Romance is in the Air: Rachelle Christensen {Spotlight and Giveaway}

     

The Kiss Thief by Rachelle J. Christensen 

As the head librarian of the Echo Ridge Library, Britta Klein thrives on order and categorization. Unfortunately, the old church-turned-library is in desperate need of a renovation. The Harvest Hurrah fundraiser seems to be the answer, but plans keep going awry. With help from Milo Geissler, accomplished musician, piano tuner, and kiss thief, each catastrophe is narrowly avoided. When Milo goes to great lengths to help Britta find a key classic book, she begins to wonder if there is more to life than books and order. Can she allow this man who speaks the language of music to tune her heart to a new song? Welcome to Echo Ridge, New York where romance finds its way into the hearts and lives of the people who walk the streets of the close-knit community.  

   

“Kisses Between the Lines is the perfect book to get lost in on a cool autumn night. It's full of toe curling kisses and sigh worthy moments. If you enjoy sweet romance then do yourself a favor and pick up this latest edition in the Echo Ridge Anthologies.” Jennifer Peel - Award Winning and Bestselling Author of the Women of Merryton Series. 

 “I love Rachelle Christensen's writings. She has such a way with crafting a story as well as creating these characters that you can't help but love and connect to. I loved reading and "watching" all the layers unfold around Britta and seeing her true self revealed.” --Julie C., Reviewer      

“Good morning, Britta.”

She recognized the voice and took one last sip in an attempt to compose herself. Britta raised her head and licked her lips. Milo Geissler stood next to the community bulletin board, clasping a sheaf of papers and business cards. He smiled and the dimple in his left cheek deepened. Britta caught herself staring at the dimple and focused on his eyes, commanding herself not to get lost in the crystal-blue color.

“Milo, how are you today?” Britta stepped away from the water fountain and eyed the bulletin board, where a new page was tacked. “That’s a new flyer. I like the colors.”

“My sister designed it for me,” he replied. “You don’t think it’s too bright?”

“No, the orange and red catch the eye and remind me of autumn,” Britta said. “It’s my favorite season.” Why did I just say that?

Milo took a step forward and handed her a business card, also sporting the new design for “Perfect Pitch Piano Tuning by Milo.”

The very first time Britta’s mother had traveled from Buffalo, New York, to the tiny town of Echo Ridge, she’d canvassed the town for a suitable German husband. As luck would have it, Mother saw one of Milo’s flyers and called him up to tell him all about her beautiful German daughter. Remembering the conversation still brought a flush to her cheeks. Britta ducked her head and pretended to cough.

“I hear you’ve been busy prepping for the big fundraiser,” Milo said. “Everything looks so well organized this year. I think the turnout will be great.”

Britta met those sapphire eyes again. He was several inches taller than her five-foot-four- inch frame, but not too tall—maybe close to six feet. His blond hair brushed the top of his collar and edged over his ears. Every time Britta saw him she had the strange desire to tuck his hair behind his ears; the man needed a good haircut. But he was still far too good-looking.

“We have a lot of new events planned. I just hope it will be enough to cover all the costs of updating the library,” Britta said.

“You do wonderful things for this library,” Milo said. He had the faintest German accent rounding out his words. If Britta hadn’t grown up listening to the beautiful language, she probably wouldn’t have noticed it. “It reminds me of my grandmother. Oma loved books, and I loved visiting her bookshelves. It always feels nice in here.”

“Danke,” she answered.

Milo’s smile deepened. “Gern geschehen.”

It took a moment for Britta to realize that she’d slipped into German to thank him and he had responded. She hadn’t done that for years, ever since her early teen years, when she’d stopped speaking German at home. She had explained to her parents that she wanted to work on her English, and since her mother needed practice, they consented. But just then, listening for the accent on the ends of Milo’s words and the way he spoke of his Oma, Britta became lost in memories of the Klein home. She could almost feel the bear hugs from her own Oma, and that had her slipping into old ways. “Well, I’d better go.”

“Wait, are you busy next Friday night?”

Britta’s heart did a little flip. Milo’s dimple trembled as if he was biting the inside of his cheek. He’d asked her out once before, right after her mother’s meddling, and she’d turned him down flat, embarrassed because of her mom’s matchmaking attempt. But today he tempted her with his low voice and kind eyes.

