Blog Tour Review: ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES MEETS REFINED by Rachel Anderson

  Around the Edges Meets Refined (Meet Your Match #2) by Rachael Anderson For Noah Mackie, life is finally back on track. He has a great support system, a promised promotion is on its way, and he's finally getting the hang of this single father thing. But when the job falls through and his neighbor's matchmaking efforts become more aggressive, Noah is in for yet another unwanted detour. With his career and two spirited daughters to worry about, he doesn't have time for dating—especially not someone like Cassie Ellis, his girls' beautiful and sophisticated dance instructor, who is about as open and approachable as a brick wall. Rough around the Edges Meets Refined is about two people who think they know exactly what they want but who have no idea what they really need. It's about learning that people aren't always what they seem and that sometimes life’s detours take you exactly where you need to go.  

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*** Robyn Reviews ***

Audience: Adult (Clean)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Length: 

Rating: 5

Robyn's Review: Rough Around the Edges Meets Refined is a fun sweet romance that tugs at your heart and makes you laugh, too. Cassie has been beaten up by life and choices she made and now she is learning how to become herself again. She is constantly comparing herself to others and puts expectations on herself and what she thinks are the ‘right’ way to do things, especially since she made such a bad choice the first time around regarding men.

Noah is a sweet guy who just wants to be a good dad to his girls. His sister and friends can't help but want him to find happiness again, so the fun ensues.

Noah and Cassie have a fun and heart tugging experience in learning to love again on their own terms and not how everyone else did it. It's a refreshing read without any sex. If you want a feel good read and still watch the characters grow and learn something about themselves along the way, then you will love this book.

Content:

Sex - 1 (Some slightly passionate kissing)

Language - 0

Violence - 0

Rating - PG-16

Source: Review copy

 

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  Author Rachael Anderson USA Today bestselling author, Rachael Anderson is the mother of four and is pretty good at breaking up fights, or at least sending guilty parties to their rooms. She can't sing, doesn't dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating.

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$25 Blog Tour Giveaway Enter to win an Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 1/19/15 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by readinglight.com. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: TOMORROW WE SPY by Jordan McCollum

From JordanMcCollum.com: CIA operative Talia Reynolds (Fluker) is off the clock, off the continent and off on her Paris honeymoon. But the happy couple’s trip to the City of Love is cut short when the CIA tracks them down for a top secret mission. Only this time, the Agency’s assignment isn’t for Talia — it’s for her husband Danny.

As an aerospace engineer, Danny’s the one with the connections they need to get to their target, an aerospace executive and a dangerous Russian FSB officer. After all she’s done to protect Danny from her spy life, Talia won’t okay the op until she’s allowed to accompany her husband. And the only safe way for her to do that? Deep undercover.

Balancing her personal and professional personas requires more precision than a Russian ballet. But all the covers in the world can’t protect Danny and Talia when the FSB officer turns the tables on them. Now Talia must use her every skill to save her marriage, her husband and herself — or their first mission together will be their last.

Audience: Adult (Clean)
Genre: Romantic Thriller
Length: 295 pgs

Rating: 5 (I really loved it)

Review: Danny and Talia are married! Yay. I so much enjoyed getting to see more of Danny and how he fights for him and Talia. She can be frustrating, in a good way, and I like seeing Danny stepping out and setting her straight. :) I loved going back to where Talia served her mission and getting immersed in Russia. Tons of great action in this one, and like all the others, I read it FAST.

Content:
Sex - 1 (The book opens on their honeymoon, and the wedding night is mentioned, but so cleanly. Really.)
Language - 0
Violence - 1 (Spy book. Action book. Nothing graphic)
Rating - PG

Review: SUN AND MOON, ICE AND SNOW by Jessica Day George (Bloomsbury, 2008)

From Amazon: Blessed-or cursed-with an ability to understand animals, the Lass (as she's known to her family) has always been an oddball. And when an isbjorn (polar bear) seeks her out, and promises that her family will become rich if only the Lass will accompany him to his castle, she doesn't hesitate. But the bear is not what he seems, nor is his castle, which is made of ice and inhabited by a silent staff of servants. Only a grueling journey on the backs of the four winds will reveal the truth: the bear is really a prince who's been enchanted by a troll queen, and the Lass must come up with a way to free him before he's forced to marry a troll princess.

Audience: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Fairy-Tale
Length: 352 pgs

Rating: 4+ (I loved it!)

