Saturday Series Spotlight & Giveaway: Stacey Agdern’s Last Girls Standing

Here are the eBooks in this week’s Saturday Series Spotlight contest:

Title: B’Nai Mitzvah Mistake by Stacey Agdern
Last Girls Standing Book One
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length:270 pages

Summary:

Sharing isn’t caring when it comes to your big day.

Judith Nachman loves working as a project manager at the Mitzvah Alliance charity, and after five years, it’s finally her turn to have the bat mitzvah of her dreams. Judith is enjoying every single moment of the process—until she learns she has to share her day with the annoying hockey player who derailed her sister’s career.

Retired hockey player Ash Mendel is determined to start an organization to support Jewish athletes, and the first step is to have his bar mitzvah. He’s not sure what he wants his day to look like, but he knows he definitely wants forgiveness from Judith, the woman he’s sharing the date with.

But Judith’s nephew needs to interview an athlete, and Ash needs professional advice for his foundation, so they exchange favors. Except as they get to know each other and their worlds start to mingle, Ash and Judith will have to decide whether sharing their lives as well as their B’Nai Mitzvah is the best decision they could make, or the biggest mistake of their lives.


Giveaway

I am giving away the first eBook from the Last Girls Standing series. Here’s how to enter the Saturday Series Spotlight contest:

You must Do TWO of the Following:

1. Sign up for e-mail updates (below). One email daily with the day’s posts.

Enter your Email:


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OR:

2. Be or become a fan of Book Talk & More with Kathy Facebook page

OR:

3. Follow me on Twitter (@BooktalkMore)

Make sure you have filled out the contest entry form:

4. To be eligible to enter contests on Book Talk & More with Kathy you MUST fill out the contest entry form (found HERE). This form only needs to be filled out ONCE. Your privacy is important to me, and I will not share your information.

And don't forget to:

5. Fill out the form below by 4 PM Mountain Time Monday afternoon.

CONTEST OVER

* I am the only person who will have access to info that is submitted to me UNLESS a publisher or author has donated an eBook for the giveaway. For a prize donated by an author or publisher, I will forward your e-mail and format selection to the person responsible for distributing the eBook. Please refer to the privacy page HERE if you have questions about how your information is used. In the event the contest form is not working, please leave your book selection in the comments below.*

It’s that easy! The winner will be selected using random.org. I will e-mail one lucky winner the eBook in their preferred format. The winner will be posted HERE on Tuesday.

***The eBooks in this giveaway have been purchased by Book Talk & More with Kathy.***

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Friday Feature: The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh

Do you love a good romance? Then you might like today’s Friday Feature!

Title: The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Contemporary, Christian, Romantic Comedy
Length: 365 pages

Summary:

She’s out to prove that there’s no such thing as choosing happiness.

Isadora Bentley follows the rules. Isadora Bentley likes things just so. Isadora Bentley believes that happiness is something that flat-out doesn’t exist in her life—and never will.

As a university researcher, Isadora keeps to herself as much as possible. She avoids the students she’s supposed to befriend and mentor. She stays away from her neighbors and lives her own quiet, organized life in her own quiet, organized apartment. And she will never get involved in a romantic relationship again—especially with another academic. It will be just Isadora and her research. Forever.

But on her thirtieth birthday, Isadora does something completely out of character. The young woman who never does anything “on a whim” makes an impulse purchase of a magazine featuring a silly article detailing “Thirty-One Ways to Be Happy”—which includes everything from smiling at strangers to exercising for endorphins to giving in to your chocolate cravings. Isadora decides to create her own secret research project—proving the writer of the ridiculous piece wrong.

As Isadora gets deeper into her research—and meets a handsome professor along the way—she’s stunned to discover that maybe, just maybe, she’s proving herself wrong. Perhaps there’s actually something to this happiness concept, and possibly there’s something to be said for loosening up and letting life take you somewhere . . . happy.

Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon * B&N

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Thrifty Thursday: Can’t Stand the Heat by Season Vining

Do you love gay romances? Are you looking for a book that costs less than $5.00? Then you might want to check out:

Title: Can’t Stand the Heat by Season Vining
Romance in the City Book Two
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Gay, Romance
Length: 273 pages

Summary:

He’s ready to cook his heart out.

When amateur chef Ryan Tate earns a spot on the cooking competition show, The Heat, he drops everything and heads west. His grandma needs to revamp her restaurant and he’s confident he has what it takes to win the prize money to make that happen. Little does he know, the one that got away could be the one to ruin his chances.

Assistant chef Miguel Moreno has already established a name for himself in the culinary world, but he’s tired of operating in the shadows of the greats. With the prize money from The Heat, he can finally open his own restaurant. Victory seems imminent when he learns the show has a twist this season—six pros will face off against six amateurs. But he’s thrown when a familiar face stands temptingly in his path.

