Characters, Finding the Right Match with Kat Martin of The Deception

Characters
Finding the Right Match

When it comes to Romantic Suspense, one of the most import and often the hardest thing to do is to find the right match for the hero or heroine who is the primary character in the book.  In THE DECEPTION, Hawk Maddox is a former Marine, a strong, tough, sometimes reckless, chance-taker.  I needed a woman who was equally strong, tough-yet-feminine woman who could handle his reckless nature.

And because Hawk was an extremely virile male, a passionate woman, as well.

Kate Gallagher was all of those things.  She also strongly believes in justice, which means finding the killer who murdered her sister takes precedence over a relationship with Hawk. 

🍷🍷🍷.5 #Review of Highland Sword by May McGoldrick

Title:  Highland Sword
Series:  Royal Highland #3
Author: May McGoldrick
Format: Paperback/eBook, 320 pages
Publication: Mar. 31, 2020 by St. Martin's
ASIN:    B07SCV5RF4 
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Source: First Reads GoodReads
Reviewer: Kimberly
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Wine Glasses

A VOW FOR VENGEANCE

Fleeing to the Highlands after her father’s murder, fiery Morrigan Drummond has a score to settle with Sir Rupert Burney, the English spymaster responsible for his death. Trained to fight alongside the other rebels determined to break Britain’s hold on Scotland, she swears to avenge her father’s death—until a chance encounter with a barrister as proud and principled as she is presents her with a hard choice…and a bittersweet temptation.

A PLEA FOR PASSION

Aidan Grant has never encountered another woman like dangerous beauty Morrigan—and he has the bruises to prove it. Yet she could be the key to defending two innocent men, as well as striking a death blow to the reprehensible Burney. Convincing Morrigan to help him will take time, but Aidan is willing to wait if it means victory over corrupt government forces and freedom for his people…and Morrigan’s hand in marriage. Can two warriors committed to a cause stand down long enough to open their hearts to a love fierce enough to last…forever?

Kimberly's Thoughts:
Uprooted from her home after her father's murder, Morrigan has fled to the Highlands. There, with her step-mother, step-sister, and their husbands, they continue to fight to get out from under the yoke of the English.
Aidan has soldiered for England and now as a barrister, he fights to bring justice to his fellow Highlanders. With his brother at his side, he works to establish rule of law in this turbulent time.
Politics, entrapment, spying, blackmail, and love come alive in the highlands.

#Spotlight on Starbreaker by Amanda Bouchet + #Giveaway

Starbreaker
(Endeavor #2)
by Amanda Bouchet
Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 448 pages
Published April 28th 2020 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
ASINB07L42PBQM

THEY NEVER WANTED TO BE HEROES

Captain Tess Bailey and Shade Ganavan are still the galaxy's Most Wanted, and with revolution in the wind and the universe on the brink of catastrophic war, the situation couldn't be more desperate. Despite the Dark Watch scouring the known sectors for them, rebel leaders have handed the crew of the Endeavor a delicate and dangerous mission: break into Starbase 12 and free renowned scientist Reena Ahern. She's the only one who stands a chance of tipping the odds in their favor for the first time in decades.

BUT PULLING OFF THE IMPOSSIBLE IS WHAT THEY DO BEST

The clock is ticking. But as their attraction builds and secrets are revealed, Tess and Shade must decide if they trust each other enough to execute this impossible prison break. They could change the course of history, but they'll be risking everything... They'll just have to tackle one crisis at a time.

AMAZON | B&N

Read an #Excerpt from She Loves Me by Melissa Foster

She Loves Me
(Harmony Pointe #3)
by Melissa Foster
Kindle Edition, 380 pages
Published April 21st 2020 by Montlake
ASINB07YKVYC39

What are two besties willing to risk for something more? The New York Times bestselling author of This Is Love has the answer in this fun, sexy, and emotional romance about friendship, family, and giving love a chance.

Something is off in Piper Dalton’s life, and she has a feeling it might just be her. All her siblings are blissfully settled with their forever loves. But while her sisters were dreaming of white weddings, Piper was left heartbroken and commitment phobic by her first love, her best friend’s younger brother. As a woman dominating the male-driven construction industry, Piper has no interest in turning in her hammer for an apron—even if hot and hilarious Harley thinks otherwise.

