#greatbooks Archives - Read-A-Romance Month

#FallIntoBookLove – In Her Pumpkin Patch

October 29, 2019 Leave a Comment

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I found this title when I was looking for Halloween books, and I was so intrigued that I contacted the author for a copy.

I’ll be writing more about it in some round-ups later this week, but I’m about 3/4 in and it’s really cute.

Author Alina Jacobs builds out some really funny secondary characters, and a group of brothers who escaped a cult their father runs. They’re quirky and fiercely protective of each other, though that doesn’t keep them from picking at each other too.

Very creative and very seasonal – fall and Halloween details everywhere.

More soon, but if the last quarter is as good as the first three, then it’s definitely worth a read. (And the cover is adorable too, right?)

Cover copy:

Fall. Autumn. It doesn’t matter what you call it, I hate it.

I despise pumpkins, Halloween, and the overwhelming sense of dread as the cold and damp move in.

But when my new chauffeur drives up in a hearse, Halloween carols blaring, I realize there will be no escape from the holiday.

Penny is the self-proclaimed Queen of Fall.

And it’s her mission to turn me into a pumpkin spice fiend.

Penny

Fall is the best time of the year! I love pumpkin spice everything, cozy scarves, and nostalgic movies. But most of all, I love Halloween.

My quaint home town of Harrogate is the perfect place to celebrate the holiday. We’re the original Halloween town. We have celebrations all month!

I should be more excited, except that I’m going back to Harrogate after failing to make it as a journalist in Manhattan.

Instead of living out my dreams, I’m living in a dilapidated Victorian house with creepy identical twins, a black cat named Salem, and a snobby ghost. I also have a new temp job with a sexy, but grouchy billionaire who is determined to make me quit.

Garrett is in desperate need of some Halloween cheer. But as much as I want to take him in the back of my hearse and have my way with him (okay that’s a little creepy!) I can’t be distracted by his washboard abs.

I’m up to my eyeballs in debt.

The mean girl from high school is now my mean coworker and is trying to wreck my life.

My mother wants me to write a juicy tell-all about Garrett and his huge family.

Yep, I’m going to trick the cold-blooded billionaire.

I know I need to stick with the plan and weasel enough information out of my boss to write a killer article for a big payday.

But when Garrett says in that deep, sexy voice, “Nice costume.”

Instead of playing a trick, I’d rather give him a treat!

This standalone, full length romantic comedy has no cliffhangers! It features plenty of steam, the largest selection of hot brothers to ever grace your e-reader, and a multitude of Halloween innuendos!

Find the book:
IN HER PUMPKIN PATCH – amzn.to/2Np5F1e

The Giveaway:
One electronic copy.* (Thanks to the author. xo) Winners from this post and from the Bobbi Dumas FB page post here (two chances if you comment both places); more chances to win in giveaway bundles I’ll be doing – so keep an eye out on my Facebook pages, Bobbi Dumas and The Romance of Reading (which is closed, but you can join) and one each as part of a bundle from my newsletter list.

To enter here, tell us your favorite movie with Halloween-ish themes.

Join The Newsletter:
U.S. friends, even if you’ve joined before 10/2019, sign up here, because this puts you automatically into a U.S. giveaway list.

International friends, this giveaway isn’t for you (apologies) but you can sign up for the newsletter here, which may help get news out when an international giveaway is coming up.

Hope to hear from you!

Happy Fall! xo

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(Covers and links are generally attached to affiliate links. Thank you for your support!)

#FallIntoBookLove – No Tricks, Just Treats

October 29, 2019 Leave a Comment

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I requested this title from St. Martin’s because a) Halloween! and b) a selection of authors I’ve seen a lot of online (and Audible) – Tijan, J. Daniels, Helena Hunting and Tara Sivec. I’ve read a couple things by a couple of them and so I thought I’d give some Halloween short stories a try.

I’ll be doing some roundups in the next couple days, talking more about the books. So far I’ve only read the first two stories, and they’re good – but be warned, there’s already a little scary, and a lot of hot.

Still, I enjoyed them and will be getting to the next two, hopefully before Halloween.

Here’s the cover copy:

Four love stories that are so hot, it’s scary. . .

“FALLEN CREST NIGHTMARE” by TIJAN
Sam, Mason, and the rest of their gang enter a fun Halloween-themed weekend with pumpkin carving, a girls’ night out, and a haunted house―until things take a turn into something far more sinister than they could have expected…

“SO MUCH MORE” by J. DANIELS
Four couples from Alabama reunite on Halloween for an evening of thrills and chills. Between haunted mazes, sexy stolen moments, and good old-fashioned trick-or-treating, this Halloween promises surprises, shocks, and maybe even love for all.

“GETTING DOWN” by HELENA HUNTING
Ruby Scott wants to have a party! With the help of her best friend Amalie―and Amalie’s fiancé’s budget―the two of them throw a Halloween-inspired fund-raiser. But no event goes off without a couple of hitches.…

“THE PUMPKIN WAS STUFFED” by TARA SIVEC
The Holiday family is coming together for Halloween. As Sam and Noel prepare for their upcoming life with a new baby, their crazy family and friends pull out all the tricks and treats and jack-o’-lanterns to make sure this ghostly holiday is one to remember…or, will it turn out to be one they’d rather forget?

