📝REVIEW📝: "Winning My Best Friend's Girl" (The Baileys #8) by Piper Rayne, Genre: Contemporary Second Chance Romance with a side of Humor, Release Date: July 21st 2020, My Rating: 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 ~ @PiperRayneRocks @WildfireMarket1
Winning My Best Friend's Girl
The Baileys #8
Piper Rayne
Genre: #Romance #ContemporaryRomance #SecondChanceRomance #Humor
Cover: 5
Publication: July 21st 2020
Read: July 15th 2020 *Review copy provided by Wildfire Marketing Solutions
Kindle: 301 Pages
POV: First-person dual perspectives
Check out the series on Goodreads: The Baileys Series by Piper Rayne
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Imagine lying in a hospital bed and the doctor who pulls the curtain back to treat you is the one who got away. Even if you never really had her in the first place. She's not only your high school crush, she's the ex-girlfriend of your ex-best friend. The one girl you've always wanted.
Here's a step-by-step list to finally win her over…
Key to win #1: Try not to take offense that she snuck back into town without telling you—six months ago.
Key to win #2: Rekindle the friendship to ease the awkwardness. But… DO NOT enter the friend zone.
Key to win #3: Ignore the fact that she went speed dating the night before. Take it as good a sign—maybe she's looking for a relationship.
Key to win #4: Attempt to keep the two of you out of the town gossip blog and away from your large family.
Make sure you don't let this last one throw you off your mission.
Key to win #5: Don't get deterred when you find out the past is about to repeat itself. Because the man she met at the speed dating night is your best buddy from work.
Just remember, you sat back and let her slip away once, you won't do it a second time. Failure is not an option.
📝My Review📝: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Winning My Best Friend's Girl by Piper Rayne
If you've been reading this series then you know who Kingston is and like me, have been waiting impatiently for his book. From book one, I have had a strong curiosity about Kingston. Why does he stay away so often? Why does he have such a dangerous job? Why is he a daredevil? All these questions and more kept me looking for his name thoughout the previous books. Each book gave us more but not enough so that by the time his book came I was so excited.
Kingston is one of nine siblings in the Bailey family. Despite him being away a lot, this family loves each other unconditionally and are beyond loyal to each other. The Baileys have a sad past and each sibling deals with that heartbreak in a different way.
Stella was always the love of his life. From childhood, he knew she was special and was heartbroken when she didn't choose him. I won't go into details but I will tell you their relationship turned angsty in high school and got more complicated into adulthood. Both Stella and Kingston are amazing characters. The authors did such an amazing job writing their story and engaging me so deeply I felt I was a part of it. I'm not going to say Kingston and Stella were perfect but they were perfect for each other. Of the two, Stella was the one with the most reservations. Their growth together was unstable and unsure. At times, I wanted to be on those pages and talk some sense into Stella.
As I said, I am not going to give away any spoilers. Because if you are like me then you waited a long time for this story. You should go into it just as I did; excited and eager. Winning My Best Friend's Girl is one of my favorite books in the Bailey's series. There is one last book to go and I am so excited for that one too. Not only because I want Sedona and Jameson's story, but because I am hoping the authors will finally confirm who is the author of Buzz Wheel is. I have my suspicions but could be wrong, lol.
My recommendation is not only you read this book, but read the series from the beginning. I promise you won't regret it. In addition, reading all the previous books will up your enjoyment a hundred times more.
This is my honest and unbiased review and I thank you for taking the time to read it. 🙂
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Available NOW! "Strings" by Author Dawn L. Chiletz, Genre: Contemporary Romance/Suspense/Lite Humor
Title: Strings
Author: Dawn L. Chiletz
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Suspense/Lite Humor
When Natalia Pearson changes her identity and boards a plane for her new job, she swears she's leaving her past and all the drama that comes with it behind her.
That is… until she chooses between two empty plane seats and ends up right in the middle of Sebastian Corronov's messy life.
Agreeing to fake a relationship with a stranger for a few hours doesn't seem like too much to ask for someone who's trying to be a better person. But when their paths cross again, that temporary agreement becomes a much longer, sexier, and more spirited commitment. One she may like more than she cares to admit.
We're all attached to something. Some strings are invisible – until they're not.
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Bella motions two fingers from her eyes to me to let me know she's watching me. It almost makes me snort-laugh. Watch me, bitch. Watch me all you want. Now that I'm looking right at her, I realize she reminds me of a girl back home who always acted like she was better than everyone else. I feel myself grimacing. She's a rich girl who thinks she can have whatever she wants. I start to genuinely feel sorry for Sebastian. He seems like he's being honest and she's got coo-coo written on her face. So, I decide to do the only thing I can think of. I take his hand in mine and hold it on the armrest between us. Then I smile at her as I raise my voice. "Oh, Sebastian, darling, it's not your fault. Some people are just crazy."
I face forward in my seat and place our entwined hands on my thigh, knowing Bella is watching. "It's only a couple of hours. I've got you," I whisper, leaning toward him.
"Really? You are solid gold. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'll never forget this."
"You're lucky I have a big heart, Bash."
"Bash?"
"I'll call you whatever I want and you'll like it."
He smiles and my heart feels odd. Can helping someone actually make you feel good?
"Do you think perhaps I could know your name? I mean, we're holding hands and you are my girlfriend for the next few hours."
"S…" I stop myself. Shit, I almost gave him my old name. "Natalia… Natalia Pearson. My friends call me Nat." It feels odd as it leaves my mouth. The truth is I have no real friends and I've never told a soul my new name before, unless you count Joey the Juggler when he forged all my new documents.
"And you're okay with that?" he asks.
"What?" I question, wondering if I spoke my thoughts out loud.
"You're okay that your friends refer to you as a cumbersome insect that flies in swarms and bites people?"
"Cumbersome? Grand? Solid gold? Who talks like that? What are you, sixty? And no, it's not G-N-A-T like the bug. It's Nat. It's cute, like a cool chick you want to drink beers and play pool with."
He scrunches his face and shakes his head. "I refuse to call you Nat. You're too sweet to be a bug."
I'm sure he thinks he's being nice, and maybe someone else would see it as a compliment, but I'm not sweet. He doesn't know me. And I'm kind of pissed he dissed my nickname for myself. I liked it perfectly well until now. Why is he ruining this moment for me?
"Then don't say my name. It's not like you'll need to say it in the next one hundred and forty minutes or so we'll be pretend dating."
He squeezes my hand and glances down at my fingers. I wonder if the pale pink color I chose suits a Natalia. I used to keep my nails a fire engine red, or sometimes black like my soul, but I'm not that girl anymore.