Burly bar owner Harley Dutch has a bum ankle and two preteen nieces to take care of, and having his best friend, tough-as-nails and sexy-as-sin Piper Dalton, come to his rescue is just the remedy he needs. Piper is her snarky self, and she kind of sucks at caregiving, but she’s owned his heart for years, she’s got a way with the girls, and Harley would sure like to have his way with her…

As things heat up between Piper and Harley, she warns him not to fall in love with her because she’ll only break his heart. Harley is the right man for that challenge—until he makes the biggest mistake of his life, and they begin to wonder if true love really can conquer all.

AMAZON 

#CoverReveal of STONE by Kelly Gendron + #Giveaway

STONE 

(Daring the Kane Brothers, #5)

by Kelly Gendron 

ebook, 250 pages

Expected publication: June 1st 2020 by Kelly Gendron

#CoverReveal of Catch Me When I Fall by A.L. Jackson + #Giveaway

Catch Me When I Fall

(Falling Stars #2)

by A.L. Jackson 

ebook
Published (first published February 18th 2020)

Read an #Excerpt from Want Me Always by Lea Nolan + #Giveaway

Want Me Always
(Heron Harbor #1)
by Lea Nolan
ebook, 1, 190 pages
Published April 21st 2020 by Lea Nolan
ASINB085T4B2B9

Her mind says no…

Wren Donovan’s done with love. Betrayed and humiliated by her ex-fiancé, she retreats to her family’s beach house on Heron Harbor Island to lick her wounds and gorge herself on ice cream, spray cheese, and a box of glazed donuts. Wren vows to devote herself to her law career and swears off men forever, but she isn’t prepared for what being reunited with her oldest friend makes her feel…

His heart says yes, please…

Smith Connors can’t believe his eyes when Wren walks into his restaurant. He’s loved her since they were kids, when summertime found them inseparable best friends. As a boy, he’d never felt good enough for Wren. But now he’s a rising-star chef with a thriving business who knows what he wants—which means he’s not letting beautiful, brilliant Wren get away again.

Smith determines to show Wren how good they could be together, and soon neither of them can resist the heat growing between them. He’d do anything to earn her faith—and her heart, if only she could learn to trust again.

AMAZON | B&N 

Read an #Excerpt from Do Me a Favor by Christina Hovland

Do Me a Favor
(Mile High Matched #4)
by Christina Hovland
Kindle Edition, 327 pages
Published April 17th 2020
ASINB07ZMMS4VJ

Some days things just click. Today is not that day.
Love is a battlefield, and divorce attorney Sadie Howard is entrenched on the frontlines. She thought she might have met the right man once, but he was a career military guy who got shipped overseas and left her heart on the tarmac. These days, the only commitment Sadie wants is the one she's made to her Denver law practice.

Combat photographer Roman Dvornakov is back. Fresh out of the U.S. Army, he’s using family connections to snap photos at a few weddings while he builds his civilian photography practice. After all he’s captured on film, a few posed wedding shots should be a cakewalk. Seeing so much death through the camera lens, he’s now ready to build something worth living for. A thriving photography business, definitely. But he’s certain his new mission also includes Sadie, the girl who slipped away.

Sadie isn’t convinced, and she's not willing to open her heart anytime soon. Besides, she’s got a high-profile divorce case taking up all her attention. Winning the case for her client will make or break her practice.  So what if it's a custody dispute over a ridiculously expensive fish tank? When Roman discovers the soon-to-be divorced couple are still in love, he and his slightly-nutty grandmother, Babushka, are determined to convince them to cancel the proceedings. He’s not camera shy when it comes to matters of the heart, but interfering with Sadie's clients could wreck her career and any chance they'll ever have together... 

AMAZON 

Happy #BookBirthday to The Lasaran by Dianne Duvall + #Giveaway

We are beyond excited to be celebrate this release from Dianne Duvall with you today by participating in the release day blitz! THE LASARAN is the first novel in a thrilling new sci-fi romance series full of action, intrigue, humor, and happily-ever-afters!  Keep reading to find out more about the title below. Click here to order your copy today!

The Lasaran
Book #1 Aldebarian Alliance
By Dianne Duvall
April 21, 2020

New York Times bestselling author Dianne Duvall brings readers the first novel in a thrilling new sci-fi romance series full of action, intrigue, humor, and happily-ever-afters.