Find the book:
NO TRICKS JUST TREAT – amzn.to/341J55C

The Giveaway:
One paper copy. (Thanks to St. Martin’s. xo) Winners from this post and from the Bobbi Dumas FB page post here (two chances if you comment both places); more chances to win in giveaway bundles I’ll be doing – so keep an eye out on my Facebook pages, Bobbi Dumas and The Romance of Reading (which is closed, but you can join) and one each as part of a bundle from my newsletter list.

To enter here, share a frightening moment that happened to you.

Join The Newsletter:
U.S. friends, even if you’ve joined before 10/2019, sign up here, because this puts you automatically into a U.S. giveaway list.

International friends, this giveaway isn’t for you (apologies) but you can sign up for the newsletter here, which may help get news out when an international giveaway is coming up.

Hope to hear from you!

Happy Fall! xo

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(Covers and links are generally attached to affiliate links. Thank you for your support!)

#FallIntoBookLove – The Hocus Pocus Magic Shop

October 28, 2019 Leave a Comment

Okay, I admit, I haven’t had the chance to read this one yet, but I had author Abigail Drake on my page and a few of the audience read her books and really liked them.

So I thought I’d give some away, since the title really seems to fit the theme, doesn’t it?

I’ll be writing more about this in a roundup later in the week, but for now, enjoy the adorable cover and this awesome cover copy:

When chemist Grace O’Leary finds a book of magic spells hidden in her Aunt Lucy’s run-down magic shop, the scientist in her itches to try them out. She mixes up a batch of love potions as a joke, and has to face the consequences when they actually seem to work.

Her dream of becoming a professor is in peril, and time is running out to finish research for her dissertation. She can’t handle any more distractions, but the magic shop is on the verge of closing, her aunt has become forgetful and confused, and a handsome reporter named Dario Fontana keeps sniffing around for a story. The last thing she needs is for him to find out about the love potions and expose her as fraud, but she begins to trust him, and the sizzling chemistry between them is soon too powerful to deny.

With her personal and professional life in chaos, and her budding relationship with Dario in jeopardy, Grace is faced with a difficult choice. Fixing what is broken means going against every logical bone in her body. Can Grace learn to silence her scientific brain long enough to accept the truth about magic…and also about herself?

Find the book:
HOCUS POCUS MAGIC SHOP – amzn.to/2wRQeHd

The Giveaway:
One paper copy for a U.S. winner and one electronic copy to an international winner from this post and from the Bobbi Dumas FB page post here (two chances if you comment both places – the drawing post is here); one paper copy from a weekly giveaway bundle I’ll be doing – so keep an eye out on my Facebook pages, Bobbi Dumas and The Romance of Reading (which is closed, but you can join) and one each as part of a bundle from my newsletter list.

To enter here, tell us about something that makes you think of magic.

Join The Newsletter:
U.S. friends, even if you’ve joined before 10/2019, sign up here, because this puts you automatically into a U.S. giveaway list.

International friends, you can enter this one, and you can sign up for the newsletter here, which may help get news out when an international giveaway is coming up.

Hope to hear from you!

Happy Fall! xo

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(Covers and links are generally attached to affiliate links. Thank you for your support!)

#FallIntoBookLove – His Treat

October 28, 2019 Leave a Comment

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I received an audio copy of this book from Tantor, mainly because I was looking for fall and Halloween themed books and this came up.

Yes, I loved the cover, but the cover copy was pretty intriguing too:

Having a hot boss isn’t complicated or confusing at all,
Said no one ever…
But all I have to do is resist for a few months.
Come January, I’m flying to Paris to chase my dream of being an artist,
Too bad I can’t have my treat and eat it, too.

I forgot to mention… My hot boss was also my high school crush.

Sort of.

First, I wanted to crush him with gooey affection.
In the end, I just plain wanted to crush him.
Now he’s back, and he might as well have “do not touch” printed on his chest.
One tiny question: would it count if I didn’t use my hands?

Let me answer my own question. Yes, Emily, you raging horndog, it counts. Besides, my dream is practically waiting for me like a perfectly wrapped, shiny little package if I can just behave. I’d be an absolute idiot to risk that, and I have a long, proud history of not being an idiot to protect.

Unless it’s kind of like when you do really well in class all semester so you can afford to flunk a test at the end. Three months is a long time, and if he’s the one giving me the big, fat, dirty “F”, it does add a little dose of temptation to the equation.

But all I have to do is one quick job for him. A few posters and a few props for a big Halloween party that he’s hosting.

Then I just walk away from his dreamboat eyes and perfect body, grab a plane, and forget about all the beautiful children we could’ve squeezed inside our white picket fence.

This book was really charming. Ryan and Emily are a sweet, low-key couple. Ryan continually puts women in the friend zone; Emily has had a bad string of man luck, plus she’s ready to move to Paris for an amazing art school opportunity. So they’re both wary, and realize the timing is terrible.

