SPOTLIGHT: This Old House Series by Roxanne Snopek

                                             This Old House Series by Roxanne Snopek

 
 

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          This series has been on my TBR list for a long time and it all started because of a book party I went to. Roxanne Snopek was a new author for me and posted a teaser for Cinderella’s Cowboy, I was hooked. The only problem was it was book four in the series! I am one of those people that has to start a series from book one. Well in that party I actually won book one and bought book four. All I needed was the book money to get the other two. My luck was with me though and a few weeks later I won book two at yet another party. You would have thought I would start it right then and there but alas I was contracted by my word for a ton of book reviews and blog tours. I knew once I started reading this series I wouldn’t be able to stop until I was done. So finally on October 14^th I started reading Finding Home and finished book four at 3:30 am this morning (October 17^th). I will brake them down for you now:

                                                Finding Home (Book One)

          This book had me hooked for the moment I found out Samara was a single mom. There are not a lot of single mom books out there and being one myself, I like reading them. Samara has lost her husband, has a child that learns different than others and is starting a new life in the only place she has ever felt like home. Finding a great deal on a house and wanting to get settled with her daughter sounded perfect. Life had been really hard on her and she was hoping this new start would make this better. Traveling to Montana by car was not easy but once there she was excited to see the house she had bought. It was a project house, a historic house being fixed up by students from the surrounding schools for graduation credits. Being a teacher Samar loved the idea. That is until she walks in and sees that her house is no were near ready to be moved in, the realtor is ducking her, and the person in charge is the one man she has never been able to forget.

          Logan Stafford can’t believe his ears or eyes when the one women he had been looking for years is standing in front of him. Let alone that he is working on her house. He views this as a second chance one that nothing is going to stop him from grabbing. He loves kids and animals so the fact that Samara has a daughter and a service dog are not a problem. He wants to prove to her she can trust him, that he won’t let her down as so many others have in her life. The problem is Samara is fighting what she feels, and fighting him.

          This book shows that is never too late to find your way back home. A lot of single moms think love is something we have to wait for our children to grow up before we have again. I don’t believe this at all, that’s why books like this make me so happy. I am not giving anything away, we read romance for the HEA and this is no exception. Be ready for love, laughter, and passion when these two come together!

                                      A Sweet Montana Christmas (Book Two)

          Book two was better than I expected and a new kind of romance for me. Malinda and Austin have been married for ten years and things ae not going well. Austin has been working for years to build a life for his wife and she has been working as a nurse as well. They have been working so hard for their perfect life they hardly ever see one another. Then disaster hits, Austin’s company goes bust and his only option is to live on the family honey farm in Montana. He just assumes Malinda will join him so is devastated when she heads for her mother’s house instead. She doesn’t feel her husband’s love and they had stopped communicating long before the business went belly up. Malinda’s mother convinces her to try one more time. Therefore, she packs up all her stuff and heads to join her husband not realizing that the family farm is in need of major repair.

          Austin loves his wife and its killing him to not have her but when she shows up on his doorstep he is just confused. She had asked for some time, she had wanted a separation, yet there she was. His heart was souring and he was glad she was there but he needed to know why and for how long? Everything in him wanted to prove to her he was a changed man, that he would try harder for her. What starts out as a temporary move starts to feel more like home. The husband and wife are closer then before but there is still so many obstacles to over come. One big one being that the house isn’t their but still belongs to Austin’s father. Another is that Malinda wants to go back to civilization. Austin will do what he has to, to keep Malinda, because in the end she is the only ‘home’ he needs.

          What a wonderful book showing that we don’t have to scrap a marriage as long as there is love and respect and two people willing to work for what is important. This is the kind of marriage most of us look for and one reason I loved this book. So often we get to see the two characters come together but are left wondering if they lasted. In this series we get to see this in book three and four. Roxanne gave me what I love in a series, to learn more about the people we take into our hearts.   

 

                                       The Cowboy Next Door (Book Three)

          In the second book we meet Leda a pregnant young women that is determined to do right by her baby. She is full of fire and spunk and grabs out hearts. In this book we get to know more about her and her past, find out how her child is growing too. She is living with Malinda and Austin and helping out with the farm. She loves it a feels at home, even begins to feel good about were her life is headed. That is until she goes next door and meets Eric Anders.

