Thursday, 22 February 2024

Love is never easy...even in easier times, like the 1950s and 1960s in the Ohio Valley with the steel industry booming.

 


Steel Valley: Coming of Age in the Ohio Valley in the 1960s 
By Jerry Madden


Publication Date: 20th  January 2023
Publisher: Potomac Publishing Company
Page Length: 350 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

For readers of The World Played Chess by Robert Dugoni and Last Summer Boys by Bill Rivers.

Love is never easy...even in easier times, like the 1950s and 1960s in the Ohio Valley with the steel industry booming.

Second-generation immigrant families were reaching for the American middle class. And Catholic schools-made feasible by selfless Catholic nuns-promised bigger lives for everyone, including Jack Clark and Laurie Carmine. As they spent years searching for their separate futures, though, they were also stumbling toward love just as their world came crashing down.

Steel Valley depicts a story of love longed for, lost, and perhaps still within reach, just as our nation's mythic yesterday became our troubled today, our last summer of innocence.


Pick up your copy of
Steel Valley

Jerry Madden 


Jerry Madden grew up in the Upper Ohio Valley in the 1960s. He holds a B.A. from the College of Steubenville and law degrees from the University of Dayton School of Law and the Georgetown University Law Center. After law school, Jerry served as the sole law clerk to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio, C. William O'Neill. He served in the United States Marine Corps (R) between 1970 and 1976. 

Jerry has practiced law in Washington, D.C., since 1979, including fourteen years at the Department of Justice as a trial and appellate attorney. He is the principal of The Madden Law Group PLLC in Washington, D.C. 

He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, Cyndi, a retired educator. They have two children, Kelsey and Jack, both of whom hold M.Ed. degrees. They have one grandchild, Jamie Maclennan. 

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Wednesday, 21 February 2024

A new enemies-to-lovers romance by New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James




Not That Duke
(Would-Be Wallflowers, Book 3)
By Eloisa James


Publication Date: 25th July 2023
Publisher: Avon
Page Length: 416 Pages
Genre: Regency Romance

The Duke of Huntington has no interest in an eccentric redhead who frowns at him over her spectacles…until he realizes that she is the only possible duchess for him. A new enemies-to-lovers romance by New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James.

Bespeckled and freckled, Lady Stella Corsham at least has a dowry that has attracted a crowd of fortune-hunting suitors—which definitely doesn’t include the sinfully handsome Silvester Parnell, Duke of Huntington, who laughingly calls her “Specs” as he chases after elegant rivals.

And then—

The worst happens. Marriage.

To the duke. To a man marrying her for all the wrong reasons.

How can Silvester possibly convince Stella that he’s fallen in love with the quirky woman he married?

Pick up your copy of
Not That Duke

Eloisa James


Eloisa James is a New York Times bestselling author and professor of English literature who lives with her family in New York, but can sometimes be found in Paris or Italy. She is the mother of two and, in a particularly delicious irony for a romance writer, is married to a genuine Italian knight.

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It was supposed to be a one-time thing. A secret. But that little plus sign is going to make this secret impossible to keep.

 


Reckless
By Elsie Silver


Publication Date: 9th June 2023
Publisher: Piatkus
Page Length: 432 Pages
Genre: Romance

Theo Silva. Rowdy bull rider, notorious ladies' man, scorching hot trouble wrapped up in a drool-worthy package.

And he's looking at me like I might be his next meal.

I'm almost free of my toxic marriage and have sworn off men entirely. So all I see when I look at Theo is temptation served up with a heaping side of heartbreak.

The man is hard to trust-and even harder to resist.

Make that impossible. Because Theo is persistent. And no matter how hard I try to freeze him out, he melts my icy exterior and pulls apart all my defences.

Then I spend the singular hottest night of my life with him.

It was supposed to be a one-time thing.

A secret.

But that little plus sign is going to make this secret impossible to keep.

