Month: April 2017

Blog Tour: The Cornish Escape by Lily Graham @lilygrahambooks @bookouture

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Goodreads|Amazon US|Amazon UK
Release date: April 6, 2017

Publisher: Bookouture 

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Blurb: 

Get swept away along the beautiful Cornish coast, where a love story in a long forgotten diary has the power to change one woman’s life forever.


Victoria Langley’s world crumbles when her husband leaves, but she knows exactly where to go to mend her broken heart. The rugged shores of Cornwall will be her perfect sanctuary. 


In the quaint, little village of Tregollan, nestled in the sea cliffs, Victoria is drawn to Seafall Cottage, covered in vines and gracefully falling apart. Inside she finds a diary full of secrets, from 1905.


Victoria is determined to unravel the diary’s mystery, but the residents of Tregollan are tight-lipped about Tilly Asprey, the cottage’s last owner. Just as she reaches a dead end, Victoria meets Adam Waters, the lawyer handling the cottage’s sale. He’s handsome, charming, and has a missing piece of the puzzle.


Tilly’s diary tells a devastating love story that mirrors Victoria’s own. Can Victoria learn from Tilly’s mistakes, and give herself a second chance at love? Or is history doomed to repeat itself?


An unputdownable and gorgeously romantic read about lost love and new beginnings set in the green hills and rocky cliffs of the breath-taking Cornish coast. 

I’m so pleased to welcome you to my stop on the blog tour for The Cornish Escape. I’m helping to close it down but do visit the previous stops! 


Review: 

Ahh that stunning cover! Makes me want to jump right in, I keep reading these lovely books set in these stunning places and it has me longing desperately for a vacation! Though this is billed as a romance I was pleasantly surprised by the added bonus of a historical mystery and you all know how much I love a good mystery. 

Victoria has just been betrayed in the worst way by her husband of almost ten years, he’s cheated on her with a younger woman. Sigh. She escapes to Cornwall and is entranced with a rundown cottage, much to the dismay of the locals and her family. She can’t explain why she’s inexplicably drawn to Seafall Cottage, she just is. When she finds an old diary that an old man drops, her fascination grows. Soon, she’s wrapped up in the life of Tilly, a young girl who wrote the diary in the early 1900’s. She wholeheartedly and immediately identified with Tilly and she desperately wants to know her story. 

This flips from Victoria in present day, then back to Tilly’s diary entries. Though I really enjoyed reading about Victoria’s new life and seeing the cottage transform from a ramshackle heap of junk into her lovely new home, I really loved Tilly’s story. She strikes up a friendship with Fen as a young girl, and they had such a sad story, the whole star crossed lovers thing. The characterization was fantastic, Adam is Victoria’s new love interest and he was charming and sweet. Victoria rents a houseboat while she’s renovating the cottage and her neighbors were the BEST! Angie was my favorite, she runs a bookshop from her houseboat, a FLOATING BOOKSHOP you guys! Amazing, it’s now my life’s dream to open one of these. She’s an aging hippie and I about died when she would offer Victoria a brownie that she called “suspicious”.

This had such beautiful scenery and a real sense of magic about it. I loved the mystery and intrigue, I don’t want to say too much, but it added something to make it standout in a sea of clichéd romance novels. The only thing I can say I didn’t love was the ending, it made me gasp and want more! It was very fitting though, I just wanted more information. 

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to Bookouture for my review copy. 

About the Author: 


Lily has been telling stories since she was a child, starting with her imaginary rabbit, Stephanus, and their adventures in the enchanted peach tree in her garden, which she envisioned as a magical portal to Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree. She’s never really got out of the habit of making things up, and still thinks of Stephanus rather fondly.


She lives with her husband and her English bulldog, Fudge, and brings her love for the sea and country-living to her fiction.

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#CoverReveal Watching the Bodies by Graham Smith @GrahamSmith1972 @Bloodhoundbook

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I’m thrilled to be taking part in the cover reveal for Watching the Evidence by Graham Smith! 

Blurb: 

When Jake Boulder is asked by his PI friend to help investigate the vicious murder of Kira Niemeyer, he soon finds himself tracking a serial killer who selects his next victim in a most unusual manner.


As the body count rises, Boulder has to work with the police to identify the heinous killer before more lives are taken. What ensues is a twisted game of cat and mouse, that only Boulder or the Watcher can survive.



Isn’t that a stunning cover?! I LOVE it! I’ll be participating in the blog tour next month so stay tuned for my review. 