          Eric is older than Leda and feels he is wiser too. He tries to take control out of her hands. He thinks he knows what she needs and how to give it to her. You know the type, prideful, controlling, doesn’t listen, lol. This is Eric, or at least part of his character. Eric tries to ignore the longing and desire he feels for Leda because of their age difference as does Leda. Sometime though we have to look at the person not the age or their faults.

          The Cowboy Next Door shows that we all have flaws and we all have things we wish we could fix about ourselves. We have people in our lives that have told us lies about who they think we are. Leda was told she was ordinary and would never be anything important to anyone. So she believed it, she wanted more for her daughter though. Eric had a rough childhood and grew up wanting to ‘fix’ other people’s lives so they would live better. He meant well but went about it wrong with Leda. This book demonstrates that if we can learn to accept people for who they are and look for the good not the bad, Love can sine through a lot brighter.

         

                                Cinderella’s Cowboy (Book Four)

          The final book in the series was truly full of lessons, love, banter, and fixing stereotypes. Cynthia is a hard working woman that tries to do the right thing. She has started a new company that is her passion. Unfortunately, her stepsisters have come along for the ride. She loved them and they loved her, they got along for the most part. They did call her Cinderella but that was because she worked all the time and they played. As a teenager, she had a crush on Eric Anders, big time rodeo champion until he got hurt and had to quit. There was also an event she wished she could forget the cured her of her teenage crush. Now his brother, playboy cowboy was asking for her help.

          Chad Anders liked being footloose and fancy free when it came to women and they all knew it. He didn’t want to make the mistakes he saw growing up, people falling in love then being left behind. He wanted things easy and to live his live on his terms. Nothing and no one had ever made him doubt this until he meat Cynthia. She was intriguing to him, she didn’t faun all over him or seem the least bit interested. To her he was ‘Eric Anders brother’. After only a few moments with her he decides to change her mind. Then there were her stepsisters, Chad had been dreaming of them since high school. Who didn’t though, twin bombshells with reputations for liking to have fun. He figured he was due some and he could get some of his curiosity fed as well. Everything he is normally attracted to in a women is at his fingertips, but he can’t stop thinking about Cynthia. He wants to be with her, be near her, and talk only to her. He even wished the sisters would go away so he wouldn’t have to be pawed at by then, what is up with that? Cynthia turns his life upside down and she really has no clue she is doing anything.

 The two opposites are drawn together against their protests and neither want to admit they want each other. I like books like this because the banter between the two is perfectly matched. They fight, argue, and under it all they find love. Defiantly read all four of these books because they are fantastic. **This can be read as a standalone though**

 

BOOK BLAST: The Legend of Lyon Redmond by Julie Anne Long

BLURB

Bound by centuries of bad blood, England’s two most powerful families maintain a veneer of civility...until the heir to the staggering Redmond fortune disappears, reviving rumors of an ancient curse: a Redmond and an Eversea are destined to fall disastrously in love once per generation.

An enduring legend

Rumor has it she broke Lyon Redmond’s heart. But while many a man has since wooed the dazzling Olivia Eversea, none has ever won her—which is why jaws drop when she suddenly accepts a viscount’s proposal. Now London waits with bated breath for the wedding of a decade…and wagers on the return of an heir.

An eternal love

 It was instant and irresistible, forbidden...and unforgettable. And Lyon—now a driven, dangerous, infinitely devastating man—decides it’s time for a reckoning. As the day of her wedding races toward them, Lyon and Olivia will decide whether their love is a curse destined to tear their families apart...or the stuff of which legends are made.

 Link to Follow Tour:  http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/08/the-legend-of-lyon-redmond-pennyroyal.html

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24392720-the-legend-of-lyon-redmond?ac=1

Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/45155-pennyroyal-green

MY REVIEW

I have been reading books by Julie Anne Long since she first published and I have loved them all. The Pennyroyal Green series however has captured my heart from the first book. Well more like the town of Pennyroyal Green, you see it is first mentioned in Julie’s book Beauty and the Spy. I was very excited when Julie created an entire world and characters that are not only relatable but pull at our hearts and make us laugh. This is the book I have been waiting for and dreading at the same time. I was dying to know what happened between Lyon and Olivia but I knew it would be a goodbye as well.

                Lyon Redmond has been a name whispered in the company of Olivia Eversea for so many years that she has come to expect it. When she decides to finally move on with her life and marry a man that loves her, she is surprised at the memories that assailed her mind. Memories of Lyon and how much she’d loved and admired him. Her regrets, her what ifs, they all need answers even if she refuses to admit it.  

