SNIPPET SUNDAY: Coffee

SINGAPORE FLING
Carpe Diem Chronicles 2
Chapter Three

Maddie started at the sound of his amused voice. She turned in her seat to stare while Aidan made his way to her side. He’d changed into a moisture-wicking top and track pants, both black, better suited for walking than the cotton he wore earlier. Again, he looked like the spy Rini had thought he was.

And now, she was wide awake once more. This morning, she’d likened Aidan to dark chocolate.

Wrong.

He was coffee. Black, no sugar, the way she preferred it: strong, hot, addictive.

Maddie let out a sigh filled with regret. She should have jumped him when she’d arrived. In white t-shirt and gray sweatpants, jaw shadowed by a day’s growth of stubble, he had looked totally jumpable.

Singapore Fling is Book 2 of Carpe Diem Chronicles, a series of multicultural contemporary romance novels. The stories celebrate the rich cultures of exotic Southeast Asian islands through languages, food, and festivals.

It’s now available from your favorite etailers in eBook and paperback.

Check out other blogs participating in Snippet Sunday on Facebook.

AN EVERYDAY HERO by Laura Trentham – Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway

AN EVERYDAY HERO

Book 2, Heart of a Hero Series

Laura Trentham

SYNOPSIS

From award-winning author Laura Trentham comes An Everyday Hero, an emotionally layered novel about redemption, second chances and discovering that life is worth fighting for.

At thirty, Greer Hadley never expected to be forced home to Madison, Tennessee with her life and dreams of being a songwriter up in flames. To make matters worse, a series of bad decisions and even crappier luck lands her community service hours at a nonprofit organization that aids veterans and their families. Greer cannot fathom how she’s supposed to use music to help anyone deal with their trauma and loss when the one thing that brought her joy has failed her.

When Greer meets fifteen-year-old Ally Martinez, her plans to stay detached and do as little as possible get thrown away. New to town and dealing with the death of her father in action, she hides her emotions behind a mask of bitterness and sarcasm, but Greer is able to see past it and recognizes pieces of who she once was in Ally. The raw and obvious talent she possesses could take her to the top and Greer vows to make sure life’s negativities don’t derail Ally’s potential.

After Greer is assigned a veteran to help, she’s not surprised Emmett Lawson, the town’s golden boy, followed his family’s legacy. What leaves her shocked is the shell of a man who believes he doesn’t deserve anyone’s help. A breakthrough with Ally reminds Greer that no one is worth giving up on. So she shows up one day with his old guitar and meets Emmett’s rage head on with her stubbornness. When a situation with Ally becomes dire, the two of them must become a team to save her—and along the way, they might just save themselves too.

Buy it here:

Macmillan / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / Indie Bound / Powell’s

REVIEW

An immensely enjoyable read, An Everyday Hero elicits both laughter and tears. Ms. Trentham’s development of the story and the characters can only be described as skillful. She achieved a balance between humor and angst that I found utterly delightful.

Despite all of Greer’s setbacks, she remains funny and caring. Once roused from his wallowing, Emmett turns out to be an adorable hero. I love that both started out as messed up but once they rekindled their friendship, they started to heal and support each other in finding their purpose. Their sparkling banter made their dialogues fun to read. Their chemistry is obvious from the beginning and it’s easy to follow how they transitioned from friends to lovers.

“An anchor weighs you down. Keeps you in one place. Why would you want to be with someone like that? You should be with someone who encourages you to fly.”

Ally’s story is heartbreaking and far too real among military kids. I appreciate the way Ms. Trentham incorporated music in getting her to open up to Greer. The most important of the secondary characters, Ally is edgy and sympathetic at the same time.

The author really captured the essence of a Southern small town from the sweet tea to the busybodies to the country music. I also really loved the roles family and friends played in assuring that the story concludes happily.

I found this book highly-entertaining and recommend it to readers of romance and women’s fiction.

Content advisory – battle scenes in a nightmare and retelling.

Heat level – low (kisses only)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

LAURA TRENTHAM is an award-winning author of contemporary and historical romance. The Military Wife is her debut women’s fiction novel. A chemical engineer by training and a lover of books by nature, she lives in South Carolina.

GIVEAWAY

Macmillan is generously giving a paperback copy of An Everyday Hero to one of my lucky readers. All you have to do to qualify in a random draw is Like and Comment on this post and Follow this blog if you haven’t done so yet. I will announce the winner on Tuesday, February 11 at 12 noon Central time

CHASING HOPE by Dana Wayne – Book Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway

CHASING HOPE

by

DANA WAYNE

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Book Liftoff
Date of Publication: June 10, 2019
Number of Pages: 295

Scroll down for giveaway!

