Author: Marsha

Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch by Carolyn Brown

Posted July 29, 2021 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Modern Western Romance, NetGalley, Series, Small Town Romance / 0 Comments

Retired combat medic Jesse Ryan hasn’t been home much since he enlisted twenty years ago. Now he’s headed back to Texas to help take care of his aging foster parents and run Sunflower ranch. But when he gets there, he finds his parents’ live-in nurse is Addison Hall, his high school best friend and the woman he always regretted leaving behind after their one steamy night together before he shipped out. He’s not at all surprised that their chemistry is still sparking, but Jesse is shocked to learn Addy gave birth to a little girl about nine months after he left—his little girl.

Addy has her hands full as a single mom of a nineteen-year-old daughter who suddenly wants to rebel at everything. The last thing she needs is Jesse Ryan complicating her life even further, especially since she’s always had a crush on the handsome cowboy. But the more time she spends with Jesse, the more she wonders what might happen if they finally let their friendship blossom into something more and became the family she’d always hoped for.

Includes the bonus novella Small Town Charm for the first time in print!

Titles in The Ryan Family series include — Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch – Texas Homecoming –

Little Girl Taken by Wendy Dranfield

Posted July 29, 2021 by Marsha in Bookouture, Crime, Mystery, NetGalley, Series, Thriller / 0 Comments

Rain rattles through the trees as she leans into the car, careful not to touch anything. Two pretty blue eyes stare back through the dark, wide with relief, or maybe fear. A baby girl, wrapped up in a pink snowsuit, reaches out a tiny hand. Her mother is nowhere to be found…

An abandoned baby is the last thing Detective Madison Harper expects to find as she drives to her first day back at work since the case that ripped her life apart. But as she cradles the shivering child close, all her instincts tell her there’s something more sinister at play. Then she finds a lone sneaker down a muddy trail nearby, the laces spattered with blood…

In a town as small as Lost Creek, Colorado, the baby and the shoe are quickly identified as belonging to Kacie Larson, a waitress at the local diner who quietly stashed away her tips to make a better life for her daughter. A mother herself, Madison can’t believe that Kacie would just abandon her child, but she also can’t convince her new team. Not for the first time, Madison feels she must go it alone to get the job done.

But when a body is pulled from a nearby lake, and it’s not Kacie, the case takes an agonizing turn. Is this missing mother really who she says she is? Is there a chance she’s still alive? Madison barely has time to think before the sweet little girl she rescued is snatched on a crowded street. Gone, in the blink of an eye.

To break this case and earn her place back on the force, Madison must learn to trust her team, and herself again—and fast. If she doesn’t find this twisted individual in time, a little girl could die…

Titles in the Detective Madison Harper series include – Shadow Falls – Cry For Help – Little Girl Taken –

When a Duke Loves a Governess by Olivia Drake

Posted July 28, 2021 by Marsha in Historical Romance, NetGalley, Regency Romance, Series, Sexual Content, St. Martin's Press / 0 Comments

Tessa James has worked and planned tirelessly to open her own millinery shop. All she needs now is a loan from the lord who sired and abandoned her. The only problem is, she doesn’t even know his name. What’s a woman to do to find him but enter the aristocratic world by becoming a governess?

Guy Whitby, the new Duke of Carlin, has returned to London after years abroad to discover that his young daughter Sophy has become a wild child known for scaring away every governess who’s crossed his doorstep. When Tessa James applies for the job, he hires her in desperation despite his misgivings that she’s too bold and beautiful–and that she might be fibbing about her qualifications.

Their blooming attraction leads them on a completely unexpected path to love that neither wants to deny. But when an old enemy threatens Guy’s family, their forbidden romance goes up in flames. Can they still learn to love and trust each other as forces try to tear them apart?

Titles in the Unlikely Duchesses series include – The Duke I Once Knew – Forever My Duke – When A Duke Loves a Governess –

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

A Wolf in Duke’s Clothing by Susanna Allen

Posted July 18, 2021 by Marsha in Historical Romance, NetGalley, Paranormal Romance, Regency Romance, Series, Sourcebooks Casablanca / 0 Comments

A Duke in want of a wife…

Alfred Blakesley, Duke of Lowell, has long been an enigma. No one dares to give a man of his status the cut direct, but there’s simply something not quite right about him. What would the society ladies say if they learned the truth—that the Duke of Lowell is a wolf shifter and the leader of a pack facing extinction if he doesn’t find his true love? So now he’s on the hunt…for a wife.