Their love affair a year ago was scorching, but it’s nothing compared to the heat they generate battling their way through each challenge. For Ryan and Miguel, cooking and passion have always been linked, but protecting their hearts might be their biggest obstacle yet.

Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon * B&N

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eBook Contest 6/14

Here are the eBooks for this week’s Winning Wednesday contest:

Title: The Sweetheart List by Jill Shalvis
The Sunrise Cove Book Four
Publisher: Avon
Genre: Contemporary, Friendship, Fiction
Length: 351 pages

Summary:

What makes life sweet?

* Freshly baked bread
* A cool lake on a hot summer day
* The comfort of a cozy bookstore
* Second chances and new beginnings

When Harper Shaw’s life falls apart, she knows it’s time for a change. She removes everything that doesn’t spark joy—from her soul-sucking job to eating kale to making lists—and sets off for the last place she was happy, Lake Tahoe (who wouldn’t feel good there, right?) to fulfill her dream of opening her own bakery.

With her Sugar Pine Bakery in between a tavern, owned by sexy, grumpy Bodie Campbell, and a bookstore, run by her new BFF, she feels a peace she’s never experienced since…well, forever.. Then she meets Ivy, a teenage runaway, who barrels into her heart. She sees a lot of herself in Ivy and takes her under her wing, but the teenager has secrets…

When those secrets explode, it changes Harper’s new world, and she’ll learn, it’s never too late to start over, it’s never too late to figure out your life, and best of all, it’s never too late to let yourself believe in love.


Title: Famous in a Small Town by Viola Shipman
Publisher: Graydon House
Genre: Contemporary, Friendship, Fiction
Length: 349 pages

Summary:

A GMA Pick: ‘June Books that Everyone Will be Reading’!

For most of her eighty years, Mary Jackson has endured the steady invasion of tourists, influencers and real estate developers who have discovered the lakeside charm of Good Hart, Michigan, waiting patiently for the arrival of a stranger she’s believed since childhood would one day carry on her legacy—the Very Cherry General Store. Like generations of Jackson women before her, Cherry Mary, as she’s known locally, runs the community hub—part post office, bakery and sandwich shop—and had almost given up hope that the mysterious prediction she’d been told as a girl would come true and the store would have to pass to…a man.

Becky Thatcher came to Good Hart with her ride-or-die BFF to forget that she’s just turned forty with nothing to show for it. Ending up at the general store with Mary is admittedly not the beach vacation she expected, but the more the feisty octogenarian talks about destiny, the stronger Becky’s memories of her own childhood holidays become, and the strange visions over the lake she was never sure were real. As she works under Mary’s wing for the summer and finds she fits into this quirky community of locals, she starts to believe that destiny could be real, and that it might have something very special in mind for Becky…

Bursting with memorable characters and small-town lore, the enchanting new novel from the bestselling author of The Clover Girls is a magical story about the family you’re born with, and the one you choose.


Title: We Could Be So Great by Cat Sebastian
Publisher: Avon
Genre: Historical (1950s), Gay, Romance
Length: 383 pages

Summary:

Casey McQuiston meets The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in this mid-century rom-dram about a scrappy reporter and a newspaper mogul’s son.

Nick Russo has worked his way from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood to a reporting job at one of the city’s biggest newspapers. But the late 1950s are a hostile time for gay men, and Nick knows that he can’t let anyone into his life. He just never counted on meeting someone as impossible to say no to as Andy.

Andy Fleming’s newspaper-tycoon father wants him to take over the family business. Andy, though, has no intention of running the paper. He’s barely able to run his life—he’s never paid a bill on time, routinely gets lost on the way to work, and would rather gouge out his own eyes than deal with office politics. Andy agrees to work for a year in the newsroom, knowing he’ll make an ass of himself and hate every second of it.

Except, Nick Russo keeps rescuing Andy: showing him the ropes, tracking down his keys, freeing his tie when it gets stuck in the ancient filing cabinets. Their unlikely friendship soon sharpens into feelings they can’t deny. But what feels possible in secret—this fragile, tender thing between them—seems doomed in the light of day. Now Nick and Andy have to decide if, for the first time, they’re willing to fight.


Wednesday is contest day on Book Talk and More with Kathy. Three lucky winners will win the eBook of their choice! Here’s how to enter:

You must Do TWO of the Following:

1. Sign up for e-mail updates (below). One email daily with the day’s posts.

Enter your Email:

Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz


OR:

2. Be or become a fan of Book Talk & More with Kathy Facebook page

OR:

3. Follow me on Twitter (@BookTalkMore)

Make sure you have filled out the contest entry form:

4. To be eligible to enter contests on Book Talk and More with Kathy you MUST fill out the contest entry form (found HERE). This form only needs to be filled out ONCE. Your privacy is important to me, and I will not share your information.