                Lyon Redmond has been on a mission, that must come to an end when he hears those three frightful words: She’s getting married. With a plan set in motion and help in unlikely places Lyon sets out one last time. He needs to know if Olivia still loves him, his she can forgive him, and if there is still any chance for them to be together.

                This book was beautifully written giving the faithful readers everything we have wondered about for so long. Answers are revealed and there is even a new song that could rival Colin’s. You truly hope that Olivia and Lyon will end up together but when you factor in the man that she is supposed to marry… It truly is a mystery until she says I DO. I encourage you to read this entire series if you have not and if you have, get ready for a fantastic read! You will laugh out loud, your heart will ach, your brain will start thinking of other books and how Lyon might have played a part. Julie Anne tied up the story with a beautiful bow. The only question left is in the last chapter, will there be a spin off??

                I hope you all evjoy this book as much as I did, I give it 10 stars

He’d last seen Pennyroyal Green in the dead of night almost five years ago. His trajectory since then had been as swift and mindless as if he’d been shot from a cannon. And it wasn’t just because of what Olivia had said to him in the garden after midnight, in the pouring rain. Though after she’d said what she’d said, for a time he’d stopped caring what became of him.

No, that fuse had been lit for longer than anyone knew.

No one from Sussex had seen him since.

Though one had certainly tried. He half smiled at the thought of Violet.

And it was this that had broken the speed of his trajectory.

And he’d had his own methods for remaining, however tangentially, informed about the lives of those he’d left behind. He’d proved something over the past five years. He’d at first thought it was all for Olivia. But he was no longer certain. He’d tried to purge his life of her, relinquishing even her miniature.

Clearly it hadn’t worked.

But what no one knew, not even his crew, was that this was his final voyage. He’d risked this trip into London to track down the source of a little mystery that could devastate Olivia and her family.

He now had his answer.

He was, strangely, not surprised by it.

But he hadn’t been prepared to make a decision about what to do next so soon.

Oh, Liv, he thought.

Suddenly it hurt to breathe. Fragments of memories rushed at him, each distinct as stained glass.

Olivia walking along the road to the Duffys’ house, then breaking into a run when she saw him waiting beneath the elm tree, her face lighting like a star. As if even a second away from him was wasted.

That was the memory that always came to him in his darkest moments.

And now she was giving herself to another man.

His fingers curled on a surge of emotion. But he stopped just short of giving the message the crushing it deserved.

She. If Lavay had indeed written that word, he might have seen her, or even talked to her, or …

He couldn’t do it.

He couldn’t bloody do it.

And this is what decided him.

He tucked the message into his coat. “You can go, Ramsey,” he said. “Thank you.”

The footman spun and nearly bolted, silver braid glinting in the sun.

Lyon turned to face all the expectant faces of his crew.

“And we,” he told them, “are staying in England.”

It was time for a reckoning.

Buy Links:  Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo

Author Info

Julie Anne Long originally set out to be a rock star when she grew up, and she has the guitars and the questionable wardrobe stuffed in the back of her closet t prove it. When playing to indifferent crowds at midnight in dank clubs lost its, ahem, charm, she realized she could incorporate all of the best things about being in a band—namely, drama, passion and men with unruly hair—into novels, while at the same time indulging her love of history and research. So she made the move from guitar to keyboard (the computer variety) and embarked on a considerably more civilized, if not much more peaceful, career as a novelist.

Julie lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with a fat orange cat. (Little known fact: they issue you a cat the minute you become a romance novelist.)

Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

Website:  http://www.julieannelong.com/index.shtml

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJulieAnneLong

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/julieannelong

GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20987.Julie_Anne_Long

BOOK BLAST: Hard as Steel by Laura Kaye

                                      

                       

About HARD AS STEEL: A Hard Ink/Raven Riders Crossover Novella

After identifying her employer's dangerous enemies, Jessica Jakes takes refuge at the compound of the Raven Riders Motorcycle Club. Fellow Hard Ink tattooist and Raven leader Ike Young promises to keep Jess safe for as long as it takes, which would be perfect if his close, personal, round-the-clock protection didn't make it so hard to hide just how much she wants him—and always has.

Ike Young loved and lost a woman in trouble once before. The last thing he needs is alone time with the sexiest and feistiest woman he's ever known, one he's purposely kept at a distance for years. Now, Ike's not sure he can keep his hands or his heart to himself—or that he even wants to anymore. And that means he has to do whatever it takes to hold on to Jess forever.

