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A Bookshop Christmas, a bookish holiday read by Rachel Burton

416 pages Aria publisher Pub Date: 02 Sep 2021 original publish date September 2, 2018

About The Book

A snowstorm. A stranger. A spark. And it’s Christmas! It should be the perfect start to the perfect love story.

But real life is far messier and more complicated than in the pages of the books in Megan Taylor’s family bookshop – the last few years have left this young widow in no doubt of that. Moving back home to York should have been a fresh start, but all it did was allow her to retreat from the world.

When prize-winning author Xander Stone rams his supermarket trolley into her ankles and then trashes her taste in books, Megan is abruptly awoken from her self-imposed hibernation. It’s time to start living again, and she’s going to start by putting this arrogant, superior – admittedly sexy – stranger in his place. Just as she is beginning to enjoy life again, the worst happens, and Megan begins to wonder if she should have stayed hidden away.

Because it turns out that falling in love again is about more than just meeting under the mistletoe…

My Thoughts

This really was a lovely book.
Megan’s family is running a bookshop and after her husband’s death she moves back to York to help them out with it. It’s been in her family since before her birth and because it’s now failing, she is sad to see an old standby will be going away when her parents sell it.
A Regency Christmas party is being planned along with Regency costumes, whatever types of foods they ate in the time period and lots of Jane Austen talks. Sounds like the place to be.
Popular author, Xander Stone is planning a book launch at her bookshop. His assistant is so overbearing. I’ll confess she is the only character I didn’t like. She needs to be the center of attention, talks loudly and knows everyone’s business. Grabbing snacks at the grocers the night before the book launch, she is run into with a trolly by a rude and grumpy guy. Heaven forbids, it turns out this is the famous author that shows up for the book launch. Makes you kind of gulp and laugh at the same time. After their rocky meeting things do settle down a bit and they get to talking. He’s lost his mother; she’s lost a spouse and he’s also divorced.
Neither quite ready to jump out of their sorrow they’re feeling for themselves yet, they do find out they have a lot in common. She was an assistant to author’s but gave it up to care for her ailing husband. She hasn’t realized how much she’s missed it until now when she starts working with Xander. In this enemies to lover’s trope, I enjoyed seeing how they encourage each other to come alive after grief. With a bit of drama added, because after all no relationship is smooth sailing with no misunderstandings. I devoured this book in one day and loved following along with Xander and Megan’s relationship.

Pub Date 02 Sep 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

The Author

Grab a Copy Here

Rachel Burton has been making up stories for as long as she can remember and always dreamed of being a writer until life somehow got in the way. After reading for a degree in Classics and another in English Literature she accidentally fell into a career in law, but eventually managed to write her first book on her lunch breaks. She loves words, Shakespeare, tea, The Beatles, dresses with pockets and very tall romantic heroes (not necessarily in that order) and lives with her husband and two cats in Yorkshire. A Bookshop Christmas was a finalist in the RNA Romantic Novel Awards 2022.

Find her on Instagram as @RachelBWriter

Have a relaxing weekend and thanks for stopping in.

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Cover Reveal for The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass

I am so excited today to bring you the cover reveal for The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass by Katie Powner. I just love this beautiful cover!

It’s Cover Reveal Day for Katie Powner’s upcoming novel The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass! Aren’t the title and cover intriguing? What do you think?

A little about the story:

Pete is resigned to his simple life in a remote Montana town, but elderly widow Wilma is busy meddling in Pete’s life to make up for past wrongs. When the sister Pete was separated from as a child shows up with her 11-year-old son, Pete must confront a past he buried long ago, and Wilma discovers her long-awaited chance at redemption may come at a higher cost than she’s willing to pay.

Set in northern Montana along the rugged and remote Hi-Line, Katie Powner’s latest interweaves poignancy and humor to present a story of friendship, forgiveness, and moving forward.

Preorder now from Baker Book House and get 40% off plus Free Shipping here: https://www.bakerbookhouse.com/products/516386

Releasing in September, this small-town contemporary novel interweaves poignancy and humor to present a story of friendship, forgiveness, and moving forward. Now available for preorder!

A rugged and remote Montana setting. A garbage truck driver and his potbellied pig Pearl. And a past no longer content to stay buried. The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass, a new small-town contemporary novel from Katie Powner, is now available for preorder.

Get it for 40% off plus Free Shipping at Baker Book House: https://www.bakerbookhouse.com/products/516386

The Author

Katie Powner is an award-winning author who lives in Montana, where cows still outnumber people. She writes contemporary fiction about redemption, relationships, and finding the dirt road home. Katie is a mom to the third power (biological, adoptive, and foster) who believes every child deserves a loving family. Visit http://www.katiepowner.com.