Pick up your copy of
Reckless

Elsie Silver


Elsie Silver is a Canadian author of sassy, sexy, small town romance who loves a good book boyfriend and the strong heroines who bring them to their knees. She lives just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband, son, and three dogs and has been voraciously reading romance books since before she was probably supposed to. 

She loves cooking and trying new foods, traveling, and spending time with her boys–especially outdoors. Elsie has also become a big fan of her quiet five am mornings, which is when most of her writing happens. It’s during this time that she can sip a cup of hot coffee and dream up a fictional world full of romantic stories to share with her readers. 

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Tuesday, 20 February 2024

"For you, my beautiful Artemis, I'd stay up all night."

 

Up All Night with a Good Duke
(The Byronic Book Club 1) 
By Amy Rose Bennett


Publication Date: 28th June 2022
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Page Length: 370 Pages
Genre: Regency Romance

I can think of the perfect way to keep you occupied and your mind diverted," she murmured. "Come to my room. If you're not too tired..."

Lust flashed in his gaze and then he caught her face between his hands and kissed her. "For you, my beautiful Artemis, I'd stay up all night."

Artemis Jones—"respectable" finishing-school teacher by day and Gothic romance writer by night—has never lost sight of her real dream: to open her own academic ladies' college. When Artemis is unexpectedly called upon by a dear friend, a fellow Byronic Book Club member, to navigate her first London Season, she comes at once. Who knows, perhaps she can court the interest of a wealthy patron for her school. As long as she can avoid her high-handed aunt's schemes to marry her off.

Dominic Winters, the widowed Duke of Dartmoor, needs a wife—someone who will provide him with an heir and help him to manage his spitfire adolescent daughter. The problem is, Society has dubbed him "The Dastardly Duke." Rumors are rife that he murdered his mad wife so his choices for a suitable bride are limited. But then he meets the ravishing and passionate Artemis Jones who might just be everything he needs.

Pick up your copy of
Up All Night with a Good Duke

Amy Rose Bennett


Amy Rose Bennett is an Australian author who has a passion for penning emotion-packed historical romances. Of course, her strong-willed heroines and rakish heroes always find their happily ever after. A former speech pathologist, Amy is happily married to her very own romantic hero and has two lovely, very accomplished adult daughters. When she’s not creating stories, Amy loves to cook up a storm in the kitchen, lose herself in a good book or a witty rom-com, and when she can afford it, travel to all the places she writes about.

Aside from “romance author,” other monikers of Amy’s include: doting cat grandma; lover of coffee, brie, French fries, and Champagne; scarf hoarder; cryptic crossword ace; believer in ghosts. Amy currently divides her time between Melbourne and Victoria’s Gippsland region in Australia.

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Book of the day! Lottie's Little Secret by Debbie Viggiano




Lottie's Little Secret
By Debbie Viggiano



Publication Date: 1st November 2023
Publisher: Unicorn Publishing 
Page Length: 298 Pages
Genre: Romantic Comedy

If crime writer Lottie Lucas hadn’t landed a three-book-deal, she’d never have met Ryan. Older, suave, confident, refined Ryan. Or Relic Ryan as bestie Jen calls him.

However, there’s something Lottie hasn’t told Jen. Ryan has an ex-wife – well, Lottie thinks Heather is an ex-wife, and Ryan wouldn’t lie, would he? It’s galling that Heather is still on the scene, and Lottie knows Jen wouldn’t approve.

But Lottie is hugging a bigger secret. This one is something else and, like a nasty spot, it’s threatening to come to a head and cause a mess entirely of Lottie’s own making.

If Jen found out she’d bash Lottie over the head with one of her size sevens, and if Ryan caught wind – well, that would be an entirely different scenario.