About the Author: 


Graham Smith is married with a young son. A time served joiner he has built bridges, houses, dug drains and slated roofs to make ends meet. Since Christmas 2000 he has been manager of a busy hotel and wedding venue near Gretna Green, Scotland. 




An avid fan of crime fiction since being given one of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books at the age of eight, he has also been a regular reviewer and interviewer for the well-respected website Crimesquad.com since 2009




He is the author of four books featuring DI Harry Evans and the Cumbrian Major Crimes Team and one book, WATCHING THE BODIES in a new series featuring Utah doorman, Jake Boulder.

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Blog Tour: Gone Without a Trace by Mary Torjussen @MaryTorjussen @BerkleyPub

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Goodreads|Amazon
Release date: April 18, 2017

Publisher: Berkley Publishing

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Blurb: 

A jaw-dropping novel of psychological suspense that asks, “If the love of your life disappeared without a trace, how far would you go to find out why? ” 


Hannah Monroe’s boyfriend, Matt, is gone. His belongings have disappeared from their house. Every call she ever made to him, every text she ever sent, every photo of him and any sign of him on social media have vanished. It’s as though their last four years together never happened.


As Hannah struggles to get through the next few days, with humiliation and recriminations whirring through her head, she knows that she’ll do whatever it takes to find him again and get answers. But as soon as her search starts, she realizes she is being led into a maze of madness and obsession. Step by suspenseful step, Hannah discovers her only way out is to come face to face with the shocking truth… 

Review: 

I’m so excited to share my thoughts with everyone today, and at the end I’ll have a giveaway for a chance to win a copy of Gone Without a Trace.

I absolutely love the idea behind this one, can you even imagine coming home to a house and seeing literally no sign that your significant other had ever been there?! That’s exactly what happens to Hannah, almost from the minute she steps foot through her front door she knows something is wrong. All of Matt’s things are gone, and when she starts trying to figure out where he is, it seems like he’s simply vanished into thin air. His social media profiles are all gone, he quit his job, and his phone number is no longer active. This is one of my favorite type of reads, one where I keep asking myself, what in the world is going on?!?

Hannah was a very complex, deeply flawed character, the type that always interests me. She wasn’t very likable, but something about her drew me in. As she searches for Matt, she becomes a woman possessed and slowly begins to spiral out of control. She behaves extremely erratically, and the part that really sent a chill up my spine is that she doesn’t even realize the way she is behaving is abnormal. Every aspect of her life starts to fall apart, her job gets put into jeopardy, her friendship with her lifelong best friend Katie gets strained, her whole world starts to fall apart the day Matt leaves.

Torjussen lead me on a complicated maze and her writing was so full of subtlety and tension. Several times she alluded to suspicious behavior from Matt, but she never elaborates, making the story all the more intriguing. She also casually makes mention of a darkness in Hannah’s past, but she never shows her hand, just faint whispers that make you uneasy.

This starts off a bit on the slow side but it more than makes up for it in the end when the pacing turns frantic and the suspense mounts. The last twenty five percent was filled with an onslaught of plot twists that left my mouth hanging open in shock. I do think this will divide readers as it is a little bit out there, but I loved it. When I say divide readers, I’m thinking of books like Behind Her Eyes and The Girl Before but I loved both of those, so if you did as well, I think you’ll like this one too. I can’t forget to mention the ending, nothing pleases me more than a strong ending and this one was chilling and oh so satisfying.

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

About the Author: 


Mary Torjussen grew up in Stoke-on-Trent. There was no television in her family home so books have always been her escape – she spent hours reading and writing stories as a child. Mary has an MA in Creative Writing from Liverpool John Moores University, and worked as a teacher in Liverpool before becoming a full-time writer. She has two adult children and lives on the Wirral, where her debut novel, GONE WITHOUT A TRACE, is set.

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #imwayr

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly post to share what you recently finished reading, what you’re currently reading, and what you plan on reading this week. It’s hosted by Kathryn at Bookdate. 

What I Read Last Week: 


A Presence of Absence was a good Nordic Noir novel. 

Ragdoll was amazing, totally loved it. 

When We Danced at the End of the Pier was a gorgeous historical fiction. 

The Second Chance Tea Shop was a lovely, romantic read. 

Skintown was a really odd book, not for me. 

Appetite for Innocence was a good psychological thriller. 

The Night the Lights Went Out was a fantastic, entertaining read. 

White Sand, Blue Sea was a mediocre read. 
Currently Reading: 


Up Next: 


There are also a couple I didn’t get to last week I may sneak in. I also have a great giveaway starting Tuesday! Stay tuned. 

