Beauty in the Binding: #RomBks4Chris20

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Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Book Spotlight: Always Kiss at Christmas by Regina Scott

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Always Kiss at Christmas

(Fortune Brides #7)

By Regina Scott

Regency Romance

Paperback & ebook

December 3, 2020

Mary Rose has one goal for her mother’s annual Christmas Eve party: convince her childhood friend Julian Mayes to marry her. She has always admired Julian. Surely one moment under the kissing bough will convince him they were meant to be together. Newly hired by a prestigious London law firm, Julian is ready to shake the dust of the countryside off his polished boots. But he’s always had a soft spot for Mary. As the danger to her future becomes clear, will one kiss be enough to prove to him how far he will go to protect her?

(Affiliate link included.)

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Excerpt

The snow had stopped falling, she saw as she ventured outside. Like muslin, white sheets draped tree and field. Their gardener had swept the snow off the pond, and the ice glittered darkly under the heavy sky. She pointed one group toward the sleigh that stood waiting, the horses’ breath fogging the air, and another group toward the lawn, where two industrious youths were already fashioning snowballs. Though he remained at her side, Julian kept glancing toward the pond. Skating, then. Gliding along, arm in arm, their steps matching as they used to do when they were younger. How romantic. Another shiver went through her.

“Cold?” Julian asked, taking a step closer.

Not with him so near. Those eyes were all encouragement, his mouth turned up and head cocked as if he were ready to listen to anything she cared to impart. He was going to be an excellent solicitor. Already she wanted to confess her hopes.

“It will pass,” Mary assured him. “Would you care to skate?”

“Delighted.” He offered her his arm again, and they walked over to the wrought-iron bench overlooking the pond. Already another couple swept past on the ice. Grooms stood by to strap the steel blades onto footwear. In moments, Mary was out on the glassy surface with Julian at her side. The cool air nipped her cheeks as they set off.

Oh, to always feel this free. It took the merest pressure to sail along. The evergreens alongside the pond flashed by, dusky against the silver of the pond and sky. Julian matched her stride, though he kept his hands behind his back, as if for balance.

“Was it last year you raced me to the end of the pond?” he asked, a twinkle in his eyes.

“And won,” Mary reminded him.

“You’ve changed since then,” he said.

Perhaps not as much as she’d thought, for the urge was impossible to resist. “I could still beat you.”

“You’re on.”

Other Books in the Series

(Linked to an Amazon affiliate link.)

About the Author

Regina Scott started writing novels in the third grade. Thankfully for literature as we know it, she didn’t actually sell her first novel until she had learned a bit more about writing. Since her first novel was published, her stories have traveled the globe, with translations in many languages including Dutch, German, Italian, and Portuguese. She now has now published more than 50 works of warm, witty romance. She and her husband of 30 years reside in Washington State on the way to Mt. Rainier. Regina Scott has learned to fence, dressed as a Regency dandy, driven four in hand, and sailed on a tall ship, all in the name of research, of course.

Website | Goodreads | BookBub | Facebook | Pinterest

Tour Schedule
(Posts go live on the day they're scheduled.)

December 8th: Launch

December 9th: Krystal M. Anderson - Love's Sweet Return

December 10th: Julie Coulter Bellon - The Marquess Meets His Match

December 11th: Delaney Cameron - Because You Loved Me

December 12th: Rachelle Paige Campbell - Love Overboard

December 13th: Raneé S. Clark - Finding Taylor

December 14th: Chrissy Elliot - Finding Home on Winslow Island

December 15th: Aspen Hadley - Suits and Spark Plugs

December 16th: Shanna Hatfield - The Christmas Bargain

December 17th: D. E. Malone - Love, Lies and Mistletoe

December 18th: Melissa McClone - Sweet Yuletide

December 19th: Sarah L. McConkie - The Promise of Miss Spencer

December 20th: Kimberley Montpetit - Mostly Dangerous

December 21st: Kate O'Keeffe - Dating Mr. Darcy

December 22nd: Regina Scott - Always Kiss at Christmas

December 23rd: Grand Finale

Tour Giveaway

One winner will receive a $70 (USD) Amazon eGift Card

Open to US and internationally to those who can receive the gift card through one of Amazon's branches

