Chasing Charlie - #BookBeginnings on Friday and The #Friday56

     If you're in the mood for a sweet romance (sexual tension but no sex, no profanity) and enjoy a story with an entertaining plot, then you'll love Chasing Charlie. Librarian Charlotte Nelson ("Charlie") takes one tiny step outside her ultra-conservative existence, buys a stunning red dress, and before long she reluctantly agrees to masquerade as Davis Murphy's fiancée for one evening. As they say, trouble ensues.
     I liked the characters in this sweet love story and enjoyed escaping in the plot. The book was well written, and I saw no grammatical or other errors, which I always appreciate. Chasing Charlie is Book 1 in the Texas Two-Step Series, and it stands alone.


Genre: Texas Romance
Book Length: 162 Pages
Amazon Link: Chasing Charlie
Author Website: Kathy Carmichael
NOTE: The Lassoed Bride (A Novella), book two in the Texas Two-Step Series, is available HERE

Book Beginning:
It was love at first sight. Charlotte Nelson rocked back on her heels, closed her eyes a moment and then reopened them. There was no doubt about it. She'd fallen in love - with a dress.

The Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
Closing her eyes for a moment, she allowed the call of the water to wash over her, bathe her in its tranquil harmony. "No wonder your mom wanted to get married here. It's beautiful."

Synopsis (from Kathy Carmichael's website):
     Raised in a family of rodeo champions on a South Texas cattle ranch, Charlie wants only one thing: to avoid thrill-seeking cowboys.
     Davis Murphy, cowboy wannabe and one of Dallas's most eligible bachelors, needs a pretty and witty faux fiancée so his widowed mother will marry her longtime gentleman friend.
     Charlie, his local librarian, seems the perfect choice.
     Charlie's first reaction is to run, but she's promised herself to step out of her plain-jane routine.
     When Charlie accepts, Davis's plan is set. But now Charlie's sweet ways are challenging his bachelor heart.
                

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Stealing Jason Wilde - #BookBeginnings on Friday and The #Friday56

    Four fifty-ish women, a week-long getaway in the Hamptons, and a minivan full of booze.  What could possibly go wrong?
     I loved getting to know these characters, each one distinct and memorable. Dee Ernst's humor is right on target too. This is a post-chicklit story of women in the prime of their lives - open to adventure and experienced enough to know what they want. But in this story, they get much, much more than they anticipated.

Genre: Women's Fiction / Humor
Book Length: 220 Pages
Amazon Link: Stealing Jason Wilde
Author Website: Dee Ernst


FYI: I've featured two other terrific books by this author on my blog:
Better Than Your Dreams
A Slight Change of Plan

Book Beginning:
    You know that famous saying "What happens on Dune Road stays on Dune Road?"
    Wait - maybe it's really not that famous. The famous version is about Las Vegas. But are you familiar with the concept? That there are some places in the world where your choices are based on a completely different reality and your actions have no consequences in your day-to-day life? Where you are allowed, even encouraged, to behave in a different way, and , above all, it is understood that those two separate worlds must never intersect?

Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
Here was Andrew Sean Mooney - smart, funny, handsome, sexy, a great kisser, and he liked his home fries extra crispy, just like I did. When I looked at him, I wanted to immediately pucker up.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
    After her divorce, librarian Annie Reynolds thought she’d closed the book on love for good—it just wasn’t part of her safe, comfortable routine. But if there’s anyplace she can relax and have a little fun, it’s Dune Road, where she and her closest girlfriends return for their annual getaway in the Hamptons. She knows it’s just what she needs to escape her empty nest (and empty bed).
    A chance encounter with a ruggedly handsome local promises Annie just that. But when one of her friends turns a simple flirtation with B-list movie star Jason Wilde into seduction—and Jason accidentally mixes a few drinks and his back-pain medicine—the ladies end up with a very high-profile houseguest. The media calls it a kidnapping, and before long, the FBI is on the hunt.
    Soon the ladies’ tame little trip has turned into the adventure of a lifetime. But will this case of mistaken misdoing sabotage Annie’s second chance at love, or will she have the confidence to take matters into her own hands to find her happily ever after?
                