Thank you so much for joining me in the exciting cover reveal today.

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First Line Friday

Happy Friday & welcome to the First Line Friday link-up hosted by Reading Is My Suoerpower ! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line. Today I’m featuring the first line of The Metropolitain Affair by Jocelyn Green. I just love Jocely’s books they are filled with historical detail.

And the first line is………..

Manhatten, New York City

Wednesday, October 14, 1925

Dead people were easy to talk to.

About The Book

Bestselling author Jocelyn Green sweeps you away in a dazzling novel of secrets, betrayal, and romance within one of New York City’s most esteemed museums.

For years her explorer father promised Dr. Lauren Westlake she’d accompany him on one of his Egyptian expeditions. But as the empty promises mounted, Lauren determined to earn her own way. Now the assistant curator of Egyptology for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lauren receives two unexpected invitations.

The first is her repentant father’s offer to finally bring her to Egypt as his colleague on a new expedition. The second is a chance to enter the world of New York’s wealthiest patrons who have been victims of art fraud.

With Egyptomania sweeping the city after the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, Detective Joe Caravello is on the hunt for a notorious forger preying on the open wallets of New York’s high society. Dr. Westlake is just the expert he needs to help him track the criminal. Together they search for the truth, and the closer Lauren and Joe get to discovering the forger’s identity, the more entangled they become in a web of deception and crime.

Pub Date 14 Mar 2023 Bethany House Publishers

Let me know the first line of the book closest to you.

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by.

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Good morning, your awww post for the day

Rescuers Race To Remove Jar From Animal’s Head And Reveal Sweetest Face

Story by Maeve Dunigan 

Rescuers Race To Remove Jar From Animal’s Head And Reveal Sweetest Face

Stumbling through brambles, branches and mud, a small animal tried in vain to figure out where he was going. The little guy had gotten his head stuck inside a peanut butter jar and was now blindly navigating dense New England underbrush. A nearby homeowner spotted the animal running haphazardly near her house and did a double take.

“I’m not sure if she knew exactly what she was looking at at first,” Zak Mertz, New England Wildlife Center CEO, told The Dodo.

Rescuers Race To Remove Jar From Animal’s Head And Reveal Sweetest Face© Facebook/Cape Wildlife CenterThe homeowner eventually realized that the troubled visitor was a raccoon who’d poked his head inside the jar for a tasty snack and gotten himself into a precarious situation. Luckily, New England Wildlife Center rescue team members had seen this before — they were going to get him out, but they had to act fast.

“We knew we had to do something,” Mertz said. “It turns out, even a raccoon that has a cloudy jar on its head is still pretty evasive.”

Related video: Freeing an Animal’s Head Trapped in a Jar (ViralHog)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/lifestyle/freeing-an-animals-head-trapped-in-a-jar/vi-AA17NQm3?ocid=msedgntp&t=5

The rescue team worked to locate the raccoon over a series of visits, getting closer each time. Eventually, they caught up to him. Using cat food as bait, the team lured the hungry raccoon out of his burrow.

Rescuers Race To Remove Jar From Animal’s Head And Reveal Sweetest Face© Facebook/Cape Wildlife CenterWhen the raccoon popped out, the team used a grabbing tool to quickly snatch the jar off his head. In an instant, rescuers finally saw the sweet face that had been hidden for so long.

Rescuers Race To Remove Jar From Animal’s Head And Reveal Sweetest Face© Facebook/Cape Wildlife Center

A veterinarian on site confirmed that the raccoon hadn’t sustained any injuries and was safe to return to his life in the wild. Team members were thrilled that this raccoon’s story had a happy ending. The raccoon, who joyfully ducked back into the safety of his burrow, was equally elated.

“It never gets old,” Mertz said. “There’s just no better feeling.”

To prevent situations like this in the future, Mertz urges community members to secure their garbage cans tightly and screw lids back onto jars before trashing them. If everyone watches what they’re throwing away, raccoons like this one will surely be grateful.

To help other animals like this raccoon, make a donation to the New England Wildlife Center.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/pets-animals/rescuers-race-to-remove-jar-from-animal-s-head-and-reveal-sweetest-face/ar-AA18pTJI?ocid=msedgntp&pc=W069&cvid=41a781a9305c4673ac748d18cb3735da&ei=14

I am so happy this raccoon got the help it needed.

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Remember Me (Pictures of the Heart Book #1) Tracie Peterson

I just love this beautiful cover and can’t wait to read the others in the series.

