Blog Tour: Review of When the Heart Brings You Home by Robin Aderich

When the Heart Brings You Home
Robin Maderich
Publication date: November 1st 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Holiday, Romance

When the Heart Brings You Home, A Connor Falls Christmas Collection, is a heartwarming collection of three holiday novellas, all set in the small town of Connor Falls, Pennsylvania during the Christmas season, and each a story of family and love with a touch of romance.

Winter Light – a troubled little girl brings the Christmas Spirit back to her struggling single father and the woman he once kissed many years ago.

Light the Heart Home – two sisters with secrets reunite at Christmas, prodding old wounds and finding healing love.

Home for the Holidays – all Susan Hardwick wants is to find her way back home.

Comfort. Joy. Romance. Welcome to Connor Falls.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

My Thoughts:

When the Heart Brings You Home has three novellas set in the town of Connor Falls at Christmas time.  I enjoyed all three.  The characters were interesting and the stories were heartwarming. Of the three, the first one, "Winter Light", was my favorite.  I loved watching the main characters fall for each other.  I also loved the tree in the display window and how the town came together to decorate it.  My only issue is that I wish the stories were longer.  I would have enjoyed spending more time with all of the characters and the town.  I highly recommend this one.

Author Bio:

First published by Warner Books’ Popular Library, Robin Maderich has written numerous romance novels, from historical to contemporary paranormal, as Robin Maderich, Celia Ashley and Alyssa Deane. Ms. Maderich resides in Pennsylvania, the locale and inspiration for many of her stories. She is an avid fan of historical fact and fiction, as well as the infinite realm of possibilities.

Website

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

—

Blog Tour: Review of Beneath the Sheets by L.M. Mountford

 

Author: L.M. Mountford
Release: July 16, 2021
Genre: Contemporary Romance - Friends to Lovers/Holiday Romance/ Second Chance Romance
Goodreads

They were the best of friends. Then they shared a night of passion and in the morning she was gone and Alex has spent years trying to move on.
 
But then an email arrives out of the blue and suddenly he finds himself boarding the first plane bound for Australia with nothing but his passport and an overnight bag. He's no idea what he'll do, or he's going to say, but one thing's for sure...
 
He's not going home without her.
 
Buy Links:
Books2Read: https://books2read.com/u/47OMjq
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2T9yupk
iTunes: https://apple.co/3wEpt5p
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/3hH39UI
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3ia40vR

My thoughts:
Beneath the Sheets is a very very short story about a second chance at romance.  I'll be honest, the story felt like I tuned into the last 20 minutes of a TV show and was a bit lost.  It was almost like it was an outline for a longer story.  I would have liked a lot more meat to it in order to get to know the couple more.  The bedroom scene was definitely steamy and well written.  I just wanted more.  If you are just looking for a hot sex scene, then I would recommend this one.

Author Bio
Sign up for VIP newsletter below to enjoy free books, new releases, discounts, ARC opportunities AND receive a FREE steamy read -
Sweet Temptations
 
A self-confessed tiger fanatic, L.M. Mountford was born and raised in England, first in the town of Bridgwater, Somerset, before later moving to the city of Gloucester where he currently resides. A fully qualified and experienced scuba diver, he has traveled across Europe and Africa diving wrecks and seeing the wonders of the world.
 
Check out the authors store >> https://store.lmmountford.com/shop
 
Social Media Links:
Website – https://lmmountford.com/
Store - https://store.lmmountford.com/shop/
Reader’s Group: http://bit.ly/LMMountfordFBGroup
Facebook Page: http://bit.ly/LMMountfordFBPage
Twitter: http://bit.ly/lmmountfordtwitter
BookBurb: http://bit.ly/lmmountfordBB
Author page: http://bit.ly/LMMountfordAmazon
Newsletter Sign up: https://www.subscribepage.com/w7y7k2
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/lmmountfordGR
Instagram: http://bit.ly/lmmountfordig
Members Only Content: https://www.patreon.com/thelordoflust
Street Team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/515716316299475/
Review Team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1628655923831491

Blog Tour: Review of Helpless by Tiffany Christina Lewis

Author:  Tiffany Christina Lewis
Publisher: Rebellion LIT
Publication Date: May 28th 2021

Women are powerful and can be rational thinkers under pressure. They can also be devious and vengeful. A woman is not just a ball of emotion. Women can fight, they can protect, and they can win… and it can still be interesting to read about.

These eight stories of women kicking ass, standing tall, and refusing to be victims are Tiffany’s opposition to the tropes of true crime. With stories from five genres including Horror, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Romance, and Crime Fiction, you are sure to find a story you love.

Helpless is a short story collection where all of the stories involve women coming out on top.  I liked the author's note at the beginning where she explained her motivation for writing these stories.   It helped give me context. The stories are really short  and I read this collection in one sitting.  They follow five different themes and each one (except the first) is named for the woman in the story.  

I though this was a solid collection. There is something in here for every reading taste.  My 2 favorites out of the set were the second and third stories.  I loved the twist in "Emma".  I loved the resiliency of  "Anna Holstein".  I haven't read anything else by this author, but I am looking forward to diving into one of her other works soon.  I highly recommend this one.  