I posted part two of Blogger Guilt and I’m working on another discussion post that should be up sometime this week. It’ll be about book blogging myths. 

How was your week? What are you currently reading? 

Blog Tour: The Cutaway by @Christina_Kovac @SerpentsTail #TheCutaway

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Release date: April 6, 2017

Publisher: Serpents Tail

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb: 

The Cutaway draws you into the tangled world of corruption and cover-up as a young television producer investigates the disappearance of a beautiful Georgetown lawyer in this stunning psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn.




When brilliant TV news producer Virginia Knightly receives a disturbing “MISSING” notice on her desk related to the disappearance of a beautiful young attorney, she can’t seem to shake the image from her head. Despite skepticism from her colleagues, Knightly suspects this ambitious young lawyer may be at the heart of something far more sinister, especially since she was last seen leaving an upscale restaurant after a domestic dispute. Yet, as the only woman of power at her station, Knightly quickly finds herself investigating on her own.




Risking her career, her life, and perhaps even her own sanity, Knightly dives deep into the dark underbelly of Washington, DC business and politics in an investigation that will drag her mercilessly through the inextricable webs of corruption that bind the press, the police, and politics in our nation’s capital.

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Cutaway. If you’re getting a feeling that you’ve seen me post about this book before, you’re right! I reviewed this last month, but when I was contacted by Christina’s U.K. publisher about hosting a stop on the blog tour, I couldn’t resist! 


Review: 

I love reading a mystery from a new perspective, it’s so refreshing! This is all about the world of broadcast journalism and though veteran producer Virginia has covered tons of missing persons cases before, something about the disappearance of Evelyn Carney pulls her in. As she dives deeper into the story, she encounters many roadblocks and becomes entangled in the high power world of D. C. politics and police corruption. 


I really like Virginia as a protagonist, she’s a strong, intelligent and empowered woman and though you don’t find out very much about who she is and what drives her until about the halfway point of the book, what is shared was enough to make me a fan. I had no idea what really goes into making a major news program but I found the behind the scenes look totally fascinating. This is a seriously cutthroat business and the atmosphere of the news room was intense. Kovac’s knowledge of journalism is heavily apparent, there was such an authenticity to the plot. 
This was a slow burning mystery, not as many thrills as I was expecting, though it did have it’s moments towards the end. I think this is partly because you’re slogging along with Virginia as she does investigative work, but I found it to be pretty interesting. There’s only a handful of suspects so some may be able to figure out who the culprit is, but I didn’t have things totally nailed down myself. 


I really enjoyed this unique viewpoint and approach and found myself easily caught up in this hard hitting, competitive environment. There was just a hint of romance that added to the story instead of detracting from it, along with political intrigue and corrupt cops, totally juicy. If you’ve ever wanted a peek at what really happens before the cameras roll in a newsroom, check this out. Hint; it’s not as glamorous as you think. 

Overall rating: 4/5

About the Author: 


Christina Kovac managed newsrooms and produced crime and political stories in the District. Her career as a television journalist began with Fox 5’s Ten O’Clock News, followed by the ABC affiliate in Washington, D.C. For the last nine years, she worked at the Washington Bureau of NBC News. She lives with her family outside of Washington D.C.


Blog Tour: Will to Live by Rachel Amphlett @RachelAmphlett @emmamitchellfpr

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Release date: April 4, 2017

Publisher: Saxon 

Genre: Crime Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Blurb: 

Reputation is everything.


When a packed commuter train runs over a body on a stretch of track known to locals as “Suicide Mile”, it soon transpires that the man was a victim of a calculated murder. 


As the investigation evolves and a pattern of murders is uncovered, Detective Sergeant Kay Hunter realises the railway’s recent reputation may be the work of a brutal serial killer. 


With a backlog of cold cases to investigate and attempting to uncover who is behind a professional vendetta against her, Kay must keep one step ahead of both the killer and her own adversaries.


When a second murder takes place within a week of the first, she realises the killer’s timetable has changed, and she’s running out of time to stop him…

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Will to Live. 


Review: 

This is the second book in the Kay Hunter series, I reviewed the first one last year and you can find my review of Scared to Death here. I would recommend starting with the first book as it’s really good and they’re also quick reads, plus you’ll be all caught up and aware of the relevant backstories. 

