Book Review: My Forever Plus-One by Shannyn Schroeder

Title: My Forever Plus-One 

Author: Shannyn Schroeder

Stars: 3 1\2

Review:
Best friend romance stories are hard to be creative and made it just different enough from other authors out there.  The book is interesting with both leads having been divorced and marriage not what they expected it to be.
The best friends are very much apart of each other lives and it isn't until a mutual friend points out how much it would hurt the other if they were not together. 
The story moves quickly making it a easy beach read for those needing a happily ever after.
The story is basic doesn't add to or stand out in the romance genre. 
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of Shannyn Schroeder My Forever Plus-One

Synopsis:
Evelyn is a woman who has everything--a successful career as a TV producer, and her best friend—sexy firefighter Owen Hanson—who looks mighty fine as her plus-one to awards dinners and backyard picnics. But something is missing and it’s not just the sex.

Owen Hanson is living the dream—a Chicago firefighter who volunteers at a youth center on the Southside and he’s got his best friend Evelyn—who knows him better than anyone. When Evelyn starts hinting about wanting something more, Owen panics.

Sex changes everything but taking their relationship to the next level surpasses even their wildest dreams. Until Evelyn’s ex-husband shows up and could make even the most perfect couple crash and burn

ebook, 200 pages

Expected publication: October 14th 2019 by Entangled tangled Publishing, LLC

About The Author:

Shannyn is a former English teacher, who now works as a part-time editor while raising her three kids.

Even though she wrote from high school through college (mostly poetry), she'd never considered a career as an author. Writing fell by the wayside as she focused her energy on creating lesson plans and new and fabulous ways to torment her teen students. One group in particular dubbed her "The Torture Master," a title she carried into motherhood.

After the birth of baby number two, Shannyn resigned from teaching and fell in love with reading romance novels. She read so many books so quickly that her husband teased, "If you're going to read so many damn books, why don't you just write one?"

So she did. And she hasn't looked back since.

She is recovering from her Diet Coke addiction, fears putting her foot in her mouth on social media, and has a renewed appreciation for the bad girls of the world.

Shannyn is represented by Frances Black of Literary Counsel. 

Book Review: Practicing Murder by Erin Unger

Title: Practicing Murder

Author: Erin Unger

Stars: 3

Review:
The story starts off fine and the story moves a little slow for the story line.  It lacks focus in some areas.  While others have more detail than is needed for the scene.  The christian side of the story was sweet without being in your face religious.
The book cover is very eye catching and beautifully done. The author way of writing a small town worked for this book but fell short at times.  It is a quick beach read.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of Practicing Murder By Erin Unger

Synopsis:
Graduate student Maddie Clare is never talking to her ex-boyfriend Joze Evans or God again. Still broken from Joze's betrayal, Mattie has to go home for her Aunt Lonna's funeral. But after a run-in with a stalker who insists Maddie knows the secret that had Aunt Lonna investigating him, Mattie is afraid for her life and must accept Joze's protection. 

As the stalker draws closer, Maddie and Joze have to face the past and a love that never died. Maddie sees she needs God's help to end her fears and to get through the new danger. 

Can Maddie stay out of the stalker's grip long enough to figure out who he is and what secret he possesses? And how will Joze keep Mattie from being buried with the stalker's true identity?

Kindle Edition, 169 pages

Published March 29th 2019 by Harbourlight Books

About The Author:

I was raised in the hills of Virginia, exploring abandoned houses and running for dear life from the cows that grazed in the fields surrounding my home. There were friends in abundance who goaded me into truth or dare many a time. I learned to imagine the best and worst of life in those years. That imagination grew as I became a voracious reader of Nancy Drew and later Mary Higgins Clarke.

After marrying so young it would make a great romance novel but too young for real life, I have enjoyed an exciting life with my hubby and best friend. We have five mostly children who are almost too old to believe and a couple grandkids.

Art has been a great hobby for me over the years. I love to leave the world behind for a few hours to paint with acrylics and have been commissioned by two camps to do murals. My true love is portraiture painting.

It took years for me to discover that one of the gifts God gave me was writing. But once I knew what I was meant to do, I worked hard to become a writer. I’m an active member of ACFW and regularly attends, writing workshops and conferences. I am an avid reader of books on writing and make it a priority as I continue to write. It’s not unusual for me to travel all over Virginia to participate in writers groups, for I’m truly a people person who wants to encourage other writers on their journey.

I was first published in Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans as a teenager. I illustrated a children’s book, Memphis Learns the Hard Way in 2013.

Book Review: Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas (River Ranch #3) by Soraya M. Lane

Title: Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas (River Ranch #3) 

Author:  Soraya M. Lane

Stars: 4

Review:
With the Christmas season fast approaching this a wonderful feel good modern day western romance. Our reluctant hero has returned home, for a Christmas visit to his ailing father, and upon arrival he meets his father's beautiful caregiver. He is unable to place her although she seems to be very familiar. He had left home permanently ten years before to avoid watching his mother succumb to cancer. The caregiver, as it turns out, is his girlfriend at that time. She is now divorced with a six year old son. It is soon apparent that this heat between them is still smoldering and will not take much to turn it into a raging inferno. The only question is whether he can overcome his past painful memories and secure a bright future. 