So, when an opportunity arises to escape to Cornwall, Lottie grabs it like a drowning person clutching a lifebuoy. A change of location seems like the perfect solution to both issues. But Lottie is about to discover that secrets have a habit of catching up with you – and this one is tracking her like a supersonic missile…

Pick up your copy of
Lottie's Little Secret

Debbie Viggiano


Prior to turning her attention to writing, Debbie Viggiano was, for more years than she cares to remember, a legal secretary. She lives with her Italian husband, a rescued pooch from Crete, and a very disgruntled cat. Occasionally her adult children return home bringing her much joy... apart from when they want to raid the fridge, or eat her secret stash of chocolate. 

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Monday, 19 February 2024

An exiled gentleman’s world, collides with Cinderella’s!

 



A Housemaid To Redeem Him
By Laura Martin


Publication Date: 15th February 2024
Publisher: Mills & Boon Historical
Page Length: 255 Pages
Genre: Historical Romance / Regency Romance

An exiled gentleman’s world…
collides with Cinderella’s!

After receiving news of his father’s ailing health, Richard Digby must leave his self-imposed exile and return to the town that holds haunting memories. He forms an unlikely connection with his father’s intriguing and defiant housemaid, Rose, who also finds herself on the fringes of society after her troubled past. Richard is intent on leaving again—but keeping his distance from Rose while they’re in such close quarters is proving harder than he ever imagined!

Pick up your copy of 
A Housemaid To Redeem Him

Laura Martin


Laura Martin writes historical mystery and romance set predominantly in the Georgian era. She has written more than twenty historical romances, her books have been translated into ten different languages and are sold worldwide.

When not writing Laura spends her time working as a doctor in Cambridgeshire where she lives with her husband and two young sons. She has a love of history and travel and draws on the places she visits for inspiration in her writing.

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Head back to 1954 in Lynn Downey's latest novel - Dude or Die

 


Dude or Die
By Lynn Downey


Publication Date: October 15, 2023
Publisher: Pronghorn Press
Page Length: 328
Genre: Historical Fiction

It’s 1954, and San Francisco writer Phoebe Kelley is enjoying the success of her first novel, Lady in the Desert. When Phoebe’s sister-in-law asks her to return to Tribulation, Arizona to help run the H Double Bar Dude Ranch, she doesn’t hesitate. There’s competition from a new dude ranch this year, so the H Double Bar puts on a rodeo featuring a trick rider with a mysterious past. When accidents begin to happen around the ranch, Phoebe jumps in to figure out why, and confronts an unexpected foe. And a man from her own past forces her to confront feelings long buried. Dude or Die is the second book in the award-winning H Double Bar Dude Ranch series. 


Excerpt

“Thank you, Mrs. Watts. I am very happy to be here, and I can tell you that Berry-Wise is, too. I live in Sebastopol, which is in northern California, and where my family were farmers. For many years I’ve been working for the owner of the largest berry farm in the area, called Western Pride.

“The owner, Mr. Ivar Danielson, saw that I loved horses and let me exercise some of his animals after I finished mucking out the stables and doing other chores. He raised quarter horses and one day he bought a young roan he named Berry-Wise.”

One of the boys interrupted just then and got his question out before his mother shushed him.

“Why is he called that?”

Eden smiled and asked the boy his name. “Jason McIntyre,” he said as his brothers, Christopher and Matthew, rolled their eyes and their mother, Gladys, tried not to. Fred, the boys’ father, was a script reader for a TV series in Los Angeles, and he was as interested in Eden’s story as his son was.

“Well, Jason, he’s a strawberry roan, he lives on a strawberry farm, and he’s a very wise horse. So, that’s why he’s called Berry-Wise. Anyway, Mr. Danielson hired me to start exercising his horses, too, and Berry-Wise was my favorite. About the same time, I went to some local rodeos and saw young people doing trick riding stunts, which looked like a lot of fun, so I decided to learn some of them for myself when I was taking Berry out for his run. One day, Mr. Danielson saw what I was doing.”

She paused, and as expected, she had everyone’s full attention. She then turned back to Jason and said, “What do you think happened next?”

“You got in trouble!” he said without the slightest hesitation, and everyone laughed.