Ends December 27, 2020

ENTER HERE

Monday, December 21, 2020

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Dating Mr. Darcy by Kate O'Keeffe

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Dating Mr. Darcy

(Love Manor #1)

By Kate O'Keeffe

Chick-Lit, RomCom

Paperback & ebook, 307 Pages

August 25, 2020 Wild Lime Books

Is it a truth universally acknowledged, that a girl must compete on reality TV to win a modern-day Mr. Darcy's heart?

Emma Brady is having doubts about how far she'll go to promote her new activewear line. Sure, being on a reality show could be the big break her business so desperately needs, but is putting up with a Mr. Darcy wannabe worth it?

Sebastian Huntington-Ross is straight out of an Austen novel. But it's hard to focus on his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders, and wickedly sexy accent when all Emma can see is his pride, arrogance, and smug demeanor.

Sparks fly when Emma realizes Sebastian has his own agenda for being on the show. Will Emma hold fast and keep the aristocratic Sebastian at arm's length? Or will she put her reservations aside when the lines between reality and "reality show" start to blur?

(Affiliate links included.)

Goodreads | Amazon | Bookshop | Book Depository

Excerpt

How on this sweet Earth did I get myself into this position?

I’m not talking metaphorically or spiritually or anything like that here, you understand.

Oh, no. I’m being much more literal.

Right now, I’m all alone in the back of the limo, whizzing through the outskirts of Houston on my way to some ranch out in banjo territory. I’ve managed to remove my mic, which was a feat all its own, and now I’m wrangling with my Timothy leggings. With an almighty effort, I pull them up to my thighs, my dress bunched up under my chin. Ever bunched up a sequin dress under your chin? Not comfortable.

As the car turns corners, my task becomes increasingly complex. Just when I scoop my butt up off the seat to pull the leggings up, the car turns, and I go crashing into the door. Luckily it’s firmly shut or I’d be splattered across the road somewhere.

By the time I’m halfway done, I’m hot and sweaty and panting like I’ve gone three rounds in the ring with Muhammad Ali. Or some other boxer from this century. (Fighting’s so not my thing).

My leggings finally in place, I heave a sigh of relief. Time for my Timothy top. I pull my sequined dress over my head, only for it to get snagged on my hair.

I tug at the dress. It pulls at my hair but it holds tight. I tug again. This thing is not budging.

The car begins to slow. I peer out the smoky glass window and see a large house at the end of the long drive. It looks like a ranch in the middle of nowhere.

Uh-oh.

Panic begins to set in. I need to get this darn dress off and pull on my T-shirt over my strapless bra, and I need to do it now.

As the car slows to a stop, I yank on the dress, hard, only to cry out in pain as my hair refuses to untangle itself from the many sequins.

I hear a car door thud closed and know the driver is about to walk around to open my door.

No! We can’t be here already!

Think, Emma, think!

In just my leggings and strapless bra, my dress acting as some sort of weird hair extension, I’m not only going to be the laughing stock of the nation, but I’m sure the Mr. Darcy wannabe will send me home before he can say “that one was totally cray cray.” Penny’s and my dream will amount to nothing.

With probably less than about three seconds to go before the driver reaches my door, I ditch the near-impossible hair issue and focus on getting my top on. I grab it out of my clutch and loop one leg through, then the next. With a strength that would impress Wonder Woman herself, I yank the top up over my thighs, and begin to loop an arm through one side. So far, so good. All I’ve got to do now is loop the other arm through and ...

The next thing I know, the wall I’m leaning up against gives way and I fall backwards out of the privacy of the limo and land with a thud on my butt.

Ooof.