Dawn L. Chiletz resides in Illinois with her two boys and three dogs. She may not be a best-selling author yet, but she did have that little orange best-selling banner on Amazon for a few hours one time. When she's not binge writing or reading, you'll most likely find her on social media making a sarcastic comment or watching animal stories.
To find out more information, including her upcoming signings, please visit her website at: http://www.dawnlchiletz.com
📝Review📝: An Everyday Hero (A Heart of A Hero #2) by Laura Trentham ~ 5 Stars ~ Release Date is February 4th 2020!
An Everyday Hero
A Heart Of A Hero Book Two
Laura Trentham
Genre: #Romance #ContemporaryRomance #ExMilitary #Standalone
Cover: 3 (did not depict the characters very well)
Publication: February 4th 2020
Read: January 2nd 2020 *Review copy provided by publisher via Netgalley
Add to Goodreads: A Everyday Hero
PreOrder/Purchase: An Everyday Hero
From award-winning author Laura Trentham comes an emotionally layered novel about redemption, second chances and discovering that life is worth fighting for.
At thirty, Greer Hadley never expected to be forced home to Madison, Tennessee with her life and dreams of being a songwriter up in flames. To make matters worse, a series of bad decisions and even crappier luck lands her community service hours at a nonprofit organization that aids veterans and their families. Greer cannot fathom how she's supposed to use music to help anyone deal with their trauma and loss when the one thing that brought her joy has failed her.
When Greer meets fifteen-year-old Ally Martinez, her plans to stay detached and do as little as possible get thrown away. New to town and dealing with the death of her father in action, she hides her emotions behind a mask of bitterness and sarcasm, but Greer is able to see past it and recognizes pieces of who she once was in Ally. The raw and obvious talent she possesses could take her to the top and Greer vows to make sure life's negativities don't derail Ally's potential.
After Greer is assigned a veteran to help, she's not surprised Emmett Lawson, the town's golden boy, followed his family's legacy. What leaves her shocked is the shell of a man who believes he doesn't deserve anyone's help. A breakthrough with Ally reminds Greer that no one is worth giving up on. So she shows up one day with his old guitar, and meets Emmett's rage head on with her stubbornness. When a situation with Ally becomes dire, the two of them must become a team to save her—and along the way they might just save themselves too.
An Everyday Hero by Laura Trentham
After I read the blurb for An Everyday Hero, I knew this book was for me. I knew this would be a book that tugged at my heart and made me smile at the same time. One would think this is not a book filled with smiles and laughter but I disagree. That said, there is some intense and heartbreaking situations in this book. The heroine, Greer, was one sassy, take no nonsense woman. Even after the bad luck and lack of success she'd been facing in her music career, Greer still has a strong, likable personality. Did I say she was perfect? No, she is definitely not perfect. But she was perfect for the situations she found herself in as a result of her poor choices. Because of some trouble Greer causes at a bar (I'll not give away details) she lands herself in community service. Greer is required to volunteer her musical talents at a center for military veterans and/or their families. During her volunteering, Greer will be assigned two people, with two different situations. They will change her life for the better as she will change theirs.
An Everyday Hero was the first book I read from this author. It definitely won't be my last. This is a book with all the feels, wonderful primary and secondary characters, a believable premise and a happy ending that is sigh-worthy. The pace is steady and this book can easily be read in one sitting if you have no interruptions. I was engaged from the very first pages all the way through, until I got my happy ending. I'm so glad this book came my way. I absolutely recommend this to anyone who loves novels with great characters, all the feels, and a beautiful ending.
This is my honest and unbiased review. Thank you for taking the time to read it. 🙂
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Blog Tour: Tweet Cute by Emma Lord, Genre: Young Adult Fiction with a bit of Romance is Available January 21st 2020. Author Q&A included. My Review is included below the post 👇
Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming — mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger's massive Twitter account.
Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper's side. When he isn't trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin's shadow, he's busy working in his family's deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma's iconic grilled cheese recipe, he'll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.
All's fair in love and cheese — that is, until Pepper and Jack's spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they're publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they're also falling for each other in real life — on an anonymous chat app Jack built.
As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate — people on the internet are shipping them?? — their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can't ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.
Emma Lord is a digital media editor and writer living in New York City, where she spends whatever time she isn't writing either running or belting show tunes in community theater. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in psychology and a minor in how to tilt your computer screen so nobody will notice you updating your fan fiction from the back row. She was raised on glitter, grilled cheese, and a whole lot of love. Her sun sign is Hufflepuff, but she is a Gryffindor rising. TWEET CUTE is her debut novel. You can find her geeking out online at @dilemmalord on Twitter.
Early Praise:
"Tweet Cute delivers in every possible way: a perfect enemies-to-lovers romance, a whip-smart plotline, and endearingly real characters. I devoured it." – Francesca Zappia, author of Eliza and Her Monsters
"Sweet and fun! An adorable debut that updates a classic romantic trope with a buzzy twist." – Jenn Bennett, author of Alex, Approximately and Serious Moonlight
"A witty rom-com reinvention for the Twitter age, Tweet Cute pairs delicious online rivalry with deeply relatable insights on family pressure and growing up. This fresh, funny read had us hitting 'favorite' from page one." – Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, authors of Always Never Yours and If I'm Being Honest
Buy Link: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/tweet-cute/
Social Links: @dilemmalord (Twitter/Instagram)
"Look." I glance into the classroom, where Ethan is thoroughly distracted by Stephen and no longer keeping an eye on us. "I may have . . . overreacted."
Pepper shakes her head. "I told you. I get it. It's your family."
"Yeah. But it's also—well, to be honest, this has been kind of good for business."
Pepper's brow furrows, that one little crease returning. "What, the tweets?"
"Yeah." I scratch the back of my neck, sheepish. "Actually, we had a line out the door yesterday. It was kind of intense."
"That's . . . that's good, right?"
The tone of my voice is clearly not matching up with the words I'm saying, but if I'm being honest, I'm still wary of this whole overnight business boom. And if I'm being honest, I'm even more wary of Pepper. If this really is as much of a family business as she claims it is—to the point where she's helping run the Twitter handle, when even I know enough about corporate Twitter accounts to know entire teams of experienced people get paid to do that—then she might have had more of a hand in this whole recipe theft thing than she's letting on.
The fact of the matter is, I can't trust her. To the point of not knowing whether I can even trust her knowing how our business is doing, or just how badly we need it.