Review: Ms. George is really becoming a favorite of mine, which makes me happy that she has so many books for me to plow through! This one was excellent. I loved the setting and the characters. I loved how well she built the rapport between the Lass and the isbjorn. I loved how the Lass interacted with all the characters and how much they ranged and how round they were. It wrapped up kind of easy, but it is a fairy-tale, so one kind of expects that. I loved the ending despite that!

Content:
Sex - 0
Language - 0
Violence - 1 (and barely that. Mild, mild fighting violence)
Content Rating - G (I'd let my 9-year-old read it if he wanted!)

Review: THE PAPER MAGICIAN by Charlie N. Holmberg (47North, 2014)

From Charlie's Site: Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic … forever.

Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined—animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.

An Excisioner—a practitioner of dark, flesh magic—invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart—and reveal the very soul of the man.

Audience: Adult (Clean)
Genre: Fantasy, Historical
Length: 224 pgs

Rating: 5 (I really loved it!)

Review: I had so many "have to" reads behind this book that is was a physical relief to pick up something I'd really been looking forward too. Charlie didn't disappoint me. Even though she and I have bonded over BYU football and our shared admiration for Jimmer Fredette, this review is purely objective. Promise.
This is set in a base Victorian time period, which you all know I L-O-V-E. It was perfect. Besides a couple minor, minor things that seemed a bit too modern, it was a great setting. And since the setting is fantastical, that doesn't even matter. It's unique. The fantasy world is incredible and the world-inside-the-world is perfect too. I could picture everything so well. It has a dash of a love story, which I think is a must, of course, that really rounds the entire thing out. You will not regret picking this one up. I flew through it in just a few nights.

Content:
Sex - 0
Language - 0
Violence - 2 (The scene where Mg. Thane's heart is ripped out is described. There are magical battles. Nothing overly graphic.)
Content Rating - PG

Try this. If you liked The Paper Magician you should read Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George

Review: AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by Agatha Christie

From Amazon: Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to a lonely mansion on Indian Island by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear. On the island they are cut off from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives. One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts. And one by one, they die…

Audience: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Length: 276 pgs.

Rating: **** (Loved it!)

Rating: Last month some friends on Twitter decided to get together to do a Twitter book club, and for October, we chose And Then There Were None to fit the spooky month. Right from the first the voice grabbed me. I am a huge sucker for that cool cucumber 1930s voice. This one was a definite thriller and so much suspense. I never guessed who the murderer would be, although it made total sense at the reveal. The characters were perfectly icky and likable at the same time. Classic! She really was a master.

Content:
Sex - 0
Language - 0 (None that I marked.)
Violence - 3 (It is a murder mystery with a serious psychological twist. Nothing too graphic.)

Try this. Like And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie? Try Rules of Murder by Julianna Deering.

Movie Review: EDGE OF TOMORROW Starring Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise (2014)

From IMDb: A military officer is brought into an alien war against an extraterrestrial enemy who can reset the day and know the future. When this officer is enabled with the same power, he teams up with a Special Forces warrior to try and end the war. Starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt.

Audience: Adult (PG-13)

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi

Length: 113 minutes

Rating: ****+ (Loved it)

Review: I dug the premise of this move from the first time I saw a trailer. All up front, with Cruise in it, I wondered if it would live up to that. I figured Emily Blunt could save it, though. ;) It absolutely lived up to the promise of the premise. Things ran along in an interesting, and at time fun, way. Some of the twists maybe a bit predictable, but still really good. If I had been reading this as a book, I would have marked the end down for being too contrived—but in all honesty it was exactly what I wanted to happen and gives the viewers more resolution than another ending might have.

Content:

Sex – 1 (One soldier fights in the nude under his metal suit. Nothing can be seen except part of his bare behind.)

Language – 1+ (Blunt’s character is often referred to as the Full Metal B*; honestly don’t remember much other language)

Violence – 5 (It’s a military, sci-fi action. It’s basic war violence and at times graphic.)

Read this. If you liked the movie Edge of Tomorrow, you might like the book Erasing Time by C.J. Hill (Janette Rallison). 

Robyn Reviews: TRA SILVER BELLS COLLECTION (Mirror Press, 2014)

Book overview below.

Audience: Adult (Clean)

Genre: Historical Romance

Length: 292 pages

Rating: *****

Review: This collection is just as wonderful (if not more so) as all the other Timeless Collections. The authors have put together some fun and poignant stories. Sarah M. Eden has created another one of her funny, sweet Irish stories in A Christmas Promise. You will love the fun that Patrick and Maeve have together along with her protective older brothers.

Heather B. Moore’s Twelve Months will have you cheering for the true gentleman in Lucien. Cora is a sweet heroine who recognizes her knight in shining armor in Lucien. Their courtship is fun and sweet.