Eden joined in and said, “Well, guess what? I didn’t get in trouble. In fact, Mr. Danielson was so impressed he gave me time to practice the tricks I was learning with Berry-Wise. I entered the rodeos around where I lived, and started winning prizes. Berry’s owner then made me a bargain: if I would help advertise the berry farm, he would sponsor me to travel even farther to show was a great trick riding horse Berry-Wise is.”

Pick up your copy HERE!
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Lynn Downey


Lynn Downey is an award-winning novelist, short story writer, historian of the West, and native Californian.

She was the Historian for Levi Strauss & Co. in San Francisco for 25 years. Her adventures as ambassador for company history took her around the world, where she spoke to television audiences, magazine editors, and university students, appeared in numerous documentaries, and on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She wrote many books and articles about the history of the company and the jeans, and her biography, Levi Strauss: The Man Who Gave Blue Jeans to the World, won the Foreword Reviews silver INDIE award.

Lynn got interested in dude ranches during her time at Levi’s. Her debut historical novel, Dudes Rush In, is set on an Arizona dude ranch in the 1950s; Arizona because she’s a desert rat at heart, and the 1950s because the clothes were fabulous.

Dudes Rush In won a Will Rogers Medallion Award, and placed first in Arizona Historical Fiction at the New Mexico-Arizona book awards. The next book in this series, Dude or Die, was released in 2023. And just for fun, Lynn wrote a screenplay based on Dudes Rush In, which is currently making the rounds of reviewers and competitions.

She pens short stories, as well. “The Wind and the Widow” took Honorable Mention in the History Through Fiction story contest, and “Incident at the Circle H” was a Finalist for the Longhorn Prize from Saddlebag Dispatches. The story “Goldie Hawn at the Good Karma CafĂ©,” won second place in The LAURA Short Fiction contest from Women Writing the West, and is based on her experiences in a San Francisco religious cult in the 1970s. (That will be another book one of these days.)  

Lynn’s latest nonfiction book is American Dude Ranch: A Touch of the Cowboy and the Thrill of the West, a cultural history of the dude ranch. It was reviewed in The Wall Street Journal, True West, Cowgirl, and The Denver Post, and was a Finalist for the Next Generation INDIE Award in Nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews said the book is “…deeply engaging and balances accessible writing style with solid research.”

When she’s not writing, Lynn works as a consulting archivist and historian for museums, libraries, cultural institutions, and businesses. She is the past president of Women Writing the West, a member of the Western Writers of America, and is on numerous boards devoted to archives and historic preservation. 

Lynn lives in Sonoma, California, where she sometimes makes wine from the Pinot Noir grapes in her back yard vineyard.

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#DudeRanch #HistoricalFiction #WomensFiction #WesternWomen #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub 




Sunday, 18 February 2024

Victoria’s court is not always the place for romance, but rather secrets, scandals, and conspiracies…

 


Victoria & Violet
By Rachel Brimble


Publication Date: 17th October 2022
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc
Page Length: 305 Pages
Genre: Historical Romance

When Violet Parker is told she will be Queen Victoria’s personal housemaid, she cannot believe her good fortune. She finally has the chance to escape her overbearing mother, a servant to the Duchess of Kent. Violet hopes to explore who she is and what the world has to offer without her mother’s schemes overshadowing her every thought and action.

Then she meets James Greene, assistant to the queen’s chief political adviser, Lord Melbourne. From entirely different backgrounds and social class, Violet and James should have neither need nor desire to speak to one another, yet through their service, their paths cross and their lives merge—as do their feelings.

Only Victoria’s court is not always the place for romance, but rather secrets, scandals, and conspiracies…

Pick up your copy of
Victoria & Violet

 Rachel Brimble


Rachel lives with her husband and daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. Her first novel was published in 2007. Today she is the author of 28 contemporary and historical novels, including the popular Shop Girl series and Ladies of Carson Street trilogy (Aria Fiction). Her upcoming releases include Her Scandalous Suitor (originally The Seduction of Emily) coming in February 2024 (The Wild Rose Press) and her next brand new Victorian romance, Dressing The Countess (Harpeth Road) which releases May 2024.