"Yeah, um, I guess." I try to make it sound noncommittal. My acting skills, much like my breakfast-packing skills, leave much to be desired.
"So . . ."
Pepper presses her lips into a thin line, a question in her eyes.
"So, I guess—if your mom really wants you to keep tweeting . . ."
"Wait. Yesterday you were pissed. Two minutes ago you were pissed."
"I am pissed. You stole from us," I reiterate. "You stole from an eighty-five-year-old woman."
"Yeah, yeah, but still. You're them, and I'm . . . her. It's like a choose your fighter situation, and we just happen to be the ones up to bat."
"So you're saying—you don't not want me to keep this up?"
"The way I see it, you don't have to make your mom mad, and we get a few more customers in the door too."
Pepper takes a breath like she's going to say something, like she's going to correct me, but after a moment, she lets it go. Her face can't quite settle on an expression, toeing the line between dread and relief.
I answer by opening the container she handed me. The smell that immediately wafts out of it should honestly be illegal; it stops kids I've never even spoken to in their tracks.
"Are you a witch?" I ask, reaching in and taking a bite of one. It's like Monster Cake, the Sequel—freaking Christmas in my mouth. I already want more before I've even managed to chew. My eyes close as if I'm experiencing an actual drug high—and maybe I am, because I forget myself entirely and say, "This might even be better than our Kitchen Sink Macaroons."
"Kitchen Sink Macaroons?"
Eyes open again. Yikes. Note to self: dessert is the greatest weapon in Pepper's arsenal. I swallow my bite so I can answer her.
"It's kind of well-known, at least in the East Village. It even got in some Hub Seed roundup once. I'd tell you to try some, but you might steal the recipe, so."
Pepper smiles, then—actually smiles, instead of the little smirk she usually does. It's not startling, but what it does to me in that moment kind of is.
Before I can examine the unfamiliar lurch in my stomach, the bell rings and knocks the smile right off her face. I follow just behind her, wondering why it suddenly seems too hot in here, like they cranked the air up for December instead of October. I dismiss it by the time I get to my desk—probably just all the Twitter drama and the glory of So Sorry Blondies getting to my head.
"One rule," she says, as we sit in the last two desks in the back of the room.
I raise my eyebrows at her.
"We don't take any of it personally." She leans forward on her desk, leveling with me, her bangs falling into her face. "No more getting mad at each other. Cheese and state."
"What happens on Twitter stays on Twitter," I say with a nod of agreement. "Okay, then, second rule: no kid gloves."
Mrs. Fairchild is giving that stern look over the room that never quite successfully quiets anyone down. Pepper frowns, waiting for me to elaborate.
"I mean—no going easy on each other. If we're going to play at this, we're both going to give it our A game, okay? No holding back because we're . . ."
Friends, I almost say. No, I'm going to say. But then—
"I'd appreciate it if even one of you acknowledged the bell with your silence," Mrs. Fairchild grumbles.
I turn to Pepper, expecting to find her snapping to attention the way she always does when an adult comes within a hundred feet of disciplining her. But her eyes are still intent on me, like she is sizing something up—like she's looking forward to something I haven't anticipated yet.
"All right. No taking it personally. And no holding back."
She holds her hand out for me to shake again, under the desk so Mrs. Fairchild won't see it. I smile and shake my head, wondering how someone can be so aggressively seventeen and seventy-five at the same time, and then I take it. Her hand is warm and small in mine, but her grip is surprisingly firm, with a pressure that almost feels like she's still got her fingers wrapped around mine even after we let go.
I turn back to the whiteboard, a ghost of a smirk on my face. "Let the games begin."
TWEET CUTE Blog Tour Q&As
Booklover_lex
What was your inspiration to become a YA writer?
I don't think I ever set out to be any genre in particular, but what draws me to YA again and again is probably that a lot of the fandoms I was in growing up featured strong teen leads — I spent most of my time writing about teens when I was a teen, and then I guess I never really stopped!
What is your favorite show tune?
Oooh, love this question! This is a tough decision for me but I think I have to say "Astonishing" from Little Women — I think anyone who's ever had a dream that has felt bigger than them can relate.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
My parents, for sure. They're both pretty prolific writers and storytellers, and they raised me and my siblings to let our imaginations run wild. No other parents were as delighted as mine to hear about all bajillion pages of fan fiction their kid was uploading every other day growing up.
Bookishly Nerdy
I actually tweeted the whole idea for a plot as a joke in 2017, saying there should be a story about two social media managers from competing accounts falling in love. It wasn't until the tweet got picked up by a few bookish friends and people started saying that someone should write it that I was like, "Oh! I guess that person could be me!"
What books influence your writing?
In terms of books, I'd say anything from Anne Brashares or Rainbow Rowell — but to be honest, a lot of influence came from my favorite fan fiction writers, who were the champions of banter-y dialogue and breaking conventional YA rules long before they were getting recognized for it.
Do you use twitter a lot?
Oh, boy howdy. I'm on Twitter WAY too much. But I think it's okay for me, because even though I do get some of my news on it, I mostly use it for friendship and memes. At the moment my timeline is basically just Baby Yoda, Spider-Man, and Hufflepuff jokes.
Book Chelle
When the idea for Tweet Cute came into fruition, did you imagine the characters or the plot first?
This was a rare moment that the plot came first! I tweeted the idea as a joke a few years ago, and then was tasked with making characters that would fit the bill. It was a little harder for me because it's not my usual process, but I was happy with how they turned out in the end.
Do you listen to music, soundtracks, or any ambient sounds when writing? If so, what do you listen to?
I do listen to music while I'm writing, but it's surprisingly mopey! Lots of singer/songwriter acoustic songs, the kind I can appreciate the prettiness of when I do happen to pay attention. I'm pretty sure my Spotify Discover thinks I walk around dressed in all black with a rain cloud hovering over my head. (In real life I am much more cheerful than my writing playlists would suggest!)
What is your favorite romance trope?
Yikes on BIKES am I a sucker for enemies-to-lovers. It is my baguette and butter. I am also a big fan of the secret identity trope, courtesy of being obsessed with all things superheroes, so I'm very pleased I got to work that into Tweet Cute!
Kitty's Book Spot!
Do you write to music?
I do! It tends to be slower, more acoustic music while I'm doing the actual writing, and more bops when I'm plotting. These days it's a lot easier to find good music to write to, with other writers sharing playlists on Tumblr all the time.
Do you make music playlists for your works?