As my butt meets the hard, unforgiving ground, the wind is instantly sucked out of me and the pain sears. Trying to regain my balance, my legs flail in the air like I’m some kind of insect that can’t get itself back up. At least twelve different cuss words erupt from my mouth. Cuss words my mother would blush to hear me say.

Everything goes quiet around me.

Smooth, Emma. Real smooth.

“Well, that was quite an entrance,” a voice says.

Other Books in the Series

(Linked to an Amazon affiliate link.)

About the Author

Kate O'Keeffe is a bestselling author of fun, feel-good chick lit and romantic comedies. She lives and loves in beautiful Hawke's Bay, New Zealand with her family, two scruffy dogs, and a cat who thinks he's a scruffy dog too. He's not: he's a cat.

When she's not penning her latest story, Kate can be found hiking up hills (slowly), traveling to different countries around the globe, and eating chocolate. A lot of it.

Tour Schedule
(Posts go live on the day they're scheduled.)

December 8th: Launch

December 9th: Krystal M. Anderson - Love's Sweet Return

December 10th: Julie Coulter Bellon - The Marquess Meets His Match

December 11th: Delaney Cameron - Because You Loved Me

December 12th: Rachelle Paige Campbell - Love Overboard

December 13th: Raneé S. Clark - Finding Taylor

December 14th: Chrissy Elliot - Finding Home on Winslow Island

December 15th: Aspen Hadley - Suits and Spark Plugs

December 16th: Shanna Hatfield - The Christmas Bargain

December 17th: D. E. Malone - Love, Lies and Mistletoe

December 18th: Melissa McClone - Sweet Yuletide

December 19th: Sarah L. McConkie - The Promise of Miss Spencer

December 20th: Kimberley Montpetit - Mostly Dangerous

December 21st: Kate O'Keeffe - Dating Mr. Darcy

December 22nd: Regina Scott - Always Kiss at Christmas

December 23rd: Grand Finale

Tour Giveaway

One winner will receive a $70 (USD) Amazon eGift Card

Open to US and internationally to those who can receive the gift card through one of Amazon's branches

Ends December 27, 2020

ENTER HERE

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Love, Lies, and Mistletoe by D. E. Malone

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Love, Lies and Mistletoe

(Blueberry Point Romance #2)

By D. E. Malone

Sweet Contemporary Romance

Paperback & ebook, 202 Pages

October 30, 2020

One stolen kiss. A little Christmas magic. And the snowy inn where love stands a chance.

Interior designer Layla Dean can’t believe her good fortune at snagging the holiday decorating gig at Blueberry Point Lodge. And even though her fledgling business has a growing list of happy clients, her personal life isn’t filled with the same Christmas magic. She needs a man in her life like she does coal in her stocking. But tell that to Brant Johnsson.

Brant is known as the Twin Cities’ Master of Lights and Luminaria for good reason. His company oversees most of the downtown’s outdoor displays every season. But when a professional snag sends him reeling, he’s ready to quit the business. Until he runs into Layla again. Forgetting their awkward mistletoe kiss last year just isn’t possible, but she doesn’t share the pleasant memory. Now that they’re decking the halls together for the newly opened inn’s first Christmas, Brant hopes for a replay of their first encounter. And something more.

When a misdirected text message pairs them together for a fundraising event, Brant and Layla find they have more in common than just a flare for holiday decorating and one mistaken kiss. If Layla can overcome her sour first impression, Brant might get his very merry second chance.

(Affiliate links included.)

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Bookshop | Book Depository

Excerpt

Frustrated, Layla unpacked while the sour details of their first meeting stirred.

It had been at a fundraiser for Friendship House, a social service organization in the Twin Cities, and had attracted the heads of companies and old-money philanthropists. The ballroom of the historic Rennselaer Hotel had been transformed to showcase Brant Johnsson’s famed lights displays. Its ballroom was all plaster moldings, ceiling frescos, and soaring balconies on four sides with polished pillars of red oak standing like silent sentinels overhead. Someone mentioned Brant had used more than 25,000 lights on the balconies alone.

