Tag Archives: Book 7

#99Cents Deal :: Imagine the Kiss (Crystal Creek Series #7) by Laura Haley-McNeil

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Available for 99 cents from 23rd till 29th May!

Two people open themselves to the truth and open themselves to each other.

Her marriage in ruins, violinist Teagan Whitloch Munroe escapes into her music and the solace she finds at the Crystal Creek Ranch. Practicing in the woods helps her piece together her life, but she isn’t alone. When she hears someone hiking nearby, she demands he reveal himself, but the only revelation she gets is a soothing voice that heals the pain in her heart.
Maimed by a crushing accident, the once famous architect Phineas St. Cyr protects the world from his disfigurement by sequestering himself in the woods on the Crystal Creek Ranch. When he hears the intoxicating strains from Teagan’s violin, he can’t resist the beauty that quiets his aching soul, and he yearns to know the woman who creates such beauty.
Teagan finds sanctuary in her friendship with this connoisseur of music, but soon realizes Phin’s hiding more than his hideous scars. As they become entangled with each other, Teagan is stunned to learn they share more than a love of music. They are caught in a web of deceit by someone threatening to reveal Phin’s secrets. His exposed past endangers Teagan, and he can no longer walk away. This time he must face the enemy determined to defeat him. He’ll fight to the finish to protect the woman he can never love. No price is too high to keep buried the secret that will mark Teagan for destruction.Book Links:
Goodreads * Amazon.in * Amazon.com

Read an Excerpt from Imagine the Kiss

Chapter One

Teagan Whitloch Munroe was trembling. She was trembling, and she couldn’t stop. She’d been trembling for more than two hours—since she’d left the downtown Denver condominium she shared with her husband, Dr. Wilbert Munroe. What she’d seen inside the condo—in their bedroom—made her want to vomit. A cold knot of disgust and revulsion gripped her stomach.

When she’d walked into the master bedroom, she must’ve gasped. Will was lying on the bed, but he wasn’t alone. He’d lifted his head from the pillow. He looked right at her.

And swore.

He didn’t look surprised. He looked annoyed.

She’d pressed a hand over her mouth.

Blinded by tears, she’d backed into the doorjamb and stumbled into the hallway. She didn’t remember running out of the condo, but she must have. Her legs throbbed, and her chest ached. The only thing she remembered was her husband calling her name. What had he said? Let’s talk? She didn’t know if she should laugh or sob.

And she remembered the dulcet laughter of the naked woman who was servicing him in bed. Teagan’s and Will’s bed. Teagan had thought Ginny Andrews was her friend.

Some friend. Ginny who was svelte and toned. A contrast to Teagan who’d struggled with her weight since she was seven years old.

A shuddering breath rocked through Teagan’s lungs. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She wiped them away.

She barely remembered driving to the Crystal Creek Ranch, throwing a saddle on her favorite horse, Champagne, and racing through the meadows until she reached the aspen forest covering Crystal Peak.

Fighting against the despair that filled her, she wrapped shaky fingers around the reins and urged the Arabian horse through the trees bursting with spring green leaves. Her vision blurred, and she tried to focus on the pink wild roses and purple elephant’s head mingling with the green undergrowth. The splashes of Crystal Creek tumbling over rocks sounded next to the trail. It was happy and musical and far from the darkness that crowded her heart. Her stomach roiled and begged to be emptied of the half sandwich she’d eaten during the orchestral rehearsal that afternoon.

She ran her hand over the horse’s neck damp from perspiration.

About the Author:

A native of California, Laura Haley-McNeil spent her youth studying ballet and piano, though her favorite pastime was curling up with a good book. Without a clue as to how to write a book, she knew one day she would.
After college, she segued into the corporate world, but she never forgot her love for the arts and served on the board of two community orchestras. Finally realizing that the book she’d dreamt of writing wouldn’t write itself, she planted herself in front of her computer. She now immerses herself in the lives and loves of her characters in her romantic suspense and her contemporary romance novels. Many years later, she lived her own romantic novel when she married her piano teacher, the love of her life.
Though she and her husband have left warm California for cooler Colorado, they enjoy the outdoor life of hiking, bicycling, horseback riding and snow skiing. They satisfy their love of music by attending concerts and hanging out with their musician friends, but Laura still catches a few free moments when she can sneak off and read.

