unexpected police visit, Cassie Peterson realizes her daughter’s survival depends on Cassie’s courage to leave her abusive marriage. What she doesn’t plan on is the vengeful custody fight with her husband, Derrick.

While walking through the treacherous world of divorce, Cassie’s new friend, Missy, encourages her to pursue her love of waterfalls. Meanwhile, Brian, an attorney at the firm where Cassie works, provides unexpected legal help.

As Derrick’s threatening behavior escalates, Cassie questions her choices. Can she keep her daughter safe? Who can she trust? Who will be standing with her when everything comes crashing down?

Miralee Ferrell—Outlaw Angel— Angel Ramirez is on the run from an outlaw disguised as a boy—can she learn to live like a lady?

After taking a job on a Wyoming ranch owned by a bachelor and his widowed sister, Angel reveals her true identity and must fight to prove her worth as a ranch hand while discovering her role as woman.

Hiring a woman doesn’t sit well with Travis Morgan, and the dark-haired beauty is causing a ruckus among his cowboys. When Angel decides she’ll never please her boss, an unexpected surprise arrives from across the ocean. Will Angel leave with the person who’s come so far to claim her?

Janalyn Voigt—Cheyenne Sunrise—Bry Brennan, a young Irish widow, travels West to start a new life. She doesn’t want another husband to break her spirit.

Nick Laramie, the wagon train’s half-Cheyenne trail guide, has no intention of dragging a woman into his troubles. 

The perilous journey throws the two together, leaving Bry no choice but to trust Nick with her life. Can she also trust him with her heart?

Based on actual historical events, Cheyenne Sunrise explores faith, love, and courage in the wild west.

Patricia Lee—Love Calls Her Home— Lissa Frye returns home from the Navy eager to start over.But the man she loves, Marine Kurt McKintrick is a broken man, grieving the loss of his best friend to an enemy trap in Afghanistan. Fears of another loss,  Kurt distances himself from Lissa.

Eleven-year-old Jayden Clarke’s life is turned upside down when the rancher he trusts and respects is found dead. As outside authorities, Lissa and Kurt find themselves embroiled in the investigation. Can helping a hurting boy draw them back together?

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

I’m currently reading a book I thought I’d read already. Oops.

Sweet on You (A Bradford Sisters Romance Book #3)

Sweet on You

Amazon quote:

Britt Bradford and Zander Ford have been the best of friends since they met thirteen years ago. Unbeknown to Britt, Zander has been in love with her for just as long.

Independent and adventurous Britt channels her talent into creating chocolates at her hometown shop. Zander is a bestselling author who’s spent the past 18 months traveling the world. He’s achieved a great deal but still lacks the only thing that ever truly mattered to him–Britt’s heart.

When Zander’s uncle dies of mysterious causes, he returns to Merryweather, Washington, to investigate, and Britt is immediately there to help. Although this throws them into close proximity, both understand that an attempt at romance could jeopardize their once-in-a-lifetime friendship. But while Britt is determined to resist any change in their relationship, Zander finds it increasingly difficult to keep his feelings hidden.

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

it’s a lovely day for pulling weeds, sunny and breezy, not too hot – with lots of reading breaks. I’m hoping you are feeling inspired today too.

Happy Reading.

Free and bargain books June 12, 2020

Where has the time gone. It will be the longest day of the year soon (here in southern Canada) and it feels like the year has just begun. I like long days, I’m not ready to see them getting shorter this quickly. In the meantime…

Bookbub has several bargain suggestions. $0.99 each, a known, and an unknown, author.

Undetected 

Undetected

Amazon quote:

When asked what he does for a living . . .

Commander Mark Bishop is deliberately low-key: “I’m in the Navy.” But commanding the ballistic missile submarine USS Nevada, keeping her crew trained and alert during ninety-day submerged patrols, and being prepared to launch weapons on valid presidential orders, carries a burden of command like few other jobs in the military. Mark Bishop is a man who accepts that responsibility, and handles it well. And at a time when tensions are escalating around the Pacific Rim, the Navy is glad to have him.