Taelon searches the galaxy for his younger sister, who mysteriously disappeared while on a diplomatic mission. When an ally reveals that she was seized and is being held prisoner on Earth, Taelon descends upon the blue planet, intent on freeing her and exacting vengeance. However, all does not go as planned. Before he can find her, Taelon is captured and becomes the subject of torturous experiments. For what feels like an eternity, all he knows is pain and fury… until a mind tentatively touches his own and a woman’s voice forever changes his world.

After suffering tragic losses, Lisa is finally beginning to carve out a future for herself when chance sends her to the Anomalous Cognition Research Institute. What at first appears to be a benign organization seeking participants for a psychic study instead turns out to be a government facility harboring a much darker intent. Lisa discovers this too late and soon becomes the unwilling subject of a terrifying experiment. Just as fear and desperation threaten to consume her, a deep, compelling voice penetrates the looming insanity and lends her hope.

Having seen only the worst of humanity, Taelon is shocked when Lisa risks everything to free him. Together the two make their escape, and Taelon finds himself fascinated by the small human woman who—despite all she’s suffered—can still laugh and tease and lure smiles from him. Friendship swiftly grows between them as they work together to evade soldiers intent on capturing them and find themselves hunted by mystifying preternatural beings. Through it all, Lisa steadfastly remains by his side, stealing more of his heart each day while she helps him unravel the mystery of his sister’s fate. Can they find his sister before the hunters find them? If they survive their quest, will Taelon have to bid Lisa farewell… or can he coax her into leaving her planet and joining him for the adventure of a lifetime?

Kindle | Kobo | B&N |  iBooks | Audible | Paperpack 

AmazonUK | AmazonAU | AmazonDE | AmazonCA | AmazonFR 

Read an #Excerpt from Royally Flushed by Ainsley St Claire

Royally Flushed 
(Tech Billionaires)
by Ainsley St Claire
Kindle Edition
Published April 20th 2020 by Loisir Publishing
ASINB0847FS94L

Staying with him will be dangerous…

They call him Billionaire, Environmentalist, and Playboy. I call him Boss.

I try to keep it professional, I want to resist him, but the pull is too strong.

A bomb threat, a ransacked apartment, mysterious warnings, all telling me to leave him alone.

Yes, staying will be dangerous, but leaving him will destroy me.

Royally Flushed is a standalone romance with a happy ending. It’s second in Tech Billionaire Series. It takes place in the same world as the Billionaire Venture Capitalist and Clear Holiday and includes many of the favorite characters from the other books.

AMAZON

#Interview with Julia Quinn of First Comes Scandal

Stress is all around us…and one of the best ways to fight that stress is to curl up with a book that will make you laugh, smile, and fill you with comfort. So today we’re incredibly excited to talk about a historical romance that fulfills all three: FIRST COMES SCANDAL! And to join in our conversation, please help me welcome Julia Quinn!

Lexi: It’s almost as if you had a glimpse in the crystal ball and knew we’d need a dose of cute and sweet…except you’ve already given us the Bridgertons, so cute and sweet were already your thing! Do you have a favorite scene that made you giggle as you were writing it? That is…if scenes like cats in carriages aren’t too spoilery!

JQ: I definitely had fun with the carriage scenes, but I think I giggled the most while writing the scene down by the lake with Anthony and Benedict Bridgerton. It was just so darn fun to think about those two as young boys.

Read an #Excerpt from Provoke by Rachel Van Dyken

Provoke
(Seaside Pictures #3.7)
by Rachel Van Dyken 
Kindle Edition
Published April 14th 2020 by 1001 Dark Nights Press
ASINB07ZG2NQ4Q

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken comes a new story in her Seaside Pictures series…

The music industry called me a savant at age sixteen when I uploaded my first video and gained instant fame. And then Drew Amherst of Adrenaline became my mentor, and my career took off.

Everything was great.

Until tragedy struck, and I wondered if I’d ever be able to perform again. I fought back, but all it took was a falling light to bring it all back to the fore. So, I walked away. Because I knew it wasn’t just stage fright. It was so much more.

The only problem?

Drew and the guys are counting on me. If I can’t combat the crippling anxiety threatening to kill me, I might lose more than I ever dreamed of.

