LOVING BITSY by Virginia Dare

Loving Bitsy is the first book by Virginia Dare and the first in a series. Bitsy Russo is a young woman who married very young to an abusive man. Simon Levine is an attorney who lives two floors up with his conniving, ambitious, money hungry wife. Bitsy longs for a life away from her husband while Simon is struggling to save his marriage. The first time he sees Bitsy his heart is lost to her but he is committed to his wife. That is until he discovers she’s cheating on him with his best friend.

Follow Bitsy and Simon as they wind their way to a life together. An interesting although short story, the book is only a hundred pages long. Hopefully the sequels will be a bit longer.

A good story that could use a bit more depth but worth the read. I give it four stars and look forward to reading the next installment.

Holiday Heat by Starla Hartless

I just finished this book, and I honestly just want to read it again. This has all the elements I love in a Romance novel. It has comical moments, heartwarming moments and sexy moments. If you don’t like hot sexy stories, then Starla’s books are not for you but I just had such a good time with this one.

The second book in the Cougar Love series, Holiday Heat reminds me of the screwball comedies of the fifties but definitely updated and much hotter.

Roxanne finds herself at the office Christmas party, suddenly indulging in a sexual encounter with a co-worker who happens to be a younger man. After the heat of the moment passes, Roxanne is left confused, guilty and embarrassed by her lack of control. What follows is a series of misadventures as Roxanne attempts to convince herself that she doesn’t want to be involved with Adam.

Adam may be younger than Roxanne but its obvious that he is the more mature partner in this relationship as he tries to find a way into Roxanne’s heart.

Along the way, Roxanne has to deal with a bratty sister and her out of control children who suddenly appear on her doorstep.

All of this happens during the holiday season in New York. A very amusing very steamy book by Starla Hartless who always leaves me wanting more.

A fun, funny book that I totally enjoyed one rainy afternoon. Yes, I couldn’t put it down!

Five stars!

Bring It On Home

BRING IT ON HOME By Kait Nolan

Bring It On Home does just that. I enjoyed every page of this book. I yearn for a romance like the one Maggie and Porter are living. To have someone in your life who seems to want nothing more than to be there for you through thick and thin. My favorite romances are the ones between best friends who become so much more to each other. Bring It On Home gave me everything I needed. I smiled, laughed and cried. I couldn’t put it down and finished in one night. Who needs sleep? I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves small towns and family. I can see new storylines in the works and I can hardly wait. Kait Nolan I hope you are already busy writing more about the Misfit Inn. Five stars for this one. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

THE RAILROAD

By Neil Douglas Newton

I read this book several years ago when it was first published and in spite of poor editing, including typos, I enjoyed the read. I recently read the newly released version and I am very impressed. The new cover is brilliant and the story was even better the second time around.

Beginning shortly before 9/11 Mike Dobbs is not a guy you like immediately. He is a career minded, self centered man with a plan. After being stuck in the subway while the towers were falling, the experience sent him on a journey from which he never returns.

The Mike Dobbs before 9/11 slowly devolves while his friends watch helplessly, until he simply cannot exist in the job or the life he had before the tragedy. Without a word, he leaves his life in NYC and moves to a run down second home in the countryside of upstate New York. All he wants is to be left alone, to drink himself into oblivion and never be reminded of those events.

Then a woman and child in desperate need of help enter his life and again Mike Dobbs is on a journey to change and again his life will never be the same.

By the end of the book, I rather liked Mike Dobbs, something I would have thought impossible at the beginning of the story.

I highly recommend this book. Be prepared for an unexpected twist at the end.

WISHFUL ROMANCE VOLUME 3 BOOKS 7-9

BY KAIT NOLAN

For me the sign of a good book is the disappointment when you get to the last page. I always want more. I always want to know what happens next. So I am always ready for the next book to be released. I was lucky this time, I was chosen to receive an ARC copy to read and review. I finally realized at the end of this volume that I no longer want to know what’s next, I want to move to Wishful.

I want to get my coffee at the Daily Grind and have lunch at Dinner Belles. I want to walk down Main Street waving to all the people I met on these pages. I would love to throw a quarter into the Fountain and make a wish.

Kait Nolan makes this place come alive in her books. Her characters become real to us and we become invested in their lives. I enjoyed all three of these books but my favorite, because I am an older woman had to “See You Again”. I love stories about second chances and true love finding its way but I especially enjoy the ones that feature older folks because we still want those things too!

Kait Nolan has become one of my favorite authors. She creates her characters and the town with such richness and depth that you can’t help but feel as if you are there with them.

Yes, I want to live in a place like Wishful. I wish there was a town like Wishful.

Keep writing Kait Nolan. I need to know what happens next.

All three of these books are worthy of 5 stars. Be sure to read them. “Dance Me A Dream” “See You Again” and “The Christmas Fountain”

Carved Wooden Heart by Elizabeth Horton-Newton and Starla Hartless

Available at Amazon.com and Dragonfly Books

Carved Wooden Heart has become another of my favorite books and yes I’ve read it multiple times. I can’t get enough of this story and hope that the authors will consider writing a sequel although I doubt they could top this one!