I have rated this book 4 stars.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased review.

Thank you Frank for your Review.

Synopsis:
He left town and never looked back.
Cody Ford is a Wall Street honcho with humble Texas roots. This holiday season, he’d be content to just stay in New York and not face his family―and dodge their questions about when and with whom he plans to settle down. . .and if he will do so back at home. But his father isn’t getting any younger, and Cody doesn’t want to miss any last chances to see him and the rest of the folks back on the ranch. The last person Cody was expecting to see? His one-time girlfriend, Lexi Murphy, who’s been working as his dad’s new live-in nurse.

She never forgot him. Can she ever forgive him?
Lexi still holds a grudge against Cody. Back then, the college-bound heartthrob believed he was too good for a small-town girl like Lexi. But now Cody can’t help but see her in a whole new light. Could it be that this beautiful single mother with an unbeatable can-do spirit is the one he’s been waiting for all along? That depends on whether Cody can prove to Lexi that, this time, he means business―and if a sudden snowstorm can lend just the right amount of Christmas magic to help move things along

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Expected publication: October 29th 2019 by St. Martin's Press

About The Author:

As a child, Soraya dreamed of becoming an author. Fast forward more than a few years, and Soraya is now living her dream! Soraya describes being an author as "the best career in the world", and she hopes to be writing romance for many years to come.

Soraya loves spending her days thinking up characters for books, and her home is a constant source of inspiration. She lives with her own real life hero and two sons on a small farm in New Zealand, surrounded by animals and with an office overlooking a field where their horses graze.

Add my upcoming release, The Spitfire Girls, to your Goodreads shelf today!

For more information about Soraya, her books and her writing life, visit sorayalane.com or www.facebook.com/SorayaLaneAuthor, or follow her on twitter @Soraya_Lane. She would love to hear from you.

Book Review: Rules in Deceit (Blackhawk Security #3) by Nichole Severn

Title: Rules in Deceit (Blackhawk Security #3)

Author: Nichole Severn

Stars: 4

Review:
Nichole Severns is able to write a security style series that is a balance, romance, action, character building that the author creates in her story telling.
Rules In Deceit have a the traditions of Harlequin Intrigue but the author add her own style to this series.
The story moves quickly with action, romance, sex, action and an ending readers will enjoy.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Harlequin Intrigue for an advance copy of Nichole Severn Rules of Deceit. 

Synopsis:
Blackhawk Security’s Elizabeth Dawson believes ex-government programmer Braxton Levitt betrayed her, but now he’s the only one who can keep her safe. A killer steps ahead of them is methodically hunting the pregnant analyst to access her top-level software program. But as Braxton and Liz race to stop him, their broken trust—and most intimate secrets—could end more than their lives.

ebook, 256 pages

Expected publication: November 1st 2019 by Harlequin Intrigue

About The Author:
Nichole Severn writes explosive romantic suspense with strong heroines, heroes who dare challenge them, and a hell of a lot of guns. She graduated from Utah Valley University with a degree in Psychology and from Nevada State College with a degree in English Literature. She's a member of Romance Writers of America.

She resides with her very supportive and patient husband, as well as her demon spawn, in Utah. When she’s not writing, she’s constantly injuring herself running, rock climbing, practicing yoga, and snowboarding

Book Review: Glass Slippers, Ever After, and Me by Julie Wright

Title: lass Slippers, Ever After, and Me

Author: Julie Wright 

Stars: 4 

Review:
Glass Slipper will have readers laughing, crying and smiling from first to last page. This take on the Cinderella Fairy Tail will have readers falling in love with author Julie Wright. 
The story does fall the story line but what the Author changed was how the female lead character changes everything about herself.  While sometimes we all need make overs this one seemed or felt a little extreme for the characters reader fell in love with.
Julie Wright has the ability to write fun, witty dialogue that flows and feel natural.
Thank you to Netgalley for the Advance copy of Julie Wright Glass Slipper, Ever After Me.

Synopsis:
When aspiring author Charlotte Kingsley finally gets published, she thinks all her dreams have come true. But the trouble begins when her publicity firm reinvents her quirky online presence into a perfectly curated dream life. Gone are the days of sweatpant posts and ice cream binges with her best friend, Anders, replaced instead with beautiful clothes, orchestrated selfies, and no boyfriend. Only, that carefully curated fairy tale life is ruining her self-esteem and making her feel like a fraud.

When a bestselling author takes Charlotte under her wing—almost like a fairy godmother—she helps Charlotte see the beautiful person she already is and the worth of being authentic. But is it too late to save her relationship with Anders? The clock is quickly ticking towards midnight, and Charlotte must decide between her fairy tale life and the man she loves, before he's gone forever.

Paperback, 336 pages

Expected publication: October 21st 2019 by Shadow Mountain

About The Author:
Julie Wright wrote her first book when she was fifteen. She's written over twenty novels since then. She is represented by Sara Crowe. She is a Whitney Awards winner for best romance with her book Cross My Heart and a Crown Heart recipient for the novel The Fortune Café.

She has one husband, three kids, one dog, and a varying amount of fish, frogs, and salamanders (depending on attrition).

She loves writing, reading, hiking, playing with her kids, and watching her husband make dinner.

She hates mayonnaise.