Enter Piper Rayne, life coach, with her bullshit about empowerment, rainbows, and butterflies. She smiles all the damn time, and I'm ninety-nine percent sure there’s not a problem she can’t solve.

Until me.

She was given twenty-one days to fix me. To make me see what’s important. What’s real. The problem is, all I can see now is her. The sexy woman who pushes me. Provokes me.

Only time will tell if she’s able to do her job—and I can make her mine.

AMAZON

Top 5 Favorite Quotes from The Lasaran by Dianne Duvall + #Giveaway

Top 5 Favorite Quotes from The Lasaran

Hello! Thank you for joining us. I’m very excited to be here today, celebrating the release of THE LASARAN, the first book in my new Aldebarian Alliance series. If you enjoy sci-fi or paranormal romance with strong heroes and kick-ass heroines, fun secondary characters, and lots of action, passion, humor, and happily-ever-afters, then I think you’ll like Taelon and Lisa’s story. To give you an idea of what you’ll find in THE LASARAN, I thought I would share my Top 5 Favorite quotes from it:

1

She broke the kiss and stared up into emerald green.

Taelon affected her in ways no other man had.

“What are we doing?” she whispered.

A twinkle of mischief entered his eyes. “Breaking a number of Lasaran laws.”

🍷🍷🍷.5 #Review of Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal

Title:  Unmarriageable
Author: Soniah Kamal
Format: Paperback/eBook, 354 pages
Publication: Jan. 229, 2019 by Ballantine
ASIN:    B07CKG686Z 
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Source:  LibraryThing
Reviewer: Kimberly
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Wine Glass

Alys Binat has sworn never to marry--until an encounter with one Mr. Darsee at a wedding makes her reconsider. A scandal and vicious rumor concerning the Binat family have destroyed their fortune and prospects for desirable marriages, but Alys, the second and most practical of the five Binat daughters, has found happiness teaching English literature to schoolgirls. Knowing that many of her students won't make it to graduation before dropping out to marry and have children, Alys teaches them about Jane Austen and her other literary heroes and hopes to inspire the girls to dream of more.

When an invitation arrives to the biggest wedding their small town has seen in years, Mrs. Binat, certain that their luck is about to change, excitedly sets to work preparing her daughters to fish for rich, eligible bachelors. On the first night of the festivities, Alys's lovely older sister, Jena, catches the eye of Fahad "Bungles" Bingla, the wildly successful--and single--entrepreneur. But Bungles's friend Valentine Darsee is clearly unimpressed by the Binat family. Alys accidentally overhears his unflattering assessment of her and quickly dismisses him and his snobbish ways. As the days of lavish wedding parties unfold, the Binats wait breathlessly to see if Jena will land a proposal--and Alys begins to realize that Darsee's brusque manner may be hiding a very different man from the one she saw at first glance.

Told with wry wit and colorful prose, Unmarriageable is a charming update on Jane Austen's beloved novel and an exhilarating exploration of love, marriage, class, and sisterhood.

Kimberly's Thoughts:
“Just remember,” Alys said quietly, “there is more to life than getting married and having children.”

#Giveaway of Death of an American Beauty by Mariah Fredericks

Death of an American Beauty
(Jane Prescott #3)
by Mariah Fredericks 
Hardcover, 272 pages
Expected publication: April 14th 2020 by Minotaur Books
ISBN1250210887

The third in the compelling series, set in Gilded Age New York, featuring Jane Prescott.

Jane Prescott is taking a break from her duties as lady’s maid for a week, and plans to begin it with attending the hottest and most scandalous show in town: the opening of an art exhibition, showcasing the cubists, that is shocking New York City.

1913 is also the fiftieth anniversary of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation speech, and the city's great and good are determined to celebrate in style. Dolly Rutherford, heiress to the glamorous Rutherford’s department store empire, has gathered her coterie of society ladies to put on a play—with Jane’s employer Louise Tyler in the starring role as Lincoln himself. Jane is torn between helping the ladies with their costumes and enjoying her holiday. But fate decides she will do neither, when a woman is found murdered outside Jane’s childhood home—a refuge for women run by her uncle.

Deeply troubled as her uncle falls under suspicion and haunted by memories of a woman she once knew, Jane—with the help of old friends and new acquaintances, reporter Michael Behan and music hall pianist Leo Hirschfeld—is determined to discover who is who is making death into their own twisted art form.