And don't forget to:

5. Fill out the form below by 4 PM Mountain Time Friday afternoon:

* I am the only person who will have access to info that is submitted to me UNLESS a publisher or author has donated an eBook for the giveaway. For a prize donated by an author or publisher, I will forward your e-mail and format selection to the person responsible for distributing the eBook. Please refer to the privacy page HERE if you have questions about how your information is used. In the event the contest form is not working, please leave your book selection in the comments below.*

It’s that easy! The winners will be selected using random.org. I will e-mail the winners the eBook of their choice in their preferred format. The winners will be posted HERE on Saturday.

***The eBooks in this giveaway have been purchased by Book Talk & More with Kathy.***

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Review: Inside Threat by Matthew Quirk

Title: Inside Threat by Matthew Quirk
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Political Thriller
Length: 428 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Summary:

An electrifying thriller from the author of The Night Agent now on Netflix, an attack on the White House sends the President and his top aides to take shelter in a top secret government facility buried deep underground—but they soon discover the threat is locked inside with them.

Assume the worst. Code Black.

The day that every secret service agent trains for has arrived. The White House has been breached; the President forced to flee to a massive doomsday bunker outside DC to defend against whatever comes next. Only the most trusted agents and officials are allowed in with him—those dedicated to keeping the government intact at all costs.

Among these is Erik Hill, who has given his life to the Secret Service. They are his purpose and his family, and his impressive record has made him a hero among them. Despite his growing disillusionment from seeing Washington corruption up close, Erik can’t ignore years of instincts honed on the job. The government is under attack, and no one is better equipped to face down the threat than he is.

The evidence leads him to a conspiracy at the highest levels of power, with the attack orchestrated by some of the very individuals now locked in with him. As the killers strike inside the bunker, it will take everything Erik Hill has to save his people, himself, and his country.

Review:

Inside Threat by Matthew Quirk is an adrenaline-fueled political thriller.

A security breach at the While House leads to moving President James Kline and the First Lady Dr. Sarah Kline to a secure, underground bunker. Secret Service Agents Eric Hill and Amber Cody are among the agents who accompany them along with a handful aides. They are met by Lt. Col. Bruce Drumm whose insider information about the facility prove to be invaluable after a murder reveals the stunning truth: the killer is one of them.

Eric (and readers) do not know who to trust before or after the murder. This includes the President and his closest inner circle. Eric is incredibly jaded but he never forgets the only lives that matter are the President and First Lady. Despite his doubts, he and Cody do everything possible to protect them from an unknown enemy.

The underground bunker is from the Cold War era and is impenetrable. The numerous nooks and crannies provide perfect hiding places for the unknown assailant. One shocking turn after another lead to unanticipated conclusions that thoroughly shake up Eric, Amber, and their allies.

Inside Threat is full of non-stop action that keeps the pages turning at a blistering pace. The characters are well-developed and the inability to tell friend from foe keeps everyone off balance. The storyline is well-executed and never delves into politics. With plenty of suspense and devilishly clever plot twists, Matthew Quirk brings this pulse-pounding thriller to a highly satisfying conclusion.

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Teen Tuesday: What She Missed by Liara Tamini

Teenage or adult readers who like Young Adult novels might enjoy this week’s spotlight:

Title: What She Missed by Liara Tamini
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Length: 320 pages

Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Ebony Jones is devastated when her family moves from Houston to her grandmother’s house in the country. There’s absolutely nothing for Ebony in Alula Lake, Texas. So she thinks.

Award-winning author Liara Tamani’s What She Missed is a rich and emotional novel that celebrates change, nature, friendship, growing up, and love, for readers of Sarah Dessen’s The Rest of the Story and Elizabeth Acevedo’s Clap When You Land.

When Ebony and her parents move from Houston, Texas, to her grandmother’s house in a small lake town, Ebony is sure her life is doomed. And to make matters worse, the ghost of Ebony’s beloved grandmother—a strong swimmer who tragically drowned in the lake—is everywhere. Alula Lake does offer one perk: reconnecting Ebony with her childhood friend, Jalen.

But as Ebony settles into life, she finds herself drifting away from Jalen and gravitating to his older sister, Lena. Lena is chaotic, disorderly, and rebellious, yet she offers a reprieve for the anger and sadness Ebony feels about losing so much.

An ode to nature, art, friendship, history, family, and love, this lyrical coming-of-age story explores one girl’s summer of self-discovery as she reimagines the world and her place in it. What She Missed is for fans of Sarah Dessen, Nina LaCour, and Nicola Yoon.

Goodreads

Purchase Link: Amazon * B&N

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