Dani meets Jesse, a native artist with issues and romance quickly follows. Of course love isn’t easy and Dani’s heart is broken. Dani is a very strong woman and faces all the complications of life head on.

I am totally drawn into Dani’s story right from the start. I find Jesse very attractive and I can understand how things could get out of control so fast, even though it was obviously not the way Dani usually behaved. Love can make us do things we would normally consider crazy and there is no doubt that Dani was in love.

Dani’s choices were never easy but always seemed right. Her journey was full of highs and lows. We follow her through what feels like a lifetime but is really only a few years. So much happens and though she falls in love again her time with Jesse always haunts her.

This book is a romance story but its also a story of life, choices, heartache and joy.

A book you’ll have a hard time putting down.

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

A very well written, rather dark story but one that was impossible to put down. Mr. Carr paints a very intricate portrait of life in NYC in the 1890’s. While the murders were gruesome and involved children who were prostitutes it does reflect the times as they were. Children were not protected by any laws and many of them were on the streets forced to survive on their own. The Alienist, Dr. Lazlo Kreizler (Psychiatrists were known as Alienists at the time) brought together an unusual team to work the murders that were being committed by a serial killer. The team consisted of a newspaper journalist, a police dept secretary (one of the first females to have that position) two outcast police detectives using cutting edge technology for that period and others.

The story is intense, the pace rapidly increases throughout the book until you feel breathless trying to get to the end. I absolutely loved this book although the possibility of nightmares did exist! I was thrilled with the character of Sarah, an independent, liberated woman in 1890 was very unusual and I completely identified with her. An unexpected turn of events toward the end of the book literally had me in tears as I read it.

Mr. Carr did an excellent job developing all the characters in this book. An amazing writer indeed, and I am looking forward to reading more of his works. Five Stars for sure!

DEAR LIBBY by Starla Harless

Dear Libby to be released on Amazon July 4, 2019 Available for pre-order now

I read Carved Wooden Heart by Starla Hartless and Elizabeth Horton-Newton (twice) and when I heard that Starla was working on a new series I was so excited that I asked for an ARC copy. I wasn’t disappointed! This is the first in a series she calls The Cougar Love Series and it is off to a great start!

The Libby in Dear Libby is an advice columnist in Sweetwater, TN whose real name is Sadie and unbeknownst to her, her editor arranged for her to be considered for a national position at Stark Publications. Jake Stark comes to town to interview her and while she thinks he is good looking she also thinks he’s a snob. He invites her to dinner and she blows him off but they end up at the same restaurant where he requests the table next to hers. When her best friend cancels at the last minute he invites himself to join her and well I’m not going to tell you the whole story, you need to get the book.

It is a very enjoyable read, and I will say there are a few complications. The setting is wonderful from the little town of Sweetwater to the penthouse suite in NYC to the mansion in Southampton Long Island, the descriptions are so vivid you’ll feel like you are really there.

I give it 5 stars and I am certainly looking forward to the second book of this series.

To Get Me To You by Kait Nolan

I love a good romance novel but it has to have a good story. To Get Me To You fits the bill. The characters are well developed and you feel as if you really know them. The town of Wishful is the kind of small town we all wish we could live in, rather like Mayberry. Good neighbors, old fashioned fun.

The story of how a small town on the brink of financial ruin is turned around is well written. The romance between the city girl and the small town guy is delightful. I am glad this is part of a series since I have a very strong need to return to Wishful and explore other characters introduced to us in this book. I am happy Norah and Cam found a way to save the town and stay together. I look forward to hearing more about Piper, Miranda, Mitch and the other Wishful residents.

Kait Nolan has completely drawn me in. Totally enjoyable journey to Wishful. Can’t wait to go back.

View From The Sixth Floor by Elizabeth Horton Newton

I have actually read this book several times. I yearn for a sequel! This is a tender story about a retired school teacher and her late husband’s best friend on a quest to find out the true story of the JFK assassination as the 50th anniversary of the day approaches. Olivia has always accepted the facts as presented and never questioned any of it until an encounter with a strange man in the grocery store who asks if she thought Oswald did it.

Having never thought about it much she decides to do a little research. She reads several books, watches documentaries on tv and finds she has more questions than answers and so decides she wants to go to Dallas. When she tells her friend and neighbor Bill about her plans he does everything he can to talk her out of it but Olivia is determined and so Bill makes plans to join her on the journey that will change their lives.

I too, always accepted the facts as presented about the assassination until I read this book. I began to look at things differently too!

Elizabeth Horton-Newton is an awesome story teller. Her characters come alive and you feel as if you know them. Olivia’s growth is something I particularly enjoyed watching. I was also thrilled to read a love story that didn’t involve twenty somethings but was a mature relationship that grew from a good friendship.

This is one of my very favorite books and I highly recommend it! I give it 5 0ut of 5 stars!