New Covers

A few new covers to admire!

Sigh, I love Courtney Milan and she released all her upcoming covers in her Brothers Sinisters series which is to start with the novella, The Governess Affair, out sometime in spring.  There is more infor here about the entire series and I know I am eagerly looking forward to each one!!  Crossing my fingers she is able to get them all out this year :)  Ok, I will admit I am a little on the fence about the orange cover though...I mean did they really have that bright of orange then?  This is an updated cover than the first one that was out and I kind of liked the other one better.  But I really like the three full length novel covers!  Lovely dresses worn by strong women!

This next cover is from a new to me author and is the start of a new series called Wylder Sisters.  Isabella Bradford is a pseudonym for Susan Holloway Scott whose name I am not familiar with either.  But, When You Wish Upon a Duke sounds like it is going to be good!  (Three Wylder sisters--unruly county girls whose passion for life leaves their  London suitors breathless).  I really like this cover as well--lovely dress and I love the addition of the fan.  Look for this title July 31st. 

Oh, Sherry Thomas. You have some gorgeous covers for your upcoming trilogy this year.  Love them all. Tempting the Bride is the third book in the Fitzhugh Trilogy and I am anxious to read them all.  This one releases in October.  

I know, I know--you are wondering why there is a contemporary cover on here?  I read mainly historical romance but there are still a few contemporary authors on my auto buy list and one is Toni Blake.  She revealed her new cover this week and it is lovely.  I am a cat person so I love the cat on the cover and I know cats are always a part of her Destiny series.  Look for Willow Springs June 26th...just in time for a nice summer day!

Well, another passel of lovely covers!  Don't you wonder how the art departments come up with all these gorgeous covers?  What a fun job!  Too bad I am very un-creative, lol!

Holly Lane by Toni Blake

As a huge fan on Toni Blakes Destiny series, I was a bit surprised as to whom this story was centered.  After all, Sue Ann Simpkins seemed to have a perfectly happy marriage with Jeff.  But perhaps of the standard of perfection put on these high school sweethearts, Jeff does an about face and divorces Sue Ann and quickly marries another woman, and to add a bit of insult, the new woman isn't even younger or prettier...she is just average so Sue Ann knows that it is true love.  Sue Ann is blindsided by all of this and decides to take a weekend away at a small cabin to help clear her mind and get ready for the hustle and bustle of the upcoming holiday season.  She knows she needs to make sure her daughter, Sophie, has a wonderful Christmas. 

Adam Becker is in a bit of a Scroogish mood.  His twin boys are spending a month away at a ski resort with his ex and he is naturally quite bummed out.  He heads to a cabin in the mountains that he rents every year on the same weekend and is faced with an unpleasant surprise.  His best friends (up to Jeffs divorce) ex-wife is there, Sue Ann.  There was a bit of confusion during registration and it has started to snow quite heavily and there are no other cabins available so the two agree to share the bunks.  But even though Adam and Sue Ann have know each other for most of their lives, they both see each other in a new light and this leads to one verrry steamy night in the cabin!  Phew!  But just as Sue Ann is letting down her guard a tiny bit, Adam reveals one of the reasons behind his divorce and her walls go right back up.  Oh, but that magical snow that always seemed to be falling helps keep Adam and Sue Ann in contact (physically and emotionally) with each other and Adam deepens his relationship with Sophie, who is his goddaughter, but the drama with Jeff and his requests to stop spousal support and his calling Adam as a character witness keep these two battling wills.  But will the holiday season filled with reindeer and snow and a special kitty help Sue Ann let down her guard to trust her heart to another?

Toni Blake has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary authors and I love her Destiny series and Holly Lane is the perfect holiday companion to an already fabulous series.  She took a topic seen all too often in todays world and showed how true love can blossom from a very unexpected turn of events.  I felt that Sue Anns feelings and her wall she had built up around herself was very true to how any woman would feel in the same circumstances and her love of her daughter and desire to do what was right for Sophie was spot on.  When Adam (as Santa) tells Sophie he will try to bring a real reindeer for her, Sue Ann is quite upset and even though it was the best thing to say at the time, Sue Ann is heartbroken at the thought of disappointing her daughter on Christmas morning.  And even though I saw the happy result coming, I still had happy tears in my eyes.  Actually, I sniffled quite a bit throughout this book.  Toni Blake has a knack for writing emotional, sexy stories that will pull your heart strings and leave a big happy smile on your face and I know I can not wait for more. (Amy, I'm talking about you!)  And fans on this series will be happy to know that Mick and Jenny have a wonderful, emotional side story that I thought played out perfectly!  Overall, this is a perfect Christmas story, based loosely on A Christmas Carol, that will truly put you in the mood for the upcoming holidays!  5 stars

I received this book from the publisher via netgalley.com

Destiny series
Can be read as stand alones but best enjoyed in order



Willow Springs, A Destiny Novel #5   July 2012

Whisper Falls by Toni Blake

This is the third book in Toni Blakes Destiny series and a wonderful addition to an already wonderful series. This time around we meet Lucky, the long lost bad ass brother of Mike (Sugar Creek) who took off right after high school without looking back or telling anyone where he was going. He has returned to Destiny for a reason, a spoiler so I don't want to reveal it, and is trying to turn his life around after being in a bad motorcycle gang and leaving that and residing in Milwaukee (love when WI pops up in a book!) trying to blend in and escape. He now has a respectable custom motorcycle shop doing painting and meets his neighbor, Tessa one night as she is looking for her friends lost cat outside. She is a bit startled by his appearance--long hair, grim reapers tattoos but is surprised when he gets a bowl of milk to coax out the kitty. She recognizes him for who he is and tells her best friends Amy and Rachel, who happens to be Mikes fiancee.
Lucky and Tessa start up a flirtation via their back decks and Lucky hires Tessa, an interior decorator, to make his home more "normal". If you have read the previous books, this book starts off much slower in the romance department than those ones but as Tessa and Luckys continue their flirtation, Lucky always pulls away for fear of his past coming back to haunt him. Tessa decides to take matters into her own hands and the results are smokin as Toni Blake does so superbly!
Ah, the emotion in this book is off the charts for me. When Lucky and Mike and later Lucky and his parents reconnect....wow, it will make you hope, cry, smile and even cringe a bit (Mike has quite a few issues with Lucky leaving like he did). And the love between Tessa and Lucky, while a bit slow starting up, is beautiful. When Lucky tells Tessa he loves her, so sweet and tender. I love the back story on why their little area they live in is called Whisper Falls and the words they whisper to each other are perfect. This whole book is perfect in fact. I can not wait to buy it and read it again and add it to my keeper shelf. Big big 5 stars!

I received this ebook via netgalley.com. (Thank you!)

Side note: Ms Blake has mentioned that this series can be read as a stand alones and while it can, I recommend reading at least the previous book, Sugar Creek to get a bit of Mikes backstory and if you can read One Reckless Summer to meet Jenny and Mick, who pop up as well you should. They are both wonderfully, emotional 5 star reads.

Happy Dance!

Yeah! I just got an early ebook of Whisper Falls from NetGalley! Really excited to read it...not quite sure if I am going to be able to finish Seducing the Duchess right now b/c I can not wait to read it! But, I am OCD with my books, needing to finish them and reading them in order so I will try to finish that one up tonight. I love Toni Blake, she is an auto buy for me, so I am looking forward to reading and reviewing Whisper Falls :) Just had to share a bit of happiness for me, lol