This had a really gripping opening, a woman is out one evening walking her dog and finds a man tied to train tracks and he’s desperate for her to help him. She can’t save him in time, and soon Kay and team discover this was no suicide, it’s a cold blooded murder. I loved the originality of the killer’s method, it was terrifying and so unique. Can you even imagine waking up tied to a train track and unable to get free? Then you look up and see lights and a train barreling towards you. So scary!! 

There is a lot going on here, there’s obviously the investigation into the train track murders, but Kay is also looking into something on the side, a case she has a personal interest in. It seems someone within her department has a vendetta against her, but why? As she digs deeper to try and find answers it’s clear whoever is behind this is willing to take some extreme measures to keep secrets buried. This was such a great bonus to an already interesting story, things regarding this part were still left very much up in the air and I’m absolutely dying to find out where this is all going. 

This is super fast paced, with short chapters and many end with mini cliffhangers. It just begs to be read in one sitting and that’s exactly what I did. No way could I put this one down, it had me totally absorbed. I totally thought I had this one figured out, then Amphlett turned everything upside down and pulled one over on me. It’s another great addition to this series and I can’t wait for book three. 

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy. 

About the Author: 


Rachel Amphlett is the bestselling author of the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the new Detective Kay Hunter crime thriller series, as well as a number of standalone crime thrillers.
Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel’s novels appeal to a worldwide audience, and have been compared to Robert Ludlum, Lee Child and Michael Crichton.
She is a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold, being sold to Fanucci Editore’s TIMECrime imprint in 2014.
An advocate for knowledge within the publishing industry, Rachel is always happy to share her experiences to a wider audience through her blogging and speaking engagements.

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Review: White Sand, Blue Sea by Anita Hughes 

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Release date: April 11, 2017

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Genre: Women’s Fiction 

Blurb: 

Olivia Miller is standing on the porch of her mother and stepfather’s plantation style villa in St. Barts. They have been coming here every April for years but she is always thrilled to see the horseshoe shaped bay of Gustavia and white sand of Gouverneur’s Beach. This trip should be particularly exciting because she is celebrating her twenty-fifth birthday and hoping that Finn, her boyfriend of four years, will propose.


The only person who won’t be here is her father, Sebastian, who she hasn’t seen in twenty years. He’s a well-known artist and crisscrosses the globe, painting and living in exotic locations like Kenya and China. When Sebastian walks unexpectedly walks through the door and floats back into Olivia’s life like a piece of bad driftwood she never knew she wanted, she starts to wondering if her world is too narrow. She questions the dreams and the relationship she’s always thought she wanted. But there seems to be more to the story than an innocent fatherly visit, and Olivia must decide if love is more important than truth.


Set on St. Barts, the jewel of the Caribbean, WHITE SAND, BLUE SEA is a heartwarming story about romance and adventure, and most importantly, about knowing yourself, and what makes you happy.

Review: 

Based on the blurb/cover combo I was expecting a total beach read, something to escape into and that’s exactly what I got. This is pure entertainment and not to be taken too seriously, there were parts that would’ve bothered me a bit more (though there were a few issues I still couldn’t get past) if I was expecting a book with more depth, but if you take this book at face value (just look at that cover, makes me wanna dive in) then it’s a pretty fun read. 

Hughes paints such a pretty picture, the setting is definitely the strong point of this book. I could feel the sand between my toes, smell the flowers mixed with salty air and gorgeous scents of exotic food, it was so easy to conjure up an image of St. Bart. I had heard that a Hughes book was comparable to Elin Hilderbrand’s books and I’m a huge fan of her work, but besides the beach setting, I’m not really thinking that’s entirely accurate, this book lacked even a bit of the substance that Hilderbrand’s have. 

The characters were pretty unlikable, and not in a, are they good or bad type of way. More like a, they’re all pretentious, spoiled snobs type of way. Olivia is turning 25 and she’s extremely immature and naive. She comes across as selfish and vulnerable, but not in an endearing way, it was annoying. Her dad, Sebastian is awful, he’s flighty, pampered and egotistic and I found him utterly boring. I did like Felix, Olivia’s stepfather though, he wasn’t as pompous as the rest. 

This wasn’t a bad book, I actually did like it in a weird way, the location was amazing and Hughes is an excellent writer in terms of creating and capturing a fantastic atmosphere. I expected a little bit more romance and excitement and instead was thrust into the lives of some vapid, shallow characters who I couldn’t relate to at all. I would read another book by Hughes though, next time it’ll be on a beach while I’m drinking though so I can overlook the lack of substance and just take it for what it is.

Overall rating: 2.5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy. 