I've recently gotten into making character playlists for works, at the suggestion of other writer friends. I tend to listen to those when I'm walking around and daydreaming about the plots, though, since I find that the music I think my characters would listen to isn't often the kind of music that helps me focus on actual writing. I'm have a WIP right now that has six different character playlists and is probably about to get more, my poor Spotify account is just a big mess of character names!
What would you tell us about yourself that no one knows?
I saw the Star Trek 2009 reboot in theaters seven times. (My friends thought it was six. I lied.)
The Book Marauder
What's the most exciting part about being a writer?
Oh, for sure whenever someone mentions my characters' names out loud to me. It's wild to think that other people are living in the same little world you created, even if it's just for a few hours. It's like you opened up your brain and other people hopped in.
What is the first book that made you laugh?
Junie B. Jones!! I remember my kindergarten class howling with laughter when our teacher would read it out loud in class. I can't remember a single one of the plots in adulthood, but I do remember everyone just losing their marbles at them.
Who is your favorite "Tweet Cute" character and why?
Oooh. I don't think I have a favorite, but I will say that the one I relate to most is probably Taffy, the overworked Hello Kitty-loving millennial trying to run Big League Burger's social media. She gets mentioned very briefly, but it was a way of sneaking myself into the book for sure.
Swoony Boys Podcast
What was your favorite part of TWEET CUTE to write?
I think my favorite parts by far were whenever Pepper and Jack bantered with each other in person — there's a scene early on when they do that in a cafe, and one mid-book where they're bantering in the pool, and those were my favorite to write. The latter scene I especially loved because it was the first time I'd gotten to use all those years of high school swim team for any kind of purpose in the "real world" — teenage me may have hated it, but adult me is glad to have had some experience to draw from!
Tell us about Pepper and Jack. We want to know all the things!
Oh BOY. Okay, Jack is a Cancer, and Pepper is a Capricorn. Both are Hufflepuffs (Pepper with a Slytherin bent, Jack with a Gryffindor one). Jack is a firm believer in never walking and texting. Pepper has way too many socks, but they always, always match. Jack does coffee, Pepper does tea (hallmark of a "bad New Yorker," as I've been told by my coffee-guzzling friends). Pepper's favorite color is rainbows (hence, the color coding of everything in her life, from her closet to Excel spreadsheets to planners). Jack is the only person in his family who hates cilantro and as deli owners and foodies it brings them all deep shame.
If you could introduce one of your characters to another character from any other book, who would it be and why?
I feel like Jack and a young James Potter would have plenty to talk about re: scheming.
Awkwordly Emma
With TWEET CUTE based around a Twitter battle, how do you think social media has changed modern teen romances?
I think it's given teens an entirely new language to communicate — like, literally, teens are crafting their own slang, creating infinite new types of memes, crafting their own unique forms of syntax and grammatical rules. I think it only broadens the opportunities you have to get to know and relate to people, having this shared language that is tight knit and highly relatable, and takes a lot of the pressure off interactions that might otherwise cause anxiety. Social media has its pitfalls, sure, but at its best it gives teens a low stakes, high reward way to connect with each other, whether it's for friendship or romance or just to share some laughs.
Did any rom-coms influence you while writing TWEET CUTE?
Oh, for sure You've Got Mail — or at least, what I knew of it. (As soon as people started likening the idea to the movie, I wouldn't let myself watch it so I didn't rely too much on its plot!)
Pie or cake, and what kind?
What an excellent question that I have a highly specific answer for!! Cake, and the best kind I've ever had was a yellow cake that was filled with three types of frosting between each of its three layers: a peanut butter cream cheese frosting, raspberry jam, and chocolate ganache. I never would have thought of it on my own, but I used to work in a cake bakery, and when they were chopping off the ends of this particular cake to shape it into a football they let me eat the leftovers. I still DREAM about it. But truly, I'm here for any cake except chocolate cake (I'm ashamed to say it — I'm more of a chocolate frosting lady, unless the chocolate cake is like, absurdly rich, in which case it has my attention).
The Nature of Pages
Did the plot or the characters come to you first when writing this novel?
This one was an odd one for me because the plot came LONG before the characters, in the form of a tweet I made in 2017 joking that there should be a rom-com about social media managers from warring fast food chains falling in love. Usually I'll think of a character first and build plot around them, but I had to go through about five iterations of characters before landing on Pepper and Jack.
What was your favorite part about the process of writing Tweet Cute?
For sure writing with my friends! We try to meet up once a week and are constantly bopping around in the group chat. I wrote Tweet Cute in a month and a half while holding down a full-time job, so my brain was basically just leaking memes by the end of it, but those sessions we spent writing in coffee shops after work were my best memories of the process.
As a debut author, what was a surprise when it came to writing your book?
Uh, people READING it. That was profoundly surprising to me. Like, logistically you understand that people are going to read it if it's getting published, but usually I'll write something, stick it on a fan fiction platform anonymously, and that'll be the end of it. I'm still not over the surprise any time someone reads the book and tags me in something about it!
Nailthatbook
What inspired you to write Tweet Cute? How did you come up with the idea?
The idea actually started out as a tweet — I'd been laughing at some of the Twitter wars between brands, and thought it would be a funny concept if two of the social media managers from competing accounts fell for each other without realizing it. Once people started saying they wished it was a book, it all kind of took off from there!
How would you describe your writing process? What part do you focus on the most or take you the longest to work through?
I would describe it as organized chaos. I try to sit down and plot, but more often than not the plot comes when I'm walking to work or in the shower or somewhere deeply inconvenient. Usually I'll just start writing the first two chapters to see what comes out of me, then stop and figure out where it's going until about the 40,000 word mark, then stop and adjust the plot outline and start again.
What Hogwarts Houses are some of the characters?
Oh, everyone's a Hufflepuff. I'm busting into the YA world with an unrepentant Hufflepuff agenda. Pepper's a Hufflepuff with a Slytherin moon; Jack is a Hufflepuff but a Gryffindor rising; Pooja is a Hufflepuff with aggressive Ravenclaw tendencies; Paul is about as Hufflepuff as it gets. But they are all unquestionably Hufflepuffs, and I think that's going to be the case with most of my YA going forward.
BookCrushin
What parts of online culture were important for you to showcase in Tweet Cute?
I really, really wanted to inject the fun of social media in Tweet Cute — the bantery, laugh-out-loud relatability of it, and how it can be full of surprises. I think we're often so fixated on the bad qualities of social media that we forget the ways it brings us together.
Which came first – the ship name or Pepper & Jack's name? How did their ship name fully form for you?