Max Logan longs for the joys of home and family he missed growing up in foster care. He fills that emotional void by becoming a kick-ass Marine, and for eighteen years, led his band of brothers from one hellhole to another…until the one that nearly destroyed him. Sixteen months of therapy and rehab put his body back together, but some wounds can’t be seen. Some can’t be healed.

Skylar Ward dreams of a life that includes someone beside her. Someone to share her life with, to be a father to her young daughter. But if she learned anything from her failed marriage it was that you don’t rush into a relationship. Options in her small town are limited, and those who approach her lack appeal. Only Max Logan sparks her interest. But the handsome, brooding war hero remains aloof.

Intelligent and intuitive, seven-year-old Maddie overhears a neighbor tell her mother she needs a male companion, so she Google’s it to see what it means. Convinced her mom needs a boyfriend and Max needs a girlfriend, Maddie sets out to make it happen. He needs a family. They need him. If she can make them see that.

Can one precocious child be the catalyst that heals a wounded warrior’s soul and brings joy back into her mom’s heart?

Or will ashes of the past bury hope once and for all?

**PRAISE FOR CHASING HOPE:**

“The pace was fast, the love was simple yet energetic, and the dialogues were lively enough to make me want to know more about the characters. To say that I loved this novel is not enough! Absolutely beautiful. It deserves these 5 stars.” – Readers’ Favorite

“I could not put Chasing Hope down! From the first few sentences, I was hooked and read over half of it the first night finishing it the following night. The main characters, Sky and Max, intrigued me right off the bat but feisty little Maddie wormed her way into my heart immediately! What a breath of fresh air.” – Mary McCormack, ARC reader

eBOOK DEAL! $1.99 JULY 9-20, 2019

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As a reader who has a close connection with the US Armed Forces (Air Force husband, Marine Corps father-in-law), I can be quite critical of military romantic fiction. Errors in terminologies and ranks and exaggeration of the protagonists’ abilities peeve me. With Dana Wayne’s Chasing Hope, I found nothing to annoy me and everything to love. The story of how wounded Marine veteran Max, struggling single mother Skylar, and adorably precocious Maddie became a family is truly heartwarming. It’s an affecting and satisfying read. I smiled, teared-up, and loved along with these sympathetic characters as they slowly drew close to one another with the help, and sometimes hindrance, of the members of their small community.

Max and Sky are easy to root for because they are regular people with real-life problems, who deserve their happily ever after. Maddie is a star. She’s the little cupid who brought her mother and their next-door neighbor together. I love the parts she played in making sure Max and Sky address their feelings honestly and clear up their misunderstandings right away. I also love the other secondary characters like Big John and Ruby, Logan and Anna. I even appreciate Cade for providing the conflict that tests Max and Sky’s developing relationship.

If I have a favorite quote, it’s this: “Blood doesn’t make a family. Love does.”

Excellent writing, fantastic story, snappy dialogue, involving characters. I enjoyed Chasing Hope so much, I’m giving it five hope-filled stars. I won’t hesitate to say, “Buy this book!” Buy it now.

Dana Wayne is an award-winning author and 6th generation Texan. She resides in East Texas with her husband (and biggest fan) along with a Calico cat named Katie, three children, and four grandchildren. She routinely speaks to books clubs, services organizations, writers’ groups, and other organizations on writing and publishing, and is a frequent guest on numerous writing blogs.

“I grew up listening to my father read passages from the stack of paperback westerns beside his chair. I was fascinated at how someone could paint a picture with words so vivid, I saw it in my mind. That’s when I knew that one day I would be a writer. It wasn’t until I retired in late 2013 that I was able to devote the necessary time to achieving my goal. I published my first book in 2016 and never looked back. My stories are heartwarming, a little spicy, and all about the romance because I believe romance is more about emotion than sex, and the journey is more important than the destination.”

A staunch supporter of new authors, she is a member of Romance Writers of America, Texas Association of Authors, and Writers League of Texas as well as several local writers’ groups.