Review: The Night the Lights Went Out by Karen White @KarenWhiteWrite

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Release date: April 11, 2017

Publisher: Berkley Publishing 

Genre: Southern Fiction, Historical, Mystery

Blurb: 

From the New York Times bestselling author of Flight Patterns comes a stunning new novel about a young single mother who discovers that the nature of friendship is never what it seems….

 

Recently divorced, Merilee Talbot Dunlap moves with her two children to the Atlanta suburb of Sweet Apple, Georgia. It’s not her first time starting over, but her efforts at a new beginning aren’t helped by an anonymous local blog that dishes about the scandalous events that caused her marriage to fail.

 

Merilee finds some measure of peace in the cottage she is renting from town matriarch Sugar Prescott. Though stubborn and irascible, Sugar sees something of herself in Merilee—something that allows her to open up about her own colorful past.

 

Sugar’s stories give Merilee a different perspective on the town and its wealthy school moms in their tennis whites and shiny SUVs, and even on her new friendship with Heather Blackford. Merilee is charmed by the glamorous young mother’s seemingly perfect life and finds herself drawn into Heather’s world.

 

In a town like Sweet Apple, where sins and secrets are as likely to be found behind the walls of gated mansions as in the dark woods surrounding Merilee’s house, appearance is everything. But just how dangerous that deception can be will shock all three women….

Review: 

Let’s start with that cover, I just LOVE it! It’s gorgeous and though the ebook version (which I read) is pretty enough, I’m ordering a physical copy too. The Night the Lights Went Out is a perfect blending of genres with a southern flair, it has drama, intrigue, betrayals, history, a small dose of romance, truly something for everyone. Plus, it’s set in Georgia which always makes a fantastic setting in my opinion. 

Merilee moves into a new home following her divorce with her two young children, Lily and Colin. She rents a place from Sugar, a life long resident of Sweet Apple, Georgia. Though these two seemingly have little in common, their proximity allows them to strike up an unlikely friendship and discover they may have a whole lot more in common than meets the eye. 

I felt for Merilee right from the start, we’re the same age and imagining trying to start my life over in a small, tight knit is terrifying. Especially when it’s a small town in the south, some of the grown women in this book were worse than Regina George in Mean Girls! Sugar took me a little while longer to warm up to, she’s a bit crotchety but as she slowly shares her past with Merilee, I begin to really empathize with her. Both women were so deeply developed, resulting in characters that will stay with me for a long time. 

I simply loved everything about this book, it was super entertaining, magically blending past and present as Merilee and Sugar both narrated sections. There are also sections from an anonymous blogger who only will reveal they’re a neighbor, preferring to keep their identity a secret, but they dispense some great life lessons and hilarious southern sayings. I did figure out a plot twist, but I was having such a fun time reading this, I didn’t even care. It beautifully captures small town Southern life and had enough gossip and whisperings to make it even more juicy. 

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy. 

Review: Appetite for Innocence by Lucinda Berry

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Release date: April 11, 2017

Publisher: Rise Press

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Blurb: 

Be careful what you post online. Your next check-in might lead him right to you… 


A serial rapist is kidnapping teenage girls. But he’s not interested in just any teenage girls—only virgins. He hunts them by following their status updates and check-ins on social media. Once he’s captured them, they’re locked away in his sound-proof basement until they’re groomed and ready. He throws them away like pieces of trash after he’s stolen their innocence. Nobody escapes alive. 


Until Ella. 


Ella risks it all to escape, setting herself and the other girls free. But only Sarah—the girl whose been captive the longest—gets out with her. The girls are hospitalized and surrounded by FBI agents who will stop at nothing to find the man responsible. Ella and Sarah are the key to their investigation, but Sarah’s hiding something and it isn’t long before Ella discovers her nightmare is far from over. 


Fans of The Butterfly Garden and The Girl Before will devour Appetite for Innocence 


Warning: Contains sexual violence which may be a trigger for some readers.. 

Review: 

This is the third book I’ve read by Berry, if you missed my reviews here are the ones for Phantom Limb and Missing Parts. I feel like she’s really found her niche as an author and she’s consistently publishing books with dark, but totally fascinating subject matter that are extremely addictive reads.

This is told from two viewpoints, that of Ella and Sarah and it flashes back between Then and Now. Then details the two teenagers time when they were kept prisoner after being kidnapped by a sick and sadistic man named John. Now covers the timeline following when they escaped and are trying to acclimate to life after horrific events. He stalks his victims using social media and he has a very specific type, he only wants pure and innocent virgins. As always, the basic plot sucked me right in and grabbed my attention from the get go.

