SATURDAY BOOK REVIEW !!

                                           HEART SURGEON, HERO...HUSBAND? 


In a few short days...February 1st to be exact...Mills & Boon will be releasing Susan Carlisle's debut medical romance, and you won't want to miss it.

Hannah Quinn and Scott McIntyre had been an item years earlier, but both moved on.  Now Hannah is a single mother and is being told that her son, Jake, desperately need a heart transplant.  Imagine the shock when she learns that Dr. McIntyre is the surgeon who can save her son's life.  Hannah loved Scott a long time ago, but he let her down...and she's not sure she can trust him again...especially with her son's life.  And what about her own heart?

Scott never forgot the woman he fell lin love with...nor can he allow himself to rekindle the feelings that once consumed him.  He walked away from Hannah once because he had seen what being married to a surgeon did to his mother and his family.  His father had always put his patients first and Scott knew he was the same as his father...that he wouldn't have enough left for a family because of his demanding career.  But he can't resist the pull Hannah still has on him...and he finds himself falling in love with her all over again.

As a dedicated surgeon, his patients come first, but he finds that even though Jake isn't his child, he's stepping over a professional line and allowing the child to become too important to him.  He can't let Hannah down.  At least he can give her back her son, even if he can't...or won't allow himself...to give her his own heart.

Susan wove a lot of very interesting heart-transplant details into her story...details she knows from first-hand experience since her own son had a heart-transplant over twenty years ago.  Her story kept me reading...and pulling for the couple to break through the walls each had built around their heart.

For a debut novel, Susan Carlisle came out of the gate with a force to be reckoned with.  I look forward to more of her stories in the future...and a little birdie told me that there will be at least three in the near future.  I highly recommend Heart Surgeon, Hero...Husband?

Just click on the link and you can pre-order Heart Surgeon, Hero...Husband?

SATURDAY BOOK REVIEW !!

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A MAD WOMAN

    by:  Stephanie Queen

This is a catchy title, but more so once you meet the two main characters.  Madeline, also known as Mad for short and Peter, also known as The Rock.

Book Blurb:

“Madeline Grace was always expected to do great things, but she discovers the price of destiny means running for governor--against a man who was once her lover.

In this world of politics, romance wins over cynicism and the good guys finish first. Not since JFK, has a political candidate used his wit and charm to such an advantage as Peter “the Rock”. On the other hand, there hasn’t been a woman so admired as a crusader against corrupt power since Joan of Arc… until “Mad” Madeline. Madeline is running for Governor of Massachusetts against Peter. Madeline and Peter were once in love—before she broke his heart.

In the midst of the campaign battle they re-ignite their volatile relationship, but on warring sides of the ticket, they can’t afford for the media to find out. As they fight each other for office they find they have an enemy in common. When their enemy drives up the stakes, Peter must decide if he’ll risk his career and fight with Madeline to overcome the political crisis. Madeline has to decide if she trusts Peter—and whether she still loves him.”

The author immediately drags the reader into the world of political campaign and makes the reader root for both sides of the ticket.  While I was reading, I wondered how she was going to allow both of her main characters to “win” when she wrote two such compelling candidates.  (Since I couldn’t imagine either of them losing) 

Well, the obvious would be for her to join him on the ticket as his Lieutenant Governor… at least in Peter’s mind, but Madeline will have none of that.  They differ on a lot of issues and she refuses to play second fiddle to a man…again.

There are twists and turns and even the secondary characters are compelling.  I could easily see a couple of them having their own story.  (Loved the Special Ops guys)

I was captured immediately and read straight through without stopping.  I didn’t want to put it down until I found out what was going to happen!

For me, the kiss of death or the two thumbs up depends on whether or not I love the characters enough to want to continue reading about them after the story ends.  In this case, I would love to read a sequel to Between A Rock and A Mad Woman. You owe it to yourself to buy and read this book.

Want a suggestion?  Right now you can get Between A Rock and a Mad Woman and her second book, Throwbacks, for $ .99 and I have to tell you...that's a bargain that a girl just can't pass up.  Oh, and after you read about Rock and Madeline, you'll want to read more stories written by Stephanie, so save yourself some time and go ahead and get Throwbacks while you're at Amazon and B&N.

 Amazon

Barnes and Noble 

Happy Reading and Merry Christmas!

SATURDAY BOOK REVIEW

"When Anna LeBonte's estranged husband is found murdered, she becomes the main suspect.  Only one person is willing to help her, her mysterious neighbor, Brent Stirling.  Brent knows the only reason he's helping Anna is to ease the festering guilt inside of him.  But when the events turn personal, and he finds himself falling for Anna, Brent knows he can't walk away.  But he may be risking their lives."

When I first asked Barbara Phinney to be a guest author on my blog, I had not read any of her books.  Since then, I've read two and enjoyed them both.

Souvenirs is about two emotionally scarred people who have "souvenirs" from past hurts--hurts that they can help each other overcome.  Anna is the victim of a husband who controls by intimidation and Brent feels guilty about the death of men under his command--and has scars to remind him daily of his mistakes.

I like Anna because she is at the point in life where she is ready to stand up for herself and leave her husband...but before she can file for divorce, he is found murdered.  Whoops, not good.  When everything looks grim for her future--when the police focus in on her as the suspect and stop looking elsewhere, she has one man willing to believe her and help.

Brent, although he sports some physical scars, is an Alpha hero who makes you forget his scars as he does what an Alpha hero does best--he does whatever is necessary to save his lady.

Barbara has given the characters in her book real-to-life issues and is true to them by writing a story of how love can heal wounds and build bridges of trust. Like any well-written suspense, Barbara Phinney has included interesting twists that keep the reader guessing until the end and I was not disappointed when her husband's killer was exposed.

Souvenirs   (Amazon)  For a list of all her books... (Amazon)   Barnes & Noble

If you'd like to read more about Barbara Phinney or follow her, click on her name and check out her personal website.