The only reason Layla got an invite from Friendship House was because she helped decorate the hotel lobby for the event. She’d been excited to go—it was a networker’s dream. But once the day arrived, Layla dreaded the night ahead. Socializing didn’t come naturally. The beaded sheath she wore didn’t ease her discomfort either. She’d bought it online, and while it was stunning, she couldn’t forget that it cost more than her food bill for three months.

She’d found a semi-quiet corner so she could people-watch. Her gaze fell on Brant more than a few times that night, the first time being when he’d walked through the room’s double doors like he expected a standing ovation. He was nothing short of dashing.

Later the night, Layla had been deep in conversation with Chuck Hennessy, president of a regional bank, talking about decorating the bank’s five branches when she felt a hand on her upper arm. Layla spun around. Before she could register a single, coherent thought, a pair of lips met hers. Layla couldn’t find her voice; the shock stole her breath like a vacuum.

Her hand pressed against a large, muscular chest, and for one swoony moment, she went all lightheaded and weak-kneed and hated herself for it. Then the person pulled away and she really hated herself.

Brant Johnsson.

Egotistical, ridiculously handsome Brant Johnsson.

His eyes widened when he looked at her, his mouth gaping open like a beached fish. It would have been almost comical if the whole embarrassing incident hadn’t happened right in front of Chuck.

Brant mumbled something, including a hurried “sorry,” before his girlfriend showed up. Layla burned with humiliation, while Brant made a joke about it to the woman.

Other Books in the Series

(Linked to an Amazon affiliate link.)

About the Author

D.E. Malone writes sweet contemporary romance and is the author of the Hearts in Hendricks and Blueberry Point Romance series. She also writes for middle-grade audiences as Dawn Malone. Her work has appeared in Highlights for Children, Pockets, and the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. She loves traveling to places off the beaten path which inspire the small-town settings in her stories. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, hiking, and continuing her quest for the holy grail of bakeries.

Tour Schedule
(Posts go live on the day they're scheduled.)

December 8th: Launch

December 9th: Krystal M. Anderson - Love's Sweet Return

December 10th: Julie Coulter Bellon - The Marquess Meets His Match

December 11th: Delaney Cameron - Because You Loved Me

December 12th: Rachelle Paige Campbell - Love Overboard

December 13th: Raneé S. Clark - Finding Taylor

December 14th: Chrissy Elliot - Finding Home on Winslow Island

December 15th: Aspen Hadley - Suits and Spark Plugs

December 16th: Shanna Hatfield - The Christmas Bargain

December 17th: D. E. Malone - Love, Lies and Mistletoe

December 18th: Melissa McClone - Sweet Yuletide

December 19th: Sarah L. McConkie - The Promise of Miss Spencer

December 20th: Kimberley Montpetit - Mostly Dangerous

December 21st: Kate O'Keeffe - Dating Mr. Darcy

December 22nd: Regina Scott - Always Kiss at Christmas

December 23rd: Grand Finale

Tour Giveaway

One winner will receive a $70 (USD) Amazon eGift Card

Open to US and internationally to those who can receive the gift card through one of Amazon's branches

Ends December 27, 2020

ENTER HERE

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Suits and Spark Plugs by Aspen Hadley

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Suits and Spark Plugs

By Aspen Hadley

Contemporary Romance, RomCom

Paperback & ebook, 257 Pages

October 13, 2020

Liv Phelps is a woman on a mission: Get a degree, stay independent, and start a new life away from her small hometown. Love is nowhere on that list.

However, when dashing Blaine Harris enters the diner where Liv works, she’s flattered enough to give him a chance. Different from anyone she's ever known, he introduces her the world she's long dreamed about. Things are going surprisingly well, until he pushes her to get her beat-down car seen by the local mechanic.