Mark wants someone to come home to after sea patrols. The woman he has in mind is young, with a lovely smile, and very smart. She’s a civilian, yet she understands the U.S. Navy culture. And he has a strong sense that life with her would never be boring. But she may be too deep in her work to see the potential in a relationship with him.

Gina Gray would love to be married. She has always envisioned her life that way. A breakup she didn’t see coming, though, has her focusing all her attention on what she does best–ocean science research. She’s on the cusp of a major breakthrough, and she needs Mark Bishop’s perspective and help. Because what she told the Navy she’s figured out is only the beginning. If she’s right, submarine warfare is about to enter a new and dangerous chapter.

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

Cotton Tree Ranch: The Complete Trilogy

Cotton Tree Ranch

Amazon quote:

Dalton
Everything in Hazel’s perfect life is going according to plan. Every moment is accounted for. But she’s in for a surprise. When her best friend and roommate takes ill, Jenny begs Hazel to fill in for her on a trip to South Georgia. But life on a horse ranch in her Jimmy Choos isn’t exactly what Hazel had in mind for her summer break.

When Dalton Sullivan takes a spill from a bronc at the last rodeo of the season, his life changes forever. Uncertain about his future, his fortunes take another turn when Grandpa Joe bequeaths him a dilapidated horse ranch in his will. Dalton’s plans to refurbish the place and turn it into a working ranch again are interrupted when a beautiful woman shows up pretending to be someone she’s not.

Eamon
Eamon thinks he has love and life figured out. A successful accountant, full of confidence and charm, he’s got it all, including the beautiful girlfriend and the high flying job. But when his brother inherits a ranch in south Georgia, he leaves everything behind to help him run it.

Emily Zhu is a driven and ambitious surgeon from Boston. Everything in her life is structured and planned, down to the last detail. When she doesn’t get the job she’s been promised and has been working toward, it seems everything could come tumbling down around her. Suddenly the future is clouded with uncertainty.

Parker
When bumbling veterinarian Jennifer Barsby’s friend Hazel falls ill, she doesn’t hesitate to take action. After quitting her job in Atlanta, she packs up her life and moves to the Cotton Tree ranch in South Georgia to take care of her sick former room-mate. But when circumstances change, she wonders what she should do with the rest of her life.

Handsome and brooding cowboy, Parker Williams, is just another pal — at least that’s how Jen sees him. A former Army Ranger, he’s found renewed purpose as part-owner of the ranch. But he’s given up on the idea of ever moving on or finding love. That is until Jen moves in.

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

BookRunes has a FREE suggestion. It’s not really clear to me what this is but it looks like it could be two books. There are 457 pages. This is a new author to me, not sure what to expect.

The Beginning of Forever: Inspirational Pioneer Frontier Romance Novella (Journey to Hope Book 2)

The Beginning of Forever

Amazon quote.

23-year-old Hope was running away from a future she was born and bred to embrace; yet it was not what she wanted. Upon the death of her father and the insistency of a man she didn’t love to marry him, she decides to travel out west to become a school teacher. She wanted the freedom the west could provide her but little did she know that she would soon be chained to the grey eyed man who was her first welcome to Yellow Creek County.

Jed wasn’t looking for love. All he wanted to do was prove to his father that he could survive and be a man without his protection. To do that, he would have to live the life of a loner for some time. It all changes when he meets the green eyed Angel with wild red hair that invades his dreams every night. Instead of trying to prove himself a man, he finds himself thinking of ways that will lead to forever with this woman.

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

I’m currently reading and enjoying …

Poustinia: A Novel (Poustinia Series Book 1) 

Poustinia

Amazon quote:

When Victoria Sullivan finds herself at a crossroad in life, she books a rustic cabin in the woodlands of the Monastery of St. Carmella. While trying to discern her future, she meets other guests who face their own challenges.

The Sisters also have a dilemma, as they anticipate a merger because of their dwindling numbers and an aging congregation. Will they lose their beloved homeland, nestled among the vineyard, forest, and lake?

Poustinia: A Novel is the first book of the Poustinia series. If you enjoy contemporary and inspirational fiction with a touch of romance, you’ll love Kathleen McKee’s heartwarming story of friendship, generosity, and love.

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

Happy Reading!