Book Chat: The Novels on My Radar

        Hi, everyone! Before I start today's post I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who have stopped by, "She Reads too Much Romance." By stopping by this blog you are not only supporting myself but also you are assisting authors in the promotional of their novels. As readers, you can look forward to author chats, giveaways, exclusive excerpts and of course my reviews. There will be even a chance to win one of many $100 gift cards to spend at Amazon or Barnes & Noble through Night Owl Reviews, details will follow soon. 

    In the meantime, after some careful brainstorming, I decided that since I know that I share a love for both books as well a romance I wanted to do a "Weekly Book Chat." The whole purpose of this chat is to get you, the reader, excited about upcoming releases from both established as well as new authors. I absolutely love browsing publisher websites and blogs, in general, to see what new releases will be arriving throughout the year.  As a PR it gives me a great opportunity to scout ahead so that I am able to be prepared for the books I know I want to add to my review schedule. Naturally, I just love to read and even if I know that I am not going to have the chance to review a novel (scheduling conflicts are the worst) I know I can at least purchase the novel I want to read. :)

  

If you are like me are excited to chat about books or romance, or both than my "Weekly Book Chat," will be perfect. I also plan to write a few posts about what life is like behind the scenes of professional book reviewing, how you can request ARCS and much more! I hope that you will join me and feel free to leave a comment. 

Without further delay, this week's chat is about the novels that I currently have my eye on. Some of the novels I have already received an ARC for and others I am looking forward to either reviewing or reading. So here are the books,

  

   All of these novels are releasing later this year with the exception of "Six Impossible Things," "Falling for the Billionaire Wolf and his Baby", and "The Truth About Love and Dukes which have already been released and can be purchased at your favorite bookstore or online. 

  What books are you most excited for this year? Comment below at let me know. :) 

Review: Abbey's Tale by Katherine McDermott

Title: Abbey's Tale
Author: Katherine McDermott
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Release Date: November 30, 2016
Page Count: 161
Genres: Historical, Romance
Heat Level: Low
My Rating: 4 Hearts

Purchase links:
Amazon ~ B&N ~ Kobo ~ Google Play

Book links:
Goodreads 

Book Synopsis:
An immigrant from Ireland, Jeremy McKetcheon took the place of a wealthy New Englander drafted into the Union Army during the Civil War. Jeremy, terribly scarred by a shell that set fire to his tent, is now a reclusive lighthouse keeper on an island off the coast of Maine. He is haunted by flashbacks of the war, and never expects to find love, understanding, or acceptance. 

Beautiful but blind from birth, Abigail Morrison sees the world through the intricate carvings her father brings back from Lighthouse Island when he takes supplies there. She wonders about the artistic carver and why he hides from the world. But when the opportunity arises for her to visit the island, she and her father are tossed overboard in a raging storm. Having seen their distress from the lighthouse, Jeremy attempts a rescue in the frigid waters, and all their lives are changed forever. 

"Abbey's Tale," is truly a gratifying work of historical fiction and perhaps the novel itself represents the genre at its very best. I was genuinely swept away by the writing of the author, Katherine
McDermott as I have not seen such outstanding writing from a writer in such a long time. The writing within this book is enough to certainly recommend the book on the descriptive words alone, however, there is far more to enjoy.

The characters, mostly Abbey, the heroine was a charming, young woman who in many ways put me in mind of Belle, from Disney's classic "Beauty and the Beast." I want to point out that "Abbey's Tale," is nowhere near a beastly tale. I merely read similarities that described Abbey as reminding me of the beloved heroine, Belle. Those same characteristics included Abbey having a yearning for adventure, curiosity into finding out the reasoning as to why the hero Jeremy insisted on being so isolated from the rest of the world and of course her father was an artist whom she cherished. With all of those traits, Abbey's character contained a great deal to favor.

Of course, Jeremy was a hero to adore. I loved how the equal amount of both the darkness, as well as the light suited Jeremy. He battled his inner demons while having to keep ships safe as a keeper of a lighthouse. Jeremy, himself was not a man use to affection or even human interaction after the Civil War left him physically as well as emotionally bruised. I like how well Jeremy was both dark and yet affectionate with Abbey.

My only flaw with this novel is that although the romance was present between the duo I would have liked to have seen a little more of intense attraction. The romance is this book is more modest, I think is the word that would best describe the love between Abbey and Jeremy.

--This review was written by myself as part of my NOR review critique. All copyrights of this review belong to Night Owl Reviews and therefore meets the NOR copyright policy. If you enjoy this review and would like to read more I have provided a link to the full review:
https://www.nightowlreviews.com/v5/Reviews/Lwynters-reviews-Abbeys-Tale-by-Katherine-Mcdermott

Review: It Happened on Love Street by Lia Riley

Title: It Happened on Love Street
Series: Everland, Georgia (Book 1)
Author: Lia Riley
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: April 25, 2017
Page Count: 368
Genres: Romance
My Rating: 4 hearts

Purchase links:
Amazon ~ B&N ~ iBooks ~ Googleplay

Book links:
Goodreads ~ Series on Goodreads

Book Synopsis:
The most romantic place she never wanted to be . . . 

