About The Book
Book 3: Chance Romance Series
Publisher: Lyrical Shine / Penguin Random House
Publication Date: November 22, 2016
Format: Paperback - 174 pages
Kindle - 1081 KB
Nook - 794 KB
ISBN: 978-1601834706
ASIN: B01CBLL4BO
BNID: 978-1601834690
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Buy The Book:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads
Buy The Series: Chance Romance Series
Book 1: The Accidental Engagement
Book 2: The Accidental Boyfriend
Book 3: The Accidental Elopement
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads
Book Description:
First comes love, then
comes marriage—or is it the other way around?
Lucia is an Italian
spitfire with big dreams like her billionaire grandfather. But she wants to
become a top tier fashion designer, not the heir to the family business in
Italy. Now is her only chance to forge her own path. And what better place to
start than in New York City? But working behind a bar doesn’t exactly pay the
rent. Her trust fund would come in handy, but she needs to get married first.
Luckily, she may have found the perfect husband candidate in her co-worker, who
just happens to be the most charismatic and devastatingly gorgeous man she’s
ever met . . .
There’s more to Ryan’s
charming smile than meets the eye—he’s out for revenge and working for his
enemy is his best bet at getting it. When Lucia comes to him with her crazy
plan, he sees a perfect opportunity to make his move. But doing that could mean
hurting his new wife. They say nothing’s sweeter than revenge—but “they” never
met a woman like Lucia . . .
Book Excerpt:
The Accidental Elopement
Lucia had exactly nine dollars and thirty-six cents in her
pocket as she fought her way onto the crowded F-train heading downtown. Enough
to buy one more coffee and a bagel—a combo she’d come to adore during her
six-week stint in New York—but not much else.
She reached through a thick crowd of people so she could
hold onto the cold metal pole in the middle of the train to keep her balance.
The subway. That was one thing she would not miss when she left. But even that
bit of optimism was enough to bring tears to her eyes. Who was she kidding? She
was going to miss everything about this city, even the crowded, smelly subway.
She had just enough left on her Metrocard for a train to the
airport but her credit card had long since maxed out and she had no clue how
she could pay for the airfare.
You could call Grandpa.
She shook her head in disgust. It was bad enough that she
was going back to Italy with her tail between her legs; there was no way she
would beg her grandfather for the airfare home. When her grandmother was alive,
she used to describe him as overprotective. More like smothering. Of course he
only had her best interests at heart—as did her ex-fiancé— but that didn’t mean
they knew what was best. She would be the one to pave her future, even if it
meant she failed.
Lucia watched as the subway door opened and closed before
continuing on downtown. The next stop was SoHo. She knew where she had to go.
If she was being honest with herself, she’d known where she was heading the
moment she’d walked away from her disappointing meeting with her former
boss—her last lifeline to the new life she’d been working for this past month.
Perching on a barstool, Lucia kept an eye on the front desk.
Maybe she should have called first.
“Would you like to see a bar menu?”
Lucia swiveled around to find the bartender watching her
expectantly. “We’re not serving dinner yet but we have some appetizers
available.”
The bartender was hot. Like, movie star hot. Lucia’s mouth
went dry and her ability to speak English took a momentary hiatus from her
brain. This guy was intimidatingly hot. Dark hair and bright blue eyes with a
chiseled jaw—he should play a superhero in a movie.
When one corner of his mouth turned up in an amused smile,
Lucia came back to her senses. “No, thank you. I’m not hungry.” Her stomach
gave a little whine of protest but she ignored it. Those nine dollars had to
last her until she got home.
The bartender put away the little menu but didn’t move.
“Something to drink?”
Lucia shook her head. “No, thanks. I’m just here to meet
someone.”
The hot bartender’s eyebrows lifted in new understanding.
“Oh, you’re here for the job?”
“Um….” He looked down at his watch and then back to her with
that amused, sexy-as-hell little smile. “You’re early.”
“Oh. I….”