A Fezziwig Christmas by Lu Ann Staheli, is a fun take on the historical romance stories, it’s fun to watch the growth of both Dick and Cilla in the charming short story.

In A Taste of Home by Annette Lyon, you get to relive just how annoying ‘boys’ can be and what happens when they grow up to be men. Sweet and sentimental.

My Modern Girl by Becca White was fun and interesting. I liked that she thought she knew exactly what she wanted, but found out what she thought and what was real were actually two different things.

Lucinda Brant’s Fairy Christmas was really interesting in that there were actually two romances happening in the story. I enjoyed the misunderstandings and the real life things that happened in the story to make the people real. This was a fun Christmas romance.

You will be entertained by all the stories in this collection. The authors do a great job of being real and fun. You and your daughters will enjoys these stories and put you in the mood for romance and Christmas.

Content

Sex - 0

Violence - 0

Language - 0

Overall Content Rating - PG

Source: Review Copy

Robyn suggests...All the Timeless Romance Anthology Collections“Kiss of a Stranger” by Sarah M. Eden; “Edenbrook” by Julianne Donaldson; Actually, anything by these two authors!

****

Six Award-Winning Authors have contributed new stories to A Timeless Romance Anthology: Silver Bells. Readers will love this collection of six historical romance novellas, all centered around the Christmas season.

In NY Times & USA Today’s bestselling author Lucinda Brant’s delightful novella, FAIRY CHRISTMAS, Kitty Aldershot is orphaned and forced to live on others’ charity. Offered a home under the generous roof of her relatives, the Earl of Salt Hendon and his countess, Kitty wants for nothing, not even the affections of Mr. Tom Allenby. But when Kitty stumbles across a letter written by Lady Caroline that reveals how Mr. Allenby would be ruined should he marry the likes of Kitty, she realizes she has been fooling herself all along. Kitty’s world crumbles around her as she recognizes she will forever be alone with no prospects at all.

Sarah M. Eden’s charming romance novella A CHRISTMAS PROMISE, Sean Kirkpatrick is trying to get to his new place of employment, Kilkenny Castle, in order to start as the new stablehand. His only requirement is to drive a team of high-spirited nags from Dublin to Kilkenny in a certain amount of time. Unfortunately he winds up in a muddy field, stuck, lost, and running out of time. He’s about to lose the job before he can prove himself capable of finishing his first assignment. When Maeve Butler arrives on the scene, Sean isn’t sure if she’s intent on rescuing him or bent on torturing him with her fiery wit and lovely dark eyes.

In Heather B. Moore’s enchanting novella, TWELVE MONTHS, Lucien Baxter’s best and most incorrigible friend, Will, dies unexpectedly, leaving behind his new bride and unborn child the week before Christmas. Will’s last request is that Lucien watches over Cora, not just as a benefactor, but as a husband. When Lucien does his duty and proposes to Cora, he’s turned down flat. But over the course of the next few days, Lucien discovers that marrying Cora wouldn’t be any sort of duty after all, but a matter of following his heart.

In Lu Ann Staheli’s sweet romance novella, A FEZZIWIG CHRISTMAS, Dick Wilkins and his best friend Ebenezer Scrooge have been looking forward to the annual Fezziwig Christmas dance for weeks. Ebenezer is practically engaged to Annabelle Fezziwig, and Dick hopes to start courting her younger sister, Pricilla. Once the dance starts, and Pricilla arrives, as pretty and charming as ever, Dick discovers that he’s not the only man vying for her attention. His best friend advises Dick that he has to win Pricilla’s heart, as well as her mother’s favor. Losing his heart has suddenly become very complicated.

A TASTE OF HOME, a captivating romance by Annette Lyon, we meet Claire Jennings, who’s on her way to spend Christmas with her family. As she rides the train with William Rhodes, who grew up across the street, memories of Christmases past flood her mind. He may be twenty-one now, but she can’t forget his torturous teasing from their school years. At the rail station, Claire discovers that her home is under quarantine because her little brother has measles. She's stuck in town, away from her family, on her favorite holiday. William stays behind with her, and as Christmas Day approaches and her homesickness deepens, she discovers that perhaps he has changed in more ways than one.

Becca Wilhite’s entrancing novella, MY MODERN GIRL, follows Margie, who lands her dream job as a clerk at Macy’s department store in New York City. Margie might be new in town, but she’s determined to succeed and prove to Henry that moving to the city was the right decision. As the Christmas season approaches, Margie realizes that being a “modern girl” might not be all she had dreamed of and Henry might have more to offer than she ever imagined.