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56.
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Emma Knows All - Teaser Tuesday & First Chapter / First Paragraph / Tuesday Intros

I've just started reading this story, and it's entertaining so far. There's great tension between Emma and Colin. She's known as Dr. Emma, and she gives advice about romance on the radio. Colin is a psychologist who seems to be more comfortable working with theories than with actual people.

First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros:
Here's the opening:
     "It's devastating, doctor. I can't get over it. I've tried I don't know how many times, but ... I keep failing."
     "It's okay." Em's voice was soothing. "Everyone fails sometimes. It's a part of life, Louisa. You have to keep that in mind, and you can't constantly beat yourself up over it."
     "But I feel like it's all my fault!"

Teaser Tuesday (from 56% on my Kindle):
(Colin is stating his opinion about what blind attraction does to people.)
"...It washes away every sense of self, every shred of common sense. It leaves them an empty shell, or embitters them to the lowest levels, once they're rejected."

Genre: Romantic Comedy / Contemporary
Amazon link: Emma Knows All
Length: 202 Pages
Author Blog: Laura Briggs / Sarah Burgess

Synopsis:
     A modern retelling of Jane Austen’s EMMA with shades of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. 
     Emma Benton—known as ‘Doctor Emma’—has a knack for advising the lovelorn and lonely on her radio show Heart Therapy. Em’s sympathetic manner and spot-on instincts provide the perfect answers, or so claims her boyfriend, the handsome and clever psychologist Frank, her producer Isabel, and her ever-expanding audience of listeners. 
     But Doctor Colin Ferris disagrees. During a guest segment on Em’s show, he challenges her advice on the air and offends her personally in their brief exchanges. Rude and pretentious, he’s the last person Em would imagine as the author of a best-selling guide on being a gentleman in modern times. He’s also the last person she would choose to work with—but Fate makes that decision before Em can avoid it. 
     In her worst PR nightmare ever, Em finds herself paired with Colin in a reality show quest to help a romantically-challenged young woman. Shy, awkward Harriet Smith needs more than just a little advice, but can two people so vastly different in their opinions really help her? As Em struggles to find common ground with Colin, she learns there’s more to him than meets the eye…and maybe more between them than opposing ideas about love. 

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B of A Daily Rhythm. Post two sentences from somewhere in a book you're reading. No spoilers, please!

Link at ADailyRhythm.com

First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is hosted by Bibliophile By The Sea. To participate, share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you're reading or thinking about reading soon.

Link at BibliophileByTheSea

Merry-Go-Round - Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56

The Merry-Go-Round was a fun contemporary romance and a quick read. The plot moved forward at a good pace, I liked the characters, and I chuckled at the author's sense of humor. The nicknames she came up with for the ... uh, disappointing lover were hilarious! The merry-go-round added a fun element to the plot.

Since I'm nitpicky, I'll admit I was bothered by quite a few missing words and a couple of problems with incorrect word usage. However, this may only be a problem in the ebook version. The characters and their story kept me entertained and engaged to the end.   



Book Beginning -  (Each chapter has a quote at the beginning):
Chapter 1 - You don't know a woman till you've met her in court. - Norman Mailer
     "It's a great day for a divorce." Lauren took a quick look around to see if anyone had heard her talking to herself before she hurried up the courthouse steps. If everything went according to plan, she would walk out of this building a free woman. She'd sleep a lot better and breathe a lot easier minus the hundred and eighty pounds of man meat she'd been lugging around for far too long.

The Friday56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
"...He lost everything. His business, his home, his marriage. Everything."

Genre: Contemporary Romance / Romantic Comedy
Length: 238 Pages
Amazon Link: The Merry-Go-Round
More Books by This Author: Donna Fasano's Amazon Author Page

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