This is extremely fast paced, there were no moments of boredom and no chance of me losing interest. Berry slowly reveals the girls backstory and you eventually learn how they were kidnapped and how they managed to escape. There were several smaller twists that kept me on my toes and the writing was very dark and graphic. There are multiple scenes portraying abuse,  it was hard to read but still really gripping.

As always I love the look into human psychology that Berry brings with her background as a clinical psychologist, it fascinates me. Her books are pure entertainment and wild rides, packed with tension and intrigue, and while they’re on the shorter side, I love being able to devour a book in one sitting.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy.

Guest Post: Author Cynthia Roberts

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I have a lovely guest post to share today from Cynthia about how music can inspire love stories. 


Guest Post: 

Behind the Title

(Creation of a Love Story)

By Romance Author Cynthia Roberts

 

 

​ Creating romantic fiction has been a passion of mine, ever since I was old enough to understand the connection between the sexes. I think I was twelve, when I wrote my first love story and like most young minds; I truly thought it was a masterpiece.

 

​There’s another masterful connection that has been going on now for centuries, and that, is the one between music and literature. There is a full alphabet of songs that have been written retelling a work of literature as far back as the 18th century.

 

​“If I Die Young” by The Band Perry was based on a poem, Lady of Shallot. “Love Story” by Taylor Swift is loosely based on Romeo & Juliet. The artist Sting’s “Moon Over Bourbon Street” was based on an Anne Rice Novel, Interview With A Vampire.

 

​More interesting though, the anatomy of a song has also within its lyrics a pretty fascinating back story as well. For more than five decades, authors have been creating fictional pieces and bringing readers deep inside the lyrics. I grew up listening to my mom’s collection of romantic ballads from the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Those lyrics have forever been embossed into my brain, I still sing along whenever I hear them. Lyrics like those back then told a story, and they were so strong, and emotional, their affect were everlasting.

 

​I have a library of love songs on iTunes I listen to religiously, while I write, as a source of inspiration and a tool that gets me in the mood and mindset I need to be in. It is from this list, I began to formulate a series of ideas, followed by cryptic notes on paper, and finally the creation of my Love Song Standards Series. I made a list of the songs I connected with personally, whittling it down to thirty-five. That number was quite overwhelming and I thought virtually impossible to create that many scenarios. So, I chipped away at the songs and their lyrics, until I decided on a top ten.

 

​I had made a commitment to myself to finish one book a month throughout 2016, writing a chapter every day, leaving me ample time to polish and edit each one. I knew from the on-start, what I wanted my covers to look like. They had to resemble each other in a way that would tie them together, but strong enough for them to stand on their own. My designer Covers by Ramona did an exceptional job tying all my ideas together.

 

​After Book 6, Chances Are, was completed, my brain was fried. I took a short reprieve and switched it up a bit with a Romantic Suspense, A Pawn for Malice. Happily, the first two books of my series received a 5-Star Readers Favorite Award, which ended my promotion efforts. I was forced to take an extended break due to personal issues that had set me back both physically and emotionally. My focus now is to both promote my series and finish the final four titles All The Way, It’s Impossible, Sincerely, and Unforgettable.

 

​If you’re a lover of contemporary romance, please do check out my Love Song Standards Series. I know you’ll be pleasantly pleased. Buy links and descriptions are available on my website at RomanceAuthorCynthiaRoberts.com. If you subscribe to my mailing list, we can stay in touch as to when the other titles are completed PLUS you’ll receive a complimentary copy of Book 1, Unchained Melody. All that I ask is for you to please, please share an honest review at the online retailer you use most. It will help me dramatically towards promoting my book and the series.

 

Hugs from me to you. 

I had no idea some of the history behind the songs Cynthia mentioned, how cool! 

About the Author: 


My love of reading romance fiction goes back to those early years when I was raising a young family. It wasn’t until much later in life I actually took up the pen to write my first historical romance, Wind Warrior . I really don’t fit into one specific niche. Once a story starts to flow, it’s only then I know what genre/sub-genre it will fit under.


I have only one regret, and that is not getting to this point in my career much sooner, rather than later. Life has a way of setting up road blocks, which for me, was supposed to work out that way. Because of those detours, I have become a more passionate and expressive writer, allowing me to create the kind of raw human emotion I want my readership to feel.


It is my hope you walk away with not just an entertaining read, but the importance in knowing, “Without imagination & dreams, we lose the excitement of wonderful possibilities.”

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