About The Book

From the Yukon to Seattle, the hope of a new beginning waits just around the corner.

Addie Bryant is haunted by her past of heartbreak and betrayal. After her beau, Isaac Hanson, left the Yukon, she made a vow to wait for him. When she’s sold to a brothel owner after the death of her father, Addie manages to escape with the hope that she can forever hide her past and the belief that she will never have the future she’s always dreamed of.

Years later, Addie has found peace in her new life as a photographer, training Camera Girls to operate and sell the Brownie camera. During the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Expo in Seattle, Addie is reunited with Isaac, but after the path her life has taken, she’s afraid to expose the ugliness of her former life and to move toward the future they had pledged to each other.

When her past catches up with her, Addie must decide whether to run or to stay and face her wounds in order to embrace her life, her future, and her hope in God.

My Thoughts

I have long been reading this authors books. She has so many out, I call her the “Queen of Historical Fiction.” Her research is immaculate and makes each story relatable and realistic.
Her books have a beautiful faith message but it’s not overbearing.
Remember Me is the first book in the Pictures of the Heart series.
The setting is 1909 at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Expo in Seattle.
Addie Bryant has had a very harsh and heartbreaking bringing up. Her brothers and father did not love her, and she had no one. After they betrayed her in the worst way possible, she was able to escape. With memories of a promised love from childhood she holds onto these happy memories as a way to keep going but doesn’t expect anything to come of it.
After she is reunited with Isaac, her past love, she doesn’t feel worthy of forgiveness or to be with him.
The theme here is your past is in the past and God is a forgiving God to be trusted and Addie does come to do this. A strong story line with themes of forgiveness, redemption and love.
I will continue to read books by this author as she’s one of my all-time favorites.

Pub Date: 07 Mar 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

The Author

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than one hundred books. Tracie also teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research. She and her family live in Montana.

Visit Tracie’s web site at: http://www.traciepeterson.com

Your presence here blesses me. Thank you!

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Forged In Love by Mary Connealy

About The Book

In 1870, Mariah Stover is left for dead and with no memory when the Deadeye Gang robs the stagecoach she’s on, killing her father and brother. As she takes over her father’s blacksmith business and attempts to move forward, the old-fashioned townspeople meet her new occupation with disdain.

Handsome and polished Clint Roberts escaped to Western Wyoming from the painful memories he left back east. In the hope of a new life, he opens a diner where he creates fine dishes, but is met with a harsh welcome from the townsfolk who prefer to stick to their old ways.

Clint and Mariah are drawn together by the similar trials they face in a new town, and Clint is determined to protect Mariah at all costs when danger descends upon her home. As threats pursue them from every side, will they survive to build a life forged in love?

Mary Connealy steals you away to the atmospheric American West with an adventure-filled, charming nineteenth-century tale.

My Thoughts

I have been reading this author’s books for years and have always enjoyed the strong faith message in them.
Mariah Stover is no shrinking violet, despite being on a stagecoach that was robbed and that took the life of her father and brother she knows she must go on. She is left with no memory of the incident. I enjoyed seeing Mariah cast as a strong woman taking over her father’s blacksmith shop, a job at this time period known to be a man’s job. The town’s people are not accepting of her doing this as they are used to seeing men do this and are stuck in the old way of thought.
Hoping to escape painful memories Clint Roberts comes to town for a new start and opens a diner but the townspeople are not accepting of him either.
Mariah and Clint become friends bound together by a common ground of nonacceptance and find they have a lot in common. Despite this closeness danger seems to follow Mariah. Is someone trying to eliminate a witness because she is still alive after the robbery?
This is a wonderful start to a new series and it’s so refreshing to see women doing male dominated jobs including her friend Nell who as a talented seamstress makes chaps for cowboys. This story taking place in Wyoming has such a wonderful description of the barren and dusty area that I can just picture it now.
I was going to give this book 4 stars but I am removing one star for it including animal abuse. I could never condone animal abuse and including it does nothing to enhance the story. There are several instances where a dog is abused, and I was so disappointed to read this.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House through Interviews & Reviews for my honest opinion.

About The Author

Mary Connealy writes romantic comedy with cowboys always with a strong suspense thread. She is a two time Carol Award winner, and a Rita, Christy and Inspirational Reader’s Choice finalist.
She is the bestselling author of 65 books and novellas.
Her most recent three book series are: Braced for Love, A Man with a Past and Love on the Range for Bethany House Publishing. She’s also written four other series for Barbour Publishing and many novellas and several stand-alone books for multiple publishers.
Mary will be a published author for ten years in 2017 with nearly a million books in print. She has a degree in broadcast communications with an emphasis in journalism and has worked at her local newspaper.