She is currently working on the first book in a brand new WWII series set in her beloved Bath.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Female Entrepreneur Association. When she isn't working, Rachel loves to read or watch far too much TV period and crime dramas while doing her best to complete yet another 1,500 piece jigsaw puzzle...

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I will not let myself think of him at all costs.

 



My Temptation 
(Kingston Lane Book 1)
By T L Swan


Publication Date: 29th August 2023
Publisher: Montlake 
Page Length: 475 Pages
Genre: Romance

Enter a world of luxury, lust and love with this scorching first title in T L Swan’s provocative and witty Kingston Lane series.

The first time I laid eyes on Henley James, I was mesmerized.

The chemistry between us was like nothing I’d ever felt.

Impeccable suit, dimpled smile. He was charming and gorgeous, sophisticated and suave. He gave me his business card and asked me to call.

His dating game was strong; I was gone from his first smile. I’d love to tell you our date was a raging success, but it wasn’t. Far from it.

I decided right there on that day that Henley James and I would forever be mortal enemies; I would never think of him again.

Three years later, I bought my dream home. I’m so excited to meet my neighbors—that is, until I do.

Oh no! What are the chances?

It’s him. Still single, still the hottest man alive, and still obnoxiously sarcastic. He saunters around wearing next to nothing and refuses to close the blinds at night.

I will not let myself think of him at all costs. It could be my sanity.

My temptation is a nightmare.

Pick up your copy of
My Temptation 

T L Swan


T L Swan is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and #1 Amazon Best Selling author. With millions of books sold, her titles are currently translated in twenty languages and have hit #1 on Amazon in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and Germany. Tee resides in Sydney, Australia with her husband and their three children where she is living her own happy ever after with her first true love.

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Saturday, 17 February 2024

A new contemporary, cosy romance series for 2024 set in the beautiful Northumberland countryside, bringing you heartfelt stories and characters you'll fall in love with!

 


Chasing Dreams on Oak Tree Lane
By R. A. Hutchins


Publication Date: 24th January 2024
Publisher: Independently published 
Page Length: 228 Pages
Genre: Romance

A new contemporary, cosy romance series for 2024 set in the beautiful Northumberland countryside, bringing you heartfelt stories and characters you'll fall in love with!

Take a stroll down Oak Tree Lane, the home of cosy community and healing hearts.

Meg always dreamed of moving to Lower Oakley and opening her own art shop. She just never envisaged doing it alone. Faced with the blank canvas that is her new life, she's determined to fill it with colour to match her usually sunny personality.

Josh never dreamed he'd be running his late wife's gallery alone, his little daughter the only light in a life filled with shadows and hurt. Happiest with a hammer and chisel, Josh is hesitant to carve his own path, while his grumpy demeanour is hardly a magnet for a new relationship.

Strange things can happen on Oak Tree Lane, though, when hesitant hearts feel an instant connection.

Can Meg and Josh paper over the cracks of their past losses and paint a new future together?

Or do they not share the same dream after all?

Pick up your copy of
Chasing Dreams on Oak Tree Lane

R. A. Hutchins


R. A. Hutchins is a British author of both cosy murder mysteries and even cosier romance. What her books all share in common, though, is a strong sense of place and strength of community as well as an endearing cast of characters. 

In Rachel's contemporary romance, you can normally find themes of hope and new beginnings, loss and mental health, though her characters are always guaranteed their happily ever after and her stories have more than a splash of heady romance!

Rachel's favourite hobbies are reading, walking along the beach with her family, visiting new places, and seeing her flowers grow in the spring and summer months. Rachel particularly enjoys going out for coffee and cake when it also involves catching up with good friends. Now living in northeast England, Rachel has fond memories of the nine years she spent in Scotland.