Author Bloom manages to build good conflict into a heartwarming romance, and through the whole book, Ryan and Emily are torn between their obvious attraction for each other and their fears about what that attraction could mean, knowing Emily will be leaving for Paris in a matter of months. (Though to be honest, Emily’s fears feel more poignant and realistic than Ryan’s as the book progresses.) The very satisfying ending pulls everything together and yet the real charm of the book is the interaction among all the secondary characters, and the many silly, funny things they do to push the couple together.

Plus the backdrop of a Halloween party they’re planning together, and the fall details in most scenes keep the autumnal feeling high.

Really fun, sexy and sweet. Definitely an author I’ll pick up again.

Find the book:
HIS TREAT – amzn.to/2BKbfGa (affiliate link ❤️)

The Giveaway:
One audio copy.* (Thanks to Tantor media. xo) Winners from this post and from the Bobbi Dumas FB page post here (two chances if you comment both places); more chances to win in giveaway bundles I’ll be doing – so keep an eye out on my Facebook pages, Bobbi Dumas and The Romance of Reading (which is closed, but you can join) and one each as part of a bundle from my newsletter list.

*Entering means you’ll accept audio. The audio comes in the form of a Tantor link that you can download into mp3 files that you listen to off of your own platform. (I use iTunes.)

To enter here, tell us a special or romantic Halloween or fall moment.

Join The Newsletter:
U.S. friends, even if you’ve joined before 10/2019, sign up here, because this puts you automatically into a U.S. giveaway list.

International friends, this giveaway isn’t for you (apologies) but you can sign up for the newsletter here, which may help get news out when an international giveaway is coming up.

Hope to hear from you!

Happy Fall! xo

🍁🍁🍁🍁 🍂🍂🍂 🍁🍁🍁🍁

(Covers and links are generally attached to affiliate links. Thank you for your support!)

#FallIntoBookLove – Pumpkin Everything

October 28, 2019 Leave a Comment

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Discover the adorable world of Autumnboro, New Hampshire and be completely charmed by the quirky residents and the horror novelist who’s spent the past few years writing about her hometown in slightly, umm, unflattering ways. Thankfully almost no one in the town has read her books.

Now that she’s home, though….

And then there’s Kit, the hometown boy she’s never forgotten but whom she basically deserted when she left for college. Just when things look like they could be back on track between them, she discovers he’s holding on to a secret that could drive them apart.

After calling off her fall wedding, horror novelist Amy Fox is left with a broken heart, a mega case of writer’s block, and a serious aversion to all things pumpkin spice. When she receives news that her grandfather has broken his wrist driving through a Dunkin Donuts—literally straight through the front windows—five hundred miles away, in her hometown of Autumnboro, New Hampshire, Amy has no choice but to return to check on him. If she doesn’t make sure that he’s back on his feet, Grandpa may be moved into assisted living, and Amy’s beloved childhood home will be put on the market.

Knowing she must return, Amy worries about the only thing worse than pumpkin spice—a reunion with Kit Parker—her childhood best friend, first love, and entire reason for skipping town in the first place. As the two reconnect, a second chance seems possible…if only Kit weren’t holding on to a secret that just might unravel everything.

A 2019 Readers’ Favorite Award Winner for Holiday Fiction! Set against the scenic backdrop of the White Mountains, New Hampshire, Pumpkin Everything is a small town, sweet romance, and the perfect way to kick off the fall season! A pumpkin spice latte wouldn’t hurt, either.

This is a quirky, delightful read, and despite its sweet tone (and heat level – i.e., no sex), there’s well-constructed conflict that makes sense and builds into a well-layered story that forces the characters work together to find solutions.

It was fun, sweet and engaging. Definitely recommend, and the feeling of fall the book gives you is like a sweet sip of a hot pumpkin latte.

Find the book:
PUMPKIN EVERYTHING – amzn.to/363lPGa (affiliate link ❤️)

The Giveaway:
One electronic copy and one audio copy (Thanks to the author & to Tantor media. xo) Winners from this post and from the Bobbi Dumas FB page post here (two chances if you comment both places); more chances to win in giveaway bundles I’ll be doing – so keep an eye out on my Facebook pages, Bobbi Dumas and The Romance of Reading (which is closed, but you can join) and one each as part of a bundle from my newsletter list.

*Entering means you’ll accept electronic or audio. If you do not want audio, please include that in your comment. (“no audio please”) You’ll still be entered for the electronic copy.

To enter here, tell us about a time when a hot drink was part of a warm, cozy moment.

Join The Newsletter:
U.S. friends, even if you’ve joined before 10/2019, sign up here, because this puts you automatically into a U.S. giveaway list.

International friends, this giveaway isn’t for you (apologies) but you can sign up for the newsletter here, which may help get news out when an international giveaway is coming up.

Hope to hear from you!

Happy Fall! xo

🍁🍁🍁🍁 🍂🍂🍂 🍁🍁🍁🍁

(Covers and links are generally attached to affiliate links. Thank you for your support!)