Before she could finish, he tossed the dishrag he’d been
holding under the bar and headed toward the register. “But you’re in luck. I’m
the one conducting the interviews so we can get started whenever you’re ready.”
About The Author
Maggie Dallen is a huge fan of happily-ever-afters.
She writes contemporary and YA romance and has been known to rewrite the
endings to classic love stories to ensure that they end on a happy note. In
Maggie's version, Ingrid Bergman does not get on the plane. She lives in
Northern California and works at a yarn store to support her knitting
addiction.
Book Review
The Christmas Tree by Allyson Charles
Book 2: Pineville Romance Series
Publisher: Lyrical Shine / Penguin Random House
Publication Date: November 22, 2016
Format: Paperback - 232 pages
Kindle - 1008 KB
Nook - 754 KB
ISBN: 978-1601836069
ASIN: B01CBLL4FU
BNID: 978-1601836052
Genre: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Buy The Book:
Buy The Series: Pineville Romance Series
Book 1: Putting Out Old Flames
Book 2: The Christmas Tree
Book 3: Why Did It Have To Be You? (Pub Date: May 9, 2017)
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and participation in a book blitz event hosted by Goddess Fish Promotions.
Book Description:
It was one little
fender bender. Sadie was only in picturesque Pineville, Michigan, for a day,
trying to handle the ramshackle house her grandmother left her and juggle the
sale of her failing design business at the same time. Her debtors don’t care
that it’s almost Christmas. But then neither does the big bad contractor whose
truck got squashed.
Colt McCoy might be the
least festive person she’s ever met. He’s gruff, rude, and way too upset about
a minor accident. Of course, he is nice to look at, with dimples hiding in his
scruffy beard and a body like a lumberjack’s. And Sadie will have plenty of
time to enjoy the view, since their community service sentence has put the two
of them in charge of Pineville’s jinxed Christmas tree.
But as their squabbles
over ornaments turn to laughter, anyone can see Colt and Sadie have something
electric. The hard part is guessing if they’ll light each other up—or just keep
blowing the fuse . . .
Book Excerpt:
The Christmas Tree
Sadie Wilson knew she shouldn’t do it.
It was against the rules, and the key to her ordered life
had always been to follow the rules. But the ping of her phone rang in her
ears, a siren’s call. It could be what she’d been waiting for.
She peered out her windshield up the street. Maple trees,
bare of any leaves and wound with hundreds of white lights, lined the avenue,
giving the dark night a cheery glow. Green wreaths with red bows hung from each
light pole. And the dark streets were empty of traffic.
She glanced down at her phone. Shoulders slumping, she blew
out a deep breath. The text wasn’t the one she’d been praying to see. And
because that was just the way her life had been going lately, of course her
lapse in judgment would come back to bite her in the end.
The raccoon didn’t even try to avoid her car. It was a
stationary shimmer of silver fur, black mask, and a raised paw, and she swore
it was giving her the middle finger. She gasped, swerved. She pumped her
brakes, knuckles whitening. The Nissan Maxima skidded sideways, executed a
perfect pirouette, and slid inexorably toward the sidewalk.
The light pole on the sidewalk didn’t stand a chance. The
front end of her car struck the pole, her hood buckling with the crunch of
metal. Her body trapped by the seatbelt, Sadie felt her head and limbs snap
forward before she collapsed back into her seat.
Groaning, she rolled her head, trying to work through the
ache in her neck. The raccoon waddled down the street to her left, unrepentant.
But it was the movement she caught from the corner of her eye that stopped her
heart. Peering through the windshield, she saw it again. A flutter of red.
Swaying in its moorings, the light pole wobbled like a
metronome, the ribbon in its Christmas wreath trailing through the air.
“Please, please don’t fall,” Sadie whispered. The twinge in
her neck from the collision forgotten, she prayed for further disaster to be
averted.
Luck was not on her side. The thirty-foot aluminum pole tore
from its bolts with a shriek and toppled away from the crumpled hood of her
car, the ribbon flapping cheerfully. The cab of an F-150 Ford truck broke its
fall. “Oh, God.”