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Positive Quotes you’re gonna love

You are yourself and we appreciate that! 💖🤗

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Boldwood Blog Tour for Where We Belong by Sarah Bennett

About The Book

Where We Belong

On paper, Hope Travers has an idyllic life.

Living in a bustling farmhouse with her mum, aunt and uncles, cousin and too many dogs to count, surrounded by the breath-taking Cotswolds countryside, she knows she is privileged and protected.

But all families have secrets, and the Travers family are no exception. Their farmhouse sits in the grounds of the Juniper Meadows estate, passed down through the generations and now being made to pay its own way with a myriad of businesses and projects. When a construction crew uncover what appear to be historical ruins, the history of the Travers family is put under ever closer scrutiny as a dig gets underway.

Hope may have found a blossoming romance with local archaeologist Cameron Ferguson who is running the dig, but when things start to go wrong around the estate and family secrets begin to be revealed, Hope wonders if she’s made a big mistake in digging up the past.

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3jQEYqg

My Thoughts

Where We Belong is the first book in the Juniper Meadows series. It is a contemporary romance. I am always excited to start a new series by an author who I’ve read their books in the past and have loved them. The characters are so relatable and realistic, after reading just this first book in the series I feel as though they could be friends. I found it interesting to see an archeological dig featured in the book, something not often seen. While preparing to break ground on the family home the dig team may have found ruins, so they bring in the archeologist and Cameron Ferguson, University lecturer. I found the story revolving around the testing digs to be wonderfully researched and fascinating. While we see a clear romantic connection between Cam and Hope, our leading couple, there are also side characters that I think will play an important role in the upcoming books. This book is just the foundation to work with there is plenty of material to work with, characters to elaborate on their stories and secrets to be divulged. I loved meeting the black labs they are right there sticking their noses in everything and so affectionate. The more the dig happens the more secrets are revealed in the archeological sense and in the family. I think more of a backstory will come to light as family secrets are unearthed. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series as I already feel a part of the community with its warm and welcoming characters and beautiful setting in the Cotswolds.

Published March 9,2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Visit other blogs on the tour here.

Author Bio

Author Bio –

Sarah Bennett is the bestselling author of several romantic fiction trilogies including those set in Butterfly Cove and Lavender Bay. Born and raised in a military family she is happily married to her own Officer and when not reading or writing enjoys sailing the high seas.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: Sarah Bennett Author | Facebook

Twitter: Sarah Bennett (@Sarahlou_writes) / Twitter

Instagram: Sarah Bennett (@sarahlbennettauthor) • Instagram photos and videos

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/SarahBennettnews

Bookbub profile: Sarah Bennett Books – BookBub

Have a marvelous day. Thank you for stopping in today.

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Happy International Women’s Day from Midnight and I

Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women’s equality. Collectively we can all #EmbraceEquity.
Celebrate women’s achievement. Raise awareness about discrimination. Take action to drive gender parity.
IWD belongs to everyone, everywhere. Inclusion means all IWD action is valid

Have a wonderful day 😘💖

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Can’t Wait Wednesday

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted here, at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. If you’re continuing with WOW, feel free to link those up as well! Find out more here.

I am really looking forward to reading…………….

Publish date June 8,2023 Aria and Aries publisher

I was just approved for this on NetGalley this morning after requesting it yesterday. It sounds great. I enjoy reading books that feature older people. You also can’t beat a book taking place in Ireland by the sea.

Description

People come to the guest house for fresh air and views across the Atlantic. But if they’re lucky, they might just leave with the second chance they didn’t know they needed…

Esme has run the guest house for as long as anyone in Ballycove can remember. But in her declining years, her sight is failing, and when she has a fall on the eve of the summer season, she is forced to take a back seat for the first time in her life.

From her chair in the entry hall, not much passes Esme by. There’s Cora, the wife visiting indefinitely… without her husband; Niamh, the city professional with a life-changing decision to make; and Phyllie, the grandmother whose family is slipping away from her.

Esme’s guests provide the colour that helps her keep her grip on the world. All of them have something they want to escape – or to hold on to. But can Esme help them find their way before the summer is over?

From bestselling Irish writer Faith Hogan comes a new, uplifting story about discovering love, friendship and the healing power of the Irish sea air. It will charm fans of Sheila O’Flanagan, Heidi Swain and Susanne O’Leary.

Praise for Faith Hogan’s books:
‘Uplifting, emotional and brimming with warmth and humour’ CATHY BRAMLEY on The Ladies’ Midnight Swimming Club

What upcoming read are you looking forward to?