Felicity Templeton has a goal of her own: to remain unwed until her twenty-fifth birthday when she will inherit a significant fortune. But that all changes when she meets Alfred, the dashing duke who’s determined to have her for his very own…

Titles in the Shapeshifters of the Beau Monde series include — A Wolf in Duke’s Clothing – A Most Unusual Duke –

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

The Way Home by Eliana West

Posted July 18, 2021 by Marsha in Author ARC, Contemporary Romance, Series, Small Town Romance, Tule Publishing / 0 Comments

A letter from the past will transform their future…

Taylor Colton always loved the crumbling plantation house passed down through his family for generations. Now he’s bringing his popular renovation reality show to the small town of Colton, Mississippi, so he can bring the plantation house known as Halcyon back to life for the cameras.

After an ugly breakup, Josephine Martin needs a new start to heal her broken heart in peace. A hidden letter reveals a family secret that leads her to Colton to protect her family’s history and honor a promise made before the Civil War…and to a house, she didn’t know was hers.

Suddenly, Josephine must decide if she’s ready for the challenge of restoring a run-down mansion and its history, and Taylor’s facing a challenge he can’t charm away. Together, they must untangle a tragic history, a rocky relationship, and risk everything they love. Can they overcome the past to find their way home?

Titles in the Heart of Colton series include – The Way Forward – The Way Home – The Way Beyond

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Just Friends in Vegas by Lucy Keeling

Posted July 9, 2021 by Marsha in Choc Lit/Ruby Fiction, Contemporary Romance, NetGalley, Series / 0 Comments

Is love always a losing game?

When Mya is with Smithy, it feels like her eyes are constantly rolling. His wheeling and dealing charisma charms everyone but her.

Well, that’s not strictly true – Mya is only human after all, and there’s no doubt the man is hot with his suits and swagger. It’s just that Smithy knows Mya’s secret, and she’s not sure she can trust him to keep it from their group of friends.

As they immerse themselves in the glamorous and mysterious world of ‘The Suits’, growing closer, as a result, Smithy has to question whether his time with Mya is destined to become a case of “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” …

Titles in the Friends series include – Just A Boyfriend – Just Friends – Just Friends in Vegas

A Case for the Cookie Baker by Candace Havens

Posted June 16, 2021 by Marsha in Author ARC, Contemporary Romance, Mystery, Romantic Suspense, Series, Tule Publishing / 0 Comments

It’s all fun and games until the last cookie crumbles…

Ainsley McGregor and the entire town of Sweet River, Texas, are preparing for the annual summer celebration. And thanks to the extra tourist traffic, Ainsley’s shop, Bless Your Art, has never been busier. Good thing her new friend, Lizzie, has opened a bakery nearby and provides Ainsley and her staff with tasty treats and daily sugar rushes. It’s all cookies and fun until someone ends up dead in the bakery and her new pal is the prime suspect.

Ainsley is convinced Lizzie is innocent. Unfortunately, her brother, the town sheriff, and her boyfriend, Jake, have some not-so-secret suspicions. With a town full of strangers who just might be suspects, Ainsley finds herself targeted by a killer.

Even as her world crumbles faster than a cookie, she’s determined to prove her friend’s innocence—if she can stay alive long enough.

Titles in The Ainsley McGregor series include – A Case for the Winemaker – A Case for the Yarn Maker – A Case for the Toy Maker – A Case for the Candle Maker – A Case for the Cookie Baker –

The Rancher by Julia Justiss

Posted May 28, 2021 by Marsha in Author ARC, Modern Western Romance, Series, Small Town Romance, Tule Publishing / 0 Comments

When he sets out to regain his family’s heritage, he never expects to fall in love.

Cowboy Duncan McAllister has worked tirelessly to make the family ranch profitable enough to buy back the section of land hard times forced them to sell a decade ago. When the owner of that land unexpectedly dies, leaving the ranch to his city-based daughter, Duncan finally sees his opportunity.