                                 

Buy Links:

 Amazon eBook ** Amazon Paperback

                      

Excerpt:

I’m thrilled to be here celebrating the release of my 21^st book, HARD AS STEEL! After a midnight break-in at her apartment, close friends and Hard Ink Tattoo co-workers Ike Young and Jessica Jakes are forced into hiding—and forced to confront the feelings they’ve always denied for one another. I have always adored friends-to-lovers and forced proximity stories, and HARD AS STEEL delivers that and more, including a taste of both my award-winning and best-selling Hard Ink and upcoming Raven Riders series! Check out this excerpt:

They stared at each for a long moment. Jess went from feeling amused to awkward to observed…and that made her hot. Especially as she was standing there in nothing but a towel.

            

As if he could hear her thoughts, Ike’s gaze slowly ran down her neck to her chest. She wiped at something there and the wetness on the fingers told her it had been a droplet of water from her hair. Ike watched the movement of her hand openly, hungrily, and his desire made her bold, daring, hungry in return.

            

Without giving herself time to second guess the idea, she reached out and lightly dragged her wet fingers against his bottom lip.

            

And it was like she’d unleashed a beast.

            

Ike grabbed her wrist and hauled her to him. He was on her everywhere. His hands in her hair, on her back, grabbing her ass and lifting her up. His tongue licked the exact route that water droplet had taken, from chest to neck to ear. And then he was kissing her, fucking her mouth with his tongue, absolutely devouring her.

            

Jess held on like her life depended on it, and at some point she became aware of the breeze on her bare skin. She’d dropped the towel, which meant she was totally buck-ass naked in Ike’s big arms, and she couldn’t have cared less.

            

Ike licked her mouth, sucked her tongue, nipped at her lips. He turned and made for the stairs, and Jess thought she might die from sheer joy and anticipation. He tasted like strength and sin and sex, and she tightened her legs around his hips as he carried her to the loft, eager to see if all of him tasted so good—or even better.

            

When they reached the second floor, Ike growled low in his throat and his grip tightened on her on her ass, his fingers digging in. She moaned and—

            

Cool air from the ceiling fan washed over Jess as Ike dropped her onto the bed—and promptly turned around to leave. Jess was so stunned she couldn’t speak. Just as he hit the top of the steps, he said, “Don’t fucking tease me, Jessica. I’m trying to do right by you, but I’m still just a goddamned man.”

About Laura Kaye:

Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over twenty books in contemporary and paranormal romance and romantic suspense. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. Shelives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

                                

Book Blast brought to you by: 

                                 

Book Blast: An American Cowboy in Scotland by Em Taylor

 

BLURB:

 

As Rhona Lorimer waits for her new boss to arrive, she reckons things can’t get much worse. The manager of the Scottish estate has to explain to her new American boss that the estate is in ruins and there’s no money left. When the drop dead gorgeous cowboy turns up in full Highland regalia, looking like he fell off a shortbread tin, Rhona knows she has her work cut out. 

The locals don’t take to Lord Cole Macallan, so Rhona feels obliged to show him hospitality. But the guy is hot. Can Rhona fight her feelings for her new boss as their worlds collide and they discover just how much Scotland and America are two countries divided by a common language… but brought together by mutual passions? 

 

 

 

 

 

EXCERPT:

 

 

We walked out of the castle, Cole carefully ducking his head, and moved around to the side. The sun was weak but there was the promise of warmth and as we crunched over the gravel, I lowered my head and smiled. I had expected him to be a little forlorn that his castle would not become like something out of Braveheart or the Tudors but Cole was excited.

“Do you think we would need one of those balconies?”

“Maybe.”

We turned onto the grass, which was a little damp, being in the shadow of the ancient building. He automatically reached for my arm though I was sure-footed and steady. He moved his fingers down to my hand and clasped it.

Ever so slowly I allowed my fingers to curl as I held my breath, waiting to see if he would realise his mistake. But he didn’t. He stared ahead and continued to walk down to the back of the castle where he brought me back out into the beautiful sunshine. Wind whipped my hair into my face and with my free hand I swiped it behind my head.

“It’s just as purdy down here as it was from the top floor of the castle,” he said—his slow drawl dancing over the word ‘purdy’ and playing havoc with my girly bits. “Almost as purdy as you.” It was then I realised we were standing almost with our backs to the castle wall. He moved in front of me and cupped my chin with his free hand, still holding onto my hand with the other. Had I even breathed since he had clasped my hand? I must have. I would surely have expired by now if I hadn’t. I gazed up into his eyes, the colour of melted chocolate, and bit my lip.