Pepper Knight moved to Everland, Georgia, as step one in her plan for a successful legal career. But after this big-city gal's plans go awry, going home with her tail between her legs isn't an option. So when the town vet-and her sexy new neighbor-offers Pepper a temporary dog-walking job, she jumps at the chance. No one needs to know that man's best friend is her worst nightmare . . . or that Everland's hot animal whisperer leaves her panting.

The last thing Rhett Valentine wants is to be the center of small-town gossip. After his first love left him at the altar, he's been there, done that. These days, life is simple, just the way he likes it. But sultry southern nights get complicated once sparks fly between him and the knockout next door. When she proposes a sexy, secret fling-all the deliciousness and none of the prying neighbors-it seems too good to be true. And it is. Because Pepper's determined to leave Love Street, and when she goes, she just might take his heart with her . . . 

"It Happened on Love Street," is a fun, cheery and yet zany contemporary romance that was highly enjoyable for a springtime read. Add a few mischief pups and a hunky hero and I was literally hooked. As a quick little bonus, I immensely savored the classifieds of the local newspaper as the rest of the town of, Everland, Georgia was able to be highlighted with minimum effort.

Focusing more on the romance I loved how superficial the chemistry of the characters was. The adoration was directly in front and in the center as was the wild, humorous attraction between both Rhett and Pepper. In short, this story is exactly what I want to see in a novel, the romance shining brightly from start to finish and author, Lily Riley certainly delivered a lasting read.

As for the characters, I will start with Pepper. She reminded me so much of myself. She was determined. She had plans that got knocked out of the ballpark and she was forced to accept what life had thrown at her. Pepper's character was full of sass, independence and naturally a little outlandish as she accepts a job as a dog walker. I had to laugh out at Pepper's fears when it came to pups and how anyone of the dogs she was going to walk could end up ruining everything she had planned for her life.

Rhett, the hero was Everland's local vet. He was rough around the edges, but his handsome features were sharp enough to cut glass, yes, he was sexy, but a man that has dedicated his life to saving animals is definitely at the top of my list! In my opinion, Rhett was used to dealing with challenges, but Pepper turned out to be the largest obstacle that Rhett had to deal with.

-This review was written by myself as part of my NOR review critique. All copyrights of this review belong to Night Owl Reviews and therefore meets the NOR copyright policy. If you enjoy this review and would like to read more I have provided a link to the full review: https://www.nightowlreviews.com/v5/Reviews/Lwynters-reviews-It-Happened-On-Love-Street-by-Lia-Riley

A Letter From Me to You

    Hello readers and welcome to my blog, "She Reads too Much Romance." To be honest I had prominent expectations to have this blog running at a smooth if not steady pace by the first week of April. However as I have learned throughout most of my life, it is almost pointless for myself to make any plans that are too far ahead. Of course, I did have to literally start this blog from scratch and every design that you are seeing now is my own creative thinking, minus the actual template.

   I am happy to be writing my introduction now. I am a little behind schedule so I did have to put in some extra time that involved many nights of staying up to two a.m but I finally succeeded. Yay! I cannot express enough how grateful I am to be back to blogging after nearly a year long absence. Some of you that may find your way here will likely notice me from my previous blog, "The Bookish & The Romantic." That blog is now gone and so is quite a few memories. I do have to confess that I am much happier with my new blog and I feel more in control of both my work as a Professional Reviewer and blogger than I did nearly a year ago. I think it is always a good idea to take a breather whenever possible in life and to create something new and that is what I am doing with not only myself but also with this blog.

   The real reason as I decided to get back to blogging other than the fact that I actually like meeting fellow book lovers is to keep my mind moving forward. I won't get into too many details since this is the internet, but I lost someone I loved more than life due to an illness that we had battled for months. I never wanted to be without M. In the twelve years we were together he was always by my side and he was the light in the darkness. M was my everything and I miss him terribly.

  Reading romance novels has helped me to move forward in my grief. I have always loved reading and the many adventures I have had with not only the various characters but with friends as well based on my reading. Books have helped me a lot in dealing with my grief as has writing reviews and pouring myself into work in the months that M has been gone.

  I not only love the publication industry but the buzz surrounding a new book tends to get my heart beating a little faster and I will forever love the smell of a bookstore. If M could be writing this now he would be sure to include that my favorite past time was him by my side as I read (make that devoured) a romance novel in the open sunshine of our front porch swing. ❤

  With this new blog, I hope to share new reviews with everyone who stops by. I also will have giveaways and other fun ideas coming soon. Please feel to browse the tabs that I have created including "Review Faqs," if you are a reader who wants to pen a perfect review, (I've had four years of experience) or if you want to just stop a leave a comment that would be great too. :) If you are an author please read over my, "Review Policy" and I do ask everyone to please take one minute to read my "Copyright Policy."

I look forward to spending more time with my fellow bookoholics as well as all the romantics (that's me for sure) this year. Do feel free to leave me a recommendation of your favorite romance novel! I might be a PR, but that does mean that I don't miss out on great romance reads every now and again! ;)

Until later,