Connor Hunt has been at the very top of Liv's 'do not disturb' list ever since she had a front row seat to watching him create his terrible reputation. A magician with cars, he can’t stand to see a machine suffer. So, he comes up with a plan to fix Liv's in spite of her inability to pay.

But will his solution cost more than she’s prepared to give?

(Affiliate link included.)

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Bookshop | Book Depository

Excerpt

The sound of the door opening from the mechanic shop interrupted me and I glanced up to see Connor Hunt coming into the lobby.

He nodded at the phone in my hand. “Looking at anything good?”

“A physiology text book.”

“Sure. Good choice for some light reading on a snowy weekend afternoon.”

“I’m learning ways to cause the most pain with the least damage,” I replied in a sugary sweet voice.

He nodded slowly as though I’d just told him I was knitting a doily. “Ah. That would probably come in handy sometimes.”

“Indeed.” I put my phone back in my bag and zipped it closed. “Is my car ready?”

“Yep. Everything went well. Total is the nine hundred I quoted you.”

“Okay. What are your thoughts on payment seeing as you know I’m broke?”

“I have an idea if you’re open to discussing other options for payment.”

My gut clenched and my face warmed. Here we go. He’d pulled the wool over other people’s eyes, but things were about to get real. “Depends on what ‘other options for payment’ you might have in mind.”

His brows lowered. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m not going to pay off my debts by, like, kissing you and stuff.” My face burned, but I kept eye contact with him, knowing it was important to not back down.

“Liv Phelps, does your mother know what kind of thoughts go through that head of yours?” he asked with wide eyes that seemed oddly surprised for someone who’d I’d long suspected of having underhanded dealings.

The only sound in the lobby was that of my pounding heartbeats. I wasn’t sure what had just happened. I took a deep breath, playing the conversation back in my mind as I watched his expression turn stony. Oh. Maybe I’d jumped the gun here.

“So,” I cleared my throat and swallowed. “I may have jumped to conclusions.”

“Yep.”

I scrunched up my nose and fidgeted a bit. “Okay. I’m ready to talk about payment options.”

“I’m rethinking what I was going to offer,” he replied.

About the Author

Aspen Hadley loves nothing more than a great story. She writes what she wants to read: clean, sassy, romantic comedy novels that give you a break from real life and leave you feeling happy.

Outside of writing, Aspen's number one hobby is reading. Number two is sneaking chocolate into and out of her private stash without being caught. Other favorites include: playing the piano, traveling, a good case of the giggles, and riding on ATVs over the mountains and deserts of Utah.

Aspen shares her life with a patient husband, 4 hilarious children, and 1 grumpy dog in a quiet suburb in the foothills of her beloved mountains.

Suits and Spark Plugs is her third published novel, and she hopes there will be many more to come.

Tour Schedule
(Posts go live on the day they're scheduled.)

December 8th: Launch

December 9th: Krystal M. Anderson - Love's Sweet Return

December 10th: Julie Coulter Bellon - The Marquess Meets His Match

December 11th: Delaney Cameron - Because You Loved Me

December 12th: Rachelle Paige Campbell - Love Overboard

December 13th: Raneé S. Clark - Finding Taylor

December 14th: Chrissy Elliot - Finding Home on Winslow Island

December 15th: Aspen Hadley - Suits and Spark Plugs

December 16th: Shanna Hatfield - The Christmas Bargain

December 17th: D. E. Malone - Love, Lies and Mistletoe

December 18th: Melissa McClone - Sweet Yuletide

December 19th: Sarah L. McConkie - The Promise of Miss Spencer

December 20th: Kimberley Montpetit - Mostly Dangerous

December 21st: Kate O'Keeffe - Dating Mr. Darcy

December 22nd: Regina Scott - Always Kiss at Christmas

December 23rd: Grand Finale

Tour Giveaway

One winner will receive a $70 (USD) Amazon eGift Card

Open to US and internationally to those who can receive the gift card through one of Amazon's branches

Ends December 27, 2020

ENTER HERE