   

 

Author Rachelle J. Christensen 

Rachelle is a mother of five who writes mystery/suspense, nonfiction, and women’s fiction. She solves the case of the missing shoe on a daily basis. She enjoys raising chickens and laughing with her husband. She graduated cum laude from Utah State University with a degree in psychology and a minor in music. Rachelle is the award-winning author of twenty books, including The Soldier’s Bride (a Kindle Scout Selection & Whitney Award Finalist), Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things, Veils and Vengeance, Proposals and Poison, Hawaiian Masquerade, and Christmas Kisses: An Echo Ridge Anthology. Her novella, “Silver Cascade Secrets,” was included in the Rone Award–winning Timeless Romance Anthology, Fall Collection.  

       

Giveaway Details $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Giveaway Ends 3/1/18 

 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 the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.  

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Valentine Countdown Blitz: 12 Days of Clean Romance Day 7

Lillith Black lives in Southern California, where she enjoys sun and warm weather and writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance.

She loves a good book; her favorite genres are paranormal romance, sci-fi and fairy tales. Her favorite shows include Doctor Who, Stranger Things and X-files. Her favorite book hero is Sherlock Holmes and, when she travels, she spends her evenings in the hotel room binging on Forensic Science.

She is currently working on a vampire romance Love Me or Bite Me.

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He was born to love her, but will she allow herself to be loved? 

Amaris comes from a poor broken family where she was never loved. On the night of her 19th birthday, she meets Gustavo, handsome, eloquent, wealthy. When he tells her that he is destined to love her, she rejects the idea, but the mysterious sparks that fly every time they touch, stop her in her tracks.

Gustavo reveals to Amaris that they both belong to an ancient order of the Moon, and he is born to be only with her, to love and protect her. When she falls violently sick, and only Gustavo knows how to save her, they are forced to travel across the world where Amaris discovers her true self and wakes up the powers that could start a war between two feuding ancient clans.

When the fight breaks out, and Gustavo and others are kidnapped, Amaris has to accept who she is and step into her power to save the ones she loves.

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Snippet:

She chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're so clever. But honestly, you knew me for less than 48 hours, and you bought me an expensive gift. I know you have money and all that, but it’s just not right.”

“Well, I don’t see what the amount of time I’ve known you has anything to do with helping a young lady in need.”

He bowed theatrically, but his smile faltered when he saw the expression on her face. “I’m not in need,” she bristled. “I don’t know if you took it upon yourself to make me your charity case or something, but I have taken care of myself this whole time, and I can take care of myself still.”

She raised her chin defiantly, but the pained look in his eyes took the wind out of her sails. “You are not my charity case, Amaris!” he cried out, grabbing his head with his hands. “You are my… Ah, damn it!”

He threw his hands up and turned, walking away from her before stopping, resigned. He looked up at the Moon, then his shoulders slumped, and he hung his head down.

Amaris, thrown off by his reaction and especially his words, stared at him, not knowing what to say. After a moment, she leaned the bike on its kick-stand and strolled towards Gustavo. She slowly put her hand on his back.

He spun around and his eyes burned into hers, the electricity sparking. Her breath caught, her hand falling by her side. He raised his hands and took her face gently, his eyes searching hers. “You are not my charity case,” he said, intensity in his voice.

She looked up, afraid to move. “What am I to you, then? Why does this always happen, this spark?”

“This spark means something. I want to tell you so much… what it all means… but I don’t want you to run away.” He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers.

The feelings she never thought would happen now swept through her, making it hard to breathe. The way he held her felt like something she only read about in stories fit for the extraordinary, unique, beautiful women that had it all.

He opened his eyes and leaned his head back. He scanned her facial features, taking her in, and then his eyes stopped on her lips. He leaned in, paused for a moment, and then lightly brushed her lips with his own. She gasped, surprised, but he didn’t relent and planted a soft kiss on her trembling lips.