Book Links:
Paperback - https://bit.ly/3ug3kJX
Kindle eBook – http://getbook.at/HelplessShortStories
More Markets Coming Soon

Author Bio:
Tiffany is the author of six books and has been published more than a dozen times in anthologies and magazines.
 
She is also a publisher at Rebellion LIT who works tirelessly to support other authors looking to bring their art to the world.
 
She resides in Sacramento, CA with her family and Miniature Pinscher.
 
Social Media Links:
Website – https://tiffanychristinalewis.com/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/AuthorTCLewis
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTiffanyChristinaLewis
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/AuthorTCLewis/
Blog – https://herscribbledthoughts.com/
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/authortclewis                                
Newsletter - https://mailchi.mp/55e3382385f0/tiffanysnewsletter

HOSTED BY:

Blog Tour: Review of Sudden Traveler by Sarah Hall

Author: Sarah Hall

Publisher: Custom House

Publication Date: October 2019

Featuring her signature themes of identity, eroticism, and existential quest, the stories in Sarah Hall’s third collection travel far afield in location and ambition—from Turkish forest and coastline to the rain-drenched villages of Cumbria.

The characters in Sudden Traveler walk, drive, dream, and fly, trying to reconcile themselves with their journeys through life, death, and love. Science fiction meets folktale and philosophy meets mortality.

A woman with a new generation of pacemaker chooses to shut it down in the Lakeland, the site of her strongest memories. A man repatriated in the near east hears the name of an old love called and must unpack history’s dark suitcase. From the new world-waves of female anger and resistance, a mythical creature evolves. And in the woods on the border between warring countries, an old well facilitates a dictator’s downfall, before he gains power.

A master of short fiction, Sarah Hall opens channels in the human mind and spirit and takes us to the very edge of our possible selves.

Sudden Traveler is a short story compilation that has a little something for everyone in it.  For the most part, I enjoyed the book. As with any short story collection, I usually find that some of them work and some of them don't..at least for me.   There were two stories that really resonated with me, "Orton" and "Sudden Traveler".  They were beautifully written and are my two favorites out of the collection.  "The Woman the Book Read" was pretty good as well.  As for the other four, I found that they were a bit out there and honestly, I'm not sure I understood them.   Despite that, I do recommend picking this one up.  It's a quick read and I think everyone will be able to find a favorite among the pages.

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Sarah Hall

Photo by Richard Thwaites

Sarah Hall was born in 1974 in Cumbria, England. She received a master of letters in creative writing from Scotland’s St. Andrews University and has published four novels. Haweswater won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (overall winner, Best First Novel) and a Society of Authors Betty Trask Award. The Electric Michelangelo was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Eurasia Region), and the Prix Femina Étranger, and was longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction. Daughters of the North won the 2006/07 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the James Tiptree Jr. Award, and was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award for science fiction. How to Paint a Dead Man was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won the Portico Prize for Fiction. In 2013 Hall was named one of Granta‘s Best Young British Novelists, a prize awarded every ten years, and she won the BBC National Short Story Award and the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Find out more about Sarah at her website, and connect with her on Facebook.

Instagram Features

Tuesday, October 8th: Instagram: @book.hang.o.ver
Wednesday, October 9th: Instagram: @girlwithnoselfie
Thursday, October 10th: Instagram: @readvoraciously
Friday, October 11th: Instagram: @dropandgivemenerdy
Saturday, October 12th: Instagram: @sarahandherbookshelves
Sunday, October 13th: Instagram: @megsbookclub
Monday, October 14th: Instagram: @amberafterglowreads

Review Stops

Tuesday, October 8th: A Dream Within a Dream

Wednesday, October 9th: Iwriteinbooks’s blog
Thursday, October 10th: The Desert Bibliophile
Friday, October 11th: Instagram: @giuliland
Monday, October 14th: Instagram: @sixminutesforme
Tuesday, October 15th: Booked J
Thursday, October 17th: Real Life Reading

Monday, October 21st: she treads softly
Wednesday, October 23rd: From the TBR Pile

Thursday, October 24th: Instagram: @shereadswithcats
TBD: Thursday, October 17th: Have Coffee Need Books

Blog Tour: Review of Just In Case by Laura McHale Holland

by Laura McHale Holland
Publication date: August 17th 2019
Goodreads

Imagine a world where shadows of enchantment instantly render ordinary experiences eerie, terrifying or sublime, and where the unexpected becomes the norm. The twenty-one micro stories in Laura McHale Holland’s Just in Case comprise such a place: a universe where a wife betrayed relishes her revenge; a couple chugging toward retirement takes a surprising U-turn; a much maligned character finally has his say; a cozy family scene chills the blood; a curious relative cannot leave a half-human baby alone. These, and more, are what you’ll find in this book.

The dark, often revealing themes in this collection marry exquisitely with the precise flash fiction form, offering a full reading experience in few words. If you enjoy engaging, short reads with deliciously poetic prose, plenty of imagery, and context left to the imagination, you’re likely to love the concise gems found herein.