AMAZON | B&N 

🍷.5 #Review of Restless Rancher by Jennifer Ryan

 

Title:  Restless Rancher
Series:  Wild Rose Ranch #2
Author: Jennifer Ryan
Format: Paperback/eBook, 384 pages
Publication: Nov. 12, 2019 by Avon
ASIN:   B07G13G996 
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Source: Edelweiss
Reviewer: Kimberly
Rating: 1.5 out of 5 Wine Glasses

One minute down-on-his-luck rancher Austin Hubbard slept soundly, the next, a sassy spitfire dumped a pitcher of water on his head and woke him up—in more ways than one. Hired to help him rebuild his ranch, Sonya Tucker ends up helping him put the tattered pieces of his life back together. The capable, all-business accountant is on a mission to get the ranch up and running, but can he convince the temptingly beautiful woman to take a chance on him?

Sonya was dismayed that Austin had lost it all: money, family, respectability. Things she—who’d been raised by her mother at Nevada’s notorious brothel Wild Rose Ranch—only dreamed about. But working with the long, lean cowboy shows her that Austin is honorable to his core. Together they slowly grow to see what the love between them might bring.

But then Austin’s powder keg of a family feud explodes, exposing long-buried secrets, and threatening their new-found love…

Kimberly's Thoughts:
Yes, he’d been humbled, going from living large with money overflowing his bank account to scraping by.

🍷🍷.5 #Review of Wicked Sinner by Stacey Kennedy

 

Title:  Wicked Sinner
Series:  Dangerous Love #2
Author: Stacey Kennedy
Format: Paperback/eBook, 304 pages
Publication: Oct. 15, 2019 by Forever
ASIN:    B07NCXZYCF 
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Source: NetGalley
Reviewer: Kimberly
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Wine Glasses

Asher Sullivan was once Remy Brennan's entire world--until he broke her heart into a million pieces. So when Asher crashes her wedding, Remy is certain he's come to claim her. To make her his again. Instead, it turns out Remy's groom is a con man scheming for her inheritance. Now all she's left with is an empty bank account, a serious case of lust for her gorgeous ex...and a duffel bag of cold, hard cash that might just fix all her problems.

Detective Asher Sullivan has always protected Remy. So when dangerous criminals start threatening her, Asher's most primitive instincts take over. Sticking by Remy's side means Asher is finally able to make amends for leaving her all those years ago. And soon they're giving in to their wicked, insatiable need. But just as Asher gets his second chance, a secret Remy is keeping could rip her away from him...forever.

Kimberly's Thoughts:
Asher broke Remy's heart when he abruptly broke up with her and now years later, he's been trying to be her friend but she doesn't know if her heart can take it. When he objects at her wedding, she can't stop the flutter of her heart. Unfortunately, it's to arrest her almost husband, turns out he was a conman just out for her inheritance.
When she finds what could be a fortuitous gift left behind by her scam artist ex, she jumps at the chance to start her dream business. However, Remy's luck might not be changing as a shady maybe tied to the mob guy shows up and the only one who can help her is Asher.

#Giveaway of Cross Her Heart by Melinda Leigh

Cross Her Heart
(Bree Taggert #1)
by Melinda Leigh
Kindle Edition, 327 pages
Published March 17th 2020 by Montlake
ASINB07TMN6WR7

A homicide detective’s violent family history repeats itself in #1 Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh’s novel of murder, secrets, and retribution.

For more than twenty-five years, Philadelphia homicide detective Bree Taggert has tucked away the nightmarish childhood memories of her parents’ murder-suicide…Until her younger sister, Erin, is killed in a crime that echoes that tragic night: innocent witnesses and a stormy marriage that ended in gunfire. There’s just one chilling difference. Erin’s husband, Justin, has vanished.

Bree knows how explosive the line between love and hate can be, yet the evidence against her troubled brother-in-law isn’t adding up. Teaming up with Justin’s old friend, former sheriff’s investigator and K-9 handler Matt Flynn, Bree vows to uncover the secrets of her sister’s life and death, as she promised Erin’s children. But as her investigation unfolds, the danger hits close to home. Once again, Bree’s family is caught in a death grip. And this time, it could be fatal for her. 

AMAZON | B&N