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Valentine Countdown Blitz 12 Days of Clean Romance Day 6

Ines Bautista-Yao is the author of One Crazy Summer, What’s in your Heart, Only A Kiss, When Sparks Fly, All That Glitters, and Someday With You. She has also written several short stories. Among them are “Plain Vanilla,” “A Captured Dream,” one of the four short stories in Sola Musica: Love Notes from a Festival, “Things I’ll Never Say,” part of the Summit Books anthology Coming of Age, and “Before the Sun Rises,” part of the Ateneo University Press anthology Friend Zones. 

She is the former editor-in-chief of Candy and K-Zone magazines and a former high school and college English and Literature teacher. She is also a wife and mom who lives in the Philippines with her husband and two little girls. Her books are available digitally on Amazon and Buqo.ph.

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Twenty-four-year-old photographer's apprentice Regina has always felt like the plain, dull orange next to the shiny red apple that is her best friend Lana. But then she meets Ben—the first guy to ever break Lana's heart, and the first guy to ever make Regina feel that he only has eyes for her. 

As Regina finds herself falling hard for Ben, she also finds herself breaking all the rules of best-friendship. Will she give up the love of her life for Lana, or will she finally realize that she deserves her share of the spotlight, too?

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Snippet:

When she slid into the driver’s seat, she leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, allowing herself to sink into the semi-darkness. What had just happened here? She reached for the cup of coffee, took a sip, and noticed, in the dim light coming from the lampposts outside, that there was something scribbled on the cup in thin, black marker. Pulling it back and peering at it, Regina noticed that it was a number. A phone number. And a name: Ben. That was it. No message. No request to call. Overconfident worm. So why were her fingers aching to reach for her cell phone and punch in those numbers? Why was she so tempted to veer the car around and head back to El Tomador in the hopes that he would be there waiting for her?

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Jailbird (Sound of Silence Book 2) by Taylor Dean {Review}

Jailbird (Sound of Silence Book 2) by Taylor Dean

Paperback, 216 pages

Published December 1st 2017 by Taylor Dean Books 

My hometown decided to rename me Jailbird.

Every day I silently scream out, “My name is Mia Faraday!” My time in jail does not define me. I am so much more than one heated mistake.

And yet, my slip-up weighs on me. There’s so much more to the story than anyone realizes. I must face Stony, my ex, and confess everything.

I don’t want to. I’d rather have five teeth pulled. While I’m awake. Without anesthesia.

But this is something I have to do, something I need to do. Not just for Stony. I need to do it for me. Especially for me. I can’t move forward with my life until I gain closure from the past.

When I meet Grayson Elliott, I am easily pulled into his orbit and it’s exactly where I’d love to stay. He makes me laugh and not take life so seriously. He makes me want to live again.

But I don’t love me right now, and that healing needs to come first. I’m not relationship-ready or marriage material. My mind is focused on redemption. I want it. I need it.

Besides, when Grayson hears about my colorful past, I’m sure he’ll be gone before I have time to utter the word goodbye.

After all, who could ever love a jailbird?

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My Review: 5 Stars

**Be sure to read Stone Silence before reading this one**

Love can be complicated, that's for sure. Mia made a colossal mistake, paid dearly for it, and her life-long boyfriend, Stony, moved on and now it's time for her to do the same. Isn't that easier said than done? Taylor Dean writes in first person, which really drew me in and caused me to deeply feel and understand the reasoning behind Mia's mistake. 

Mia has a new outlook on life, but it's really hard to move forward--I honestly can't imagine how hard it would be. I greatly admire and love her character. Grayson has a tricky connection to Mia, but his adorable sense of humor and positive attitude towards life is a huge bonus. I adore Grayson--he kept me smiling and laughing! He's the gift that every struggling woman needs to have appear in her life.

What really captured me is the heart and soul that Taylor Dean manages to portray with her words. The characters are life-like and their struggles are real, but it's not heavy and depressing at all. A hope rises out of the pages and really grasps the heart. I love the journey, the progress, and the chemistry that abounds throughout the story. This is one series that I just can't stop thinking about.

Content: mild violence/peril; mild, swoony romance. 

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Buy Link:

About the Author:

 

Taylor Dean lives in Texas and is the mother of four grown children. Upon finding herself with an empty nest, she began to write the stories that were always wandering around in her head, quickly finding she had a passion for writing, specifically romance. Whether it's paranormal, contemporary, or suspense-you'll find all sub-genres of CLEAN Romance in her line-up.