MWAHAHAHA. So this was a happy accident, really. I had the name Jack, and I could not for the life of me figure out a name for the girl lead. I tried four or five of them but when I was typing them they all seemed wrong. I think I'd fully finished two chapters and just hit a dead end with it when my brain cells finally crashed into each other and were like "PEPPER!! PEPPER AND JACK!!!!!!!" And that was that.
What do you hope readers take away from the story?
I want the book to feel like eating a really good, deeply satisfying, thick slice of cake. But also, I want readers to consider the kind of pressure they're under to be a certain way, or pursue certain things, and separate that pressure from what they think is actually best for them — the characters deal with that a lot, as do most of us, and I think that's something we can all check in with ourselves on every now and then.
The Elven Warrior
For both Jack and Pepper (I adore those names!) what would you consider their core character trait? The thing that makes them solely THEM?
Hmmm — for Pepper I'd say it's her drive, and for Jack I'd say it's his empathy. I think they both have a lot of both of those elements, but those seem to be the factors that spur their decision-making in the book and lead them into all their mutual shenanigans.
Sending your first book out into the world and being a debut in general can be nerve wracking. But it can be an amazing! What has been the best thing about this experience?
Is it cheating if I say the whole thing? Everything is new to me — getting to work with a team on edits and marketing and how things look, getting a cover, meeting other authors, having people legitimately read something that I wrote and know that I wrote it (unlike the bajillion years I've spent writing fan fic). It feels like every day something happens to me that's never happened before.
If you had to choose between working in a bakery, a sandwich shop, or as an author, which would you choose and why?
Fun fact: I've done ALL THREE of these. I spent my post-grad years working in a sandwich shop, and then a bakery, and then a whole bunch of other things (lol, job market) before becoming a digital media editor and eventual author. I'd say I'd rank them as author (you get to play god to a bunch of characters you made up!), bakery (FREE STALE CUPCAKES EVERY DAY!), and sandwich shop (great coworkers, but not as delicious, and I always came home reeking of basil).
Reading, Writing, and Me
Social media is obviously a huge part of this story. Were you ever hesitant or concerned about trying to capture internet culture in a book? Did you do any kind of research to prepare?
Oh boy, I did almost zero research. I was working as an editor who wrote and assigned daily content based on things going viral both in the social media and food space, so I was already aggressively online. I think my primary concern was mostly trying to keep the book from feeling too hyper specific to the time I was writing it, but also keeping it fresh — I was careful to try and choose the more "lasting" memes than the memes of the week.
One of the major threads of the story has to do with Jack's app Weazl. How did you get the idea for Weazl? Was it important to you to show the really positive side of social media with this app because I really enjoyed that focus.
I knew I wanted some element where they were getting to know each other without any pressure, so that's kind of where Weazl came in. I also did want to emphasize that although there are always cases of social media being used for bad, there's so, so much good that comes out of it too! I really loved the idea of these kids who were forced to be so hyper competitive all their lives coming together in a place where they could help each other out and band together, because ultimately that's what a lot of these social media platforms and tools help teens do.
Jack and Pepper are both quite complex, well drawn characters that complement each other perfectly. Do you have any advice for writers looking to further develop their own characters, and do you have any advice for people writing multiple points of view?
I think what really helps for me is just figuring out who the characters are by mentally putting them in all kinds of situations that may or may not ever actually land in the book. I think of life experiences I've had, or my friends have had, and I ask myself, "How would this character have reacted to that? Would it have been similar or different to the way I did, and why?" That also helped with figuring out the fundamental differences between the two characters when I was switching POVs; I was definitely worried in the beginning about making them sound too alike, so figuring out what set them apart was definitely a priority when I was first shaping them up!
Books Real When Shared
In your opinion, which is one of the best Twitter wars in history?
Hands down, without a doubt when Moon Pie smashed Hostess during the eclipse. Hostess tweeted saying that Golden CupCakes were the official snack of the eclipse, and Moon Pie simply quote retweeted "Lol ok …" and I have been DYING ABOUT IT EVER SINCE. Sometimes I'll just be walking down the street and think about it and start laughing to myself. We stan the Moon Pie Twitter social media manager from now until the end of time.
https://twitter.com/moonpie/status/899624556377276416
Are you a fan of baking like Pepper? And if so, which is your go-to dessert?
Yes!! I've been baking my whole life. I can't say I'm all that good at it, but I sure do love it (one of my little sisters is the true genius who has the actual patience for complicated things). My go-to is anything involving cookie dough; I'd say my favorite dessert on the planet is the "Sex Positive Brownies" in the book, which are the already popular combo of brownies, Oreos, and cookie that are all slightly underbaked. (I also like to add a pinch of salt to mine!)
F A N NA
The twitter war in Tweet Cute is primarily between a fast-food chain and a deli regarding an iconic grilled cheese sandwich. While Pepper is working behind the scenes to defend Big League Burger, Jack is stern on stating the fact that this sandwich recipe belongs to his grandmother who worked hard behind the deli. How did this idea of back-and-forth debating in 280 characters emerge?
The idea actually started at as a tweet! Back in 2017, I made a joke about how there should be a rom-com where two social media managers from competing accounts fell for each other without realizing they were Twitter battling. I knew I wanted it to be over something I already was familiar with, and I was pretty much raised on a steady diet of grilled cheese and Eggo waffles, so grilled cheese became the central focus. It helps that everyone who loves grilled cheese has strong opinions about how it should be made (I have yet to find a single grilled cheese opinion that's wrong, though — it truly is the most delicious canvas of all).
Tweet Cute also entails some emotionally important themes like the rat race to good grades or college admissions, living up to the academic expectations set up by parents, figuring out everything by the end of senior year in high school, and being unresponsive to the pressure of familial responsibilities. What would you like the targeted young readers to take away from such aspects of the story?
I think the main takeaway I want is for young readers to know that everything is never set in stone. The things you study in high school, the colleges that accept you right out of the gates — it can all just be a blip if you let it. It's easy to transfer schools, to change your course of study, to start all over again if you want to (trust me, I did all three of those things, sometimes more than once). Pepper and Jack deal with a lot of the pressure of thinking their futures are decided for them because they're already committed to a certain path, but the truth is that path only gets more forked with options the older you get and the better you understand yourself.
Lastly, which of the two main characters Pepper or Jack do you see more of yourself in? The over-achiever girl with social-media managing ability and baking talents, or the goofball boy with the coding aptitude and a sweet-tooth?