After her business partner boyfriend runs off with an intern—and all their clients—CPA Harrison Scott retreats to her Daddy’s Hill Country ranch to decide her next move. Her father’s sudden death leaves her floundering—does she rebuild her professional career or carry on the ranch he loved? After rebuffing Duncan’s offer to buy her out, Harrison is forced to turn to her handsome neighbor to learn the ropes of ranching.

Duncan tells himself he’s just being neighborly, but their immediate attraction soon deepens. How can he convince her that he wants her even more than his beloved land when she’s already been betrayed once before?

Titles in The McAllister Brothers series include – The Rancher – The Cowboy – The Ranger –

Dream Spinner by Kristen Ashley

Posted May 25, 2021 by Marsha in Forever (Grand Central Publishing), NetGalley, Owned, Romantic Suspense, Series, Trigger Situations Possible / 0 Comments

Hattie Yates has finally met the man of her dreams. Yet years of abuse from her demanding father have left her petrified of disappointment. She’s already failed to reach her goal of becoming a professional ballerina—she can’t handle the terrible consequences of another dream becoming a nightmare. But when a stalker sets their sights on Hattie, there’s only one man she dares to hope can help . . .

Axl Pantera knows Hattie is the only woman for him. Yet despite the attraction burning between them, Hattie refuses to let him in. The former soldier is determined to woo her into letting down her walls. And when danger comes calling, he’s up against more than her wary and bruised heart. Axl will do anything to prove to Hattie that they’re meant to be, but first, he’ll need to keep her safe.

Titles in the Dream Team series include — Dream Maker – Dream Chaser – Dream Spinner – Dream Keeper (November 2021) –

There is a connection to the Rock Chicks series and the Dream Man series in Dream Team – you’ll run into lots of old friends from both series.

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Legacy by Nora Roberts

Posted May 25, 2021 by Marsha in NetGalley, Owned, Romantic Suspense / 0 Comments

Adrian Rizzo was seven when she met her father for the first time. That was the day he nearly killed her—before her mother, Lina, stepped in.

Soon after, Adrian was dropped off at her grandparents’ house in Maryland, where she spent a long summer drinking lemonade, playing with dogs, making a new best friend—and developing the stirrings of a crush on her friend’s ten-year-old brother. Lina, meanwhile, traveled the country promoting her fitness brand and turning it into a billion-dollar business. There was no point in dwelling on the past.

A decade later, Adrian has created her own line of yoga and workout videos, following in Lina’s footsteps but intent on maintaining creative control. And she’s just as cool-headed and ambitious as her mother. They aren’t close, but they’re cordial—as long as neither crosses the other.

But while Lina dismisses the death threats that Adrian starts getting as a routine part of her daughter’s growing celebrity, Adrian can’t help but find the vicious rhymes unsettling. Year after year, they keep arriving—the postmarks changing, but the menacing tone the same. They continue after she returns to Maryland and becomes reacquainted with Raylan, her childhood crush, all grown up and as gorgeously green-eyed as ever. Sometimes it even seems like the terrifying messages are indeed routine like nothing will come of them. Until the murders start, and the escalation begins…

To Rescue the Runaway Bride by Kelsey McKnight

Posted May 9, 2021 by Marsha in Connection to another series, Modern Western Romance, NetGalley, Series, Small Town Romance, Tule Publishing / 0 Comments

She’s ready to take charge of her future…

Accountant Claire Hollingsworth has always played by the rules, squelching her own dreams to please her father, work for her family’s publishing business and play the perfect hostess for her ambitious fiancé. But when she learns he’s been cheating weeks before their wedding, Claire breaks the engagement and heads to Marietta, Montana, to reconnect with her sisters and with herself. Armed with a to-do list of adventures, she’s determined to break a few rules.

Théodore Deschamps is ready to start a new chapter. He left his successful career as a Hollywood stuntman to open a lodge on Copper Mountain, where he spent summers as a child. He loves nothing more than a challenge, and the strawberry blonde who literally falls into his arms promises to be his biggest one yet.

What starts out as ticking off items on her list quickly becomes much more intense. But Claire has to return to reality in two weeks, and she’s not sure how, or if, she can say goodbye.

Titles in The Hollingsworth Sisters series include – To Wrangle A Rancher – To Rope A Bull Rider – To Rescue the Runaway Bride –

Love any story connected to Marietta, Montana? Then check out our Marietta, Montana page(s) for series, titles, and links to reviews done here at Keeper Bookshelf.