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To save the woman he loves, he must sacrifice everything…

 


Her Warrior Captive
(The MacEgan Brothers Book 1)
By Michelle Willingham


Publication Date: 6th November 2022
Publisher: Michelle Willingham 
Page Length: 336 Pages
Genre: Historical Romance

Warrior and woodcarver Kieran O’Brannon sold himself into captivity to save his brother’s life…but to win his freedom, he must carve the image of his master’s betrothed, spending hours each day with a woman he cannot have.

Beautiful and haunted by loss, Iseult MacFergus is searching for her lost child. As she spends time with the powerful, brooding captive, she realizes that Kieran’s pain mirrors her own. Their loneliness turns to fierce desire, though honor holds them apart.

When they are attacked by Viking invaders, Kieran must make the hardest choice of all—but to save the woman he loves, he must sacrifice everything…

Pick up your copy of
Her Warrior Captive

Michelle Willingham


RITA® Award Finalist Michelle Willingham grew up in a military household that took her all over the world, including Thailand, Germany, and England. She wrote her first historical romance at the age of twelve and was delighted to fill up eight pages of a legal pad. As her binders of stories grew, she was convinced that one day she would achieve her dream of being an author. Thankfully, most of her early stories have been destroyed and are unavailable for blackmail.

She attended the University of Notre Dame where she thought about studying medicine. Since Michelle passes out at the sight of blood, she decided that this was not a good career move. She studied English instead and graduated summa cum laude with the idea of becoming an editor. Her first part-time job involved editing mortgage handbooks, which sent her fleeing back to graduate school for a degree in middle school education. Michelle taught school for eleven years before retiring to stay home with her children and write full time.

When she isn’t writing historical romances, she loves to cook, read, and snuggle with her cats.

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Friday, 16 February 2024

Can Jenna decide where her allegiances lie before her worlds collide and an even deadlier foe takes everything from her?

 


The Thief's Daughter
(Cornish Tales Book 1)
By Victoria Cornwall


Publication Date: 9th January 2024
Publisher: Choc Lit Historical Romance: A Joffe Books Company
Page Length: 342 Pages
Genre: Historical Romance

Cornwall, 1779.

Brought up in a family of thieves and smugglers, spirited Jenna has never wanted to enter into the family business. Instead, she’s made it her mission to prove that not all Cartwrights are the same.

After she escapes a brutal marriage, she takes up a position in the house of Jack Penhale. But trouble is never far behind.

Silas, the only brother who has ever looked out for her, is sent to a squalid debtor’s prison. He asks Jenna for help, and she is unable to refuse.

Jenna begins leading a double life. By day she serves as Jack’s unassuming housekeeper. By night she wades deeper into the dangerous world of smuggling.

But Jenna’s not the only one leading a double life.

Jack is a thief-taker in Cornwall to get revenge for his father’s death and uncover who is behind a vicious smuggling ring.

Jenna and Jack are natural-born enemies.

And the fire that ignites instantly between them threatens to burn them both.

Can Jenna decide where her allegiances lie before her worlds collide and an even deadlier foe takes everything from her?

Pick up your copy of

The Thief's Daughter

Only 0.99 on #Kindle for a Limited Time!

Victoria Cornwall


Following a career in nursing, a change in profession finally provided Victoria Cornwall the time to write. Her books have subsequently reached the finals of the NEW TALENT AWARD at the Festival of Romantic Fiction, the RNA's JOAN HESSAYON AWARD, the 2021 RNA's Goldsboro Books HISTORICAL ROMANTIC NOVEL AWARD and have twice been nominated for the RONE Best Indie or Small Published Book Award by InD'tale magazine.

Victoria grew up on a farm in Cornwall and can trace her Cornish roots as far back as the 18th century. It is this background and heritage which is the inspiration for her Cornish based novels. She is married, has two grown up children and likes to read and write historical romance with a strong background story, but at its heart is the unmistakable emotion, even pain, of loving someone.

 She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

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