Oh, boy. I think I'm a Jack-esque goofball when I'm out with my friends, but I'm so, SO much like Pepper in the privacy of my own brain. I think that's why I was especially worried about how people would react to her — that was very much me, both in high school and now, even if it's not necessarily the personality I project when I'm not working. That said, I could not code my way out of a paper bag. (Jack inspired me to take some free coding lessons for fun, though, so we'll see!)
Casual Fangirl
I love when you think you have the whole thing plotted out and then midway through the draft a character surprises you and is like, "Nah, I'm not gonna do that. Here's what I'm gonna do instead." Never a dull moment!
What is your go-to writing snack?
I'm actually terrible at snacking and writing, but I am definitely a tea gal. I'm part of the 5am writer's club, and tea is the one way to bribe my lazy butt out of bed. That said, my entire life and times is basically sponsored by Taco Bell. When I hit word count for the day you can almost always find me in line for a spicy tostada and chips and guac.
What is your favorite Rom-com (book/tv/film)?
I love love love the movie About Time, and the book Something Borrowed. Those are my main comfort watch and comfort read for sure. I think there is something innately Hufflepuff about the main characters in both of those works, and being inside their brains is a cozy place to be because of it.
A Glass Of Wine
What gif do you feel best describes Tweet Cute?
I don't know if this is a meme or a GIF, really, but the Elmo fire one comes to mind. I think it's sort of come to represent a weird intersection of joy/pain/chaos/hilarity, and I think Tweet Cute's got all of that in the mix.
If a signature ice cream were to be made for Tweet Cute what might be included?
OOOOH. I think the base would be a classic vanilla, but it would be stuffed to the gills with Rolos, Reese's, Oreos, and rainbow sprinkles like Monster Cake from the book, and have ribbons of caramel and a healthy pinch of salt and oh my god I am so hungry now, BYE.
Tweet Cute is inspired by You've Got Mail. What are some of your other favourite rom-coms?
I love About Time above all, I think, but I'm also a fan of Crazy Rich Asians, The Proposal, 27 Dresses, Bride Wars, Love, Rosie, and the woefully underrated period rom-com, Mrs. Pettigrew Lives For A Day. I'm sure I am missing about a gazillion that I also love.
My Review: 4 Stars…
Just as the title implies, this book is so adorable. I don't often read about high school romance but the blurb for this book had me intrigued. I enjoyed Tweet Cutevery much. I want to say that while there is just a touch of romance, this book's main focus is on teenaged drama and and family loyalty. The blurb does a very good job of helping you to infer what you'll be reading about. So, I did have an idea about what was going to happen. That said, I was pleasantly surprised that this book was so much more complex than I assumed. There are definitely lighthearted and humorous moments. And definitely moments of second hand embarrassment for me. Personally, I did not enjoy most of my high school years so I was easily able to connect to Pepper and Jack. If you are thinking about staying away from this book because you dislike bullying, I suggest you don't. There is some bullying but nothing heavy. In fact, I personally believe Jack's father and Pepper's mother were the strongest antagonists on the pages.
Ok, so now let's talk about the end of the book. The ending is a happy-for-now for Jack and Pepper, obviously because we're reading about 17 year olds and so much can change once they go off to college. But I felt had a strong connection so I believe they'll make it. Although, I would have liked an epilogue that brought us several years ahead to confirm this. Also, I was a bit disappointed in the way Jack's father got away with what he had done to Pepper's mom. I would have liked to at least see an apology on the pages. Because there wasn't, I have some bitter feelings toward him. But this is only my personal feelings and doesn't reflect on the author's story telling. This was my first book by this author and I know I would enjoy reading more from her in the future.
This is my honest and unbiased review. Thank you for taking the time red it. 🙂
I ended up reading 106 books in 2019 but there were some favorites that stood above the rest. Here are the top 10 reads of my 2019 reading year!
10. Tiger Queen
By Annie Sulivan
Synopsis: From Annie Sullivan, author of A Touch of Gold, comes Tiger Queen, a sweeping YA fantasy adventure that tells the story of a fierce desert princess battling to save her kingdom. Fans of Rebel of the Sands and Meagan Spooner will devour this retelling of Frank Stockton's famous short story, "The Lady, or the Tiger?"
In the mythical desert kingdom of Achra, an ancient law forces sixteen-year-old Princess Kateri to fight in the arena to prove her right to rule. For Kateri, winning also means fulfilling a promise to her late mother that she would protect her people, who are struggling through windstorms and drought. The situation is worsened by the gang of Desert Boys that frequently raids the city wells, forcing the king to ration what little water is left. The punishment for stealing water is a choice between two doors: behind one lies freedom, and behind the other is a tiger.
But when Kateri's final opponent is announced, she knows she cannot win. In desperation, she turns to the desert and the one person she never thought she'd side with. What Kateri discovers twists her world—and her heart—upside down. Her future is now behind two doors—only she's not sure which holds the key to keeping her kingdom and which releases the tiger.
Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42281646-tiger-queen?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=5cOdoVgrHj&rank=1
9. Peter Pan
By J.M. Barrie
Synopsis: Neverland is home to Peter Pan, a young boy who has never grown up. On one of his visits to London, Peter makes the acquaintance of young Wendy Darling, whom he invites to travel with him to Neverland and become the mother of his gang of Lost Boys. Flying through the night sky to Neverland, Wendy and her brothers John and Michael soon become caught up in marvelous adventures with the Indian Princess Tiger Lily, the loyal fairy Tinker Bell, and Peter's nemesis, the sinister hook-handed pirate known as Captain Hook.
Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22784968-peter-pan
8. Spin the Dawn
(The Blood of Stars #1)
By Elizabeth Lim
Synopsis: Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she'll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There's just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.
Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia's task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.
And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor's reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.
Steeped in Chinese culture, sizzling with forbidden romance, and shimmering with magic, this young adult fantasy is pitch-perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas or Renée Ahdieh.
Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42815556-spin-the-dawn?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=4O8e8o8OSf&rank=1
7. The House of Hades
(The Heroes of Olympus #4)
Synopsis: Hazel stands at a crossroads. She and the remaining crew of the Argo II could return home with the Athena Parthenos statue and try to stop Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter from going to war. Or they could continue their quest to find the House of Hades, where they might be able to open the Doors of Death, rescue their friends Percy and Annabeth from Tartarus, and prevent monsters from being reincarnated in the mortal world. Whichever road they decide to take, they have to hurry, because time is running out. Gaea, the bloodthirsty Earth Mother, has set the date of August 1 for her rise to power.
