Sun, Fun, and Best Friends

I’m linking this post to Sunday Post, Stacking the Shelves, and It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

I accidentally skipped last week’s wrap-up due to having company over. My best friend flew out last weekend and I kind of lost track of time. We went out and did something new every day she was here. Needless to say, this week has been a whirlwind of fun. We did everything from local hikes, checked out a couple of the beaches, went to a place where you could throw axes at a target, went to local breweries, and we even got to check out a local cat cafe. I’ve heard about them being in Japan, but I had no clue that there was one near my house. I loved sitting down with a cup of coffee, and getting to hang out with a bunch of cats. Plus, I loved that all the cats that were there were up for adoption. I wanted to take this one cat home with me. The owner kept saying he was the temperamental grump of the bunch, and I guess I just felt like we were kindred spirits or something. 😀 The best part is, he walked right into my friends lap and was loving all over her. I wish I could have adopted him, but my cat is not okay with new animals coming into the house. 😒

 

 

Since I wasn’t really home to do any reading or blogging, I have a lot of catching up to do. I had an absolute blast this past week. Since I live across the country from all my family and friends, having someone fly out to visit is a huge deal. It was also great because she wanted to do a bunch of things that I hadn’t had a chance to check out. Since we move around a lot due to The Mister’s job, we tend to not experience everything a location has to offer. However, I felt like we knocked out a ton of things in the San Diego area, and when his job relocates us to a new location, I will have no regrets. A lot of the things we did I tried to take pictures to share on my Instagram stories, but there was so much that a lot of it wasn’t posted.

 

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Review: Too Hard to Forget by Tessa Bailey

Too Hard to Forget
(Romancing the Clarksons #3)
by Tessa Bailey
Publisher: Forever
Publication date: April 25, 2017
Genre: Romance
Rating:

This time, she’s calling the shots.

Peggy Clarkson is returning to her alma mater with one goal in mind: confront Elliott Brooks, the man who ruined her for all others, and remind him of what he’s been missing. Even after three years, seeing him again is like a punch in the gut, but Peggy’s determined to stick to her plan. Maybe then, once she has the upper hand, she’ll finally be able to move on.

In the years since Peggy left Cincinnati, Elliott has kept his focus on football. No distractions and no complications. But when Peggy walks back onto his practice field and into his life, he knows she could unravel everything in his carefully controlled world. Because the girl who was hard to forget is now a woman impossible to resist.

 

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Sneak Peek Wednesday: Not Quite Crazy by Catherine Bybee

Not Quite Crazy
(Not Quite #6)
by Catherine Bybee
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Publication Date: March 6, 2018
Genre: Romance

No one drives in New York City. Everyone knows that, including California transplant Rachel Price. But that doesn’t stop her from driving into the city. From Connecticut. Every single morning. Rain or shine…or snow.

When she runs the charismatic and good-looking Jason Fairchild off the road, their immediate spark is met with bad timing. There is also one tiny little detail: Jason is her boss. And a woman as intelligent and dedicated to her career as Rachel knows not to date her boss.

As CEO of a private jet company, Jason Fairchild is more used to flying than driving. But if he hadn’t chosen to drive home one night, he wouldn’t have met the slowest—and most irresistible—driver in the entire metro area. Jason has never had time for love. Or dating. Or really anything that doesn’t involve work. But when he finds out that Rachel is the newest superstar in his marketing department, he can’t help wondering if fate has other plans…

 

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Review: When It’s Real by Erin Watt

When It’s Real
by Erin Watt
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication date: May 30, 2017
Rating:

Meet Oakley Ford-teen celebrity, renowned pop star, child of famous movie stars, hottie with millions of fangirls… and restless troublemaker. On the surface he has it all, but with his home life disintegrating, his music well suddenly running dry, and the tabloids having a field day over his outrageous exploits, Oakley’s team decides it’s time for an intervention. The result: an image overhaul, complete with a fake girlfriend meant to show the world he’s settled down.

Enter seventeen-year-old Vaughn Bennett-devoted sister, part-time waitress, the definition of “normal.” Under ordinary circumstances she’d never have taken this gig, but with her family strapped for cash, she doesn’t have much of a choice. And for the money Oakley’s team is paying her, she figures she can put up with outlandish Hollywood parties and a team of publicists watching her every move. So what if she thinks Oakley’s a shallow, self-centered jerk? It’s not like they’re going to fall for each other in real life…right?

 

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Review: The Beauty of Lies by Brinda Berry

The Beauty of Lies
(Stand by Me #1)
by Brinda Berry
Publisher: Sweet Biscuit Publishing
Publication date: Oct. 6, 2015
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Secrets are exposed, trust is betrayed and two people face the beauty of lies.

Leo Jensen has a secret–he is Mr. Expose, a blogger that reveals the truth about liars and frauds. It’s a way to make a living, and he’s had a motherlode of experience with liars. Cheaters. Women who live for drama and carry more hidden baggage than a Boeing 747. Even his twin sister can’t seem to admit the truth about her relationships, so finding an honest woman is about as likely as finding a unicorn in the middle of Nashville.