Just in Case is a collection of very short stories.  The majority of these are one page or less.  I read this entire volume in about an hour.  As I usually find with most collections, there were some that I was intrigued by and some that didn't work for me. Some of them seemed like they were an idea for a story jotted down, but then were never elaborated on so they were included in here.

 A few really stand out in my mind as ones I would want to have be longer.  "When She Wakes Up" and "Before" were chilling and left me wanting more.  I also liked 'Nephew" and want to know what happened next. I would recommend trying this one out.  There is definitely something for everyone in here.  

Purchase:

Amazon  B&N  Kobo  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

AUTHOR BIO:

In all of her work, Laura McHale Holland strives to stir people’s emotions and find hope hidden in unlikely places. Her novel, The Kiminee Dream, set for release in 2020, introduces a cast of quirky characters in a fictional Illinois river town where unseen forces both help and hinder, and people learn to rise in the face of adversity, accept what can never be and embrace big dreams anew. Laura’s published books include two memoirs, two collections of flash fiction, and an anthology on sisterhood. In addition, three of her plays have been produced in San Francisco’s North Bay region.

Author links:

https://www.lauramchaleholland.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4727954.Laura_McHale_Holland

https://www.facebook.com/Laura-McHale-Holland-Author-231012607688395/

https://twitter.com/lauramchh

Throwback Thursday: The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie

Author: Agatha Christie
First published in 1939 by Dodd, Mead and Company

A diamond worth several fortunes is stolen as a dinner party trick, and then stolen from the thief...How lucky that Mr. Parker Pyne is also a guest at the party. The incomparable Hercule Poirot proves that a crowd is the best place for a murder. And Miss Marple solves a crime that stumped the police without ever leaving her fireside. This superb collection assembles all of Agatha Christie's top detectives to solve the most challenging cases of their careers.

This short story collection contains the following: The Regatta Mystery, The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest, How Does Your Garden Grow?, Problem at Pollensa Bay, Yellow Iris, Miss Marple Tells a Story, The Dream, In a Glass Darkly and Problem At Sea.

Anthologies are always a nice change from novels when you want something quick to read.  After not reading much that has excited me lately, I was looking for a change of pace, The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories is a great set of short mysteries by the queen of mysteries.  

I really enjoyed this set of stories.  There is a mix of novellas featuring each of her three detectives.  I had never read anything with the detective, Parker Pyne.  That was a real treat.  My favorites of the bunch were The Problem at Pollensa Bay and In a Glass Darkly.  Both of them had a nice little twist that I didn't expect. The real interesting part was that neither one of them featured my favorite detective, Hercule Poirot.  If you haven't read this set, I highly recommend it.  

My Own Miraculous by Joshilyn Jackson

by:  Joshilyn Jackson
published by:  William Morrow Impulse
publish date:  October 29, 2013

My Own Miraculous is a short story based on the characters from Joshilyn Jackson's book Someone Else's Love Story.  Shandi was 17 when she got pregnant, as far as she's concerned it was a virgin birth.  She's had her son and she desperately loves him, but she still hasn't grown up.  It isn't until the specialness of Shandi's son Natty attracts the attention of mentally ill teenage girl that the protective mother instinct wakes up in Shandi and she starts doing some growing up of her own.

I'm sure y'all know by now that it Joshilyn Jackson wrote a cereal box I would read it and love it.  So I'm sure it's not really a surprise that I liked this short story.  I adored Someone Else's Love Story, so I was glad to get some more time with the characters.  I definitely recommend both stories.  Probably Someone Else's Love Story first, then the short story...I'm not sure it would make sense the other way around.  Anyway, keep up the good work J.J.!

Throwback Thursday; The Dunwich Horror & The Thing on the Doorstep by H. P. Lovecraft

Author: H. P. Lovecraft

Audio CD Published by Fantom Films (first published October 2nd 2009) 
The Dunwitch Horror first published in the 1929 "Weird Tales"
The Thing on the Doorstep first published in the 1933 "Weird Tales"

In The Dunwich Horror (1928), Wilbur Whateley, the son of a deformed albino mother and an unknown father, matures at an abnormal rate, reaching manhood within a decade. All the while, his sorcerer grandfather indoctrinates him into certain dark rituals and the study of witchcraft...The Thing at The Doorstep was written five years later; confessing to the killing of his friend Edward Derby, Daniel Upton hopes his account will prove he is not a murderer.

I saw this audiobook  on my library's website and thought it would make for a great October Throwback Thursday.  To be honest, I have never read anything by Lovecraft, so I thought a couple of short stories would be a good introduction to his writing.

The first story read was The Dunwich Horror.  This one was just OK for me.  It wasn't anything very scary or remotely creepy.  Maybe in 1928, it could give readers shivers, but not in 2013.  I think it was a little too abstract for me.  I'm still not sure I really got what happened in the story.  Maybe if it had been longer, I would have liked it more.

The Thing on the Doorstep was much better.  I thought it was pretty creepy and scary.  This one would have made a good movie if the story was expanded a bit.  It's got black magic and possession. I liked the ending that was left open ended.  It definitely added to the creep factor.   If you are going to pick one to read on Halloween night, pick this one.  It's perfect to make the night a little bit spookier.