A choking sound across the street made Sadie spin. A man
stood in front of the large window of a darkened hair salon, mouth gaping,
brown paper bag dangling from the tips of his fingers. He swiveled his head
from the truck to Sadie and back again. The shock evaporated from his face, his
lips pressing into a hard line, his chest expanding with a heated breath.
Roaring, he chucked his bag on the ground and ran across the
street. A bear of a man, he was tall and well built, making her own
five-foot-nine-inch frame feel insignificant. Or maybe it was his righteous
fury that made her feel small. A black knit cap covered his head, but Sadie
assumed his hair was the same color as his short beard, dark brown. A
blue-checked shirt peeked out from under his worn pea coat, and jeans stretched
tight across muscled thighs.
“What the hell happened to my truck?”
My Book Review:
The Christmas Tree is a sassy holiday romance tale that will easily get the reader into the holiday spirit. Author Allyson Charles weaves an enjoyable tale set in the small town of Pineville, Michigan, that follows the humorous forced pairing of professional house stager Sadie Wilson and general contractor Colt McCoy, when they are sentenced to perform community service by decorating the town's Christmas Tree.
Sadie Wilson is in the small town of Pineville, Michigan, to get her grandmother's house that she inherited ready to sell. While driving through town, Sadie is waiting for a text from a potential buyer of her declining designer business, when she swerves to miss a raccoon in the street and hits a light pole that crashes on the cab of an F-150 Ford Truck owned by general contractor Colt McCoy. Sadie is charged with texting while driving and destruction of property, while Colt is charged with driving uninsured. Since they are both first time offenders, the judge sentences them to perform forty hours of community service by decorating the town's Christmas Tree within one week in time for the traditional lighting of the tree in the town square. Can total opposites forced to work together find a way to set aside their differences and petty squabbles in order to complete the community service, and along the way discover the magic of Christmas?
I really enjoyed reading this fun holiday romance, it had the right amount of witty banter, sassy humor, drama, angst, unexpected romance, and Christmas magic. You can't help but cheer on Sadie and Colt as they overcome their personal obstacles while working together on the town's Christmas Tree, and unexpectedly find love during the holiday season. I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much I enjoyed the rich description of the charm and holiday spirit of the small town setting, and the antics of the quirky Pineville townsfolk, who kept me thoroughly entertained and in stitches.
The Christmas Tree is the second book in the Pineville Romance Series, but can be a stand-alone read.
The Christmas Tree is an entertaining holiday romance that will definitely put you in the holiday spirit!
RATING: 4 STARS
About The Author
Allyson Charles lives in Northern California. She’s the
author of the “Pineville Romance” series, small-town, contemporary romances
published by Lyrical Press. A former attorney, she happily ditched those suits
and now works in her pajamas writing about men’s briefs instead of legal
briefs. When she’s not writing, she’s probably engaged in one of her favorite
hobbies: napping, eating, or martial arts (That last one almost makes up for
the first two, right?). One of Allyson’s greatest disappointments is living in
a state that doesn’t have any Cracker Barrels in it.
Sign up for
Allyson’s newsletter at allysoncharles.com/newsletter.
Goodreads
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Contest Giveaway
The authors will be awarding digital
copies of both books to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during
the event.
Book Blitz Event
Event Participants:
November 28: Book Giveaways
November 28: Books,Dreams,Life
November 29: History and Other Ponderings
November 30: It's Raining Books
December 1: Long and Short Reviews
December 2: Jersey Girl Book Reviews - review
December 2: T's Stuff
December 5: Hearts and Scribbles
December 5: The Avid Reader
December 6: Rogue's Angels
December 7: BooksChatter
December 8: Up 'Til Dawn Book Blog
December 9: Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteHi Maggie! Thank you for the opportunity to feature your book on my blog. :)
DeleteThanks for hosting the tour, and for the review! I greatly appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteHi Allyson! Thank you for the opportunity to feature The Christmas Tree on my blog. I really enjoyed reading this fun holiday romance tale. :)
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