WEBSITE ║ FACEBOOK
TWITTER ║ INSTAGRAM ║ EMAIL
GOODREADS ║ VIMEO

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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

FIRST PRIZE: Signed Copy of Chasing Hope
+ Swag bag including fan, tote bag, and throw blanket;
SECOND PRIZE: eBook Copy of Chasing Hope
+ $10 Amazon Gift Card
THIRD PRIZE: eBook Copy of Chasing Hope
+ $5 Amazon Gift Card
(US Only)
July 9-19, 2019

A Rafflecopter Giveaway

CHECK OUT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:

7/9/19 		Notable Quotable 	That's What She's Reading 
7/9/19 		Notable Quotable 	Kelly Well Read 
7/9/19 		BONUS post 		Hall Ways Blog 
7/10/19 	Review 			Reading by Moonlight 
7/11/19 	Excerpt 		All the Ups and Downs 
7/11/19 	Excerpt 		The Page Unbound 
7/12/19 	Review 			StoreyBook Reviews 
7/13/19 	Review 			Rebecca R. Cahill, Author 
7/13/19 	Character Interview 	Forgotten Winds 
7/14/19 	Author Interview 	Chapter Break Book Blog 
7/15/19 	Review 			Carpe Diem Chronicles 
7/15/19 	Review 			The Clueless Gent 
7/16/19 	Teaser 			Nerd Narration 
7/16/19 	Teaser 			Book Fidelity 
7/17/19 	Review 			KayBee's Book Shelf 
7/18/19 	Review 			The Book Review

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THE MILITARY WIFE by Laura Trentham – Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway

THE MILITARY WIFE

Laura Trentham

SYNOPSIS

A young widow embraces a second chance at life when she reconnects with those who understand the sacrifices made by American soldiers and their families in award-winning author Laura Trentham’s The Military Wife.

Harper Lee Wilcox has been marking time in her hometown of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina since her husband, Noah Wilcox’s death, nearly five years earlier. With her son Ben turning five and living at home with her mother, Harper fights a growing restlessness, worried that moving on means leaving the memory of her husband behind.

Her best friend, Allison Teague, is dealing with struggles of her own. Her husband, a former SEAL that served with Noah, was injured while deployed and has come home physically healed but fighting PTSD. With three children underfoot and unable to help her husband, Allison is at her wit’s end.

In an effort to re-energize her own life, Harper sees an opportunity to help not only Allison but a network of other military wives eager to support her idea of starting a string of coffee houses close to military bases around the country.

In her pursuit of her dream, Harper crosses paths with Bennett Caldwell, Noah’s best friend and SEAL brother. A man who has a promise to keep, entangling their lives in ways neither of them can foresee. As her business grows so does an unexpected relationship with Bennett. Can Harper let go of her grief and build a future with Bennett even as the man they both loved haunts their pasts?

Buy it here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250145536

REVIEW

As a military wife myself (my husband served in the US Air Force for 25 years before retiring), I felt a strong connection with this book. I identified right away with Harper, with her adorable little boy, friendship with Allison, childbirth experience, and frustration with the lack of job opportunities for military spouses no matter how qualified we are.

This doesn’t mean that you have to be a military wife to be able to relate with this novel. Far from it. Laura Trentham expertly interspersed the present and the past in this heartwarming second-chance-at-love story. Romance readers will love Harper’s sass, determination, compassion, strengths, and vulnerabilities. They will swoon at Bennett’s sexily gruff exterior matched by a generous and soft heart. They will definitely adore Ben and Jack London and smile whenever Gail Frazier enters the scene. Harper’s love stories with both Noah and Bennett are equally special. All these are the happy parts.

The angsty part is provided by Allison and her husband Darren who is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is a difficult subject to tackle and I think Laura handled it incredibly well. I am so glad this is a romance with a guaranteed happily-ever-after because for a few scenes there I had wondered if there’s going to be a tragedy or two. I was relieved and satisfied with the resolution.

Splendid writing, relatable characters, relevant story lines, balance of humor and drama. These are the reasons why I’m highly recommending The Military Wife.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

LAURA TRENTHAM is an award-winning author of contemporary and historical romance. She is a member of RWA, and has been a finalist multiple times in the Golden Heart competition. A chemical engineer by training and a lover of books by nature, she lives in South Carolina.

GIVEAWAY

Macmillian is generously giving a paperback copy of The Military Wife to one of my lucky readers. All you have to do to qualify in a random draw is Like and Comment on this post and Follow this blog if you haven’t done so yet. I will announce the winner on Tuesday, February 12 at 12 noon Central time.

Maida Malby

Carpe Diem Chronicles. Destination: Romance

Tag Archives: #militaryromance

SNIPPET SUNDAY: Coffee

AN EVERYDAY HERO by Laura Trentham – Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway