Risking it All by T.J. Kline (Book 3 of The Hidden Falls series)

BLURB

Andrew McQuaid wasn’t always the local playboy. Once upon a time, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with one woman-Gia Mancuso. When he made a mistake and lost her, he decided he wasn’t meant to have a happy-ever-after. Now, Gia’s come back to town, with a baby in tow, and it might just mean a second chance at forever, if he can convince her that he never stopped loving her.

Ten years after leaving, Gia finds herself back in Hidden Falls. Between helping her ailing father save the family restaurant and taking care of the baby her sister left on her doorstep, she doesn’t have time for the man who once broke her heart. But Andrew is all grown-up now, in every single way. And the part of her that has always been his can’t quite say no to his tempting kisses.

Just when Gia begins to open her heart, a devastating secret emerges that threatens to destroy her family and any future with Andrew. Are they doomed to repeat the mistakes of their past or can Andrew convince Gia that she’s always been his one and only?

MY REVIEW:

         Have you ever read the first book in a series and fell hard for a secondary character? I sure have, and it’s not the first in T.J Kline’s series that this happened to me. This time however I was very antsy for Andrew McQuaid’s book, he just stood out among the brothers. His banter, temper, and determination to stay a free bachelor just screamed ‘back story’. I can say I was not the least bit disappointed! T.J has a great insight into her characters and makes us fall hard for them. 

         Andrew had a love and lost her, the worst part was for ten years he had no idea why. He thought on it more than he wanted to but never came up with what he did wrong to drive the one woman for him away. When she comes back to town he is determined to find out once and for all! 

       Gia Mancuso has stayed away from her home town except for short visits. She has a good job that she has fought hard to get. Her family burned the need for respectability and family into her. So when she sister drops an unexpected problem on her, and her father is losing his fight with cancer, home is where she goes. She just hopes she can avoid Andrew. 

        There are secrets between these two that could not only destroy their second chance but also their families. I loved the complexity in this story, just when you think you have it figured out another curveball come at them. We get to spend more time with the McQuaid family and they are awesome! If there was a real family like this I would want to be friends with them. Gia is a very strong willed and organized woman and I just loved her for Andrew. He needed a woman that will keep him on his toes. Gia’s mother, now there is a piece of work! I wanted to shake her and make she see what she was doing to her daughters. Right to the end you still don’t know if she will change or not, I did like seeing the care and love Gia’s father showed his family. He refuses to back down but doesn’t need to use force. He is a kind, wise, and amazing man, he grabbed my heart and hung on. 

        All in all this book gave me everything I have come to expect from T.J. There is mystery, heart, trust broken, forgiveness, love, and so much more. You will not regret picking up this book! It can be read as a standalone but I recommend you read the first two books. It will make you love this family and town all the more! Go order your copy today, and set aside time to find out who Gia and Andrew were and are. Curl up in your favorite spot and enjoy!

EXCERPT:

The quiet purr of her car engine and the haunting hoot of an owl in the woods on the side of the highway lulled her. Most people would be afraid - on a long stretch of deserted highway, darkness surrounding her with a cacophony of night sounds - but this was home, where she'd grown up, where she'd once been broken and had left the pieces behind. Gia could feel her body relaxing into the leather seat and braced her arm against the bottom on Bella's car seat, trying desperately not to give in to the urge to sleep. 

The soft crunch of gravel jerked her upright as headlights bathed the interior of her car in white light, blinding her. Reports of women being carjacked, kidnapped or murdered filled her mind and she hurried to snap the buckle of Bella's seat again. Dropping the bottle, she lunged forward, attempting to climb over the console into the driver's seat to get the hell away from whatever killer might be approaching her car. 

It only took a few seconds to realize how big of a mistake she'd 

made. 

Gia had always been well-endowed but she'd never expected her curves to get her stuck partway between her front and back seats.

She wiggled, trying to twist sideways to make it easier to pull herself between the seats. Gripping the edge of the steering wheel, Gia used it for leverage, tucking one knee under her as she tried to force herself through. It was no use, she was hopelessly stuck, now unable to move forward or back. She was a miserable excuse for a guardian and prayed her stupidity wasn't about to end with her and Bella on tomorrow's news, murdered on the side of the highway, mere minutes from their destination. 

She craned her neck to see the flash of red and blue lights washing through the back window of the car as a thin, white beam of light flashed through the window into her eyes. She held up a hand, trying to make out any of the features of what she prayed was really a cop, even if it meant someone would witness her embarrassing predicament. The back door opened and Gia heard a deep rumble of laughter. 

"What brings you back to town, Gia?" 

Gia closed her eyes, wishing she could crawl under her car. How was it possible that after nearly ten years of avoiding him, she was now caught in this position by the one man she never wanted to see again, the same one who'd broken her stupidly naive heart at eighteen. 

"Andrew McQuaid," she muttered to herself. He shined the light on her rear end and irritation welled. "You think instead of oogling my ass you might actually help me?" 

She felt the hands that had carried her to her first heights of ecstasy reach for either side of her hips. The same hands she swore would never touch her again after she found out about the bastard's cheating ways. 

"Hey," she squealed, trying to squirm away from his touch, willing herself to ignore the way her heart leapt into her throat. "What the hell are you doing?" 

"Exactly what you asked me to do. I'm helping you." 

"Not like that?" She swung a hand at him, slapping her own butt in the process, but at least he let go of her. 

"How, exactly, do you propose I help then?" 

"I don't know. You're the cop." 

Andrew laughed, still leaning into her car, bent over awkwardly behind her. "Honey, I really don't see any other way." 

She glared at him over her shoulder. "Don't call me that." 

"Fine." Andrew moved into the car, practically sitting in the back seat and slid one hand through an opening by her waist, in front of her bent knee with the other around her calf, managing to pull it out from under her. "There. I'm going to tip your right hip down but you're going to have to manage to twist your shoulders to fit…um…" He searched for a polite term he could use for her boobs. "The girls through," he finished with a chuckle. 

Gia felt the rush of heat flood her face. "Let's just get this over with." 

Andrew's hands closed on her hips again, practically cupping her right butt cheek in his palm. "Bend your right knee and I'm going to pull on three. One…two…three." 

Gia managed to twist her body as Andrew pulled her backward and she slid through the space as if she'd never been stuck at all. 

Andrew dropped into the seat, carrying her with him and Gia landed in his lap with one of his muscular forearms under her breasts, the other hand cupping her inner thigh, sending a blast of heat between her legs. It was the worst reaction she could have ever imagined having. 

Until she realized that hard ridge beneath her rear wasn't his gun

BUY LINKS:

AMAZON

B&N

KOBO

IBOOKS

 

T. J. Kline was bitten by the horse bug early and began training horses at fourteen—as well as competing in rodeos and winning several rodeo queen competitions—but has always known writing was her first love. She also writes under the name Tina Klinesmith. In her spare time, she can be found spending as many hours as possible laughing hysterically with her husband, teens, and their menagerie of pets in Northern California. That is, when she isn't running around the California Gold Country researching new stories.

CONNECT with T.J. KLINE:

WEBSITE

EMAIL

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

TUMBLR

PINTEREST

GOOGLE+

HIDDEN FALLS SERIES:

 

A Better Man by Candis Terry

BLURB:

Meet the Kincade brothers: they’ll do what it takes to protect their legacy—but what happens when love gets in the way?

Hockey star Jordan Kincade wasted no time ditching Sunshine Valley and everyone who mattered for a career in the NHL—a truth Jordan confronts when his parents’ deaths bring him home. Now he’s back to make amends, which begins with keeping his younger sister from flunking out of school. It’s just his luck that the one person who can help is the girl whose heart he broke years ago.

Lucy Diamond has racked up a number of monumental mistakes in her life, the first involving a certain blue-eyed charmer. She has no intention of falling for Jordan Kincade again, but when he shows up asking her to help one of her students, Lucy just can’t say no. Worse, the longer he’s back, the more she sees how much he’s changed. And so when a blistering kiss turns to more, she can’t help but wonder if her heart will be crushed again . . . or if she’ll discover true love with a better man.

MY REVIEW:

The true test of people comes from tragedy. Some may think it is a cliché but I happen to have lived and seen this be true. Candis Terry shows us the true character of the Kincade family in her new series A Sunshine Creek Vineyard. In the first book A Better Man we meet Jordan Kincade, a hockey pro close to winning the Stanley Cup with his team. It is something he has worked for all his life, putting everything including his family, on the back burner. Until the unthinkable happens and he is needed back at home, back with the family he feels like an outsider with. Jordan is determined to fix this, and repair the relationship he doesn’t have with his little sister. He knows his hockey team will need him but his family is more important. 

Lucy Diamond loves being a teacher; she just wishes she could help her high school students more. Especially Nicole Kincade, the poor girl was suffering in her personal life and Lucy knew it was more than that too. Yes her whole family had suffered a big blow, but Nicole had been doing poorly even before that. Lucy wants to help anyway she can, even if it means putting up with the man that caused her heartache. Jordan and Lucy knew each other from high school, though she tries to hide that fact from Jordan. She doesn’t want to re-live it. 

I loved Lucy and Jordan, the fact that he does remember her and sees her with new eyes. Candis writes this romance with finesse that in sweet and hot all rolled into one. Lucy is a woman I can relate to, she sees herself as ordinary, not ugly or undesirable, just not the model types Jordan normally dates. I enjoyed the ways Jordan steps up and shows her what he sees when he looks at her. Helping her build her self-confidence and become the women she is on the inside. Watching Lucy grow and bloom was so much fun! Jordan doesn’t have it easy though, he is balancing so much that he struggles not to drop anything or anyone. A choice does have to be made though and you will be surprised how this story ends. Will Jordan go back to hockey; he does have a contract on the line. Or will he choose to stay with his family and continue to mend fences and the wine vineyard? It is a fun, emotional ride you will LOVE! Grab your copy NOW, and curl up for a great evening with new friends.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

B&N

Kobo

IBooks

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Candis Terry was born and raised near the sunny beaches of Southern California and now makes her home on an Idaho farm. She's experienced life in such diverse ways as working in a Hollywood recording studio to chasing down wayward steers. Only one thing has remained the same: her passion for writing stories about relationships, the push-and-pull in the search for love, and the security one finds in their own happily-ever-after.

CONNECT:

    

You May Kiss The Bride by Lisa Berne

BLURB:

In an unforgettable debut, Lisa Berne introduces you to the Penhallow Dynasty—men destined to marry, but hesitant to love.

Wealthy and arrogant, Gabriel Penhallow knows it’s time to fulfill his dynastic duty. All he must do is follow “The Penhallow way”—find a biddable bride, produce an heir and a spare, and then live separate lives. It’s worked so well for generations, certainly one kiss with the delectable Livia Stuart isn’t going to change things. Society dictates he marry her, and one chit is as good as another as long as she’s from a decent family.

But Livia’s transformation from an original to a mundane diamond of the first water makes Gabriel realize he desperately wants the woman who somehow provoked him into that kiss. And for all the ladies who’ve thrown themselves at him, it’s the one who wants to flee whom he now wants. But how will he keep this independent miss from flying away?

MY REVIEW:

This is a debut book for Lisa Berne and I thought it sounded really good. I read clips and reviews which to be honest don’t sway me normally. Some reviews were raving and others middle of the line. Wanting to give this new author a shot I got the book and started reading. 

You May Kiss the Bride did grab me with the information on the heroine, Livia, she is an orphan who is mistreated by everyone in her life. She has nothing really to call her own and is told she has no future, YET she is strong, opinionated, and doesn’t give up. She is fueled by the meanness around her, determined to prove everyone wrong. We get a great deal of information about Livia and her past. Even though the book is written in both her and Gabriel’s point of view. The problem I had was even by the end I didn’t get to know Gabriel that well. 

The supporting characters are great, I love grandmamma, Miss. Cott, and Hugo was a blast, even the mean Miss Cecily and her horrid mother, were important. The side characters helped show us where Livia is coming from and who she is answering too. You can also use your imagination to fill in the blanks on why Gabriel is so aloof and cold. 

The story as a whole was a bit slow at first but I did like that Livia and Gabriel didn’t jump right into bed, or marriage. We got to see their journey, see how they changed weather for the good or bad. The reason I gave this a 4 star rating was for the lack of information on Gabriel. There is a misunderstanding in the book (not telling, you will have to read it yourself), and part of me was left wondering if this was truly how Gabriel would have handled things. If we had more character information I think that would have fixed my confusion. 

All in all though I do recommend this book! She is a new author that has done a great job. The book is well worded, descriptive and keeps you in the right era. Get you copy and curl up for a time of relaxation.

EXCERPT:

She had been dismissed. Livia rose and after dipping the briefest of curtsies in Lady Glanville’s direction, went to the door with long strides, so angry that she felt she had to get out of there or explode. Behind her she heard Aunt Bella saying in a soft little bleat, “Livia! No word of gratitude! Pray come back!” Instead, she closed the door with exaggerated gentleness and leaned against it for a moment.