Laura on the Web:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Newsletter

 

Book Review: Murder at the Wedding (Miss Underhay #7) by Helena Dixon

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About the Book:

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’Till death do us part may come sooner than they thought…

1934. Kitty Underhay steps out of the battered Rolls Royce and onto the gravelled driveway of Thurscomb Castle in deepest Yorkshire. She’s honoured to be a bridesmaid at her cousin Lucy’s wedding to the reluctant Lord Rupert Woodcomb, but as family and friends gather for welcome drinks, Kitty dodges intrusive questions about her own marital status by taking a stroll about the castle grounds. As she passes through the manicured gardens, a fatal shot rings out…

The valet, Evans, is dead. And Kitty can’t help but notice how rattled the man standing next to him seems. Could Rupert’s best man, The Right Honourable Alexander ‘Sandy’ Galsworthy, believe the speeding bullet was meant for him?

When she discovers that Sandy has been receiving blackmail notes, Kitty suspects that one of the assembled guests has plans to make good on their threats. The local constabulary won’t act on Kitty’s hunch, so, busy with her bridesmaid’s duties, she asks her beau, ex-army captain Matthew Bryant, to help.

The ceremony passes without a hitch. But when an anxious Sandy slips away during the dancing, Matt follows, only to make a hideous discovery: Sandy is dead, flattened on the terrace by some falling masonry.

Now the duo are sure that there is a murderer within the castle walls. But can they untangle Sandy’s final hours and catch this killer before they strike again, or will the wedding bells be replaced by a death knell for Kitty herself…?

A completely charming and unputdownable cozy historical Golden Age murder mystery! Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss.

My Thoughts:

Murder at the Wedding is a murder mystery that is well written and wonderful to read. This is the first book by the author and in the series that I read, but it was easy to catch on to the characters and their roles. I enjoyed reading about Kitty, her ideas and her relationship with her cousin Lucy. Having arrived at Thurscomb Castle to attend her cousin’s wedding, Kitty doesn’t expect to once again be involved in solving a murder or two. It seems as though something always happens around her.

I enjoyed reading about the various characters involved in the story. It is a simple enough plot that is well executed by the author and which gives us enough of an insight into the setting and the characters. I enjoyed the subtle investigations and the strength of Kitty’s character. I also enjoyed reading about Matt and how he fits into the story. It is indeed a race against time to find out who the murderer is before something else happens.

Overall this is a murder mystery that will delight fans of mysteries and those who want a quick but unputdownable read! I am definitely looking forward to picking up more books that involve Kitty Underhay!

Prepare to laugh until your insides hurt in Jesper Jinx and the Mouse Mayhem (Jesper Jinx #7)

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Marko Kitti is back with yet another book in the Jesper Jinx series, Jesper Jinx and the Mouse Mayhem. This is the 7th book in the series and is probably the most hilarious of the lot.

About the Book:

Jesper Jinx and the Mouse Mayhem (Jesper Jinx, #7)

Jesper Jinx is eleven, and probably the unluckiest person in all of Puffington Hill. Everything he touches seems to end up in sweet disaster. Hence his nickname ‘Jinx’.

But this time around, it is Puffington Hill itself that appears to be jinxed. The school canteen gets shut down and children are forced to eat wild clover flowers for lunch. Horrible hairy acorns fall from the sky, targeting black cats and squirrels. An eyewitness even claims to have seen a flying antique piano.

Something utterly peculiar is going on.

And it is up to you, Dear Reader, to help Jesper figure out who’s responsible for these seemingly unrelated incidents. Could it be Jesper himself? Or Lenny and Benny, the WARRIOR MOUSE brothers? Or even you yourself, the unsuspecting Book Gobbler?

My thoughts:

“So tell me, my friend,” Oliver goes on, lowering his voice to a near whisper, “have you been doing anything, say, out of the ordinary today?”

The above quote from the book, sums up in entirety, the main premise of this seventh installment. Those who have already read the previous books will have a fair idea about Jesper and his famous nickname, ‘jinx’. For the rest of you, it’s alright even if you haven’t read the rest, this book covers it all!

I seriously do not know where Marko gets his ideas from, but with each book that comes out in this series, the stories only get better and better! The silly old scribbler does indeed have a sack filled with wonderful and entertaining stories which are easy to read and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. It is clear that the target is young children, but still there is no going back once you start.

This book, the seventh installment, brings us face to face with a pair of mice who are at the bottom of a series of events that unfold like the domino effect, soon after Jesper adopts them as pets. The story is narrated over 24 hours, 1 day in Jesper’s life and is then followed by eye-witness and character accounts that bring out a side of the story that we couldn’t see before. Marko once again writes this story in his unique style mixing humor with some unbelievable incidents that will have the reader in splits. After all, many of us know about “the jinx”. However, in this story, it is for the reader to decide whether Jesper can be held responsible for the events that take place or not. He is after all just an eleven year old kid!

With each characters account becoming more outrageous than the other, the entire story is one fun-filled ride that will have the reader in splits. A must-read for everyone, there can be no age limit to enjoying Marko’s stories!