Annabeth and Percy are overwhelmed. How will the two of them make it through Tartarus? Starving, thirsty, and in pain, they are barely able to stumble on in the dark and poisonous landscape that holds new horrors at every turn. They have no way of locating the Doors of Death. Even if they did, a legion of Gaea's strongest monsters guards the Doors on the Tartarus side. Annabeth and Percy can't exactly launch a frontal assault.
Despite the terrible odds, Hazel, Annabeth, Percy, and the other demigods of the prophecy know that there is only one choice: to attempt the impossible. Not just for themselves, but for everyone they love. Even though love can be the riskiest choice of all.
Join the demigods as they face their biggest challenges yet in The House of Hades, the hair-raising penultimate book in the best-selling Heroes of Olympus series.
Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12127810-the-house-of-hades?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=CJeM9gdAmT&rank=1
6. The Blood of Olympus
Synopsis: Nico had warned them. Going through the House of Hades would stir the demigods' worst memories. Their ghosts would become restless. Nico may actually become a ghost if he has to shadow-travel with Reyna and Coach Hedge one more time. But that might be better than the alternative: allowing someone else to die, as Hades foretold.
Jason's ghost is his mother, who abandoned him when he was little. He may not know how he is going to prove himself as a leader, but he does know that he will not break promises like she did. He will complete his line of the prophecy: To storm or fire the world must fall.
Reyna fears the ghosts of her ancestors, who radiate anger. But she can't allow them to distract her from getting the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood before war breaks out between the Romans and Greeks. Will she have enough strength to succeed, especially with a deadly hunter on her trail?
Leo fears that his plan won't work, that his friends might interfere. But there is no other way. All of them know that one of the Seven has to die in order to defeat Gaea, the Earth Mother.
Piper must learn to give herself over to fear. Only then will she be able to do her part at the end: utter a single word.
Heroes, gods, and monsters all have a role to play in the climactic fulfillment of the prophecy in The Blood of Olympus, the electrifying finale of the best-selling Heroes of Olympus series.
Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18705209-the-blood-of-olympus
5. Aurora Rising
(The Aurora Cycle #1)
By Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Synopsis: From the internationally bestselling authors of THE ILLUMINAE FILES comes an epic new science fiction adventure.
The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…
A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy's biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger management issues
A tomboy pilot who's totally not into him, in case you were wondering
And Ty's squad isn't even his biggest problem—that'd be Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley, the girl he's just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler's squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.
They're not the heroes we deserve. They're just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.
Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30075662-aurora-rising?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=nNA93hOwfT&rank=1
4. The Unhoneymooners
Synopsis: Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she's managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she's forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.
Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren't affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there's an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.
Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn't mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of… lucky.
Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42201431-the-unhoneymooners?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=DqOMNGyK1V&rank=1
3. The Wicked King
(The Folk of the Air #2)
By Holly Black
Synopsis: You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.
The first lesson is to make yourself strong.
After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.
When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.
Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26032887-the-wicked-king?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=n261zeFcPi&rank=1
2. The Beautiful
(The Beautiful #1)
By Renee Ahdieh
Synopsis: In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she's forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city's glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group's leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien's guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.
When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.
At once a sultry romance and a thrilling murder mystery, master storyteller Renée Ahdieh embarks on her most potent fantasy series yet: The Beautiful.
Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42265183-the-beautiful?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=lSCmvr6nzC&rank=1
1. The Queen of Nothing
Synopsis: He will be destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne.
Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.
Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan's betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal life is in peril.
Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict's bloody politics.
And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity…
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, comes the highly anticipated and jaw-dropping finale to The Folk of the Air trilogy.
Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26032912-the-queen-of-nothing
Available Now! The Librarian's Vampire Assistant, book #4 by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff
The Librarian's Vampire Assistant, book #4
From New York Times Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff comes a snarky Mystery with a side dish of Romance and two sprinkles of chaos, THE LIBRARIAN'S VAMPIRE ASSISTANT, Book Four.
(Yep! These books are STANDALONES. But the more you read, the merrier!)
SHE'S MINE. BUT HAS SHE FORGOTTEN?
A crazy vampire has stolen my librarian. And if that's not bad enough, it is my fault. Because I, too, am an ancient, deadly vampire, and it was my job to protect her. I failed.
Now, just as I have reason to hope I will get her back, the situation turns into the biggest mystery of my existence.
Apparently, this evil vampire has brainwashed her into thinking she belongs with him. I do not know how. I do not know why. But I will get to the bottom of this and win her back.
Because I am the motherf*!$%ing librarian's vampire assistant, and she belongs to me. Or, at least she used to?
AMAZON US | AMAZON UK | AMAZON CA | AMAZON AU
KOBO | NOOK |Apple Books | Paperback
Looking for BOOK #1? It's FREE
Release Day Giveaway
MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF is a New York Times bestselling author who's sold over one million books around the world. Although she obtained her MBA and worked for more than fifteen years in the corporate world, she believes that it's never too late to come out of the romance closet and follow your dreams.
Mimi lives with her Latin lover hubby, two pirates-in-training (their boys), and their three spunky dragons (really, just very tiny dogs with big attitudes) Snowy, Mini, and Mack, in the vampire-unfriendly state of Arizona.
She hopes to make you laugh when you need it most and continues to pray daily that leather pants will make a big comeback for men.
Sign up for Mimi's mailing list for giveaways and new release news!
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📝REVIEW📝: ~ 5 Stars ~ Interpreter (Commander In Briefs #4) by Kristy Marie. Release Date: December 6th 2019!
A Commander In Briefs Novel #4
Kristy Marie
Genre: #Romance #FormerMiltary
Series: Comander In Briefs:
https://www.goodreads.com/series/217040-commander-in-briefs
Publication: December 6th 2019
Read: November 26th 2019 *Review copy provided by the author
Purchase: Available 12/6/19
Heartbreakingly beautiful and devastatingly annoying, Timaeus Lambros, a deaf, former military translator, has just been assigned as my co-teacher for the rest of the school year.
His stupid-hot face gets on my nerves.
So does his well-fitting jeans.
Charming and gorgeous men like him should not be teachers. They should be locked away in a storage closet… with me.
But that's just a teachers' lounge fantasy with a big dreamy sigh attached.
Tim and I can never be a thing. He's broody and closed off, while I'm the new owner of a one-way ticket back to Costa Rica, thanks to budget cuts.
But my Abuelita always said life wasn't a fairytale. So even if Tim does have a magical tongue and a dreamy body, we still might not get a happily ever after.