By the bannister stood a maidservant with an armful of gowns. With a muttered sentence of thanks Livia took them and hurried upstairs to her room where with savage satisfaction she flung the gowns against the wall, leaving them to lie in a crumpled heap on the floor. She paced back and forth, back and forth, until the red haze of rage subsided. Then she went to her bed and dropped full­length upon it with unladylike abandon, causing the old wood frame to creak alarmingly.

It was stupid of her, she knew, to react like that to the Orrs. But it was hard, so hard, when Cecily had every­ thing and she had so very little. No parents, no brothers or sisters; no money, no education, no prospects.

Your future must be thought of, too.

It was strange, now that she considered it, how little time she had spent thinking about her future. Possibly because there was no point to it. In her existence here she was like a great hoary tree, deeply, immovably, rooted into the earth.

She couldn’t even hang on to the morbid hope of inheriting anything from Uncle Charles when he died. He’d run through most of Aunt Bella’s money ages ago, and year by year everything had slowly declined, dwindled, faded away. Now there wasn’t much left; the estate barely brought in enough for Aunt Bella to pay for her cordial, and for Uncle Charles to spend his days hunting, drinking, and eating. Speaking of romantic marriages.

Well, it could be worse. At least she didn’t have a mother like that revolting Lady Glanville. Imagine having her breathing down one’s neck all day.

Still, this was only a small consolation. A very small consolation.

Livia thought about Cecily’s beautiful white gown and those elegant kid slippers with the dainty pink rosettes.

It was those rosettes that did it.

Envy, like a nasty little knife slipping easily into soft flesh, seemed to pierce her very soul.

Abruptly Livia twisted onto her side and stared at nothing.

She would not cry.

Crying never helped anything.

There came to her, suddenly, the memory of the first time she had met Cecily, some twelve years ago; they’d both been around six. Cecily and her mother had come to call. Livia, recently arrived from faraway India, desperately lonely, was so anxious to be friends with the lovely, beautifully dressed girl with the long shining curls. Shyly she had approached, trying to smile, and Cecily had responded by saying in a clear, carrying voice:

“Oh, you’re the little orfin girl. Your papa was sent away from here and he died. And your grandpapa was a runaway and he drownded. And your mama drownded, too. Why is your skin so brown? Are you dirty?” And she had backed away, to hide behind the skirts of her mother Lady Glanville, who had said to her, with that same cold smile that never reached her eyes, “Poor little Livia isn’t a native, my dear, she’s every bit as English as you and I. The sun shines quite fiercely in India, and she had no mama or papa to make sure she stayed under her parasol. Do you see?”

Livia had never forgotten the burning sense of shame from that day. Nor had Cecily made it any easier, for from time to time she would laughingly recall the occasion of their first meeting and how she had thought Livia to be unwashed, as if it was the funniest anecdote in all the world.

Livia did not like to remember, even if only hazily, how when she was four, the monsoon season struck Kanpur with devastating onslaughts of rain. Both her widowed mother and her grandfather had died in a great flood, and it was with grudging reluctance that Uncle Charles had sent money for his niece’s passage to England.

Upon arriving in Wiltshire, Livia was not so much welcomed into the home—if such the ancient, ram­ bling domicile known as Ealdor Abbey could be so termed—of Uncle Charles and Aunt Bella, as absorbed. Aside from grumbling within earshot about the expense of feeding her, Uncle Charles barely noticed her. Aunt Bella, childless, somnolent, always unwell, with interest in neither Society nor useful occupation, accepted Livia’s presence without a blink but also without care or concern for the little girl for whom she was, ostensibly, responsible.

Oh, you’re the little orfin girl.

Livia smiled without humor.

Yes indeed, Cecily certainly had a knack for getting to the heart of things.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lisa Berne read her first Georgette Heyer book at fourteen, and was instantly captivated. Later, she was a graduate student, a grant writer, and an investment banker, but is thrilled to be returning to her roots and writing her own historical-romance novels! She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

BUY LINKS:

Amazon| Barnes & Noble| Kobo| iBooks| Google Play

LOOK FOR BOOK 2:

COVER REVEAL: MONTANA HEAT: ESCAPE TO YOU by JENNIFER RYAN

About the Author:

NY Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Hunted, McBride, and Montana Men Series. Jennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three children. 

When she isn't writing a book, she's reading one. Her obsession for both is often revealed in the state of her home, and how late dinner is to the table. When she finally leaves those fictional worlds, you'll find her in the garden, playing in the dirt, and daydreaming about people who live only in her head, until she puts them on paper. 

For more information about Jennifer and her upcoming releases, visit www.jennifer-ryan.com

MONTANA MEN: