tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68259315482191165132024-03-15T21:09:26.363-04:00Ramblings of a DaydreamerSweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.comBlogger1356125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-43493397608919544102022-11-18T00:34:00.001-05:002022-11-18T00:34:00.189-05:00Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon 2022: Santa's Scavenger Hunt Mini Challenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOqJYQ3foFDrscRaZ4e9RHewRRv0T72_fEgoDbZzKff4xMbNaXMO8LVVoRxIBVDC1U3lvU6zLQYPLlUk54AJm0uKy8ijiAWd3vaMbk6ZcBD0ONESlzMPDsuDAIwnjIzHnBBUSeAwlfjYRdgdPiLs6-jOiZ7dkY9mVpbiCPPZge1KKKd0lkd486GAjv/s800/HoHoHoRAT2022-Banner-800x400.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOqJYQ3foFDrscRaZ4e9RHewRRv0T72_fEgoDbZzKff4xMbNaXMO8LVVoRxIBVDC1U3lvU6zLQYPLlUk54AJm0uKy8ijiAWd3vaMbk6ZcBD0ONESlzMPDsuDAIwnjIzHnBBUSeAwlfjYRdgdPiLs6-jOiZ7dkY9mVpbiCPPZge1KKKd0lkd486GAjv/w400-h200/HoHoHoRAT2022-Banner-800x400.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Welcome to Santa's Scavenger Hunt, which is part of the 10th annual Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon! This year, the readathon runs from November 18th - 30th; for complete readathon details, plus links to challenges, and the main readathon giveaway, visit <a href="https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Caffeinated Reviewer</a>.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;"> If Kimberly’s main readathon post gets buried, you can always find it in her sidebar by clicking on the cute little kitty graphic like the one above. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m excited to be one of Kimberly’s elves again this year and to be hosting Santa's Scavenger Hunt. Ready to play? Here's what you have to do: Find holiday book titles that fit Santa's clues and then fill out the Rafflecopter below with the titles. If you need any hints, you can find my holiday book list on Goodreads </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5258511-marie?shelf=christmas-or-new-year" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2020/11/www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com" style="color: #006666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNw5GHxb6277ZIQTwmm3NHe43oyc73VqWSAGj2dPeQyDhZVEgmT5JArpHMBjMaqToXR7G7M5odj74EFodqvf_R3KE3oW1vKTY2QKLvbdNjYTG53c9oh9B1IWr-02tGk-2HO-bMURkZzU/s16000/HoHoHo-Readathon-2020-Santas-Scavenger-Hunt-Marie-Landry.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" /></a></span></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">🎄</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">A book with Santa in the title or on the cover</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;">🎄</span>A book with 'mistletoe' in the title</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;">🎄</span>A book with snow on the cover</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;">🎄A holiday book with a place in the title</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;">🎄</span>A holiday book with a pink cover</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;">🎄</span>A book with 'winter' in the title</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;">🎄</span>A book with a Christmas tree on the cover</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;">🎄</span>A holiday book with a number in the title</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-911f97dd-7fff-acd9-e9ae-2e3bc9f6bd80" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-weight: 700;"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">GIVEAWAY</span></b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You <i>must</i> be signed up to the <a href="https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2022/10/ho-ho-ho-readathon-sign-up.html" target="_blank">Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon</a> to be eligible for this giveaway. Enter your book titles in the Rafflecopter below and Santa will randomly select a winner who will receive their choice of either a $10 gift card from Amazon or a $10 gift card from <a href="https://sjwonderlandz.com/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">SJWonderlandz</a> - open internationally.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a class="rcptr" data-raflid="20ce4ac091" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/20ce4ac091/" id="rcwidget_4934xhea" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope you had fun with this challenge! If you'd like to see what I'm reading during the readathon, I'll be sharing updates on </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/marie.andherbooks/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bookstagram</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. If you're sharing updates, don't forget to use the hashtag #HoHoHoRAT.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; white-space: normal;" /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Shameless Self-Promo Time:</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you're looking to add to your TBR for the readathon or into December, I have four Christmas books, all of which are available in Kindle Unlimited and paperback. I also have a novella called Silver Bells & Serendipity in the <a href=" https://books2read.com/wantedmistletoeset" target="_blank">Wanted: Mistletoe</a> anthology, which is available everywhere ebooks are sold.</span></p><div style="font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 17.6px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZwH_QUY-D1b83sP3fVDt5t4fkX54qOk0Ev7y7TCgMUvGp-6nBx6nlp_Hms2ivezuTfrWe5qpCPf_jCiHpZYnQlk5mRUsBuLZQNVvWdY0lPNJL6DxlTcVLrQWEMbAMuizvohalw6P3GY/w640-h640/Ho-Ho-HoReadathonMyBooks.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px;" width="640" /></div></div><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-size: x-large;">🎄</span><a href="https://www.marielandryauthor.com/p/escaping-christmas.html" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Escaping Christmas</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-size: x-large;">🎄</span><a href="https://www.marielandryauthor.com/p/a-very-perry-christmas.html" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">A Very Perry Christmas</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-size: x-large;">🎄</span><a href="https://www.marielandryauthor.com/p/mistletoe-kiss.html" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Mistletoe Kiss</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-size: x-large;">🎄</span><a href="https://www.marielandryauthor.com/p/the-most-wonderful-time-of-year.html" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">The Most Wonderful Time of the Year</a></span></p><div style="font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 17.6px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div style="font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 17.6px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="https://www.instagram.com/marie.andherbooks/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Bookstagram</a> || </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/marielandry.author/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Instagram</a> || <a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/MLandry_Author" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></span></div></span>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-80613985014061746532021-11-18T00:34:00.003-05:002021-11-18T00:34:00.199-05:00Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon 2021: Santa's Scavenger Hunt Mini Challenge<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-gQjWkXQintwRXJsRureKZA4p4wxowyFm4XvqEB8i38EFpnaF5YI-0eOUTJ8e_5CGFneXJxThvRrkoaPonPxsYo6-4GnpfUQd1f9jUYBootaJVsEVUULDxfg66Vudykwfgz19DVSF5A/w640-h320/2021HoHoHoRATTwitter-800x400.png" width="640" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s been six months since I posted here at Ramblings of a Daydreamer (oops?) but it’s time for the annual Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon, which is definitely worth breaking my unintentional hiatus for!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This year the readathon runs from November 18th through November 30th. For complete readathon details, plus links to challenges, and the main readathon giveaway, visit <a href="https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com" target="_blank">Caffeinated Reviewer</a>.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> If Kimberly’s main readathon post gets buried, you can always find it in her sidebar by clicking on the cute little snowman graphic like the one above. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m excited to be one of Kimberly’s elves again this year and to be hosting a challenge called Santa's Scavenger Hunt. Ready to play? Here's what you have to do: Find holiday book titles that fit Santa's clues and then fill out the Rafflecopter below with the titles. If you need any hints, you can find my holiday book list on Goodreads </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5258511-marie?shelf=christmas-or-new-year" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2020/11/www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com" style="color: #006666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNw5GHxb6277ZIQTwmm3NHe43oyc73VqWSAGj2dPeQyDhZVEgmT5JArpHMBjMaqToXR7G7M5odj74EFodqvf_R3KE3oW1vKTY2QKLvbdNjYTG53c9oh9B1IWr-02tGk-2HO-bMURkZzU/s16000/HoHoHo-Readathon-2020-Santas-Scavenger-Hunt-Marie-Landry.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" /></a></span></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">🎄</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span>A book with Santa in the title or on the cover</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;">🎄</span><span><span>A book with 'mistletoe' in the title</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;">🎄</span><span><span>A book with snow on the cover</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;">🎄</span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;"><span>A book with a holiday other than Christmas (Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa, etc)</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;">🎄</span><span><span>A Christmas book with a blue cover</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;">🎄</span><span><span>A book with 'winter' in the title</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;">🎄</span><span><span>A book with a Christmas tree on the cover</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; text-align: left;">🎄</span><span><span>A book with the word 'cozy/cosy' in the title</span></span></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-911f97dd-7fff-acd9-e9ae-2e3bc9f6bd80"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">GIVEAWAY</span></b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Santa's randomly selected winner from the Rafflecopter below will win their choice of a $10 gift card from Amazon US or Canada or from <a href="https://sjwonderlandz.com/" target="_blank">SJWonderlandz</a> - open internationally.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a class="rcptr" data-raflid="20ce4ac089" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/20ce4ac089/" id="rcwidget_b5vxypsf" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope you had fun with this challenge! If you'd like to see what I'm reading during the readathon, I'll be posting updates on </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/sweetmarie_83/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bookstagram</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="https://twitter.com/sweetmarie83" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. If you're sharing updates, don't forget to use the hashtag #HoHoHoRAT. Also, if you’re on Instagram, I’m hosting a challenge through November and December, which you can learn more about <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CViUFtuLQt2/" target="_blank">here</a> - there’s a $20 book prize associated with this challenge and it has to do with holiday-themed books, which you must enjoy if you're participating in this readathon!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A bit of shameless self-promo here: if you're looking to add to your TBR for the readathon or into December, I have four Christmas books, including a brand new steamy small-town romance that releases on Monday, November 22nd.</span></p><div><span><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZwH_QUY-D1b83sP3fVDt5t4fkX54qOk0Ev7y7TCgMUvGp-6nBx6nlp_Hms2ivezuTfrWe5qpCPf_jCiHpZYnQlk5mRUsBuLZQNVvWdY0lPNJL6DxlTcVLrQWEMbAMuizvohalw6P3GY/w640-h640/Ho-Ho-HoReadathonMyBooks.png" width="640" /></div></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-size: x-large; font-weight: 700;">🎄</span><a href="https://www.marielandryauthor.com/p/escaping-christmas.html" target="_blank">Escaping Christmas</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-size: x-large; font-weight: 700;">🎄</span><a href="https://www.marielandryauthor.com/p/a-very-perry-christmas.html" target="_blank">A Very Perry Christmas</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-size: x-large; font-weight: 700;">🎄</span><a href="https://www.marielandryauthor.com/p/mistletoe-kiss.html" target="_blank">Mistletoe Kiss</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-size: x-large; font-weight: 700;">🎄</span><a href="https://www.marielandryauthor.com/p/the-most-wonderful-time-of-year.html" target="_blank">The Most Wonderful Time of the Year</a></span></p><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 17.6px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || <a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><br /></div></span></div></span>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-19721815102983175392021-05-25T00:34:00.001-04:002021-05-25T00:34:00.165-04:00Romantic Comedy Review: Talk Bookish to Me by Kate Bromley<p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQix6HiT391FzEaLP8oBmF6FMYjEEN7tyW8QbVD9Igcrh8P7MVFf5coJssQmnKAYeA3o0xmpJyzKUIXczFBwCttnshE3BSD6ZmefA7nHFrtbBy4C3sXZEqbn0-R9SHie96z9GrVFIQTw/s475/Talk-Bookish-to-Me-Kate-Bromley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQix6HiT391FzEaLP8oBmF6FMYjEEN7tyW8QbVD9Igcrh8P7MVFf5coJssQmnKAYeA3o0xmpJyzKUIXczFBwCttnshE3BSD6ZmefA7nHFrtbBy4C3sXZEqbn0-R9SHie96z9GrVFIQTw/s320/Talk-Bookish-to-Me-Kate-Bromley.jpg" /></a></i></div><i>Talk Bookish to Me</i> by <a href="https://www.katebromley.com/" target="_blank">Kate Bromley</a><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-782a51db-7fff-b5fd-b882-278c92eafe49"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: May 25th, 2021</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: Graydon House</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Romantic Comedy</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heat rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"># of pages: 320</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My rating: 4.5 stars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55004513-talk-bookish-to-me" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy: <a href="https://amzn.to/3ymzNRB" target="_blank">Amazon CA</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/3bC1vA6" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/talk-bookish-to-me-a/9781525806438-item.html?ikwid=talk+bookish+to+me&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=202e7eb977116b7eff957f63711610ed " target="_blank">Indigo</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;">Warning: This review contains marked spoilers</span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kara Sullivan’s life is full of love—albeit fictional. As a bestselling romance novelist and influential bookstagrammer, she’s fine with getting her happily-ever-after fix between the covers of a book.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But right now? Not only is Kara’s best friend getting married next week—which means big wedding stress—but the deadline for her next novel is looming, and she hasn’t written a single word. The last thing she needs is for her infuriating first love, Ryan Thompson, to suddenly appear in the wedding party. But Ryan’s unexpected arrival sparks a creative awakening in Kara that inspires the steamy historical romance she desperately needs to deliver.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With her wedding duties intensifying, her deadline getting closer by the second and her bills not paying themselves, Kara knows there’s only one way for her to finish her book and to give her characters the ever-after they deserve. But can she embrace the unlikely, ruggedly handsome muse—who pushes every one of her buttons—to save the wedding, her career and, just maybe, write her own happy ending?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px;" /></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Talk Bookish to Me </i>is basically a love letter to the romance genre. Our heroine, Kara, is a romance author, a fierce defender of the genre, and a bookstagrammer (so she’s <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sweetmarie_83/" target="_blank">basically me</a>). She’s spent months unable to write her next book and, with her deadline looming, is getting desperate. When she’s reunited with her first love - the guy who broke her heart ten years ago, and who she still harbours a ton of resentment toward - she’s both irritated and intrigued to discover his presence has unblocked her creative flow.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book was so charming. It had me laughing within the first few pages, and I connected easily to Kara. I loved the combination of second chance and enemies-to-lovers; Kara and Ryan clearly had unresolved feelings for each other and despite the initial anger they felt toward each other for all that had happened, they couldn’t deny their lingering feelings or the chemistry between them. I also really enjoyed the friendship dynamics between Kara and her two best friends and how supportive they were.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;">Now, here’s where we get into spoiler territory:</span> Cheating is usually a deal-breaker for me. If I’d known that aspect of the plot going in, I’m not sure I would have read this book, which would have been a shame because I genuinely enjoyed it. The way it all happened made me sad, angry, and disappointed in Ryan. I feel so torn because what he did was wrong and inexcusable, but...I appreciated how it all worked out? People make mistakes and while this was a colossal one, he and Kara were clearly in love and were meant for each other. I do wish there had been some other conflict because it feels icky seeming like I’m ‘okay’ with the cheating aspect. I’m <i>not</i> okay with it, but Ryan knew what he did was wrong and was willing to face the consequences. People aren’t perfect and we can’t expect fictional characters to be either. As an author herself and a champion of romance, Kara knew that better than anyone, and I feel like her decision to forgive Ryan was an informed one. She loved him enough to forgive him and forge ahead with a relationship. As readers, our viewpoint is subjective and we bring our own personal biases and histories, so I completely understand how that part of the book will be a hard no for some people. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 17.3333px; white-space: pre-wrap;">// End spoilers</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think <i>Talk Bookish to Me</i> will be a hit with many romance readers. It definitely was with me! I’ll look forward to more books from Kate Bromley.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmaAQFYp5_nacCIAlQHGJFS3Wc-p_Puo-Hn4N_Lt-WAMsH-eovVfu1fgH6sxJjV3zWV_SmYARHiR-SApCJwJQZLvDHxy4Cs5OLNmI_0RmuoLe8t9mCCoNqNBRUYsI8eMRUttlOu_hQGs/s16000/Talk-Bookish-to-Me-Kate-Bromley-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> Talk Bookish to Me?</i></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div><div><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></b></div></div></div><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><br /></span><div><br /></div></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-78788875427765291042021-05-18T00:34:00.001-04:002021-05-18T00:34:00.167-04:00Romantic Comedy Review: Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall<p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8sxUrlBGGSfUuDygzAWn58sAO9yldj-BBxzeRHpwfPRS2Cbh0W6fNWY0etP7sWqsB-nQqJL_1GYwommXZdAa31b8YXZGCyBOtKkvvZLRnKP_ERSkjl7guMHyJXV4-vM_NA47f_iGDp4/s475/Rosaline-Palmer-Takes-the-Cake-Alexis-Hall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8sxUrlBGGSfUuDygzAWn58sAO9yldj-BBxzeRHpwfPRS2Cbh0W6fNWY0etP7sWqsB-nQqJL_1GYwommXZdAa31b8YXZGCyBOtKkvvZLRnKP_ERSkjl7guMHyJXV4-vM_NA47f_iGDp4/s320/Rosaline-Palmer-Takes-the-Cake-Alexis-Hall.jpg" /></a></i></div><i>Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake (Winner Bakes All #1)</i> by <a href="https://quicunquevult.com/" target="_blank">Alexis Hall</a><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-7f9b7dea-7fff-3fe4-2b29-7ca00e7fed22"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: May 18th, 2021</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: Forever</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Romantic Comedy/LGBTQ+</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heat rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"># of pages: 448 </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My rating: 3.5 stars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55277878-rosaline-palmer-takes-the-cake" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy: <a href="https://amzn.to/3eeyFGq" target="_blank">Amazon Canada</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/3tv6xFy" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/rosaline-palmer-takes-the-cake/9781538703328-item.html?ikwid=rosaline+palmer+takes+the+cae&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=0d9025e3f8f7a1c805a16f21513d4c38 " target="_blank">Indigo</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #e06666;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #e06666;">Warning: This review contains mild spoilers</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Following the recipe is the key to a successful bake. Rosaline Palmer has always lived by those rules—well, except for when she dropped out of college to raise her daughter, Amelie. Now, with a paycheck as useful as greaseproof paper and a house crumbling faster than biscuits in tea, she’s teetering on the edge of financial disaster. But where there’s a whisk there’s a way...and Rosaline has just landed a spot on the nation’s most beloved baking show.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Winning the prize money would give her daughter the life she deserves—and Rosaline is determined to stick to the instructions. However, more than collapsing trifles stand between Rosaline and sweet, sweet victory. Suave, well-educated, and parent-approved Alain Pope knows all the right moves to sweep her off her feet, but it’s shy electrician Harry Dobson who makes Rosaline question her long-held beliefs—about herself, her family, and her desires.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rosaline fears falling for Harry is a guaranteed recipe for disaster. Yet as the competition—and the ovens—heat up, Rosaline starts to realize the most delicious bakes come from the heart.</span></p><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /></div><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s no secret Alexis Hall’s <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3upltFw" target="_blank">Boyfriend Material</a></i> was one of my <a href="http://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2021/01/top-10-favourite-romances-2020.html" target="_blank">top favourite books of 2020</a>. Because of that, <i>Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake</i> was one of my most anticipated books of 2021, and I was extra excited that one of my favourite publishers, Forever, was publishing it. After reading this book, I have so many thoughts and feelings. So many. I will say it started and ended great - I was laughing within the first few pages and I was cheering for Rosaline in the end - but the whole rest of it was a bit of a roller coaster for me.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My main issue with this book was how preachy it felt. Within the first 20%, there were three instances where Rosaline was super preachy, and it continued on throughout the book. I’m here for inclusivity and calling out injustices and wrong assumptions, but the fact so many scenes turned into ‘teachable moments’ where Rosaline climbed up on her soapbox and told people they were wrong and why, it got to be a bit much. All of that was paired with the fact it seemed like nobody in the entire book had ever known someone who’d had a baby at 19 and made a huge deal over the fact Rosaline did. Maybe it’s because I know so many people who had babies in their late teens and early twenties so it’s not a big deal to me, but it was a massive deal to literally everyone in the entire book when they found out. Plus it really irked me that someone Rosaline barely knew - a love interest, no less - asked her why she hadn’t had an abortion. Who asks that of someone they just met?!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I got to a point where I rolled my eyes when a conversation was heading a certain way or someone said something even remotely offensive because I knew Rosaline would dust off the ol’ soapbox and we’d get another lesson. On the one hand, I appreciate that these things were included in an overall lighthearted, fun book, but I think a sprinkling would have worked better than having it dumped in repeatedly. The whole preachy aspect was made even..funnier? Stranger?...by the fact Rosaline herself was incredibly judgemental and often made snap judgments about people the moment they opened their mouths.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m also not 100% sure how I feel about the romance(s); Alain quickly revealed himself to be a jerk, yet Rosaline seemed determined to make things work with him because he was everything she thought she should want. I kept wondering at what point the red flags from Alain would smack her on the head and knock some sense into her. Harry was sweet, swoony, and very different from the typical love interest, which I loved. I enjoyed his interactions with Rosaline, but I would have loved to see more of the focus on him and not the guy who turned out to be a completely irredeemable scumbag. I’m not a huge fan of love triangles to begin with and this one fell flat for me because of how obviously wrong one of the guys was for her, plus a general lack of chemistry.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Okay, now that all that’s off my chest, I’ll move into the positive. As with <i>Boyfriend Material</i>, this book had me giggling so much. I love Hall’s wit and humour; the way he writes inner dialogue and banter is genius. Despite my issues with Rosaline’s preachiness, I did like her and connect with her, and I genuinely ended up rooting for her and wanting her to succeed. She reminded me of Lorelai Gilmore from <i>Gilmore Girls</i> in a way; despite having rich parents who put a lot of pressure on her, she wanted to forge her own path, raise her daughter on her terms, and find a sustainable (and enjoyable) way to support herself. I enjoyed watching her figure out what mattered to her, and felt like her stumbles along the way were realistic. Even when the things she did made me shake my head or roll my eyes, I still appreciated that more than a perfect, unrealistic character. And even though she came across as preachy, I appreciated how she learned to stand up for herself. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall, despite my issues with <i>Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake</i>, I did enjoy it. I was fully invested in Rosaline’s story and felt like she was a friend I was cheering on from the sidelines. This is apparently the first of three books in the Winner Bakes All series, and I’ll be curious to see what Hall has in store for us next.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilCkfD7EZMxq0BjA92BkxUeLPrkK_Yc1C0eVz7rZWxqBOHiDK67peVki_vZSbyUq_kKyjkAs3mmi0xS5W0oTYoKKbN8_YRivBaCle73d-LD3y_XvqrdyISBM9fM5BD8TWR1iYjVdhjbBY/s16000/Rosaline-Palmer-Takes-the-Cake-Alexis-Hall-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read my review of </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="http://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2020/06/boyfriend-material-alexis-hall.html " target="_blank">Boyfriend Material</a></i> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVw6HuB0J_H5gB7tLWKsKGORTWAQYrS6D2k31R1tBDo9IAu1ldhA47KN-qT3kqUewjXG84ayiacZAcY_U2xnBVD6MtsnHWbNhR3o86dV29Dbh5gmqr0w4EZRS_zcdlvR5zWsxJSFoBPM/w200-h200/Boyfriend-Material-Alexis-Hall-Marie-Landry.png" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; padding: 5px; white-space: normal;" width="200" /></span></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake?</i> Have you ever thought about trying out for a cooking show or any other reality show?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; white-space: normal;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div><div><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></b></div></div></span></div></span></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-86810388979500458672021-05-13T00:34:00.002-04:002021-05-13T00:34:00.178-04:00Young Adult Review: Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson<p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ixEsdNEsqJK3Kwuu2mSd4i6mhGLBkmQyJYjcAuvZnV8-OkL0ZwstRWoX-KReCBgtALR2g2eaK0jUQtygsihF3WZX_T0MPVpFpyJTgL4UdZdedcMTDK7VZMSD3U-ALC6uGjDc5Hw-3gY/s2048/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Morgan-Matson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1394" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ixEsdNEsqJK3Kwuu2mSd4i6mhGLBkmQyJYjcAuvZnV8-OkL0ZwstRWoX-KReCBgtALR2g2eaK0jUQtygsihF3WZX_T0MPVpFpyJTgL4UdZdedcMTDK7VZMSD3U-ALC6uGjDc5Hw-3gY/s320/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Morgan-Matson.jpg" /></a></i></div><i>Take Me Home Tonight </i>by <a href="https://www.morganmatson.com/" target="_blank">Morgan Matson</a><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-169d843c-7fff-63ea-3545-36642a4a7f73"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: May 4th, 2021</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Contemporary Young Adult</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"># of pages: 416</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My rating: 4 stars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55710525-take-me-home-tonight" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy: <a href="https://amzn.to/2PIi8lQ" target="_blank">Amazon Canada</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/3ebcUIK" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/take-me-home-tonight/9781481498982-item.html?ikwid=morgan+matson&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=5588064b99cdcb91b6153ae21c924d22" target="_blank">Indigo</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two girls. One night. Zero phones.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kat and Stevie—best friends, theater kids, polar opposites—have snuck away from the suburbs to spend a night in New York City. They have it all planned out. They’ll see a play, eat at the city’s hottest restaurant, and have the best. Night. Ever. What could go wrong?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well. Kind of a lot?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They’re barely off the train before they’re dealing with destroyed phones, family drama, and unexpected Pomeranians. Over the next few hours, they’ll have to grapple with old flames, terrible theater, and unhelpful cab drivers. But there are also cute boys to kiss, parties to crash, dry cleaning to deliver (don’t ask), and the world’s best museum to explore.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Over the course of a wild night in the city that never sleeps, both Kat and Stevie will get a wake-up call about their friendship, their choices…and finally discover what they really want for their future.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That is, assuming they can make it to Grand Central before the clock strikes midnight.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px;" /></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve been a fan of Morgan Matson’s books since I fell in love with <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3hbBoU2" target="_blank">Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour</a></i> ten years ago. When you pick up one of her books, you know you’re going to get well-developed characters, realistic portrayals of friendships, lots of laughs, likely a few tears, and a sweet and swoony romance. <i>Take Me Home Tonight</i> had all those things, plus a fun premise and a vivid setting.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Best friends Kat and Stevie are complete opposites, but they love each other unconditionally and would do anything for each other. So when Stevie’s dad bails on her 18th birthday dinner in New York City, Kat suggests they go into the city anyway for a night of fun. Their plan is foolproof, as far as Kat’s concerned...but they weren’t counting on one disaster and mishap after another starting before they even arrived in the city. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book was so much fun. It started out a little slow and took me a while to warm up to Kat and Stevie, but once I did I was completely invested in their story and was cheering them on. They were well-developed and realistic, and I could relate to each of them in different ways. I was amazed and impressed with how well Matson managed to pull off so much believable character development and growth in the span of the one-night setting. There were also a lot of great side characters in this book (Brad the dog and Cary-with-six-jobs were my favourites), and I loved how New York City really came alive and felt like a character itself.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While I know I’m not the intended target audience for this book - I’m more than twice Kat and Stevie’s age - I also know many adults will read this book and think about how the girls’ phoneless adventure was how we lived every day growing up. It was amusing while also being realistic; we’re all so attached to and dependent on our phones these days for entertainment, mindless scrolling, posting endless updates, keeping in touch with everyone we know, taking pictures, etc. If Stevie and Kat had had their phones, their night would have ended up a lot different, so I loved that aspect of the story and how it forced them to be resourceful and also live in the moment.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m not sure if I can call this an ‘issue’, but my only *thing* with this book was how long it was. I’ve come to expect that from Matson’s books and you always inevitably get to a part where it doesn’t actually feel all that long, but 400+ pages for a contemporary set in the span of one night is <i>a lot</i>. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 17.3333px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>Mild spoiler alert</u>:</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I had mixed feelings about the side story with Teri; it was entertaining, but it was also completely unnecessary and made a really long book even longer. And while the main storyline with Kat and Stevie was wild, it was mostly believable, whereas Teri’s storyline was just so out there.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Take Me Home Tonight</i> was a highly entertaining read. I felt like I was right there with Kat and Stevie in NYC. I felt for both of them and was rooting for them. I laughed at their mishaps and felt the pangs at the painful lessons they learned. After ten years, Morgan Matson continues to be a favourite author, and I couldn’t be happier.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVb2d8DzGowhduv3o-XYB4WB5nVHoU9jpVQYPfQnhUlnQ5mtH1iuwjCsMwAG2TNoI7lcVbrxnDxTknJxiRxakA7NdV2Oi0phSU5TBCw_jsSkmAGyeN-y6h-x4JCsNr8TmYDvRVGcyK2w/s16000/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Morgan-Matson-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> Take Me Home Tonight?</i> Who are some of your auto-buy authors?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div><div><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></b></div></div></span></div></span></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-84558333122242060252021-05-11T00:34:00.002-04:002021-05-11T00:34:00.188-04:00Romantic Comedy Review: Italy Ever After by Leonie Mack<p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Jexiw8gvYzmn-yDwxtQmtbUMbMj7GACvIyFCDB2ZqOOYJzgaaniaGmCBEhV8h-raZ-zRfMsE_X-Veo0aOwaq5ZW_pAnSFHWfCvrTEuUWn4pO0LqTcxLjsKkYBTye9t0DqRJ_RIaF_F4/s383/Italy-Ever-After-Leonie-Mack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Jexiw8gvYzmn-yDwxtQmtbUMbMj7GACvIyFCDB2ZqOOYJzgaaniaGmCBEhV8h-raZ-zRfMsE_X-Veo0aOwaq5ZW_pAnSFHWfCvrTEuUWn4pO0LqTcxLjsKkYBTye9t0DqRJ_RIaF_F4/s320/Italy-Ever-After-Leonie-Mack.jpg" /></a></i></div><i>Italy Ever After</i> by <a href="https://leoniemack.com/" target="_blank">Leonie Mack</a><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-1c527a4a-7fff-57d4-8c52-c8a3b315f6cb"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: May 11th, 2021</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: Boldwood Books</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Romantic Comedy</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My rating: 4.5 stars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57092642-italy-ever-after" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy: <a href="https://amzn.to/3unGErM" target="_blank">Amazon Canada</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/3tuX1S9" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/italy-ever-after" target="_blank">Kobo</a></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TV journalist Lou feels battered and bruised after her divorce from Phil, the father of her daughter Edie. Her confidence and sense of fun have steadily been drained away, and she isn’t sure who she is any more.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the opportunity arises to accompany Edie on a music camp in Italy for a month in the summer, Lou jumps at the chance for new adventures, new horizons and new friends. The hazy warmth of the summer sun, shining brightly over the stunning Lake Garda, slowly brings Lou back to life.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nick Romano, Edie’s music teacher, loves being home in Italy, but coaching his students for their concert in Milan, is bringing back difficult memories. His blossoming friendship with Lou is the perfect distraction, although a summer fling would be easier to conduct without the scrutiny of his mother Greta, not to mention the interference of his extended Italian family.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the summer passes, full of sunshine and breath-taking scenery, gelato and delicious feasts, Lou and Nick get ever closer. But as the time for farewell creeps up on them, will they be able to say goodbye and leave their memories behind in the Italian sun, or can a summer romance last a lifetime?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px;" /></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t often manage to read ARCs months in advance, but as soon as I was granted access to <i>Italy Ever After</i> on Netgalley in February, I dove right in. After fourteen months of isolation due to the pandemic - plus a long, cold winter - I’ve been dreaming of sunshine and beautiful far-off places. <i>Italy Ever After</i> was the exact vicarious holiday I needed to lift my spirits and bring me hope for better days.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lou is getting divorced after twelve years of marriage to a man who made her feel talentless and ordinary. She’s coasting by in her career and has poured all her focus and love into her eleven-year-old daughter Edie, who’s a violin prodigy. When she gets the opportunity to accompany Edie to a music camp in Italy over the summer, she jumps at the chance and sees it as the perfect opportunity to explore different hobbies and find something that makes her extraordinary. It doesn’t hurt that Edie’s super-hot Italian music teacher will be at the camp too.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved Lou and found her so real and relatable. She barely knew who she was anymore outside of being a wife and mother, so her idea of seeking a talent was really her way of seeking validation and fulfillment after her husband made her feel so small for so long. I loved watching her come into her own, learn a lot about herself - often with help from others - and learn to stand up for herself, speak up, and go after what she wanted. She and Nick were both living in fear, embodying past mistakes, and were unable to move forward. They had great chemistry and banter and they really saw each other - and weren’t afraid to tell the other what they saw, good or bad. They balanced each other perfectly, and I loved watching them grow closer. I also really enjoyed Lou’s relationship with Edie, and how much Nick cared about her too.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book is a must-read this spring and summer for romance fans. Prepare to be whisked away on a virtual trip to sunny Italy and fall in love with the setting and characters.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLIi-2TOLb1V4_ibeuv6ubQHk_wvrHUNPVou8d0_OFV-fymOzZIzaZV5YOy9ksqZO_nlGP-bvAw0eUGFRF-WHsG230Btq-qZPDOP64wDbmgm3PQHInnQJZjjcAZS3_oL_eQ3mkRVfLPG0/s16000/Italy-Ever-After-Leonie-Mack-Marie-Landry2.png" /></div><br /><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> Italy Ever After?</i> If you could hop on a plane and take a trip anywhere right now, where would it be?</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: start;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-27062684928863589372021-05-05T12:04:00.002-04:002021-05-05T12:04:57.981-04:00Romance Review: The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday by Kiley Dunbar<p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtURa3bO-dKwBL5zbXc400P7QH0eAIruggvDm3h5VC9ocv4gEa_8L9YJmDZVGCc3qI1g5-lg1QaPAhd_GZj4SRoCeLvEqOLgB86xr66pm7SQTYOo2T7I5VHfhGVCnXyluAmXW-aZs3Tw/s764/The-Borrow-a-Bookshop-Holiday-Kiley-Dunbar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtURa3bO-dKwBL5zbXc400P7QH0eAIruggvDm3h5VC9ocv4gEa_8L9YJmDZVGCc3qI1g5-lg1QaPAhd_GZj4SRoCeLvEqOLgB86xr66pm7SQTYOo2T7I5VHfhGVCnXyluAmXW-aZs3Tw/s320/The-Borrow-a-Bookshop-Holiday-Kiley-Dunbar.jpg" /></a></i></div><i>The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday</i> by <a href="http://www.kileydunbar.co.uk/" target="_blank">Kiley Dunbar</a><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-3c3b731a-7fff-b40c-9728-dab6c1b49ff6"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: May 5th, 2021</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: Hera</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Contemporary Romance</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"># of pages: 227</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My rating: 4 stars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57440811-the-borrow-a-bookshop-holiday" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy: <a href="https://amzn.to/2R0Zztm" target="_blank">Amazon Canada</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/3aFFkIR" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-borrow-a-bookshop-holiday/9781912973477-item.html?ikwid=kiley+dunbar&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=2#algoliaQueryId=9c7bb479e394c725042016ac9e1c92d0" target="_blank">Kobo</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Borrow-a-Bookshop Bookshop Café invites literature lovers to run their very own bookshop…for a fortnight. Spend your days talking books with customers in your own charming bookshop and serving up delicious cream teas in the cosy café. Bookworms, what are you waiting for? Your holiday is going to be LIT(erary). Apply to: The Borrow-a-Bookshop Bookshop Café, Down-a-long, Clove Lore, Devon.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jude Crawley should be on top of the world. She’s just graduated as a mature student, and can finally go public about her relationship with Philosophy professor, Mack. Until she sees Mack kissing another girl, and her dreams crumble. And worse, their dream holiday–running a tiny bookshop in the harbour village of Clove Lore for two weeks–is non-refundable.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Throwing caution to the wind, Jude heads down to Devon, eager to immerse herself in literature and heal her broken heart. But there’s one problem: six-foot-tall, brooding (but gorgeous) Elliot, who’s also reserved the bookshop holiday for two weeks…</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Jude and Elliot put their differences aside to run the bookshop, it seems that Jude might be falling in love with more than just words. Until she discovers what Elliot is running from–and why he’s hiding out in Clove Lore.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can Jude find her own happy ending in a tiny, tumbledown bookshop? Or is she about to find out that her bookish holiday might have an unexpected twist in the tale…</span></p><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /></div><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday </i>was the third book I've read by Kiley Dunbar. By now I know to expect humour, romance, a beautiful setting, and a temporary escape from reality when I read one of Kiley's books. Escape from reality is a theme in her books: the heroine needs to get away from something (or someone) or needs a break from life weighing her down, and she finds herself - along with love and friendship - in the place she’s escaped to, all while realizing it's not always easy - or sometimes even possible - to outrun your problems. I love books like that and Kiley does them so well.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In <i>The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday</i>, our heroine, Jude, is in her late twenties and has just graduated from college. She’s also just found out her sexy professor boyfriend is a cheating cad. Added to that is the fact the people who have always needed her - the reasons she’s basically put her life on hold until now - no longer need her in the same way. She doesn’t have a job or a purpose, so when her spot on the waitlist for the Borrow-a-Bookshop bookstore and cafe opens up, she takes it as her sign to get away for two weeks and get her head on straight.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think it’s safe to say many lifelong book lovers have had the dream of running their own bookshop. I know I certainly have, so I loved the concept of this book. Add in the quaint village, the quirky townspeople, and the mysterious man who turns up to help Jude, and you have a recipe for a sweet, emotional story. I connected with Jude easily and felt the heft of responsibility and then uncertainty that weighed on her. She’d never had a chance to live life for herself, and I enjoyed watching her strike out on her own and learn new things about herself.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With travel still out for many of us this summer, <i>The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday </i>makes for a wonderful virtual vacation. </span></p><br /></span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrExuMxduV9LLOgjkdauzmjXUS6zQPsxEQc111f2j9TpF-e0wyYkhBR93P41hiQN4bEeIe0AaPcoYrQc-2_-SMJERqWeKBQBdhsEyKTtFPkmQhnZC1oUtuS0K7Rr8Ou2ymFrSM7O4zr88/s16000/Borrow-a-Bookshop-Holiday-Kiley-Dunbar-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><span><br /></span></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday?</i> Have you ever dreamed of owning and/or working in a bookshop? Have you ever actually worked in one?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div><div><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></b></div></div></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-69030420025547082852021-05-04T16:07:00.002-04:002021-05-04T16:07:25.666-04:00Rom-Com Review: The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall<p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQFZXLT3NPO1bF0u4yld66uYTEoSkdOoijzlgzDlGS2Hi1HIWAEdtmI7-9i9aUH_Qy5plq36c4fHN9aCqjUVc0R-4MdAK4Z-hCars2jI-Zy2IZIT0DiQXnvGwrTBjUaEuEnC-XckEgv0/s1000/The-Secret-Bridesmaid-Katy-Birchall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="652" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQFZXLT3NPO1bF0u4yld66uYTEoSkdOoijzlgzDlGS2Hi1HIWAEdtmI7-9i9aUH_Qy5plq36c4fHN9aCqjUVc0R-4MdAK4Z-hCars2jI-Zy2IZIT0DiQXnvGwrTBjUaEuEnC-XckEgv0/s320/The-Secret-Bridesmaid-Katy-Birchall.jpg" /></a></i></div><i>The Secret Bridesmaid</i> by <a href="https://www.katybirchallauthor.com/" target="_blank">Katy Birchall</a><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-f7e8608f-7fff-725a-41f3-e3fa39776c7e"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: May 4th, 2021</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: St Martin’s Griffin</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Romantic Comedy</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heat rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"># of pages: 400</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My rating: 4.5 stars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54860500-the-secret-bridesmaid" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy: <a href="https://amzn.to/3gT89p3" target="_blank">Amazon Canada</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/3t8x2Q9" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-secret-bridesmaid-a-novel/9781250795793-item.html?ikwid=the+secret+bridesmaid&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=62d0a27d1124fdf96dd9c9b61c9b2d50" target="_blank">Indigo</a></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie Breeze is a brilliant bridesmaid. So brilliant, in fact, that she’s made it her full-time job.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a professional bridesmaid, Sophie is hired by London brides to be their right-hand woman, posing as a friend but working behind the scenes to help plan the perfect wedding and ensure their big day goes off without a hitch. When she’s hired by Lady Victoria Swann–a former model and “It Girl" of 1970’s London; now the Marchioness of Meade–for the society wedding of the year, it should be a chance for Sophie to prove just how talented she is.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course, it’s not ideal that the bride, Lady Victoria’s daughter, Cordelia, is an absolute diva and determined to make Sophie’s life a nightmare. It’s also a bit inconvenient that Sophie finds herself drawn to Cordelia’s posh older brother, who is absolutely off limits. But when a rival society wedding is announced for the very same day, things start to get…well, complicated.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can Sophie pull off the biggest challenge of her career–execute a high-profile gala for four hundred and fifty guests in record time, win over a reluctant bride, and catch the eye of handsome Lord Swann–all while keeping her true identity a secret, and her dignity intact?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px;" /></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie Breeze is a professional bridesmaid. She’s there for a bride leading up to and during her big day for whatever she needs, big or small. And when she’s tasked with being a bridesmaid to Lady Cordelia Swann, a seemingly spoiled, ill-tempered, snobby aristocrat--who Sophie admired in her teen years, no less--she’s determined not to let Cordelia get the best of her. Not only is she faced with outrageous demands from Cordelia, but she also has other brides to attend to (many with their own strange requests), deal with other people’s expectations and assumptions about her (in particular her jerk of an ex), and manage her growing feelings for Cordelia’s sweet and charming brother, Tom.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Secret Bridesmaid </i>was hilarious. I smiled and giggled my way through this book, sometimes even laughing until I had tears in my eyes. I shed some actual, emotional tears too because there were some genuinely heartwarming and beautiful moments. The concept of this book was so much fun and it was executed so well. I loved watching the progression of Sophie and Cordelia’s relationship, and I enjoyed Sophie’s relationship with her cousin/best friend, Cara. It was also fun getting to see some of the things Sophie did for other bridesmaids, and the correspondences between chapters had me laughing myself silly. I do wish there’d been a bit more focus on the romance - it <i>is</i> a romantic comedy, after all - but the book was just so good, I can’t even really complain that it took a bit of a backseat.</span></p><i><br /></i><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Secret Bridesmaid</i> is highly entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny, and touching. It was an absolute delight to read from beginning to end, and is without question one of my favourite books of 2021 so far. I’d love to see it turned into a movie or even a mini-series.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWvdpjnItQ5u6VwaleTpszvoiJ1nZ1WggZqcDC3OHgGbQUPjBrbOzsaLkQ-f2lcVpS0EJG5n_AFjAlRImsVChTKCG2E3PECWdm_bka61E6sUiXdNGjJ2X249guhUt-0PQbeTz8ZKLxMak/s16000/The-Secret-Bridesmaid-Katy-Birchall-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> The Secret Bridesmaid?</i> Have you ever been part of a wedding party?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><br /></span></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-29677315670054926212021-04-27T00:34:00.000-04:002021-04-27T00:34:00.192-04:00Canadian Historical Fiction Review: Letters Across the Sea by Genevieve Graham<p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jvSlvb56WcC_GRcfLcNAxV8WaBrYICropiNgtD1MMT_Ea_bNY4CFd117xwLtLzn3SJEML5LawAUlDSf3aC7MnzbJzL6M6brLPxTmm-NS8AAEbDK4114jL8jc1oozAMNc7BbWwozGVzo/s900/Letters-Across-the-Sea-Genevieve-Graham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="598" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jvSlvb56WcC_GRcfLcNAxV8WaBrYICropiNgtD1MMT_Ea_bNY4CFd117xwLtLzn3SJEML5LawAUlDSf3aC7MnzbJzL6M6brLPxTmm-NS8AAEbDK4114jL8jc1oozAMNc7BbWwozGVzo/s320/Letters-Across-the-Sea-Genevieve-Graham.jpg" /></a></i></div><i>Letters Across the Sea</i> by <a href="https://genevievegraham.com/" target="_blank">Genevieve Graham</a><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-cee14447-7fff-8035-4fcf-88988492cc79"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: April 27th, 2021</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: Simon & Schuster</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Historical Fiction/Canadian Fiction/WWII Fiction</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"># of pages: 384</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My rating: 5 stars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href=" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54303960-letters-across-the-sea" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy: <a href="https://amzn.to/2Qd35Rw" target="_blank">Amazon Canada</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/3swiedL" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/letters-across-the-sea/9781982156633-item.html?ikwid=letters+across+the+sea&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=dfc2c52ea6bf3c5b2d4e07460fef92e8" target="_blank">Indigo</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>1933</i></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At eighteen years old, Molly Ryan dreams of becoming a journalist, but instead she spends her days working any job she can to help her family through the Depression crippling her city. The one bright spot in her life is watching baseball with her best friend, Hannah Dreyfus, and sneaking glances at Hannah’s handsome older brother, Max.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But as the summer unfolds, more and more of Hitler’s hateful ideas cross the sea and “Swastika Clubs” and “No Jews Allowed” signs spring up around Toronto, a city already simmering with mass unemployment, protests, and unrest. When tensions between the Irish and Jewish communities erupt in a riot one smouldering day in August, Molly and Max are caught in the middle, with devastating consequences for both their families.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>1939</i></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Six years later, the Depression has eased and Molly is a reporter at her local paper. But a new war is on the horizon, putting everyone she cares about most in peril. As letters trickle in from overseas, Molly is forced to confront what happened all those years ago, but is it too late to make things right?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px;" /></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: Genevieve Graham is single-handedly bringing little-known aspects of Canadian history to light - and to life - through her thought-provoking, emotional, heartbreaking, beautiful books. After reading five of Graham’s books, I think it’s safe to say I’ve learned more about Canadian history from her than I ever did in school.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Letters Across the Sea</i> illuminates yet another aspect of Canadian history I knew nothing about. Starting in Toronto, Ontario in the early 1930s, the Great Depression permeates every aspect of daily life. Jobs are hard to come by, people are working hard for little money, and families are going hungry. Add to that the hatred and antisemitism making their way around the globe, in large part thanks to Hitler and the rise of the Nazis, and tensions are running high across the city. People who were once friends and neighbours now have an <i>‘us versus them’</i> mentality, and there’s a rise in white supremacist and anti-Jewish hate groups. All of this culminates in the Christie Pits Riot, which tears apart families and friends, and changes life as Molly Ryan and Max Dreyfus know it. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Told in alternating points of view between Molly and Max, we see things through the eyes of a young Protestant woman and her Jewish neighbour and lifelong friend, who’s also the older brother of her best friend. We see the hatred, fear, pain, and confusion experienced from both perspectives, along with the friendship and longing between the two. Nothing is ever the same for Molly and Max - or their families - after the riot.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Time passes and life moves on. The Depression continues, although things slowly improve. When war is declared, Max enlists, along with Molly’s brothers and many of their mutual friends. This leads into another little-known aspect of Canadian history: the Battle of Hong Kong in 1941, and Canadians being held in Japanese POW camps for years under horrendous conditions.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like Graham’s other books, <i>Letters Across the Sea </i>wasn’t an easy read. It was painful - gut wrenching at times - but it was an incredible story about enduring love, bravery, tenacity, and hope. It was difficult reading about the horrible things people are capable of, and that pain was made sharper by the contrasts to today’s racial and religious tensions and injustices. It was a painful reminder that in many ways, things haven’t changed that much in the last 80-90 years. People were gathering for protests and marches back then the way they are now, and it’s easy to believe something like the Christie Pits Riot could happen today. Books like this are a reminder that we need to do better and there’s still a lot of work to do, despite the tireless work of many.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Graham’s wonderful, realistic characters and skillfully woven plot ensured<i> Letters Across the Sea</i> was yet another unforgettable read.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokl8czoiTiHy_W40zlNtzu_uhoTWB-SQAKrBBWa4Q0TJVXijG2KlY03pSgWsmNOyt4zuy59VuOepiGCwGafuV88zKOFtp29bAdh7yDhzJQRgZYmuvjuICCatmgba5HbEfXEtrG-_Yvko/s16000/Letters-Across-the-Sea-Genevieve-Graham-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><br /><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> Letters Across the Sea</i> or any of Genevieve Graham's other books?<i> </i>Do you enjoy books about lesser-known aspects of history?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><br /></span></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-20724215218455115262021-04-20T00:34:00.000-04:002021-04-20T00:34:00.182-04:00Romance Review: Maggie Finds Her Muse by Dee Ernst<p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BmrxIlYCj2zowPWH8EkeWqWpJc2XziD1dv6c0AMSqkPnYDRuZuUzPrlaxPclb-itZY0-pIdzmYYU1x7ZsEcS8ZZkwHEuS91ucnvuyNVgQRhyphenhyphennyKbnd2EUILlcmDmJLbhWxzMUALTGhU/s2048/Maggie-Finds-Her-Muse-Dee-Ernst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1335" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BmrxIlYCj2zowPWH8EkeWqWpJc2XziD1dv6c0AMSqkPnYDRuZuUzPrlaxPclb-itZY0-pIdzmYYU1x7ZsEcS8ZZkwHEuS91ucnvuyNVgQRhyphenhyphennyKbnd2EUILlcmDmJLbhWxzMUALTGhU/s320/Maggie-Finds-Her-Muse-Dee-Ernst.jpg" /></a></i></div><i>Maggie Finds Her Muse</i> by <a href="https://www.deeernst.com/" target="_blank">Dee Ernst</a><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-09261cdf-7fff-e98a-276b-cae2dc6348a7"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: April 20th, 2021</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: St Martin’s Griffin</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Contemporary Romance</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heat rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"># of pages: 304</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My rating: 4 stars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53137970-maggie-finds-her-muse" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy: <a href="https://amzn.to/3tyc2mP" target="_blank">Amazon Canada</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/2Q4ytSj" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/maggie-finds-her-muse-a/9781250768339-item.html?ikwid=maggie+finds+her+muse&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=b538bdd56d2e3d95a950f0f7581ffb14" target="_blank">Indigo</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All Maggie Bliss needs to do is write. Forty-eight years old and newly single (again!), she ventures to Paris in a last-ditch effort to finish her manuscript. With a marvelous apartment at her fingertips and an elegant housekeeper to meet her every need, a finished book—and her dream of finally taking her career over the top—is surely within her grasp. After all, how could she find anything except inspiration in Paris, with its sophistication, food, and romance in the air?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the clock is running out, and between her charming ex-husband arriving in France for vacation and a handsome Frenchman appearing one morning in her bathtub, Maggie’s previously undisturbed peace goes by the wayside. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px;" /></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had really high hopes for <i>Maggie Finds Her Muse</i>: an older heroine who’s a romance writer travels to Paris to find her muse? Sign me up! I love books set in Paris, but many of them feel like they’re lacking in some way, leaving me wanting more. I’m thrilled to say <i>Maggie Finds Her Muse </i>didn’t disappoint - it was funny, compelling, charming, and I really felt like I was there in Paris with Maggie.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maggie Bliss, 48, has a horrible case of writer’s block. The third book of her bestselling trilogy is due soon, but she hasn’t even started writing it. Between feeling completely stuck and breaking up with her boyfriend, something’s gotta give. When her agent invites Maggie to join him and his partner at their home in Paris for the next several weeks, she agrees, hoping the change of scenery will unblock her creative flow.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book was such a light, fun, feel-good read. Maggie had realistic struggles, but they weren’t drawn out or overdramatized for the sake of it, which I appreciated. I loved her explorations and observations of Paris, felt like I was vicariously consuming tons of delicious food and wine, and enjoyed the variety of characters from Solange, Maggie’s agent’s wise and wily housekeeper, to Solange’s son Max, a sexy Frenchman who instantly piques Maggie’s interest, to Maggie’s adult daughter, Nicole, who had Asperger’s. Oh, and Solange’s snorty, farty bulldog, Jules, won a special place in my heart too.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m used to reading about characters in their twenties and thirties, so I really appreciated that Maggie was 48, had been married and divorced, and had a long career. Despite the fact Maggie is eleven years older than I am, I connected with her easily and found her relatable. I enjoyed the romantic elements in the story, from Maggie’s break-up with her self-centred boyfriend to reuniting with her ex-husband to meeting Max. She didn’t come to Paris looking for romance, and she felt strange about the romantic stirrings she was feeling because she’d just ended a relationship. Still, those feelings were there, and it would have been easy for her to go back to comfort and familiarity with her ex-husband - who had changed and seemed like a better match for her now than he was way back when - or pursue something with Max, who was very French, seemed like a lady’s man, and represented the new and unfamiliar. I loved watching Maggie grow and learn, figure out what she wanted at this stage of her life, and go for it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Maggie Finds Her Muse </i>left me with a big smile on my face. Between great characters, a fun premise, and a beautiful and vivid setting, this book was a definite winner for me, and I know I’ll be recommending it to many fellow romance lovers. </span></p><br /></span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJx2_yAze1XveV2bICw2MxKpeGDspoEUPwBj-Q1VDz55c_Vx-3zRQuChcd2PfTSRoM-eBEV_WzTAwNlTogzT5PTzKvO1vPZTKR7F4OQcMTEDQXOTr9v0-kvdrMmQrqKle8BIi-UJwVBQ/s16000/Maggie-Finds-Her-Muse-Dee-Ernst-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><div><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> Maggie Finds Her Muse</i>?<i> </i>Do you enjoy books that feature older characters? How about books set in Paris?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div><span><br /></span></div></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-58210411024751008332021-03-10T09:51:00.003-05:002021-03-10T09:51:43.231-05:00Romance Review: The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros<p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5s_J75pdltOf-_U1dgeZ6AnzmH7qr6CzTFhlhcpmm2tifYH4Oe-rsj_rqUhgg8OE6qHmXwu0iAsCI8GUznLu8PAdd_O-cAZtTRllek8qLZaLZUTqrNJVCbKUKdJNDMBkdzUrAtSp3Eg/s750/Things-We-Leave-Unfinished-Rebecca-Yarros.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5s_J75pdltOf-_U1dgeZ6AnzmH7qr6CzTFhlhcpmm2tifYH4Oe-rsj_rqUhgg8OE6qHmXwu0iAsCI8GUznLu8PAdd_O-cAZtTRllek8qLZaLZUTqrNJVCbKUKdJNDMBkdzUrAtSp3Eg/s320/Things-We-Leave-Unfinished-Rebecca-Yarros.jpg" /></a></i></div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Things We Leave Unfinished</i> by <a href="http://www.rebeccayarros.com/ " target="_blank">Rebecca Yarros</a></span><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: February 23rd, 2021</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-ffee2bda-7fff-1bcb-97fd-932aba8be3d9"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: Entangled: Amara</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Contemporary romance mixed with historical romance </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heat level: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"># of pages: 429</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My rating: 5 stars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: From the publisher in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53137938-the-things-we-leave-unfinished" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy: <a href="https://amzn.to/3bgBoij" target="_blank">Amazon Canada</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/3qaSGli" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-things-we-leave-unfinished/9781682815663-item.html?ikwid=the+things+we+leave+unfinished&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=c6f2e6d27837ec73be76573178e8da06" target="_blank">Indigo</a></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twenty-eight-year-old Georgia Stanton has to start over after she gave up almost everything in a brutal divorce—the New York house, the friends, and her pride. Now back home at her late great-grandmother’s estate in Colorado, she finds herself face-to-face with Noah Harrison, the bestselling author of a million books where the cover is always people nearly kissing. He’s just as arrogant in person as in interviews, and she’ll be damned if the good-looking writer of love stories thinks he’s the one to finish her grandmother’s final novel…even if the publisher swears he’s the perfect fit.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Noah is at the pinnacle of his career. With book and movie deals galore, there isn’t much the “golden boy” of modern fiction hasn’t accomplished. But he can’t walk away from what might be the best book of the century—the one his idol, Scarlett Stanton, left unfinished. Coming up with a fitting ending for the legendary author is one thing, but dealing with her beautiful, stubborn, cynical great-granddaughter, Georgia, is quite another.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But as they read Scarlett’s words in both the manuscript and her box of letters, they start to realize why Scarlett never finished the book—it’s based on her real-life romance with a World War II pilot, and the ending isn’t a happy one. Georgia knows all too well that love never works out, and while the chemistry and connection between her and Noah is undeniable, she’s as determined as ever to learn from her great-grandmother’s mistakes—even if it means destroying Noah’s career.</span></p><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /></div><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ohhh lordy, this book. I finished reading <i>The Things We Leave Unfinished</i> about a week ago and I’m still thinking about it. I’ve also been talking about it - so much so that four people have told me they bought it because of me (two of them have already read it and loved it too) - a book lover’s dream!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book was absolutely incredible. It was romantic, emotional, surprising, heartbreaking, hopeful - it basically had everything. I can’t remember the last time I got so deeply invested in a novel. The ultimate surprise for me is that dual timeline and WWII stories aren’t typically favourites of mine (dual timeline can be confusing or make a book feel draggy, and WWII stories - war stories in general, really - are often too heavy, stressful, and sad for me), but both things were done so beautifully, so intricately, and with so much heart, it made me fall completely in love with this book.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Things We Leave Unfinished </i>features two epic love stories woven together. In present day, Georgia has recently lost her beloved Gran, Scarlett, and has just gone through a divorce. She’s still reeling, but she’s doing the best she can to put her life back together. As the wife of a famous director, she was known as the Ice Queen; what people didn’t see was that it was a facade she erected to keep herself safe because her husband was a cheater and an opportunist. She meets her match in Noah, the rich playboy and famous Nicholas Sparks type author who’s been tasked with completing her Gran’s only unfinished work: her own love story. That love story is where the dual timeline comes in and we’re taken to 1940s England where Scarlett, a plotter for the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, meets and falls in love with Jameson, a pilot for the RAF.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved these characters so, so much. Georgia was fierce, strong, smart, driven, and had her walls firmly in place after being hurt not only by her husband, but also by her selfish mother, who abandoned her continuously as a child. All she really wanted was to be loved unconditionally, the way her Gran loved her, but people only ever seemed to want something from her. I loved her and Noah together - their banter, their chemistry, how he really saw her, cared about her, and wanted her for HER, not what she could do for him. Scarlett and Jameson had that lightning strikes, once-in-a-lifetime kind of love that was full of chemistry and passion and unshakable love. Their love for each other radiated from the pages. I felt like I was part of both stories, like I lived the heartache and triumphs of both couples.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know with 100% certainty <i>The Things We Leave Unfinished</i> will make it to my list of 2021 favourites. If you’re looking for a compelling story with two beautiful romances that will pull at your heartstrings, make you swoon, and keep you guessing, this is a must read.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9sWL56mgcs8WtWDTnLMTOnn29X-rbOcztrbrioovM21toqislGjQHLiaXNsCAMfQKZovQBi16DDyyGsTnvfZctJ-H5rLq_9qnUYeVgFzcqIQJej6odpI0lfMZsTvFLmDJsRwmXtY0ns/s16000/The-Things-We-Leave-Unfinished-Rebecca-Yarros-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> The Things We Leave Unfinished</i>?<i> </i>Do you enjoy books told in dual storylines? How about books set in World War II?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; white-space: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-73063183663286925002021-03-08T09:57:00.000-05:002021-03-08T09:57:00.525-05:00Read an Ebook Week 2021<span id="docs-internal-guid-899b53dc-7fff-0515-9475-5d8c555d7f4d"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Happy Read an Ebook Week!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love ebooks. At least three-quarters of the books I read are ebooks. I still buy, read, and love physical books, and while nothing will ever compare to the feel (or smell) of a physical book or that feeling you get when you step into a bookstore (something many of us haven’t done in more than a year now *cries*), I love ebooks. They’re convenient, I love that I can have as many books as I want without taking up space, and take as many books as I want with me without weighing down my bag.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My mum - who’s eighty - is an ebook-exclusive reader these days. I’m sure she never, ever thought she’d say that, but it’s true and has been for the last couple of years. She downloads books from the <a href="https://odmc.overdrive.com/" target="_blank">Ontario Library Consortium</a>, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">plus I buy her ebooks for her Kindle app. Besides the convenience factor - especially this last year during isolation from the pandemic - she also has some problems with her eyesight, so she loves that she can change the font size and have a light built into her tablet. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To celebrate Read an Ebook Week, my last four contemporary standalone romances are half price on Smashwords! You can get <i>Hung Up on You, Maybe You,</i> and <i>Only You</i> for just $1.99 each and <i>A Very Perry Christmas</i> for only $1.49. This discount is exclusive to Smashwords until this Saturday, the 13th. When you buy the books, you can download them in any format for any device. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Be sure to check out the hundreds of other ebooks on sale at <a href="http://smashwords.com/" target="_blank">Smashwords</a> ranging from 25% to 100% off this week only!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7gGiiwxS_RB0zWPmlV9F4r1Y2ikyeR-QAyYxqrv2L56_OONNBdjn9fO9lShvhGLJBdg4JbhLvgKlzTrLps12yuBC7h_mI4b4d0faxtKJYPsfn35EGJnnkLu9h4epvYcANFV0FHTWSQE/s16000/Read-an-Ebook-Week-2021-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><p></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">♥<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/896876" target="_blank">Only You</a></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">♥<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/944089" target="_blank">Maybe You</a></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">♥<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/991537" target="_blank">Hung Up on You</a></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">♥<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1046725" target="_blank">A Very Perry Christmas</a></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-size: 17.6px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-15728810444847192652021-03-04T16:01:00.000-05:002021-03-04T16:01:07.952-05:00Contemporary Romance Review: Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron<p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgaumOBiAF2I7BI4PvtupPQpILeQaY3soExYZX5WDputwfji2of2dRr1D3mtksjGs8Z0G6GMWB0O5ArJB-I-wJqsAUG2c4Gcdeh__DeLB11gj5B3OXyLJ5HD1WPwCiVk2jBEkb_JPPPM/s2048/Accidentally-Engaged-Farah-Heron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgaumOBiAF2I7BI4PvtupPQpILeQaY3soExYZX5WDputwfji2of2dRr1D3mtksjGs8Z0G6GMWB0O5ArJB-I-wJqsAUG2c4Gcdeh__DeLB11gj5B3OXyLJ5HD1WPwCiVk2jBEkb_JPPPM/s320/Accidentally-Engaged-Farah-Heron.jpg" /></a></i></div><i>Accidentally Engaged</i> by <a href="https://farahheron.com/" target="_blank">Farah Heron</a><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-da58f9f6-7fff-b755-250d-ee5e22cc3692"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: March 2nd, 2021</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: Forever</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Contemporary Romance</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tropes: Forced proximity, fake engagement, friends-to-lovers</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heat rating: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">.5 (kissing + closed-door sex scenes)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"># of pages: 384</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My rating: 4 stars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54360539-accidentally-engaged" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy: <a href="https://amzn.to/3kM9z4P" target="_blank">Amazon Canada</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/3kOMBtQ" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/accidentally-engaged/9781538734988-item.html?ikwid=accidentally+engaged&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=9a32e16f6b32160d88c63766b30e7b21 " target="_blank">Indigo</a></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reena Manji doesn’t love her career, her single status, and most of all, her family inserting themselves into every detail of her life. But when caring for her precious sourdough starters, Reena can drown it all out. At least until her father moves his newest employee across the hall—with hopes that Reena will marry him.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But Nadim’s not like the other Muslim bachelors-du-jour that her parents have dug up. If the Captain America body and the British accent weren’t enough, the man appears to love eating her bread creations as much as she loves making them. She sure as hell would never marry a man who works for her father, but friendship with a neighbor is okay, right? And when Reena’s career takes a nosedive, Nadim happily agrees to fake an engagement so they can enter a couples video cooking contest to win the artisan bread course of her dreams.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As cooking at home together brings them closer, things turn physical, but Reena isn’t worried. She knows Nadim is keeping secrets, but it’s fine—secrets are always on the menu where her family is concerned. And her heart is protected… she’s not marrying the man. But even secrets kept for self preservation have a way of getting out, especially when meddling parents and gossiping families are involved. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px;" /></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After seeing <i>Accidentally Engaged </i>everywhere for months, I was excited to dive into the story of a bread-baking Indian-Canadian woman and her fake engagement to a hot, British-accented, ‘brown Captain America’. I was especially excited the book was set in nearby Toronto, a city I’ve spent countless hours in throughout my life. <i>Accidentally Engaged</i> was funny, touching, romantic, and dealt with a lot of relatable, real-life issues.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I liked Reena so much. She wasn’t happy with her life - she hated working in finance but wasn’t sure what else to do; her meddling family drove her crazy; she’d had a string of unsuccessful relationships; and she had struggled with her mental health in the past. The only thing she truly loved was cooking, especially bread making. I really appreciated the fact Reena was in her thirties and was still figuring things out; she felt lost and uncertain and like everyone around her had their life together, which I think a lot of people can relate to. When she began to form a connection with Nadim, she didn’t believe it could actually be that easy, so she tried to keep it light and friendly. Add in the fact her parents <i>wanted</i> them to be together, plus the fact she knew Nadim was keeping secrets, and she was just looking for a bit of fun with her hot neighbour. I enjoyed these two together so much - their banter was funny, they had great chemistry, and they balanced each other nicely.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved the cultural aspect of the book. As a white Canadian who grew up in an area with very little diversity, I love learning about other cultures, and I loved the Canadian ties in this book. I found Nadim’s history so interesting - he was originally from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, then he was sent to boarding school in England before working in London, and then he was eventually sent by his dad to Toronto to work for Reena’s dad. I loved that the pair shared a passion for food and connected over the food they grew up with. I also loved how Nadim, who had lived all over, connected home to the senses - a feeling, a scent, a taste - and he found a home in Reena.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I also really appreciated the complicated family relationships in this book and that nothing was resolved ‘neatly’. Reena’s whole family dynamic was wrapped in secrets, lies, jealousy, and resentments. Throughout the course of the book, the Manjis learned to open up and be more honest with each other - usually when forced rather than voluntarily - and instead of things being magically solved with a hug and a five-minute conversation, they learned to (mostly) accept and love each other. I liked how realistic it felt. It also helped that some of the interactions, especially when confessions were involved, were absolutely hilarious.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved the beginning of the book and found it compelling and fun, but the middle - and the main conflict - made me lose a bit of interest in the story. It was all so complicated and dramatic, and there were so many characters - people we never even met, only heard about - and I found it hard to keep track of all of them. The story began to drag for me and I went from loving the book to setting it aside for longer periods of time. Thankfully it picked up again and I ended up appreciating how things were resolved, and I thought the ending was really sweet and romantic.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall, I really enjoyed <i>Accidentally Engaged</i> and I know I’ll recommend it often to fellow romance lovers. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCrckYf1U7odipTbdEHQNwhjqiAISkAjEBcEjX0ZRUSJKiW2IgPZY4kbu_TymnrkaSGVxW5i-obCJ6bgHNbNQTKzkBVcmE7JVv0VXYiOdjPVQHxjfFAppr6mcBwxv6v6xbnziPbzOY_tI/s16000/Accidentally-Engaged-Farah-Heron-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><br /><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> Accidentally Engaged</i>?<i> </i>Do you enjoy books about other cultures? Do you like to bake? Do you consider yourself a foodie?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-size: 17.6px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-3665726350598032072021-02-24T12:43:00.001-05:002021-02-24T12:43:05.351-05:00Contemporary Romance Review: The Knockout Rule by Kelly Siskind<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuGNexO90Zs-doTgT8zYxtW2zeybPoVAE71-loGu2HE8uOcfwOVhIq99sx1eBvaR8B4bhnuxCs85gpNqxmqJgKkXYMMgjfoaPy6KnPFiaG0S555zaam9dWl0GuLJHNli-afmB0mPv0l3A/s475/The-Knockout-Rule-Kelly-Siskind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="308" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuGNexO90Zs-doTgT8zYxtW2zeybPoVAE71-loGu2HE8uOcfwOVhIq99sx1eBvaR8B4bhnuxCs85gpNqxmqJgKkXYMMgjfoaPy6KnPFiaG0S555zaam9dWl0GuLJHNli-afmB0mPv0l3A/s320/The-Knockout-Rule-Kelly-Siskind.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Knockout Rule</i> (Showmen #4) by <a href="https://www.kellysiskind.com/" target="_blank">Kelly Siskind</a></span><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: February 24th, 2021</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-eb9ef640-7fff-3c26-5c49-7f976ad2c776"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: CD Books</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Contemporary romance</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tropes: Forced proximity, friends to lovers, sports romance, opposites attract</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heat level: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"># of pages: 340</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: From the author in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56261460-the-knockout-rule" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy on <a href="https://amzn.to/3s4lFZb" target="_blank">Amazon Canada</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/3u9ALP2" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-knockout-rule/9781988937151-item.html?ikwid=the+knockout+rule+kelly+siskind&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=b4690610e2e8264ba36d2c358d0219a9 " target="_blank">Indigo</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Growing up with an adoring father for a boxing legend isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It looks more like hospital visits, bloody noses, and cracked ribs.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Isla Slade now works as a physiotherapist, helping athletes heal their bodies. Except for boxers. She has no interest in reliving the stress of her teen years. Dating someone in the boxing world? She’d rather snort wasabi powder.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Until she meets Preston Church.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Preston manages heavyweight boxing darling Brick Kramarov. A brute who’s built tougher than his name, with a cocky attitude to boot. She wants nothing to do with either man, but her father begs her to help them prepare for a huge Vegas fight.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She doesn’t expect Preston to recite romantic poems and slowly break her resolve. His fascinating mind gets under her skin, even if his star athlete reminds her how much she hates boxing.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Too bad it’s Brick coaching Preston how to woo Isla, falling for her from the sidelines. Once she finds out, she’ll have to decide if she can risk loving another man who puts it all on the line for the knockout.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px;" /></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kelly Siskind’s <a href="https://amzn.to/3km0S0L" target="_blank">Showmen standalone series</a> have quickly become favourites of mine. They feature unique characters, lots of heart and humour, and swoony romances. <i>The Knockout Rule</i> was quite different from the other three books - it was slower paced, more intense, and didn’t feature the quirkiness I’ve come to expect from Kelly’s characters - but it was a beautiful story about life, family, and love, and I know Isla and Eric will stick with me right along with all the other characters from this series.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Isla and Eric are such passionate characters who did things with their whole hearts. Their relationship started out with each of them assuming certain personas and making assumptions about each other. I loved that Eric was this big brute of a guy whose boxing persona was all brawn and no brains, but he was incredibly intelligent, sensitive, thoughtful, and loved his family more than anything. Everything he did was for them, and that made me love him so much. Isla was strong and resilient because she’d had to be; with a professional boxer for a father and a mother who found it too easy to walk away, she’d had to learn to take care of herself and do what was right for her. That meant not allowing boxers into her life because she knew how damaging the sport was and she refused to let herself get close to anyone who was willing to do that to themselves. And then Eric came along…their chemistry was undeniable (and so hot!), and I loved the connection and friendship they formed before they took things further.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was just so much to love about this book. The characters were so deep and real, and we got to know them slowly and thoroughly. I knew next to nothing about professional boxing, so I found that interesting, along with the physiotherapy aspect from Isla’s job. The Vegas setting was fun, and I absolutely loved Eric’s dog, Whit. He had so much personality and by the end, I was as in love with him as I was with Eric and Isla. I also really appreciated the mental health rep; as someone with anxiety, I thought it was handled compassionately and realistically, and added even more depth to Isla’s character that made me connect to her on a deep level.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you want to take a deep dive into a slow-burn romance with a ton of heart, <i>The Knockout Rule </i>is perfect for you. These characters are sure to leave an imprint on your heart.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> The Knockout Rule </i>or any of the other Showmen books? Do you enjoy sports romances? Have a favourite?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-size: 17.6px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div><br /><br /></span></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-28629098713094908412021-02-16T11:02:00.001-05:002021-02-16T11:02:18.531-05:00Regency Romance Review: The Duke Heist by Erica Ridley<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_iNz3yvaY5BemRi8oGc257oRb98hzDURklOfn2e-aKOE5CjhhmabUo4lmHOD2l5QieANVA3liFsGHMoqw29HfUW3xBVJuKgiPsaYkt_xW2Hi5IeG8Yv9dczboRiuyXNM5z0t_tx89WY/s475/The-Duke-Heist-Erica-Ridley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="295" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_iNz3yvaY5BemRi8oGc257oRb98hzDURklOfn2e-aKOE5CjhhmabUo4lmHOD2l5QieANVA3liFsGHMoqw29HfUW3xBVJuKgiPsaYkt_xW2Hi5IeG8Yv9dczboRiuyXNM5z0t_tx89WY/s320/The-Duke-Heist-Erica-Ridley.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Duke Heist (The Wild Wynchesters #1)</i> by <a href="https://ericaridley.com/" target="_blank">Erica Ridley</a></span><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: February 9th, 2021</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-77e6f402-7fff-d6f0-119b-a8dab412dae1"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: Forever</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Historical Romance (Regency Romance)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heat level: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"># of pages: 352 </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My rating: 4 stars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: From the publisher in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53916141-the-duke-heist" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy: <a href="https://amzn.to/3tJh9RM" target="_blank">Amazon Canada</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/2N2SruM" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-duke-heist/9781538719527-item.html?ikwid=the+duke+heist&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=f164e9940f092d71c999e78f6fe12cc1" target="_blank">Indigo</a></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chloe Wynchester is completely forgettable—a curse that gives her the ability to blend into any crowd. When the only father she's ever known makes a dying wish for his adopted family of orphans to recover a missing painting, she's the first one her siblings turn to for stealing it back. No one expects that in doing so, she'll also abduct a handsome duke.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lawrence Gosling, the Duke of Faircliffe, is tortured by his father's mistakes. To repair his estate's ruined reputation, he must wed a highborn heiress. Yet when he finds himself in a carriage being driven hell-for-leather down the cobblestone streets of London by a beautiful woman who refuses to heed his commands, he fears his heart is hers. But how can he sacrifice his family's legacy to follow true love?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px;" /></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Continuing on with my <a href="http://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2021/02/her-wicked-marquess-stacy-reid.html" target="_blank">new-found interest in regency romance</a>, my second foray into the genre was <i>The Duke Heist</i>. In this book, we’re introduced to the eclectic and eccentric Wynchester siblings - a group of orphans who were adopted by a baron. I love stories about found families and strong bonds, and the Wynchesters quickly became one of my new favourite groups of siblings. This book was highly entertaining - it was laugh-out-loud funny, had a swoonworthy romance, and a lot of heart.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chloe Wynchester is completely forgettable - or at least that's what she thinks. This comes in handy when she needs to slip in and out of situations that require her to become a certain character - like while infiltrating a reading group to steal a painting that once belonged to her family. She’s used to being invisible and even prefers it because it means people can’t get close and she can’t get hurt. But when she accidentally kidnaps a duke, she soon finds herself in a situation she’s never been in before: Lawrence, the Duke of Faircliffe, sees her. Truly sees her. She’s no longer invisible and forgettable, and she finds herself falling for the man she once assumed was a stuck-up, pompous jerk.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book was so much fun. I spent a good portion of it with a smile on my face and I laughed out loud often. I really felt for and identified with Chloe - feeling invisible and forgettable, longing for connection. It was so heartwarming seeing her with her siblings and watching as she learned just how much they loved, supported, and saw her in ways she never realized. Just like I love books about found families, I also love stories where people find a sense of belonging, and Chloe and Lawrence both found that from each other and from the people already in their lives. As for the romance, I loved Chloe and Lawrence’s chemistry and banter, and found it easy to root for them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I did find the pacing of this book a bit off at times. What I assumed was the climax happened about three-quarters of the way through and wasn’t actually the climax. Also, for some reason I can’t quite pinpoint, this book often felt like a young adult novel. As I was reading, I’d frequently forget Chloe, her siblings, and Lawrence were in their twenties and thirties rather than in their teens. It’s not a bad thing, but it was a bit strange at times, especially as the romance heated up.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Duke Heist</i> was a delight. It was exactly the type of fun, entertaining, light-hearted yet pull-at-your-heart-strings romance I’m after these days. I can’t wait for more of the Wynchester siblings (I’m particularly excited for the second book), and I’d love to see this made into a TV series.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nUN30f6arAksrGh21hlcEB81rLk-1K93_CBpBD4B_O9PzWoWnG8fqiQHcoy9jRgWAaEMsu7A8Ubsz0OUiHOEbjFS6LEr8UgaaOlpzjF1iozQBrrtuA6jt2aD63w9q0QfrdGYF7LoqgU/s16000/The-Duke-Heist-Erica-Ridley-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> The Duke Heist</i>? Do you have any recommendations for a regency romance newbie like me?</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Do you enjoy books about found families too and do you have any recs?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-size: 17.6px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; white-space: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div></span></div></span></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-24677053089541568352021-02-13T11:13:00.000-05:002021-02-13T11:13:20.556-05:00Trusting the Magic of New Beginnings<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4xn3U_mDrQVw0AJViioM_QEE2T0YkpTn2RP4WHHtpmeFegr-0seYcj9SJj13qS62R3mHkrbp-w-YClCaVIwcH2mZTyfrFWjV-8Ehjz-6IdOIjQ5nZEUBLoQj8QawVYDHZv59R_TQFYo/s16000/Trusting-the-Magic-of-New-Beginnings-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">*A shorter version of this post was originally shared on Instagram </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CLKbK3WgsPr/" style="font-family: Georgia; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">here</a></span></div><p><br /></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I think about 2020, so much of it is a blur. I had high hopes at the beginning of the year - I wanted to take my writing career to the next level, travel, and so many other things. Then the pandemic hit and I spent most of the rest of the year in a really negative headspace. Between the news, doomscrolling on Twitter, seeing and reading stories about how people were suffering in so many ways, plus my own anxiety and depression, it felt like a never-ending rollercoaster. I knew I had a lot to be grateful for: a home and a job I could do from home, enough to eat, amazing friends who shopped for us, online friends who showed so much love and support, my health and the health of my family. But no matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to get out of the muck and mire of negativity. And if I’m perfectly honest, I didn’t try all that hard.</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-60164374-7fff-49a1-6364-b4105fb4c2e3"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fast-forward to 2021. I knew not much would change with my circumstances for a while. I knew my mum and I would remain in isolation (she’s 80, so in the high-risk group), unable to see our family or do normal things. But I also knew if I wanted things to change, it had to start with me. So I started doing mindset work again - affirmations, meditation, journaling, redirecting negative thoughts. I started <a href="http://manifestationbabe.com/" target="_blank">Kathrin Zenkina</a>’s Manifestation Babe Academy from the beginning; I invested in the course in the spring of 2019, right before I <a href="https://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2019/12/2019-year-in-review.html" target="_blank">ended up in the hospital for a week and a half</a>, and then I never finished the course. Students are given lifetime access, so I figured when the time was right and I felt called to it again, I’d do the course in its entirety.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, I felt called to it around the middle of January this year, and I started the course from the beginning. Right around that time, Kathrin announced the new incarnation of MBA - a brand new, extensive, 16-week course that alumni could join for a tiny fraction of the full cost to new members. It felt like a massive sign I was finally back on the right path. Since I’d already recently started the original Manifestation Babe Academy, I decided to complete the four weeks anyway before the new version started. The last four weeks have been amazing and I know it’s only the beginning. I’m so excited and grateful to embark on a new 16-week transformational journey starting today.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The last four weeks have been a constant reminder that your mindset really is everything. If you want to see changes in your life, those changes start with you - your outlook, your actions, your responses and reactions.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-size: 17.6px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p></span>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-86232141262629867312021-02-09T00:34:00.003-05:002021-02-09T00:34:00.513-05:00Young Adult Review: Hot British Boyfriend by Kristy Boyce<p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ1_rGTOJUDOxJtuYDV-soUOrWeef6uw7MXHL-JHNbBtYWqOzOZlmTehyebe5A_dniqbKu_AztmCh_1Vz7QhqJR_Y3WRxxTAHoqH7leCLgHEH18o_GMmEDYZ6tyFhe4sU0BCKJzDJKx2s/s475/Hot-British-Boyfriend-Kristy-Boyce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ1_rGTOJUDOxJtuYDV-soUOrWeef6uw7MXHL-JHNbBtYWqOzOZlmTehyebe5A_dniqbKu_AztmCh_1Vz7QhqJR_Y3WRxxTAHoqH7leCLgHEH18o_GMmEDYZ6tyFhe4sU0BCKJzDJKx2s/s320/Hot-British-Boyfriend-Kristy-Boyce.jpg" /></a></div><i style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hot British Boyfriend</i><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by </span><a href="https://www.kristyboyceauthor.com/" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Kristy Boyce</a><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: February 9th, 2021</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-c34014dc-7fff-be28-2a70-cdf23a0fdd8c"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: HarperTeen</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Contemporary Young Adult</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"># of pages: 336</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My rating: 4 stars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: From the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50705838-hot-british-boyfriend" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy: <a href="https://amzn.to/3jqRLLz" target="_blank">Amazon Canada</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/3trUyc6" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/hot-british-boyfriend/9780063025912-item.html?ikwid=hot+british+boyfriend&ikwsec=Books&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=7857aa7bc6b819e6132261bc4ebfb8ca " target="_blank">Indigo</a></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After a horrifying public rejection by her crush, Ellie Nichols does what any girl would do: she flees the country. To be more precise, she joins her high school’s study abroad trip to England. While most of her classmates are there to take honors courses and pad their college applications, Ellie is on a quest to rebuild her reputation and self-confidence. And nothing is more of a confidence booster than getting a hot British boyfriend.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Ellie meets Will, a gorgeous and charming Brit, she vows to avoid making the same mistakes as she did with the last guy she liked. Which is why she strikes up a bargain with Dev, an overachieving classmate who she’s never clicked with, but who does seem to know a lot about the things Will is interested in—if he helps her win over her crush, then she’ll help him win over his.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But even as Ellie embarks on a whirlwind romance, one that takes her on adventures to some of England’s most beautiful places, she still needs to figure out if this is actually the answer to all her problems…and whether the perfect boyfriend is actually the perfect boy for her.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px;" /></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I feel like I should preface my review by saying <i>Hot British Boyfriend</i> had so many of the things I love most about YA, but it also reminded me how far past my own YA days I am. I’m not the intended audience for books like this, and I’m fully aware of that, so I always try to also be aware that my thoughts and feelings could likely be very different from the book’s actual target audience. I see so many adults reading YA and getting mad that the teenagers in the book…*gasp!*...had the audacity to <i>act like teenagers</i>. Like, what did you expect? If you wanted to read about people making mature decisions or not being driven by hormones, maybe you should have picked up a different book. So I always know going into a young adult book that I will likely want to shake the characters at some point (or many points), as well as sit them down and talk to them, and probably hug them really tight. I wanted to do all those things with this book and there was a lot of internal <i>‘Ugh, come on, Ellie, do better!’</i>, but honestly, I feel like that’s the sign of a good YA book that will likely really speak to its intended audience of teens.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Okay, that was a long preface, but I thought it should be said. I feel like Teenage Marie would have loved this book with her whole heart, so it’s Teen Me I tried to channel while reading.</span></p><i><br /></i><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Hot British Boyfriend</i> was adorable and entertaining. I enjoyed the characters, plus the setting made me go all heart-eyes on multiple occasions. Ellie didn’t have many friends before going to England, and she was stinging from the rejection of the one person she thought <i>was </i>her friend. Between the very public humiliation that led her to leave DC, and the fact the program she was part of was meant for honour students - which she wasn’t - she felt she had a lot to prove, both to herself and to others. She was wary of people and their motives, but quickly befriended her roommate Sage, along with two other students from back home, Dev and Huan.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I said this book had so many of the things I love most about YA, one of those things was the friend group. These four seemed like such unlikely friends, but they worked together. Their interactions were amusing and sometimes heartwarming, and I wanted to be part of their group. I also really appreciated Ellie’s growth and how she slowly found her way, figured things out, made mistakes, sorted her priorities, and learned to be herself and unashamedly love the things she loved. Teenage Marie would definitely have been friends with her and we would have rocked our matching unicorn hoodies and made some amazing faerie gardens together.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you’re looking for a light, sweet, feel-good YA book, look no further (unless you’re an adult who hates when teens act like teens - if that’s the case, maybe give this one a pass and leave it to the actual teens). Pack your bags and prepare for a fun cross-Atlantic vacation with a group of friends you’ll wish you were part of.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFIFCoSECUuBC23-iNViV25byi4nyYkUdrFY9xtik3S69rams20Ppe8NG-o41bSoQynPtAnT_tPRedbWCMegCsgYV7sc6XGcev14BxYL4L09p-mB_ne2w20d_1zHXZ4PPu1__kzJx_GI/s16000/Hot-British-Boyfriend-Kristy-Boyce-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><p></p></span><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> Hot British Boyfriend</i>? Have you done much armchair travel yet this year?</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-size: 17.6px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div></div></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-76667086848542733122021-02-05T00:34:00.002-05:002021-02-05T00:34:01.919-05:00Regency Romance Review: Her Wicked Marquess by Stacy Reid<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5Y3nf4bXIzFCI_ZqIoAy9pUA50HeAzBQ9uoYaCI1pMuQJp8W7nwlvq6YUHUOEEUqLPkdSqzVwhqRF8GVDinlvuY_ayZ5oHW_YUznUEAr_13GnQPR-GDHzz2yaGAlxpEZeI6-VWVx_aA/s475/Her-Wicked-Marquess-Stacy-Reid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5Y3nf4bXIzFCI_ZqIoAy9pUA50HeAzBQ9uoYaCI1pMuQJp8W7nwlvq6YUHUOEEUqLPkdSqzVwhqRF8GVDinlvuY_ayZ5oHW_YUznUEAr_13GnQPR-GDHzz2yaGAlxpEZeI6-VWVx_aA/s320/Her-Wicked-Marquess-Stacy-Reid.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Her Wicked Marquess</i> by <a href="https://www.stacyreid.com/" target="_blank">Stacy Reid</a></span><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: December 29th, 2020</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-c38ec1fb-7fff-9552-55e1-d54bc3c61359"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: Entangled: Amara</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Historical Romance (Regency Romance)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heat level: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"># of pages: 400</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My rating: 4 stars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49247029-her-wicked-marquess" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy on <a href="https://amzn.to/2LxdyoH" target="_blank">Amazon Canada</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/3qyBh6L" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/her-wicked-marquess/9781682815199-item.html?ikwid=her+wicked+marquess&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=d8f2efeab361ab3a62a0b5d7f55a9d10" target="_blank">Indigo</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Miss Maryann Fitzwilliam is too witty and bookish for her own good. No gentleman of the ton will marry her, so her parents arrange for her to wed a man old enough to be her father. But Maryann is ready to use those wits to turn herself into a sinful wallflower.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the scandal sheet reports a sighting of Nicolas St. Ives, the Marquess of Rothbury, climbing out the chamber windows of a house party, Maryann does the unthinkable. She anonymously claims that the bedchamber belonged to none other than Miss Fitzwilliam, tarnishing her own reputation—and chances of the dastardly union her family secured for her. Now she just needs to convince the marquess to keep his silence.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Turns out Nicolas allows for the scandal to perpetuate for his own reasons… But when Maryann’s parents hold fast to their arranged marriage plan, it’ll take a scandal of epic proportions for these two to get out of this together.</span></p><div><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /></div><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For the last few years, I’ve added countless historical romances to my TBR, mostly thanks to recommendations from fellow bookstagrammers, but despite that - and making a goal to branch out with my reading - I’ve mostly stuck with contemporary romance. I finally decided 2021 was the year to change that, and I chose <i>Her Wicked Marquess</i> to be my first foray into regency romance.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nicolas St Ives, the Marquess of Rothbury, perpetuates his reputation as a rake because it serves his purpose: infiltrating the inner circle of a group of ‘gentlemen’ who brutally assaulted his first love. Retribution has been the only thing on Nicolas’s mind for the past decade, and he’s close to his final targets when Maryann Fitzwilliam inserts herself into his life and distracts him from his mission. Maryann - a wallflower who isn’t afraid to speak her mind, despite what others think - has a mission of her own: seeking public ruination to avoid marrying the odious man her parents have chosen for her.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book was <i>so </i>entertaining. I loved how strong-minded, strong-willed, and feisty Maryann was. She refused to be one of those women who was seen and not heard, and she didn’t want to be tied down with a man she didn’t love. I loved the banter and chemistry between her and Nicolas, and watching their relationship grow was so much fun. Also, as a newbie to the genre, I wasn’t expecting such scorching hot sexytimes! Whew! That was an unexpected and welcome surprise. The revenge storyline was...interesting?...but it sometimes felt like there was too much focus on it. The overall feel of this book was lighthearted, romantic, and sexy, and the parts dealing with Nicolas’s need for revenge and the reasons behind it were so dark. The author did a good job of weaving it all together, but the romance was definitely my favourite part of the book.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Her Wicked Marquess</i> was a fantastic introduction to regency romance. I need to go back and read <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3ttyMow" target="_blank">My Darling Duke</a></i>, and I’ll look forward to more books in the Sinful Wallflowers series.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSLodJaCLNGkI6i4sn4Pujrj8ijWNhqVhqx5_UMmFKUqaWjg8TEKdQTOsh0AF5zyc5gL5t7qmPCG0cYDVj3Zj-ieGPVGo029PXwEPfQrAhOoGNT2TJnKhqVu7vYhm9qMY-se2mKnZSLm4/s16000/Her-Wicked-Marquess-Stacy-Reid-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> Her Wicked Marquess</i>? Do you have any recommendations for a regency romance newbie like me?</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-size: 17.6px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><br /></span></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-56252220315392474882021-01-26T00:34:00.003-05:002021-01-26T00:34:45.842-05:00Book Review: Friends Like Us by Sarah Mackenzie<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGEkspbCjZPDB_lateIB1LuGGYVOaV5xry0dopTt0OXVSzzD6D5wWBVQLamyS-hwgVQ4bVIcGpZtD5m89dIB-42RRe0Y3ruAYYds0f5-ywXPB6zUVwlnciOPip2hXzdg1JqZr2GGoGC9A/s662/Friends-Like-Us-Sarah-Mackenzie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="662" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGEkspbCjZPDB_lateIB1LuGGYVOaV5xry0dopTt0OXVSzzD6D5wWBVQLamyS-hwgVQ4bVIcGpZtD5m89dIB-42RRe0Y3ruAYYds0f5-ywXPB6zUVwlnciOPip2hXzdg1JqZr2GGoGC9A/s320/Friends-Like-Us-Sarah-Mackenzie.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Friends Like Us </i>(Cranberry Cove #2) by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20487401.Sarah_Mackenzie" target="_blank">Sarah Mackenzie</a></span><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: January 26th, 2021</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5fb130c9-7fff-36cd-8a59-abe4d91cad1c"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: Forever</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Romantic women’s fiction</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heat level: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"># of pages: 272</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My rating: 4.5 stars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48717771-friends-like-us" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy on <a href="https://amzn.to/3bK1Wt7" target="_blank">Amazon Canada</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/38Osojk" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/friends-like-us/9781538751114-item.html?ikwid=friends+like+us+sarah+mackenzie&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=3e87a9fbb934071687b6aa1e538a71a3 " target="_blank">Indigo</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bree Rhodes and Jill Kelly have been best friends since kindergarten. When Bree survives a cancer scare, the knitting shop assistant takes it as a sign to step out of her comfort zone...or at least take a few tentative tiptoes. But in no time she's in over her head with a hot architect, a new puppy and a shot at buying her dream inn. And the harder she tries to stay afloat in her new normal, the harder it is to hold onto her friendship with Jill who seems to be ebbing away.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While her best friend is living her best life, art boutique owner, Jill, is simply trying to live. Still struggling after a freak motorcycle accident took the life of her husband, Jill doesn't know how to start over—or if she even wants to. Life isn't easy as a young widow, especially when she's hiding a painful secret. But when she learns that the fairytale Maine cottage she'd once dreamed of buying with her husband is on the market, she has to decide whether she's ready to let go of the past and to write a new chapter. But the only way to do really heal is by revealing to Bree a truth that will either destroy their friendship forever or bring them closer together.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; white-space: normal;"> </span><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px;" /></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While I love romance, I have a special fondness for books about friends. Bonus points if those friends have known each other forever, like Bree and Jill, because my own bestie and I have known each other since the first grade. I enjoyed Sarah Mackenzie’s 2019 debut, <i>Forever Friends</i>, but I LOVED <i>Friends Like Us.</i> It was realistic, funny, hopeful, and heartwarming.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After a cancer scare, Bree makes an anti-bucket list: things that will push her outside her small life and her comfort zone and help her truly live. Her first task seems simple but it sets a whole new life into motion. Jill is grieving the loss of her husband, along with the life she knew and the life they’d planned together. She has a successful business, but the rest of her life is a mess; she’s stuck and doesn’t know how to move on or even if she wants to. With each other’s love and support, both women learn to take chances, open their hearts to love (and not just romantic love), and see the possibilities life has to offer.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Friends Like Us</i> spoke to me in so many ways. I loved how Bree and Jill leaned on each other and were strong for each other, but also learned to be strong for themselves. I loved seeing them both open themselves up, and I cheered them on throughout the story. I enjoyed the romance storyline in this one more than the first book, I think because I relate to Bree much more than I did to Sadie or Renee. I also appreciated that Jill’s story didn’t include a front-and-centre romance because she was still deep in grief and figuring things out. I can’t say much more without the risk of spoilers, but I was pleased and satisfied with how the romance storylines progressed. I also enjoyed seeing the characters from the first book and ‘catching up’ with them and seeing them happy. I hope there’ll be more books in this series because I’d love to see Essie and Ashley get their chances at happily ever after.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Friends Like Us</i> is going to be one of those books I recommend often. Love books about friendship? Self-discovery? Taking chances? Finding love in unexpected places? This is the book for you. Also, if you love Jill Shalvis’s <a href="http://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/search/label/Jill%20Shalvis" target="_blank">Wildstone series</a> (which I discovered last year and continue to love this year with <a href="http://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2021/01/the-forever-girl-jill-shalvis-review-giveaway.html" target="_blank">the newest installment</a>), <i>Friends Like Us</i> has a similar vibe - an emphasis on character growth with a swoony side of romance.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKxWbKFaBy9SMuk4r-Ep73stoLT_3qUiYHC_bfTid58DE7YVzh48NAul76x6P138kXrV7wGnXwitr3uxZHCtv7L8x2cUSKYr2nt1jnLYC9ptCp5g0UtBYWryyWOLuhXWLuSDr6uJgIp-I/s16000/Friends-Like-Us-Sarah-Mackenzie-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Read my review of <i><a href="http://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2020/02/forever-friends-sarah-mackenzie.html" target="_blank">Forever Friends</a></i> by Sarah Mackenzie</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyxIsd86QH2YxYgeyb-c_xnvv5bRj2hNpM8mbUvVJ1p3TTjIJ5VLch2oOz9mraICCUK66Ap-JJsjat1LUcd8eaBbc4XwlnsQX-batAW090YTtOD6XlkxOMJuhkOLuIQe09E53VUvv178/w200-h200/Forever-Friends-Sarah-Mackenzie-Marie-Landry.png" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; padding: 5px; white-space: normal;" width="200" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> Friends Like Us</i>? What are some of your favourite books that feature close friendships?</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-size: 17.6px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><br /><br /></span></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-39549260567763098222021-01-21T00:34:00.003-05:002021-01-21T00:34:22.046-05:00Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: The Forever Girl by Jill Shalvis<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33vkxGpeIFrv7wzrQ-goUTWKWk8c2SdwKXM8epdkpK9OMX2tkEWRY9pndeYVo2in06uOE8BTL1XUzKs4TNUMTv-WtaKRc01ooCRGFnamGGpdTZJeW7bBgnMmB2iZmEh_mgLA191MPpT8/s648/The-Forever-Girl-Jill-Shalvis.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="430" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33vkxGpeIFrv7wzrQ-goUTWKWk8c2SdwKXM8epdkpK9OMX2tkEWRY9pndeYVo2in06uOE8BTL1XUzKs4TNUMTv-WtaKRc01ooCRGFnamGGpdTZJeW7bBgnMmB2iZmEh_mgLA191MPpT8/s320/The-Forever-Girl-Jill-Shalvis.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Forever Girl (Wildstone #6)</i> by <a href="https://www.jillshalvis.com/" target="_blank">Jill Shalvis</a></span><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: January 12th, 2021</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-d7a98576-7fff-1773-c4b0-bf55a7c06b39"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: William Morrow Books</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tropes: Found family, forced proximity, friends to lovers</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heat level: </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">🔥</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"># of pages: 400</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My rating: 4.5 stars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53175321-the-forever-girl " target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy on <a href="https://amzn.to/3okbiix" target="_blank">Amazon Canada</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/38gLMVX" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> || <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-forever-girl-a-novel/9780062897855-item.html?ikwid=the+forever+girl+jill+shalvis&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=0e4ea1cf985690057f0bc558382ab7f0" target="_blank">Indigo</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Maze returns to Wildstone for the wedding of her estranged bff and the sister of her heart, it’s also a reunion of a once ragtag team of teenagers who had only each other until a tragedy tore them apart and scattered them wide.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now as adults together again in the lake house, there are secrets and resentments mixed up in all the amazing childhood memories. Unexpectedly, they instantly fall back into their roles: Maze their reckless leader, Cat the den mother, Heather the beloved baby sister, and Walker, a man of mystery. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life has changed all four of them in immeasurable ways. Maze and Cat must decide if they can rebuild their friendship, and Maze discovers her long-held attraction to Walker hasn’t faded with the years but has only grown stronger.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; white-space: normal;"> </span><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrgTV-FoUemuQBQoGs6Fk8OqyKUSPxHk8oopM-WuxELYx_8E5pW8Uk7IYe-TRBqnrShFbrE_YAo6TG_7bdbwVbecRkVEakNoJ_LXOaEVIZFj73lQwPSBjYJBgVZlzSOvD7rbEfHtEeEI/s1600/My-Thoughts-SweetMarie83.PNG" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px;" /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; white-space: normal;"> </span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Forever Girl </i>is the third Wildstone book I’ve read; if I could describe this standalone series with one phrase it’d be “imperfect people finding their perfect match”. I love how Shalvis writes deeply flawed and often emotionally scarred characters who are completely relatable and three-dimensional, and she has them finding love - the love of family, the love of friends, and the love of a partner.<i> The Forever Girl</i> was no different and, as my first read of 2021, it set the bar high for the rest of the year.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stories about strong bonds, deep friendships, and family - whether blood family or found family - are among my favourites, and Shalvis does those things so well. Maze, Caitlin, Walker, and Heather were brought together in their youth as foster children in Caitlin’s family. They each had their own emotional baggage and trauma to deal with, but they found love and stability with the Walshes until tragedy tore them apart and scattered them. Now as adults, they’re reuniting for Caitlin’s wedding and they have a lot to overcome - past hurts, mistakes, and misunderstandings, along with secrets, resentments, and guilt. Throw in the issues each of them is currently dealing with as adults who have grown and changed, and there’s a lot of tension and emotion bubbling in the lake house.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This story had so much heart. The bonds between these characters ran deep, and yet they had so many things to overcome. There were some heavy themes - grief, mental health, childhood trauma - but it was all handled so well and was balanced by humour and moments of levity and hope. I loved the family and friendship dynamics, as well as the romantic ones. I laughed and teared up while reading - sometimes both at once. I was completely emotionally invested from beginning to end.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Full of heart and humour, <i>The Forever Girl</i> is a beautiful story about chosen family, bonds that last forever, forgiveness, and following your heart. I can’t wait for more Wildstone books.</span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKbBM7-EUuhZEOIZ1pICvY7gFjof8dXuxAEktTZSh5qV0otbgpBojUC-r6PxNucV4NVZnhJa0TgfAK9tFliNajAZc_r7B18F_0staIvLvJQ1qJFFM46qwInO4ilfbtFwXDpvu-niQGBU/s540/The-Forever-Girl-Jill-Shalvis-Marie-Landry.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKbBM7-EUuhZEOIZ1pICvY7gFjof8dXuxAEktTZSh5qV0otbgpBojUC-r6PxNucV4NVZnhJa0TgfAK9tFliNajAZc_r7B18F_0staIvLvJQ1qJFFM46qwInO4ilfbtFwXDpvu-niQGBU/s16000/The-Forever-Girl-Jill-Shalvis-Marie-Landry.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read my review of <i><a href="http://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2020/01/almost-just-friends-jill-shalvis.html" target="_blank">Almost Just Friends</a></i></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read my review of <i><a href="http://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2020/06/blog-tour-summer-deal-jill-shalvis.html" target="_blank">The Summer Deal</a></i></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The publisher has generously allowed me to offer a print copy of <i>The Forever Girl</i> to one lucky US winner!</span></p><br /><a class="rcptr" data-raflid="20ce4ac088" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/20ce4ac088/" id="rcwidget_p7lh5b2n" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script></span><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px;" /><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_6ytwg9JzAd7e0DMaLTtGCWJTjH2CIU1FDxyhRDb2iovKgeRwe77JyufpArVDJIBZptqusSqYSMT0o0c5uInyLz8uEROJM24YuW1YN1myRxT1rnnKIRQ6qU8NoAnTQjH3MlpAaOWbRM/s1600/Jill+Shalvis+Author+Photo_credit+Susan+Zweigle%252C+ZR+Studios.JPG" style="clear: right; color: #006666; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1459" data-original-width="1100" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_6ytwg9JzAd7e0DMaLTtGCWJTjH2CIU1FDxyhRDb2iovKgeRwe77JyufpArVDJIBZptqusSqYSMT0o0c5uInyLz8uEROJM24YuW1YN1myRxT1rnnKIRQ6qU8NoAnTQjH3MlpAaOWbRM/s200/Jill+Shalvis+Author+Photo_credit+Susan+Zweigle%252C+ZR+Studios.JPG" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="150" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #201f1e;">New York Times</i><span style="color: #201f1e;"> bestselling author </span><span class="markyprmhqvbf" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="border: 0px; color: #201f1e; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jill</span><span style="color: #201f1e;"> </span><span class="markeo56bi8ey" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="border: 0px; color: #201f1e; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Shalvis</span><span style="color: #201f1e;"> lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for </span><span class="markyprmhqvbf" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="border: 0px; color: #201f1e; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jill</span><span style="color: #201f1e;">’s bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website, </span><a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="http://www.jillshalvis.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: #954f72; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">www.<span class="markyprmhqvbf" color="inherit" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">jill</span>shalvis.com</a><span style="color: #201f1e;">, for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures. Follow Jill on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jillshalvis/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/JillShalvis" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a>, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JillShalvis/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a>.</span></span></div></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: #201f1e; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><div style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you read<i> The Forever Girl</i> or any of the other books in the Wildstone series? What are some of your favourite books about family bonds?</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-size: 17.6px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div></span></span></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-89140169997039704152021-01-14T15:24:00.001-05:002021-01-14T15:24:26.491-05:0010 Romances I'm Excited for in the First Half of 2021<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI7c97ziHfDOHsYwj6ATtXxSzcPPjHMd9o9yhN0cvqzlhIumvSCIFnABLyqJpVwwQSRovXfHQZESfeMco_yTB5FldELakHV3axBFMnMHIw5uMqPZ9hfq6IZy8mwqPnR0CBln8iU0r7aR4/s540/10-Romances-Im-Excited-for-First-Half-2021-Marie-Landry.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI7c97ziHfDOHsYwj6ATtXxSzcPPjHMd9o9yhN0cvqzlhIumvSCIFnABLyqJpVwwQSRovXfHQZESfeMco_yTB5FldELakHV3axBFMnMHIw5uMqPZ9hfq6IZy8mwqPnR0CBln8iU0r7aR4/s16000/10-Romances-Im-Excited-for-First-Half-2021-Marie-Landry.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: 700;">*Please note: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each book has a link to Amazon, which </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">is</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;"> an affiliate link - all earnings go into the upkeep of this blog, and I truly appreciate your support - but if you have a local indie bookshop you can support, please be sure to do so!</span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are so many fantastic-sounding books coming out in 2021. While <a href="http://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2021/01/2021-reading-writing-goals.html" target="_blank">one of my goals for this year</a> is to read more backlist books, there are plenty of upcoming releases I can’t wait to get my hands on. I narrowed the list down to ten books I’m excited for that are coming out between January and the end of June. Seven of these are from authors I read and loved last year, and the others are new-to-me or debut authors I’m excited to try for the first time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-UYjZlqlg_K7PdwRfzAaDCvEfyI1M4aRVL_8DQaP5f5McKKhbxgqNXSlPk3-sPMn71Y_euLLjGXRMV75dk1sjHawRLbNuDjHh5l0c7iXkNpU06ZmlKhkxWST6Wjf_c6Ldj3xEdr9fydI/s400/Love-at-First-Kate-Clayborn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="269" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-UYjZlqlg_K7PdwRfzAaDCvEfyI1M4aRVL_8DQaP5f5McKKhbxgqNXSlPk3-sPMn71Y_euLLjGXRMV75dk1sjHawRLbNuDjHh5l0c7iXkNpU06ZmlKhkxWST6Wjf_c6Ldj3xEdr9fydI/s320/Love-at-First-Kate-Clayborn.jpg" /></a></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-d75f1c19-7fff-860b-b5bd-8f110ee49692"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Love at First</i> by <a href="https://www.kateclayborn.com/" target="_blank">Kate Clayborn</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coming February 23rd, 2021 from Kensington</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54231816-love-at-first" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> || Pre-order on <a href="https://amzn.to/3nbxqKK" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sixteen years ago, a teenaged Will Sterling saw—or rather, heard—the girl of his dreams. Standing beneath an apartment building balcony, he shared a perfect moment with a lovely, warm-voiced stranger. It's a memory that's never faded, though he's put so much of his past behind him. Now an unexpected inheritance has brought Will back to that same address, where he plans to offload his new property and get back to his regular life as an overworked doctor. Instead, he encounters a woman, two balconies above, who's uncannily familiar...</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No matter how surprised Nora Clarke is by her reaction to handsome, curious Will, or the whispered pre-dawn conversations they share, she won't let his plans ruin her quirky, close-knit building. Bound by her loyalty to her adored grandmother, she sets out to foil his efforts with a little light sabotage. But beneath the surface of their feud is an undeniable connection. A balcony, a star-crossed couple, a fateful meeting—maybe it's the kind of story that can't work out in the end. Or maybe, it's the perfect second chance.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlHbuIB5udgQs2N6NwzxuTBBIMcj3K7zqt3A5CP0nLLT_7N6n42ogo_SNeUB63ss2xkj10q9TXLbBxfB40Zrw1rTQyLCkTxhunAM58eHPebs__P1XUUkBxvSZlS3EjM8noCfYiL8yzhe0/s475/The-Knockout-Rule-Kelly-Siskind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="308" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlHbuIB5udgQs2N6NwzxuTBBIMcj3K7zqt3A5CP0nLLT_7N6n42ogo_SNeUB63ss2xkj10q9TXLbBxfB40Zrw1rTQyLCkTxhunAM58eHPebs__P1XUUkBxvSZlS3EjM8noCfYiL8yzhe0/s320/The-Knockout-Rule-Kelly-Siskind.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Knockout Rule</i> by <a href="https://www.kellysiskind.com/" target="_blank">Kelly Siskind</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coming February 24th, 2021 from CD Books</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56261460-the-knockout-rule" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> || Pre-order on <a href="https://amzn.to/358nxXQ" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Growing up with an adoring father for a boxing legend isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It looks more like hospital visits, bloody noses, and cracked ribs.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Isla Slade now works as a physiotherapist, helping athletes heal their bodies. Except for boxers. She has no interest in reliving the stress of her teen years. Dating someone in the boxing world? She’d rather snort wasabi powder.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Until she meets Preston Church.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Preston manages heavyweight boxing darling Brick Kramarov. A brute who’s built tougher than his name, with a cocky attitude to boot. She wants nothing to do with either man, but her father begs her to help them prepare for a huge Vegas fight.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She doesn’t expect Preston to recite romantic poems and slowly break her resolve. His fascinating mind gets under her skin, even if his star athlete reminds her how much she hates boxing.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Too bad it’s Brick coaching Preston how to woo Isla, falling for her from the sidelines. Once she finds out, she’ll have to decide if she can risk loving another man who puts it all on the line for the knockout.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNgnJnb8BePuMK7sEBpqL1raqZJk1nIL5W2RF05295Xb5M0ZXclxzRfM17f2I3DojwlYbdhFdxRS82MKNJygDZmP_Gb5s0EXKboJTNbED7LYg3XVLNWeEMJek3-EoVAUr8SikfVll6biQ/s2048/Accidentally-Engaged-Farah-Heron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNgnJnb8BePuMK7sEBpqL1raqZJk1nIL5W2RF05295Xb5M0ZXclxzRfM17f2I3DojwlYbdhFdxRS82MKNJygDZmP_Gb5s0EXKboJTNbED7LYg3XVLNWeEMJek3-EoVAUr8SikfVll6biQ/s320/Accidentally-Engaged-Farah-Heron.jpg" /></a></div><i style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Accidentally Engaged</i><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by </span><a href="https://farahheron.com/" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Farah Heron</a></span><div><span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coming March 2nd, 2021 from Forever</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54360539-accidentally-engaged" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> || Pre-order on <a href="https://amzn.to/3bhfyMj" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reena Manji doesn’t love her career, her single status, and most of all, her family inserting themselves into every detail of her life. But when caring for her precious sourdough starters, Reena can drown it all out. At least until her father moves his newest employee across the hall—with hopes that Reena will marry him.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But Nadim’s not like the other Muslim bachelors-du-jour that her parents have dug up. If the Captain America body and the British accent weren’t enough, the man appears to love eating her bread creations as much as she loves making them. She sure as hell would never marry a man who works for her father, but friendship with a neighbor is okay, right? And when Reena’s career takes a nosedive, Nadim happily agrees to fake an engagement so they can enter a couples video cooking contest to win the artisan bread course of her dreams.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As cooking at home together brings them closer, things turn physical, but Reena isn’t worried. She knows Nadim is keeping secrets, but it’s fine—secrets are always on the menu where her family is concerned. And her heart is protected… she’s not marrying the man. But even secrets kept for self-preservation have a way of getting out, especially when meddling parents and gossiping families are involved.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTDxD0_dehD8VDvVIewbxpqwNQC7ED-wnAhycje3gMc8y8GdrlJTzgXdkwk-gsH57Bu7ogeFd5VHvqEPVQcm-sEIIRdJiUfyPQ1vo3mkB9WtiLlIbRyqu1jTtLbHwxhVZ-ATgrBmT_lnI/s400/Act-Your-Age-Eve-Brown-Talia-Hibbert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="266" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTDxD0_dehD8VDvVIewbxpqwNQC7ED-wnAhycje3gMc8y8GdrlJTzgXdkwk-gsH57Bu7ogeFd5VHvqEPVQcm-sEIIRdJiUfyPQ1vo3mkB9WtiLlIbRyqu1jTtLbHwxhVZ-ATgrBmT_lnI/s320/Act-Your-Age-Eve-Brown-Talia-Hibbert.jpg" /></a></div><i style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Act Your Age, Eve Brown</i><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by </span><a href="https://www.taliahibbert.com/" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Talia Hibbert</a></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coming March 9th, 2021 from Avon</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51824384-act-your-age-eve-brown" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> || Pre-order on <a href="https://amzn.to/38UQuHT" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eve Brown is a certified hot mess. No matter how hard she strives to do right, her life always goes horribly wrong—so she’s given up trying. But when her personal brand of chaos ruins an expensive wedding (someone had to liberate those poor doves), her parents draw the line. It's time for Eve to grow up and prove herself—even though she's not entirely sure how…</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jacob Wayne is in control. Always. The bed and breakfast owner’s on a mission to dominate the hospitality industry—and he expects nothing less than perfection. So when a purple-haired tornado of a woman turns up out of the blue to interview for his open chef position, he tells her the brutal truth: not a chance in hell. Then she hits him with her car—supposedly by accident. Yeah, right.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now his arm is broken, his B&B is understaffed, and the dangerously unpredictable Eve is fluttering around, trying to help. Before long, she’s infiltrated his work, his kitchen—and his spare bedroom. Jacob hates everything about it. Or rather, he should. Sunny, chaotic Eve is his natural-born nemesis, but the longer these two enemies spend in close quarters, the more their animosity turns into something else. Like Eve, the heat between them is impossible to ignore—and it’s melting Jacob’s frosty exterior.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhueOQprtVAdyfQkLEGwzXtgWjQMC3AQWxAqaAagYSHto2lQEdjws-gia5DVR60Ud2HA5THy1GL40Izj3s0B-CuGeVzo0YGDpAaV1u7HzBVVydpKi0aR6cFlL9AqH9GbcSAwAjrH0IAyeM/s400/Sandcastle-Beach-Jenny-Holiday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="272" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhueOQprtVAdyfQkLEGwzXtgWjQMC3AQWxAqaAagYSHto2lQEdjws-gia5DVR60Ud2HA5THy1GL40Izj3s0B-CuGeVzo0YGDpAaV1u7HzBVVydpKi0aR6cFlL9AqH9GbcSAwAjrH0IAyeM/s320/Sandcastle-Beach-Jenny-Holiday.jpg" /></a></div><i style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sandcastle Beach</i><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by </span><a href="https://www.jennyholiday.com/" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Jenny Holiday</a></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coming March 9th, 2021 from Forever</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54503483-sandcastle-beach" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> || Pre-order on <a href="https://amzn.to/38eOefL" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maya Mehta will do anything to save her tiny, beloved community theater. Put on musicals she hates? Check. Hire an arrogant former-pop-star-turned-actor? Done. But what Maya really needs to save her theater is Matchmaker Bay's new business grant. She's got some serious competition, though: Benjamin "Law" Lawson, local bar owner, Jerk Extraordinaire, and Maya's annoyingly hot arch nemesis. Let the games begin.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Law loves nothing more than getting under Maya's skin, and making those gorgeous eyes dance with irritation. But when he discovers the ex-pop star has a thing for Maya, too, Law decides he's done waiting in the wings-starting with a scorching-hot kiss. Turns out there's a thin line between hate and irresistible desire, and Maya and Law are really good at crossing it. But when things heat up, will they allow their long-standing feud to get in the way of their growing feelings?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtm0dBBbsc4Qphsj0GK9F_LKQxXGt7mjiSHtP6ySXlE6eneyyiebPhFh75UW1d49KwOggeqHXaKJiFDtFqZVMJ2d_H7Vdf6LbKyZgoj2VALIDaNhrYnq4E9kNA3DJe27BRo-4xALlvz1w/s475/Lifes-too-Short-Abby-Jimenez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtm0dBBbsc4Qphsj0GK9F_LKQxXGt7mjiSHtP6ySXlE6eneyyiebPhFh75UW1d49KwOggeqHXaKJiFDtFqZVMJ2d_H7Vdf6LbKyZgoj2VALIDaNhrYnq4E9kNA3DJe27BRo-4xALlvz1w/s320/Lifes-too-Short-Abby-Jimenez.jpg" /></a></div><i style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life’s Too Short </i><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">by </span><a href="https://www.authorabbyjimenez.com/" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Abby Jimenez</a></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coming April 6th, 2021 from Forever</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54377375-life-s-too-short" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> || Pre-order on <a href="https://amzn.to/3pKwnTz" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vanessa lives life on her own terms—one day at a time, every day to its fullest. She isn’t willing to waste a moment or miss out on an experience when she has no idea whether she shares the same fatal genetic condition as her mother. Besides, she has way too much to do, traveling the globe and showing her millions of YouTube followers the joy in seizing every moment.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But after her half-sister suddenly leaves Vanessa in custody of her infant daughter, she is housebound, on mommy duty for the foreseeable future, and feeling totally out of her element.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The last person she expects to show up offering help is the unbelievably hot lawyer who lives next door, Adrian Copeland. After all, she barely knows him. But as they get closer, Vanessa realizes that her carefree ways and his need for a structured plan could never be compatible for the long term. Then again, she should know better than anyone that life’s too short to fear taking the biggest risk of all. . .</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6KToASBs2Q0w_ibyE3StMZejVW7qus-DE2JLYKStYxTbipk0w7N6Ryxj20FnXfJbloUE8A-0NrMx0PhUErP2TyBcyZhWFF6zaEiPvcFuttke9sppvd_Ix_vgGrQNgRRcivcL7MdORTHM/s1280/The-Intimacy-Experiment-Rosie-Danan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6KToASBs2Q0w_ibyE3StMZejVW7qus-DE2JLYKStYxTbipk0w7N6Ryxj20FnXfJbloUE8A-0NrMx0PhUErP2TyBcyZhWFF6zaEiPvcFuttke9sppvd_Ix_vgGrQNgRRcivcL7MdORTHM/s320/The-Intimacy-Experiment-Rosie-Danan.jpg" /></a></div><i style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Intimacy Experiment</i><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by </span><a href="https://www.rosiedanan.com/" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Rosie Danan</a></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coming April 6th, 2021 from Berkley</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54614561-the-intimacy-experiment" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> || Pre-order on <a href="https://amzn.to/38WMwi3" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Naomi Grant has built her life around going against the grain. After the sex-positive start-up she cofounded becomes an international sensation, she wants to extend her educational platform to live lecturing. Unfortunately, despite her long list of qualifications, higher ed won't hire her.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ethan Cohen has recently received two honors: LA Mag named him one of the city's hottest bachelors and he became rabbi of his own synagogue. Taking a gamble in an effort to attract more millennials to the faith, the executive board hired Ethan because of his nontraditional background. Unfortunately, his shul is low on both funds and congregants. The board gives him three months to turn things around or else they'll close the doors of his synagogue for good.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Naomi and Ethan join forces to host a buzzy seminar series on Modern Intimacy, the perfect solution to their problems—until they discover a new one—their growing attraction to each other. They've built the syllabus for love's latest experiment, but neither of them expected they'd be the ones putting it to the test.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUq5jfMhO9F-BSkdn7amzv2FmVkK6Yq8auwjSuK9N63CZMqJ0VFyym5cW7AVcNxefr4XemDsHaKIMRv_NZYvKw_W9GVuHaft9f6DZjPgdHxcRe9rQoWsUxKbhqc-ZtZMdJhyphenhyphenkGTJx5JNc/s2048/Maggie-Finds-Her-Muse-Dee-Ernst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1335" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUq5jfMhO9F-BSkdn7amzv2FmVkK6Yq8auwjSuK9N63CZMqJ0VFyym5cW7AVcNxefr4XemDsHaKIMRv_NZYvKw_W9GVuHaft9f6DZjPgdHxcRe9rQoWsUxKbhqc-ZtZMdJhyphenhyphenkGTJx5JNc/s320/Maggie-Finds-Her-Muse-Dee-Ernst.jpg" /></a></div><i style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maggie Finds Her Muse</i><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by </span><a href="https://www.deeernst.com/" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Dee Ernst</a></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coming April 20th, 2021 by St Martin’s Griffin</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53137970-maggie-finds-her-muse" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> || Pre-order on <a href="https://amzn.to/3rNT0IL" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All Maggie Bliss needs to do is write. Forty-eight years old and newly single (again!), she ventures to Paris in a last-ditch effort to finish her manuscript. With a marvelous apartment at her fingertips and an elegant housekeeper to meet her every need, a finished book—and her dream of finally taking her career over the top—is surely within her grasp. After all, how could she find anything except inspiration in Paris, with its sophistication, food, and romance in the air?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the clock is running out, and between her charming ex-husband arriving in France for vacation and a handsome Frenchman appearing one morning in her bathtub, Maggie’s previously undisturbed peace goes by the wayside.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxaI535UBLgbjRVaC79pz1MwfvxdSQ28nD8YnwwBZ5SK0ub6TerB0PRX5WfcSmXZ41lOs8EdqOrT-bo_V69nZfczOkWtEufRVVdeVH26h8J2KDo6levGX_iRSXpwoE9JUvzvLAojGusw8/s475/Talk-Bookish-to-Me-Kate-Bromley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxaI535UBLgbjRVaC79pz1MwfvxdSQ28nD8YnwwBZ5SK0ub6TerB0PRX5WfcSmXZ41lOs8EdqOrT-bo_V69nZfczOkWtEufRVVdeVH26h8J2KDo6levGX_iRSXpwoE9JUvzvLAojGusw8/s320/Talk-Bookish-to-Me-Kate-Bromley.jpg" /></a></div><i style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Talk Bookish to Me</i><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/katebromleywrites/?hl=en" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Kate Bromley</a></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coming May 25th, 2021 from Graydon House</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54908449-talk-bookish-to-me" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> || Pre-order on <a href="https://amzn.to/3b5oK60" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kara Sullivan’s life is full of love—albeit fictional. As a bestselling romance novelist and influential Bookstagrammer, she’s fine with getting her happily-ever-after fix between the covers of a book.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But right now? Not only is Kara’s best friend getting married next week—which means big wedding stress—but the deadline for her next novel is looming, and she hasn’t written a single word. The last thing she needs is for her infuriating first love, Ryan Thompson, to suddenly appear in the wedding party. But Ryan’s unexpected arrival sparks a creative awakening in Kara that inspires the steamy historical romance she desperately needs to deliver.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With her wedding duties intensifying, her deadline getting closer by the second and her bills not paying themselves, Kara knows there’s only one way for her to finish her book and to give her characters the ever-after they deserve. But can she embrace the unlikely, ruggedly handsome muse—who pushes every one of her buttons—to save the wedding, her career and, just maybe, write her own happy ending?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkd5MaznOUdWpQdvRUl6wGayWEQAhb9mehA3aDaXSAhlpm37GF_BFKr-3FTOgZ0xRCLVy2UdYQVyRuEyCDLkcK0kPxbm647kwN9-ZE0E1pU9OscgcdE5Gk1MoP6ur1qgw8TKVZfVuAapk/s1000/Hang-the-Moon-Alexandria-Bellefleur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="664" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkd5MaznOUdWpQdvRUl6wGayWEQAhb9mehA3aDaXSAhlpm37GF_BFKr-3FTOgZ0xRCLVy2UdYQVyRuEyCDLkcK0kPxbm647kwN9-ZE0E1pU9OscgcdE5Gk1MoP6ur1qgw8TKVZfVuAapk/s320/Hang-the-Moon-Alexandria-Bellefleur.jpg" /></a></div><i style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hang the Moon</i><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by </span><a href="https://www.alexandriabellefleur.com/" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Alexandria Bellefleur</a></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coming May 25th, 2021 from Avon</span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55004138-hang-the-moon" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> || Pre-order on <a href="https://amzn.to/3pJ1UFn" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brendon Lowell loves love. It’s why he created a dating app to help people find their one true pairing and why he’s convinced “the one” is out there, even if he hasn’t met her yet. Or... has he? When his sister's best friend turns up in Seattle unexpectedly, Brendon jumps at the chance to hang out with her. He’s crushed on Annie since they were kids, and the stars have finally aligned, putting them in the same city at the same time.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Annie booked a spur-of-the-moment trip to Seattle to spend time with friends before moving across the globe. She’s not looking for love, especially with her best friend’s brother. Annie remembers Brendon as a sweet, dorky kid. Except, the 6-foot-4 man who shows up at her door is a certified Hot Nerd and Annie...wants him? Oh yes.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Getting involved would be a terrible idea—her stay is temporary and he wants forever—but when Brendon learns Annie has given up on dating, he’s determined to prove that romance is real. Taking cues from his favorite rom-coms, Brendon plans to woo her with elaborate dates straight out of Nora Ephron’s playbook. The clock is ticking on Annie’s time in Seattle, and Brendon’s starting to realize romance isn’t just flowers and chocolate. But maybe real love doesn’t need to be as perfect as the movies...as long as you think your partner hung the moon.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BONUS BOOK:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsDXLSZeKYW8zcKYDuSq9uBOYxsJr5Qk4Rq2fR-9cRurk60Sa-5hlw_j7s-25o7aw6JjwHS3HR5C_3A9jGZJr1JBan_jV3mp1BlJxFUTrqDakc6hCHc_NZPu2Jn9Gaup19iBXXtxC9Q0/s320/Rosaline-Palmer-Takes-the-Cake-Alexis-Hall.jpg" /></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">After writing this post, a reveal was done for Alexis Hall's new book. Since Alexis's </span><i style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Boyfriend Material</i><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was <a href="http://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2021/01/top-10-favourite-romances-2020.html" target="_blank">one of my top favourite books of 2020</a>, I had to add a bonus book to this list: <i>Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake</i>, which comes out on May 18th, 2021, and is published by Forever</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55277878-rosaline-palmer-takes-the-cake" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> || <a href="https://amzn.to/3nMdFJX" target="_blank">Pre-order</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Which books from the first half of 2021 are <i>you</i> most excited about? Are any of these books on your TBR?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-size: 17.6px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-63592002458261002142021-01-06T00:34:00.001-05:002021-01-06T00:34:02.286-05:00My 2021 Reading and Writing Goals<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8CIv2ZUyMufs7dXp5LpzLoJtlTmZsIlAx6EOtXPr8ZhPkMpqPcx1Xq0mEeWXh_VyYG6INQMGBFEz2kqZDNUIb2sUfmlf1g5HexCDAutYwpTq5S1ze7zQdSlpfssn47ziI-gqnSJg3YHQ/s16000/2021-Reading-Writing-Goals-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the end of <a href="https://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2021/01/2020-year-in-review.html" target="_blank">my last post</a>, I mentioned that my word for 2021 is ‘Present’, supported by ‘Simplify’, ‘Connect’, and ‘Balance’. I spent most of 2020 feeling discombobulated and disconnected, and this year I want to be more mindful of how I spend my time, what I choose to focus on, and creating a healthy, sustainable work-life balance.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Reading Goals</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">With ‘simplify’ in mind, I decided not to join any bookish challenges this year. I’ll be doing my yearly </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/25286651" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Goodreads goal</a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (I’ve set it at 90 books, same as last year), but last year I signed up for various year-long challenges on bookstagram and blogs, and I spent more time focusing on the challenge aspect than actually reading. I don’t want reading to ever feel like a chore; it’s something I do for pleasure and to relax and escape.</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-506b51d3-7fff-584a-00a0-b0ddaaea6b95"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because of that, I’ve also decided I’m going to try to limit the number of ARCs I request and accept. I got so bogged down in review books last year and barely read any of the books on my own shelves or Kindle. I love getting review books and it’s a privilege I don’t take for granted, but I want to have the freedom to go with my mood and not what I feel I ‘have to’ read because of release deadlines and commitments. There are dozens of books that have been sitting on my shelves for years and I feel like they’re mocking me.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My other reading goals are things I want to continue from last year:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700;">★</span>Read more diversely (last year about ⅓ of the books I read fit this goal, but I know I can do better and read more books by and about BIPOC and the LGBTQ+ community)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700;">★</span>Read more books by Canadian authors (last year I read 17)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700;">★</span>Read more books by indie authors (last year I read 19)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700;">★</span>Read more backlist books (I didn’t specifically keep track of those last year, but the vast majority of the books I read were new releases)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Writing Goals</span></b></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2020, I wrote chunks of three different novels, as well as a complete novella. My goal for 2021 is to complete those three partially-finished WIPs, and possibly the half-finished book I started writing in 2015. To make those goals less daunting, I’ve decided I’m going to start setting quarterly goals. I’m hoping by doing this I won’t be so overwhelmed by the big picture and my goals will feel more manageable.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My main writing goal for the first quarter of 2021 is to finish the first draft of the next book in the Perry series. I don’t plan to publish it until the fall, but since it’s my most recent project, I want to finish writing it early in the year and be ahead of the game. If I finish it before the end of March, I’ll assess my yearly goals and see which project to tackle next.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Smaller goals within that quarterly goal:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700;">★</span>Cut back on time spent on social media (as in less mindless scrolling)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700;">★</span>Put my phone out of reach when I’m working</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700;">★</span>Set better working hours and take time for relaxation and self-care; I typically don’t do enough of that but when I do, it always helps with my creative flow, not to mention my stress levels</span></p><div><span><br /></span></div><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">What are some of your reading and/or writing goals for 2021, or just general goals? Do you have big yearly goals or do you break them down into bite-size bits?</span></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-size: 17.6px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div></span><div><span><br /></span></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-6791596858996748552021-01-04T00:34:00.003-05:002021-01-04T00:34:01.807-05:002020: A Year in Review<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5c1N8Awliqmdmhmt2pdKZzz74xMudOqbZAkI61orGqbiFNU82wVafgi2QkEUKu-EF5U1PjnfQQ2C3Loz6AbB1UHwl2FIlJ6EavV0EQ1ETCiRQeQniMQPbDZe-kvLvdIdZFnO3rFhN1M/s16000/2020-A-Year-in-Review-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Well, we officially made it through 2020. After such a chaotic year, I debated whether to do my usual Year in Review; I wasn’t sure I wanted to look back, plus so much of the year feels like a blur. I also saw a lot of social media posts saying how year-end posts would be a mixed bag now more than they ever were and would have a lot of people feeling a variety of emotions since some people managed to accomplish a lot while others' accomplishments were simply making it through the year and living to tell the tale. For me, 2020 fell somewhere in between, but the things I did accomplish were hard-won, which I think should be celebrated.</span></p></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-72c66e2f-7fff-85db-92c7-cee9b4cd785b"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was a difficult mental health year - I spent a good chunk of time in anxiety spirals, especially early on in the pandemic - but I also learned new coping mechanisms, and I had great friends to lean on (virtually, of course). Since my 80-year-old mum and I live together, we had to go into lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic in order to keep her safe. As of now, we’ve been in isolation for nine and a half months. The hardest part has been being separated from the rest of our family, especially my little niece and nephew, who we always spent a lot of time with. Thankfully we have each other and we're very close, and we’ve had incredible, generous friends picking up groceries for us weekly. I also found a great deal of pleasure in books and TV, namely the Star Wars movies, The Mandalorian, Schitt Creek, The Baby-Sitters Club, Jane the Virgin, New Girl, and Never Have I Ever.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGkiLLWa6JFfrSyXCxfxP1sqXhImgZLz77DQJySLZmaCZa-D3MYzZu5ZLrFAd5LZnEy_3Y5fBrY8dedz5lQaNV6IZEhu6dX7ld-u_GldotQhoc3WN_Yfbi3hjsDNiyjZbOpaX1XEFW78/s16000/Star-Wars-The-Mandalorian-2020-Marie-Landry.png" /></div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Things I accomplished in 2020:</span></b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700;">★</span>I published a full-length contemporary romance, <a href="https://www.marielandryauthor.com/p/huoy.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Hung Up on You</a> in January</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700;">★</span>I wrote and published a holiday romcom novella, <i><a href="https://www.marielandryauthor.com/p/a-very-perry-christmas.html" target="_blank">A Very Perry Christmas</a> </i>in November </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;">☆</span>I figured out how to format paperback books after almost nine years of being an indie author and created <i>A Very Perry Christmas</i> as my first ever paperback</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;">☆</span>Four different book clubs chose <i>A Very Perry Christmas</i> as their monthly read, which absolutely blew me away</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;">☆</span>For the first time in my entire career, I had dozens of people posting about my book on Instagram </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700;">★</span>I wrote a chapter about bookstagram for a collaborative non-fiction book called <i><a href="https://www.marielandryauthor.com/p/indie-writing-wisdom.html" target="_blank">Indie Writing Wisdom</a></i>, which released on December 1st and hit the Amazon US bestseller list in new releases</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700;">★</span>I wrote chunks of three different novels (for my own future reference, the working titles of those books are Christmas Queen, Sexy Beach Read, and Perry #2)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700;">★</span>I read 100 books (see my Top 10 Favourite Romances of 2020 <a href="http://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2021/01/top-10-favourite-romances-2020.html" target="_blank">here</a>)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700;">★</span>I supported various small businesses, mostly Canadian ones, and did my best to promote the ones I loved most (<a href="https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/AlwaysSeptemberShop" target="_blank">Always September</a>, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/FoxandWild" target="_blank">Fox + Wild</a>, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/BiblioBelleBoutique" target="_blank">Bibliophile Belle’s Boutique</a>, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SJWonderlandz" target="_blank">SJWonderlandz</a>, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/LakesideCraftCorner" target="_blank">Lakeside Craft Corner</a>, and <a href="https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/readinginthecountry" target="_blank">Reading in the Country</a>). I was also chosen for two separate terms as a bookstagram representative for Always September, which was a highlight of the year.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700;">★</span>I rediscovered my love of cooking, largely with the help of meal prep kits like GoodFood, Chefs Plate, and Hello Fresh (if you’re in Canada and would like a discount on any of these, I’d be happy to send you one!)</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhie0iLiUbz5REMcj_lx476ixzRu7qA-Zym-iQQiI_pyOLCYUy0m-jfGV9tPBLjqqWFo57c35jULZF2pkQyJzEtPFgL6WbuDoXvJvexqgDeTlxTmCVLupwGn1qvrQfmY8WmrH4zY1gJRQg/s16000/Marie-Landry-2020-Books.png" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While 2020 wasn’t all bad, I’m eager to move on, look ahead, and hope for brighter days. I’ll be talking more about my reading and writing goals later this week, but for now, I’ll say my word for 2021 is ‘Present’, supported by ‘Simplify’, ‘Connect’, and ‘Balance’. All these things go hand in hand, at least in my mind. I spent most of 2020 feeling discombobulated and disconnected, and this year I want to be more mindful of how I spend my time, what I choose to focus on, and creating a healthy, sustainable work-life balance.</span></p><div><span><br /></span></div><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">What were some of your 2020 highlights? Some of the things that made you smile, brought you joy, or reminded you there’s still good in the world?</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-size: 17.6px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-weight: 700;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; white-space: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Previous Yearly Recaps:</span></u></span></span></span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;">☆<a href="https://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2019/12/2019-year-in-review.html" target="_blank">2019: A Year in Review</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span></span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 17.6px;">☆</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; white-space: normal;"><a href="http://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2019/01/2018-year-in-review.html" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">2018: A Year in Review</a></span></span></span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; white-space: normal;">☆<a href="http://www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com/2018/01/2017-year-in-review.html" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">2017: A Year in Review</a></span></span></span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px;" /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; white-space: normal;">☆<a href="http://sweetmarie-83.blogspot.ca/2016/12/2016-year-in-review.html" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">2016: A Year in Review</a></span><br style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; white-space: normal;" /><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; white-space: normal;">☆<a href="http://sweetmarie-83.blogspot.ca/2016/01/looking-back-on-2015.html" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Looking Back on 2015</a></span><br style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; white-space: normal;" /><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; white-space: normal;">☆<a href="http://sweetmarie-83.blogspot.ca/2015/01/reflecting-on-2014-and-looking-to-year.html" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Reflecting on 2014 and Looking at the Year Ahead</a> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; white-space: normal;" /><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; white-space: normal;">☆<a href="http://sweetmarie-83.blogspot.ca/2012/12/2012-year-in-review.html" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">2012: A Year in Review</a></span><br style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; white-space: normal;" /><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; white-space: normal;">☆<a href="http://sweetmarie-83.blogspot.ca/2011/01/2010-year-in-review.html" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">2010: A Year in Review</a></span></span></span></span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></div></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-50941636144468383162021-01-01T14:44:00.001-05:002021-01-01T14:44:02.825-05:00My Top 10 Favourite Romances of 2020<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> <img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_gxAeBpEgCKHbeDFyCHwYbMaye37wix5N3SerEiJzrleE5NLSc8MPkjmqNyMCaWGzbjMkcx8nG4ua1TJIlI7U0LgUZu0x5GGNsakuSFCPi6ydbEMywVF_gf2Irjlhx9E-8E3yp3a1pU/s16000/Top-10-Favourite-Romances-2020-Marie-Landry.png" /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: 700;">*Please note: </span><span style="font-size: x-small; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each book has a link to Amazon, which </span><i style="font-size: x-small; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">is</i><span style="font-size: x-small; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;"> an affiliate link - all earnings go into the upkeep of this blog, and I truly appreciate your support - but if you have a local indie bookshop you can support, please be sure to do so!</span></div><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">2020 may have been a rotten year in many ways, but one highlight was all the amazing contemporary romances and romantic comedy books I read. I also read quite a few incredible YA books, but for the sake of keeping this list manageable, I decided to stick with adult romances. In no particular order, here are ten of my favourite romance reads of 2020!</span></span><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnQaPccgx0VPAJZoLgDQnbFQI5-GmEVuO85A6tdfNs-epXk0tjBvkonYvsBqwXSOB-bhB-6slpXSsYU8ahYvmYwQVd1rwbLWNTJlsThPevir9feWCsLcxZujZmhgvEAwKrP_oWJ2cRTk/s595/Boyfriend-Material-Alexis-Hall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="396" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnQaPccgx0VPAJZoLgDQnbFQI5-GmEVuO85A6tdfNs-epXk0tjBvkonYvsBqwXSOB-bhB-6slpXSsYU8ahYvmYwQVd1rwbLWNTJlsThPevir9feWCsLcxZujZmhgvEAwKrP_oWJ2cRTk/s320/Boyfriend-Material-Alexis-Hall.jpg" /></a></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">Boyfriend Material</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"> by </span><a href="https://quicunquevult.com/" style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">Alexis Hall</a></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Published on July 7th, 2020 by Sourcebooks Casablanca</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Buy on <a href="https://amzn.to/2X3gQSp" target="_blank">Amazon</a> || Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50225678-boyfriend-material" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Wanted:</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">One (fake) boyfriend</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Practically perfect in every way</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">Luc O'Donnell is tangentially</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">and reluctantly</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">famous. His rock star parents split when he was young, and the father he's never met spent the next twenty years cruising in and out of rehab. Now that his dad's making a comeback, Luc's back in the public eye, and one compromising photo is enough to ruin everything.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice, normal relationship...and Oliver Blackwood is as nice and normal as they come. He's a barrister, an ethical vegetarian, and he's never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. In other words: perfect boyfriend material. Unfortunately, apart from being gay, single, and really, really in need of a date for a big event, Luc and Oliver have nothing in common. So they strike a deal to be publicity-friendly (fake) boyfriends until the dust has settled. Then they can go their separate ways and pretend it never happened.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">But the thing about fake-dating is that it can feel a lot like real-dating. And that's when you get used to someone. Start falling for them. Don't ever want to let them go.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPp4yUE9wVPgzwQbt9iKiNIVsA3N6aEzedxTcyH8_j_H16AvvN02ORNIk_7jrPHQjHk4g4n5et5QMIIPyI7ZecXq9Z6iUGTmci-ZM4njYOf9HgeK_MOOxsSD9VSZ9H4c8fJgtkGaSNPs/s400/Take-a-Hint-Dani-Brown-Talia-Hibbert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="266" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPp4yUE9wVPgzwQbt9iKiNIVsA3N6aEzedxTcyH8_j_H16AvvN02ORNIk_7jrPHQjHk4g4n5et5QMIIPyI7ZecXq9Z6iUGTmci-ZM4njYOf9HgeK_MOOxsSD9VSZ9H4c8fJgtkGaSNPs/s320/Take-a-Hint-Dani-Brown-Talia-Hibbert.jpg" /></a></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">Take a Hint, Dani Brown </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">by </span><a href="https://www.taliahibbert.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">Talia Hibbert</a></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Published July 23rd, 2020 by Avon</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Buy on <a href="https://amzn.to/3hH1a0Y">Amazon</a> || Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49976087-take-a-hint-dani-brown" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Danika Brown knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and an occasional roll in the hay to relieve all that career-driven tension. But romance? Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Romantic partners, whatever their gender, are a distraction at best and a drain at worst. So Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend-with-benefits—someone who knows the score and knows their way around the bedroom.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">When brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it’s an obvious sign: PhD student Dani and ex-rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Now half the internet is shipping #DrRugbae—and Zaf is begging Dani to play along. Turns out, his sports charity for kids could really use the publicity. Lying to help children? Who on earth would refuse?</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dani’s plan is simple: fake a relationship in public, seduce Zaf behind the scenes. The trouble is, grumpy Zaf’s secretly a hopeless romantic—and he’s determined to corrupt Dani’s stone-cold realism. Before long, he’s tackling her fears into the dirt. But the former sports star has issues of his own, and the walls around his heart are as thick as his...um, thighs. Suddenly, the easy lay Dani dreamed of is more complex than her thesis. Has her wish backfired? Is her focus being tested? Or is the universe just waiting for her to take a hint?</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIey0mGGsMioigRZu1rpSH35WN1Qq7CUnKgMsdYbsyjCNWrrFWTkSjOtR8YzderDw_khpV9K-SXZqnO6sYt2M2BWIiXms80CO3FNkMwVKc8ITokqls_a2mfYeId8mRaooYuO0JVOKv1QE/s2048/The-Little-Bookshop-of-Love-Stories-Jaimie-Admans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1334" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIey0mGGsMioigRZu1rpSH35WN1Qq7CUnKgMsdYbsyjCNWrrFWTkSjOtR8YzderDw_khpV9K-SXZqnO6sYt2M2BWIiXms80CO3FNkMwVKc8ITokqls_a2mfYeId8mRaooYuO0JVOKv1QE/s320/The-Little-Bookshop-of-Love-Stories-Jaimie-Admans.jpg" /></a></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">Little Bookshop of Love Stories</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"> by </span><a href="https://jaimieadmans.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">Jaimie Admans</a></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Published May 8th, 2020 by HQ Digital</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Buy on <a href="https://amzn.to/3n32a0c" target="_blank">Amazon</a> || Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52101614-the-little-bookshop-of-love-stories" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today is the Mondayest Monday ever. Hallie Winstone has been fired―and it wasn’t even her fault!</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Having lost her job and humiliated herself in front of a whole restaurant full of diners, this is absolutely, one hundred percent, the worst day of her life. That is until she receives an email announcing that she is the lucky winner of the Once Upon a Page Bookshop! Owning a bookshop has always been Hallie’s dream, and when she starts to find secret love letters on the first pages of every book, she knows she's stumbled across something special.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Things get even better when she meets gorgeous, bookish Dimitri and between them, they post a few of the hidden messages online, reuniting people who thought they were lost forever. But maybe it’s time for Hallie to find her own happy-ever-after, too?</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCmmTDH6Pm55U8Od1wWfEktj6UgwyFnNzvHVPUJ-BRt0HwErC4e1EAs4gEEY8myZnx12S6mPqSacI9FxrvGY7nYSnyy09sbUV2-0rpteWSPBh3GGzSFRGl4bA2z8s-kwR-dri6aoObC58/s2048/The-Roommate-Rosie-Danan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1364" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCmmTDH6Pm55U8Od1wWfEktj6UgwyFnNzvHVPUJ-BRt0HwErC4e1EAs4gEEY8myZnx12S6mPqSacI9FxrvGY7nYSnyy09sbUV2-0rpteWSPBh3GGzSFRGl4bA2z8s-kwR-dri6aoObC58/s320/The-Roommate-Rosie-Danan.jpg" /></a></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">The Roommate</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"> by </span><a href="https://www.rosiedanan.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">Rosie Danan</a></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Published September 15th, 2020 by Berkley</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Buy on <a href="https://amzn.to/34XV4E5" target="_blank">Amazon</a> || Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45023611-the-roommate" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">House Rules:</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Do your own dishes.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Knock before entering the bathroom.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Never look up your roommate online.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Wheatons are infamous among the east coast elite for their lack of impulse control, except for their daughter Clara. She’s the consummate socialite: over-achieving, well-mannered, predictable. But every Wheaton has their weakness. When Clara’s childhood crush invites her to move cross-country, the offer is too much to resist. Unfortunately, it’s also too good to be true.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">After a bait-and-switch, Clara finds herself sharing a lease with a charming stranger. Josh might be a bit too perceptive—not to mention handsome—for comfort, but there’s a good chance he and Clara could have survived sharing a summer sublet if she hadn’t looked him up on the Internet...</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Once she learns how Josh has made a name for himself, Clara realizes living with him might make her the Wheaton’s most scandalous story yet. His professional prowess inspires her to take tackling the stigma against female desire into her own hands. They may not agree on much, but Josh and Clara both believe women deserve better sex. What they decide to do about it will change both of their lives, and if they’re lucky, they’ll help everyone else get lucky too.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqBrbbSg2E5xykhOsTBSInI5RH4Ij-wblqXUxb74V5po11bQzvt8kV2NYYsnWT8AWLk8VxHieLHMp6S3SeJXTqI7hNUG2uXtkcsy6G7AoYVAmFDtiBukyy6JsaWATsJ11t2PNKg_AwGg/s475/Beach-Read-Emily-Henry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqBrbbSg2E5xykhOsTBSInI5RH4Ij-wblqXUxb74V5po11bQzvt8kV2NYYsnWT8AWLk8VxHieLHMp6S3SeJXTqI7hNUG2uXtkcsy6G7AoYVAmFDtiBukyy6JsaWATsJ11t2PNKg_AwGg/s320/Beach-Read-Emily-Henry.jpg" /></a></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">Beach Read</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"> by </span><a href=" https://www.instagram.com/emilyhenrywrites/" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">Emily Henry</a></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Published May 19th, 2020 by Berkley</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Buy on <a href="https://amzn.to/3hBFjrB" target="_blank">Amazon</a> || Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52867387-beach-read" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">They're polar opposites.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCe7VDmIvylBPGSgbel5WyfQyknfDuU4pXI_qDVo6uxLK1H-rj46MJ1lPgF7sfHHLEK_zUv4QjqjblJiIG2sPc0KAeUGqQz7Zdn5buzSU7SlQ_erQV3nfyXpd21RyPrAEhcycvi3xx5fE/s400/Love-Lettering-Kate-Clayborn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCe7VDmIvylBPGSgbel5WyfQyknfDuU4pXI_qDVo6uxLK1H-rj46MJ1lPgF7sfHHLEK_zUv4QjqjblJiIG2sPc0KAeUGqQz7Zdn5buzSU7SlQ_erQV3nfyXpd21RyPrAEhcycvi3xx5fE/s320/Love-Lettering-Kate-Clayborn.jpg" /></a></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">Love Lettering</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"> by </span><a href="https://www.kateclayborn.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">Kate Clayborn</a></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Published December 31st, 2019 by Kensington</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Buy on <a href="https://amzn.to/2WZkPQe" target="_blank">Amazon</a> || Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44792512-love-lettering" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Meg Mackworth’s hand-lettering skill has made her famous as the Planner of Park Slope, designing beautiful custom journals for New York City’s elite. She has another skill too: reading signs that other people miss. Like the time she sat across from Reid Sutherland and his gorgeous fiancée, and knew their upcoming marriage was doomed to fail. Weaving a secret word into their wedding program was a little unprofessional, but she was sure no one else would spot it. She hadn’t counted on sharp-eyed, pattern-obsessed Reid...</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">A year later, Reid has tracked Meg down to find out—before he leaves New York for good—how she knew that his meticulously planned future was about to implode. But with a looming deadline, a fractured friendship, and a bad case of creative block, Meg doesn’t have time for Reid’s questions—unless he can help her find her missing inspiration. As they gradually open up to each other about their lives, work, and regrets, both try to ignore the fact that their unlikely connection is growing deeper. But the signs are there—irresistible, indisputable, urging Meg to heed the messages Reid is sending her, before it’s too late...</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlBGb70VmEMCr1bqZ5xV2maxpguWMYy4XSMVmo8lBBaxw0t5K2pW_lfS_3kZJseqwLR1XxqCmu7uU19cWoO3TGOfe6Z41WEm3BuOdb1Hw1RbaQCTUgeISfSrtyCajHibaJTFpEeAt86Y/s400/Paradise-Cove-Jenny-Holiday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="249" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlBGb70VmEMCr1bqZ5xV2maxpguWMYy4XSMVmo8lBBaxw0t5K2pW_lfS_3kZJseqwLR1XxqCmu7uU19cWoO3TGOfe6Z41WEm3BuOdb1Hw1RbaQCTUgeISfSrtyCajHibaJTFpEeAt86Y/s320/Paradise-Cove-Jenny-Holiday.jpg" /></a></div></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Paradise Cove </i>by <a href="https://www.jennyholiday.com/" target="_blank">Jenny Holiday</a></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Published July 28th, 2020 by Forever</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Buy on <a href="https://amzn.to/34ZcuQN" target="_blank">Amazon</a> || Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48717760-paradise-cove" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dr. Nora Walsh has just been dumped in spectacular fashion, making it the perfect time for a major life change. She figures taking over the medical practice in tiny Matchmaker Bay for a couple of years will help her get over her broken heart, and then she can head back to the big city. But when the first man she sees looks like a superhero god, she wonders if maybe there's something to small-town living after all.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jake Ramsey also has a broken heart—one he never expects to heal. He doesn't need people anyway and is content hiding out in his secluded cottage on the beach. But after helping Nora with a medical emergency, he finds himself opening up to the witty, warmhearted doctor. Soon the local matchmakers are working overtime to pair them off, and Jake begins to wonder if his campaign to get Nora to stay is for the town or because he can't bear the thought of her leaving.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-LE7q-xmIYI9Wr3REs4Op6TEiBEeEr-4LZqtF92vSOiIGeBWaEAZtJDf6GpES22XXrcH4fINoeQhRPFYrVyrty7cv_aPIp7kJxbqNKnU5GFpJo89cZGPnczgxB1Tbd6NcRm5vX_axhM/s753/The-Summer-Deal-Jill-Shalvis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="753" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-LE7q-xmIYI9Wr3REs4Op6TEiBEeEr-4LZqtF92vSOiIGeBWaEAZtJDf6GpES22XXrcH4fINoeQhRPFYrVyrty7cv_aPIp7kJxbqNKnU5GFpJo89cZGPnczgxB1Tbd6NcRm5vX_axhM/s320/The-Summer-Deal-Jill-Shalvis.jpg" /></a></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">The Summer Deal</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"> by </span><a href="https://www.jillshalvis.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">Jill Shalvis</a></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Published June 2nd, 2020 by William Morrow</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Buy on <a href="https://amzn.to/382cdhU" target="_blank">Amazon</a> || Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49228821-the-summer-deal" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Brynn Turner desperately wishes she had it together, but her personal life is like a ping-pong match that’s left her scared and hurt after so many attempts to get it right. In search of a place to lick her wounds and get a fresh start, she heads back home to Wildstone.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">And then there’s Kinsey Davis, who after battling serious health issues her entire twenty-nine years of life, is tired of hoping for ...well, anything. She's fierce, tough, and pretty much the opposite of Brynn except for one thing: they're half-sisters. Kinsey is keeping this bombshell, and a few others as well. Long time frenemies from summer camp, there’s no way she’s going to tell Brynn they’re related.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">But then Brynn runs into Kinsey's lifelong best friend, Eli, renewing a childhood crush. He’s still easy-going and funny and sexy as hell. When he gets her to agree to a summer-time deal to trust him to do right by her, no matter what, she never dreams it’ll result in finding a piece of herself she didn’t even know was missing. She could have a sister, love, and a future―if she can only learn to let go of the past.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">As the long days of summer wind down, the three of them must discover if forgiveness is enough to grasp the unconditional love that’s right in front of them.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4NoN6MplDTpKEINQAEfGs5EF0_z61eJfeftgObxlMZQpSSCh19BJlGb8uAJT-V1ibrZ5gluw-OEf91qR9SORZNAQy8kB1e-MgP8m6Vje5-xdYc1XgvKsN4lil4yw1RlLBlY-FCTnJCz0/s480/Jimenez_HappyEverAfterPlaylist_TR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4NoN6MplDTpKEINQAEfGs5EF0_z61eJfeftgObxlMZQpSSCh19BJlGb8uAJT-V1ibrZ5gluw-OEf91qR9SORZNAQy8kB1e-MgP8m6Vje5-xdYc1XgvKsN4lil4yw1RlLBlY-FCTnJCz0/s320/Jimenez_HappyEverAfterPlaylist_TR.jpg" /></a></div></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The Happy Ever After Playlist </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">by </span><a href="https://www.authorabbyjimenez.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">Abby Jimenez</a></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Published April 14th, 2020 by Forever</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Buy on <a href="https://amzn.to/3o46z4p" target="_blank">Amazon</a> || Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50208350-the-happy-ever-after-playlist" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Two years after losing her fiancé, Sloan Monroe still can't seem to get her life back on track. But one trouble-making pup with a "take me home" look in his eyes is about to change everything. With her new pet by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker's owner reaches out. He's a musician on tour in Australia. And bottom line: He wants Tucker back.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well, Sloan's not about to give up her dog without a fight. As their flirty texts turn into long calls, Sloan can't deny a connection. There's no telling what could happen when they meet in person. The question is: With his music career on the rise, how long will Jason really stick around? And is it possible for Sloan to survive another heartbreak?</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNSpnNJUPig1SlKpOaZi_dk6YRp7qYR1sHYEKyURTowNB-IOdb0dE7lNLiY8x9hxSZK1oqjbfqVCIU3FMEeOScakVImg8gUZs-uCpW_kXG31chdgavVYi12IffNm1mI4JBAq3ku1faAi0/s475/Dont-Go-Stealing-My-Heart-Kelly-Siskind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNSpnNJUPig1SlKpOaZi_dk6YRp7qYR1sHYEKyURTowNB-IOdb0dE7lNLiY8x9hxSZK1oqjbfqVCIU3FMEeOScakVImg8gUZs-uCpW_kXG31chdgavVYi12IffNm1mI4JBAq3ku1faAi0/s320/Dont-Go-Stealing-My-Heart-Kelly-Siskind.jpg" /></a></div></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Don’t Go Stealing My Heart</i> by <a href="https://www.kellysiskind.com/ " target="_blank">Kelly Siskind</a></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Published April 22nd, 2020 by CD Books</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Buy on <a href="https://amzn.to/380I4PZ" target="_blank">Amazon</a> || Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49092076-don-t-go-stealing-my-heart" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some people would call Clementine Abernathy a criminal. She considers herself a modern day Robin Hood, who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Not exactly on the up-and-up, but she knows what it’s like to lose everything. Her latest heist involves swiping a priceless Van Gogh from its owner, who’s supposed to be an egotistical trust-fund brat.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Turns out Jack David is a sexy, kind-hearted man…and Clementine is in trouble. Falling for her mark would make her the World’s Dumbest Conwoman, but Jack is charmingly persistent, always singing sweet songs in her ear.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">And that earth-shattering kiss? She never stood a chance.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now she’s imagining a fresh start with this dashing man, but that means telling Jack about her past. And other nefarious sorts are after the same painting. Too soon, Clementine learns what it means to risk it all for love.</span></span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Which books made <i>your</i> list of 2020 favourites? Do you have a top favourite? Have you read any of these books?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-size: 17.6px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0y-ugzbBjLT-Yy8OdMclHrcXofmnQhJ81u4pWyk2OtvkgR8265wMzac8ye2nZtXaWd7N9qLfqFWKqrz7V5andYK-3wda90Nml9RwMmNM91lxiIzfjuhGfjN5lapQDrOhjiYLEdWUIqc/s1600/Marie-Blog-Sig.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; padding: 5px;" /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">{<a href="http://instagram.com/sweetmarie_83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Bookstagram</a> || </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rambling_daydreamer/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Instagram</a> || </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarieLandryAuthor" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188180.Marie_Landry" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">GoodReads</a> || <a href="http://pinterest.com/sweetmarie83/" style="color: #006666; text-decoration-line: none;">Pinterest</a>}</span></b></div></div></div>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825931548219116513.post-79224500814279390342020-11-19T00:34:00.001-05:002020-11-19T00:34:02.875-05:00Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon 2020: Santa's Scavenger Hunt Mini Challenge<p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhNDtn-T8Bj6ioyvywx3kWk-k9mZVgwPB65qvnxANoiD7Bw9JNRm3rZavusAcKHynYXVQZCzLgcAneRrtY79gyUSyNn8WGTB-iiRTxa9X4UR2up3YKgVaA7re3d6haJVOIaiVa333Ohls/w400-h200/HoHoHo2020+Twitter+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><p><span style="font-size: large;">Today is the kick-off of the HoHoHo Readathon hosted by Kimberly from Caffeinated Reader! I've been participating in this readathon on and off since the beginning and it's always so much fun. This year I'm pleased to be returning as an elf with a mini challenge for participants.</span></p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">If you'd like to join the readathon, it's not too late! Visit </span><a href="https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2020/10/sign-up-ho-ho-ho-readathon.html" style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">this post</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"> on Kimberly's blog for the sign-up linky as well as a list of all the other mini-challenge hosts.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">My mini challenge is Santa's Scavenger Hunt. Here's what you have to do: find holiday book titles that fit Santa's clues and then fill out the Rafflecopter below with the titles. If you need any hints, you can find my holiday book list on Goodreads <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5258511-marie?shelf=christmas-or-new-year" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNw5GHxb6277ZIQTwmm3NHe43oyc73VqWSAGj2dPeQyDhZVEgmT5JArpHMBjMaqToXR7G7M5odj74EFodqvf_R3KE3oW1vKTY2QKLvbdNjYTG53c9oh9B1IWr-02tGk-2HO-bMURkZzU/s16000/HoHoHo-Readathon-2020-Santas-Scavenger-Hunt-Marie-Landry.png" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">🎄</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">A book with Santa in the title or on the cover</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">🎄</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">A book with 'mistletoe' in the title</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">🎄</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">A book with snow or snowflakes in the title or on the cover</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">🎄</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">A holiday-themed book with food in the title or on the cover</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">🎄</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">A holiday book with a place in the title (city, country, shop, street, etc)</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">🎄</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">A book with 'winter' in the title</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">🎄</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">A book with a Christmas tree on the cover</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">🎄</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">A book with the word 'cozy/cosy' in the title</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white;">GIVEAWAY</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Santa's randomly selected winner from the Rafflecopter below will win a personalized fabric bookmark in the colour of their choice with the name or saying of their choice up to 20 characters. Open internationally! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="www.ramblingsofadaydreamer.com" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhxY_CROiSaycNaChiaSqhL9xfNpMmHbq3tdWORRvyXXSn8-QFm0_AI6n7KSyLsTVoALET-MfEK4ZO540wChdWm7aG2ha0AEHgDOG7plASIJmzxsjb5OLV_ImE9Fhc4QPvfB917GHI498/s16000/Fabric-Bookmarks-HoHoHo-Readathon-Marie-Landry.png" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a class="rcptr" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/20ce4ac086/" rel="nofollow" data-raflid="20ce4ac086" data-theme="classic" data-template="" id="rcwidget_bpvbwfmw">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I hope you had fun with this challenge! If you'd like to see what I'm reading this week, I'll be posting updates on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sweetmarie_83/" target="_blank">bookstagram</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/sweetmarie83" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. If you're sharing updates, don't forget to use the hashtag #HoHoHoRAT.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">A bit of shameless self-promo here: if you're looking to add to your TBR for the readathon or into December, I have three Christmas novellas and one full-length contemporary romance with a sprinkling of Christmas magic.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="www.marielandryauthor.com" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICVGtPzVbsQwzNGVbIDxqEwIjE3e6LEQjMzfMjm3vLUKIEo1j2Om6MGMnqNukgd8iPQJ9ZCRj_bcVnAyoo-xlojGNJZ3Dp66lFM4rKmNDZoxh5yVdxAa9YAwzlzJPy2LUqgTViLx2CrQ/s16000/Christmas2020ML.png" /></span></a></div></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">🎄</span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.marielandryauthor.com/p/a-very-perry-christmas.html" target="_blank">A Very Perry Christmas</a> (just released on November 16th!)</span></i></p></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">🎄</span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.marielandryauthor.com/p/only-you.html" target="_blank">Only You</a></span></i></p></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">🎄</span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.marielandryauthor.com/p/mistletoe-kiss.html" target="_blank">Mistletoe Kiss</a></span></i></p></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">🎄</span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.marielandryauthor.com/p/the-most-wonderful-time-of-year.html" target="_blank">The Most Wonderful Time of the Year</a></span></i></p><div style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 17.6px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; 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font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #181818; font-size: 17.6px;"></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-192556f5-7fff-4345-4c99-96a9e8172c4a"><span style="color: #181818; font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 17.6px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"></span><br style="color: #222222; font-size: 17.6px;" /></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 17.6px;"></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 17.6px;"></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 17.6px; text-align: start;"></span><span style="font-size: 17.6px; text-align: start;"></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"></span><br style="color: #222222; font-size: 17.6px;" /></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 17.6px; white-space: normal;"></span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p style="font-size: x-large;"></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-weight: 700;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-192556f5-7fff-4345-4c99-96a9e8172c4a" style="font-size: 17.6px;"></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><b style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">*Please note I'm an Amazon affiliate, and some of the links in this review are affiliate links. All income made through affiliate sales goes directly back into maintaining Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Thank you for your support!</span></b></div></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p><br /></p>SweetMarie83http://www.blogger.com/profile/12518239232924662332noreply@blogger.com9