Interpreter by Kristy Marie
Every book in this series keeps getting better and better! Interpreter is book four but if you've read the series from the beginning, then you've already met Tim. There are so many amazing characters in this series. I'll be honest, while I loved all the books, so far Interpreter is my favorite. Tim has had my attention for a long time and I was so impatient for his story. I'm also eager for Vic's story too.
Kristy Marie has an incredible talent when it comes to putting pen to paper. Her books are angsty, emotional, sexy, and humorous. I truly appreciate the humor in her books because the premises are dark and even sad. Her balance of all the emotions is perfect. The attention to detail and the research that went into this book was so appreciated. I was heartbroken at times. Tim was such an intense hero. He had been through so much and his story is downright heart-rending and distressful. Tim is a strong-minded man. Also, stubborn. When he meets Milah, Tim slowly realizes that he is missing out on life by hiding away.
Milah, was the perfect heroine for Tim. She was beautiful inside and out. She instinctually knew what Tim needed and when. Rarely do you read about a heroine so attuned to her hero. They were soul-mates. Perfect together in every way.
I am so glad I got a front row seat to Tim's happily-ever-after. It was so worth the agonizing wait! This is a series I highly recommend. Yes, Interpreter can be read as standalone but because of all the interaction with secondary characters, you'll be eager for their stories. I promise you won't be disappointed!
I'm sorry for not giving more details about the premise of this book but I feel you would appreciate reading all this perfection on your own.
This is my honest and unbiased review. Thank you for taking the time to read it.
https://www.facebook.com/christine.michele.77920
📝REVIEW📝: Every Time a Bell Rings 🎄 by Barbara Ankrum, #SecondChanceChristmasRomance is Available Now! 5 Stars: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Every Time A Bell Rings
Barbara Ankrum
Genre: #Romance #SecondChanceRomance #ChristmasRomance
Cover: 5 ~ I love when a cover sepicts thestory acurately!
Publication: November 18th 2019
Read: November 17th 2019 *Review copy provided by Tule Publishing
Add To Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48407211-every-time-a-bell-rings
Purchase: https://tulepublishing.com/books/every-time-a-bell-rings/
Follow the author on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Barbara.ankrum.author/
Once upon a time, he was everything to her, except for one thing: her future
Christmas sparkles from every bough and window at the cozy Four Winds Ski Resort, where single mother Eden Kendall and her eight-year-old son are spending the holiday. A surprise marriage proposal from her boss's son wasn't on her Christmas list, but it's the perfect excuse to get away and weigh her options. She never imagined her son's ski instructor/Santa impersonator would be the gorgeous, charismatic dreamer she left behind years ago, the one who still owns a piece of her heart.
Cole Hagan has never stopped loving Eden and he's spent the last eight years proving her wrong on every count about his potential. While he fights to save the resort that he helped to build by organizing a holiday concert, he decides it's about time that Eden puts aside her list-making pragmatism so that she and her skeptical son can experience the true magic of Christmas.
Can this unlikely pair get a second chance at happily ever after?
📝My Review📝: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
Every Time a Bell Rings by Barbara Ankrum
Lovely, whimsical second chance romance with an angelic twist. I wouldn't actually call this book paranormal but there is a bit of spiritual influence. I enjoyed this book very much.
Eden left her hometown close to ten years ago. She not only left town, but the man who should have been her forever. Unfortunately, Eden wanted a financially secure future unlike her parents had. She worried that Cole was too much of a dreamer and left because of that, a financially secure future might not be in the cards. So, she left, made a lot of money in a job she liked but didn't love. In addition, Eden is raising her best friend's son. Because of that, Eden believes she made the right choice. Unfortunately, Eden will question her decisions once she runs into Cole while on a work-related vacation.
Cole is a business owner and financially secure, to Eden's surprise. Another surprise is the fact that while spending time with Cole, Eden realizes her feelings for Cole are just as strong. Could she have made a mistake by leaving?
I won't go into details about how Eden and Cole reconnect. This was a magical story and you should enjoy every minute of it as I did. I will add that there is some angst and a whole lot of Christmas influence.
📝Review📝: 4 Stars….💝Cupid Claus🎅 by Sarah Fischer & Kelsey McKnight, #HolidayRomance with a magical twist is Available Now!
Cupid Claus
Sarah Fischer & Kelsey McKnight
Genre: #HolidayRomance with a magical twist
Cover: 5 *Gorgeous Cover!
POV: Third-person alternating perspectives, including Mrs. Claus 😉
Add to Goodreads: Cupid Claus
Purchase: Buy Cupid Claus
Follow Authors on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/sarah.elizabeth.129
https://www.facebook.com/KissAtMidnight/
When mistletoe is not enough…
With her only son still single, Mrs. Claus is rolling up her red sleeves and playing matchmaker. With a little advice from Cupid and a list of potential brides, she's convinced a dash of magic will get the snowball rolling. There's just one problem, Nick isn't looking for love. All he wants to do is fill his father's boots as he prepares to take over as Santa Claus.
While Mrs. Claus is scheming away, Nick meets Heather, a charming artist with a giving heart and a loving smile. Preparing for her first Christmas alone, Heather is looking for adventure. Nick becomes a kindred spirit as they both remember what it's like to live in the moment. Just as they think they found a fairytale romance, Nick discovers his mother's magical meddling.
With Christmas Eve quickly approaching, Nick must decide if his love for Heather was the real magic all along or if it was just the work of Cupid Claus?
📝My Review📝: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Cupid Claus by Sarah Fischer
This book was delightfully adorable and so perfect for the holiday season. Magical and uplifting, and will no doubt put you in the Christmas mood.
Heather and Nick…..
Nick is the only son of Santa Claus and due to take over the family business sometime in the near future. Nick is all work and no play which is exactly how he wants it. He is very serious about being the best Santa he could be so there is no time for relationships. Unfortunately, Mrs. Claus does not agree. According to her, Nick should be married with children by now. And so she, as well as her dear friend Cupid, interferes a bit. When Nick finds out about his mother's meddling, things take a serious turn. Will Nick find his happily-ever-after? Can he trust his own feelings for Heather weren't influenced?
Even without Mrs. Claus meddling, I felt a strong natural connection between Nick and Heather. I enjoyed the slow burn romance that developed between the two and how they both were complex characters that needed something or someone special in their lives.
As usual, I won't go into details but I will tell you if you choose to read this delightful, fun, and wityy romance, you won't be disappointed.
Facebook pages: https://www.facebook.com/Christine.Indriolo777 https://www.facebook.com/christine.michele.77920