Harper Wade wishes life had a do-over button. She’d press that sucker and reset the last four years. Now, she has the chance to start fresh and make things right, but first she has to retrieve the damning evidence of her past from an annoying blogger. She’s doing all the things she knows she shouldn’t–breaking and entering, lying by omission, falling for the hot guy next door. Too bad he holds the key to her clean slate.

 

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Sneak Peek Wednesday: Getaway Girl Tessa Bailey

Getaway Girl
by Tessa Bailey
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: March 26, 2018
Genre: Romance

This unlikely getaway driver never expected to help the mayor escape…

After a six-year absence, Addison Potts is back in Charleston to stir things up. And what better place to make her villainous return than her estranged cousin’s wedding? Only, the nuptials hit a snag when the bride doesn’t show, leaving Addison to play getaway driver for the jilted groom. A groom whose heartbreaking smile and deep, southern drawl she should not be noticing…

Elijah Montgomery Du Pont is the future mayor of Charleston. From his military career to city hall, every detail of his life has been meticulously planned. Until now. His only respite from life’s sudden upheaval is Addison, his new, improbable best friend. She makes him happy. Grounds him. And public disapproval be damned, he’s not willing to give her up. But with an election on the line and public pressure rising, Addison—and the cruel hand of fate—might not give him a choice.

 

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Review: To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

To Kill a Kingdom
by Alexandra Christo
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication date: March 6, 2018
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating:

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever.

The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?

 

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Car troubles galore

 

I’m linking this post to Sunday Post, Stacking the Shelves, and It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

You know what is always fun? Car trouble! Yaaay! Nothing like waking up in the morning to a vehicle that goes “ritititititit” instead of turning over. So, we had plans to fix the Jeep this weekend. Woke up, had breakfast, I saw on my local Buy Nothing group that one of the members was offering up clippings from their succulent garden. So, we stopped by in our other vehicle to get some new plants. Yay, right? Wrong! When I was finished taking plant clippings I realized that our other vehicle wouldn’t start-up. Thankfully the girl allowed us to take her car to run home and get tools and jumper cables to try to get our vehicle running again. I still can’t believe she let a complete stranger take her vehicle. Anyways, one call to AAA later, a few trips to Autozone, and I think… I HOPE that we finally have both vehicles up and running.

Later today I plan to go to a book launch party for Fire and Bone. You know, the book about the demigoddess that I recently featured on the blog? Anyway, I’m really excited that she’s coming nearby for her launch party. I met her last year at another book signing, and she’s really cool and sweet. So, I’m happy that I get to be there for the festivities. Let’s just hope we have no more car troubles.

 

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Review: The Valiant by Lesley Livingston

The Valiant
(The Valiant #1)
by Lesley Livingston
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication date: Feb. 14, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating:

Princess. Captive. Gladiator.

Fallon is the daughter of a proud Celtic king, the sister of the legendary warrior Sorcha, and the sworn enemy of Julius Caesar.

When Fallon was a child, Caesar’s armies invaded her homeland, and her beloved sister was killed in battle.

Now, on the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Fallon is eager to follow in her sister’s footsteps and earn her place in the fearsome Cantii war band. She never gets the chance.

Fallon is captured and sold to an elite training school for female gladiators—owned by none other than Julius Caesar. In a cruel twist of fate, the man who destroyed Fallon’s family might be her only hope of survival.

Now Fallon must overcome vicious rivalries and deadly fights—in and out of the arena. And perhaps the most dangerous threat of all: her forbidden yet irresistible feelings for Cai, a young Roman soldier.

 

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Sneak Peek Wednesday: Devil’s Gold by Amanda McKinney

Devil’s Gold
(Black Rose Mystery #1)
by Amanda McKinney
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: Feb. 13, 2018
Genre: Mystery Thriller

Death and Darkness are the norm at Black Rose Investigations . . .

Despite being chronically late, occasionally disheveled and a tad disorganized, Dixie Knight is one of the top private investigators in the country, and when a young woman goes missing in the small, Southern town of Devil’s Den, Dixie takes the case. She expected it to be another ordinary missing person case—until it takes a brutal turn.

While visiting relatives on his two-week leave, Marine Liam Cash bumps into Dixie at the local bar, and his attraction to her is immediate. When he becomes suspicious that Dixie’s current case is connected to two unsolved murders in his hometown, he steps in to help investigate, and keep Dixie safe, whether Dixie wants him to or not.

As the bodies start stacking up, Dixie turns the town upside down looking for the killer—could it be the rumored witch that lives in the mountains; the rich, neurotic doctor’s wife; or the perky, blonde receptionist at the local medical clinic?

Time is running out and Dixie knows she has to put the pieces of the puzzle together before another body turns cold in Devil’s Den.

 

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