As his head lowered to mine, I let the lip go and breathed out, my free hand moving to rest on his impressive biceps. And then his lips were on mine, soft and gentle, coaxing and urging mine to move in tandem with his. I was relieved he wasn’t one of those guys that come at you with their tongue hanging out as if you were an ice-cream cone.

Instead he was what I like to call a lip-kisser. He used his lips first before he introduced his tongue—flicking it lazily out to meet mine, to tease, to tempt, to illicit groans, to tickle the roof of my mouth and send pulses of need south. I moaned softly and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck.

 

MY REVIEW:

****Please remember this is just my opinion, I always encourage my followers to make up their own minds up on books****

This short book was given to me as an ARC to read and an honest review; it has only nine chapters and an Epilogue. I knew going into this book the relationship between the main characters would have to develop quickly because of the length of the story. What I was not counting on is the lack of character depth. Cole starts out saying he will not sleep with an employee, aka Rhona. Rhona is worried she will lose her job once Cole finds out the estate he has inherited in Scotland has no money, a rundown castle and main house. She has a sense of right and wrong and shows this repeatedly in the story. I was disappointed in how quickly both let go of their moral stands and fell into having sex. One page Rhona says how she thinks their connection is moving too fast and she want to take it slow, turn the page and they are having sex. I know many people might like this in a book, the “I want you so bad screw the normal” but I can’t say I am one of them. At the end of the book, I knew more emotional stuff about Rhona than Cole and yet still didn’t really ‘know’ them.

                As is my style though I try to find good and bad in a book so here is the good: There is the famous happily ever after and I am glad for that. Cole seemed to really like Rhona and the chemistry between them was instantaneous. There are some funny parts and emotional revelations. I wish I could say more but this is supposed to be a true review and I can’t lie. I wouldn’t read this one again but I won’t write off the Author either. Everyone has an off book and I would love a chance to read something else by Em to compare it too. Thanks all for reading if you disagree then I am glad, I hate writing bad reviews but remember it is just my opinion.

 

 

 

BUY & TBR LINKS

 

AMAZON KINDLE US – http://www.amazon.com/American-Cowboy-Scotland-Em-Taylor-ebook/dp/B010GGX2S4

AMAZON KINDLE CA – http://www.amazon.ca/American-Cowboy-Scotland-Em-Taylor-ebook/dp/B010GGX2S4

AMAZON KINDLE UK – http://www.amazon.co.uk/American-Cowboy-Scotland-Em-Taylor-ebook/dp/B010GGX2S4

AMAZON PAPERBACK – http://www.amazon.com/American-Cowboy-Scotland-Em-Taylor/dp/1515389898

GOODREADS – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25809120-an-american-cowboy-in-scotland

SHELFARI – http://www.shelfari.com/books/39047676/An-American-Cowboy-in-Scotland

 

 

 

AUTHOR BIO

 

Em lives in the small village of Dundonald (which features in An American Cowboy in Scotland) in Ayrshire, Scotland. She regularly visits Dundonald Castle for coffee, cakes, inspiration and chat. When she’s not writing historical, contemporary and vampire romances, she’s trotting around the country to film and TV conventions, hob-nobbing with celebrities and avoiding housework.

 

Em is still waiting for her own Colonel Brandon to come along but since she’s sick of kissing frogs, she’s quite content to hog the TV remote and have the whole sofa to herself.

 

 

AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS

 

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – http://www.amazon.com/Em-Taylor/e/B00GVEG83M/

WEBSITE / BLOG – http://emtaylorromance.weebly.com/

FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Em-Taylor/992165330794156

TWITTER – https://twitter.com/emtaylor_3

TUMBLR – http://emtaylorromance.tumblr.com/

BLOGLOVIN – https://www.bloglovin.com/people/emtaylor9-4762971

GOODREADS – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7326970.Em_Taylor

 

GIVEAWAY PRIZES

1 Prize Pack Containing - Sterling Silver Scottish Thistle necklace bought from Dundonald Castle Visitors Centre, signed paperback of An American Cowboy in Scotland, Dundonald Castle guidebook and postcard.

 

*TO ENTER LOOK ON THE FAR RIGHT OF THE BLOG WHERE ALL PRIZES ARE POSTED*