Posted December 31, 2020 by Marsha in Connection to another series, Kensington Books, Modern Western Romance, NetGalley, Series / 0 Comments
For the hardworking folks of Morgantown, home really is where the heart is. But sometimes it takes leaving for a while to figure that out . . .
Kaiden Miller may be the family jokester, but he takes his work on their ranch very seriously. And as a sought-after master carpenter to boot, he’s busier than ever. Still, when he’s asked to renovate the neighboring ranch, he’s more than willing. The owner, Juan Garcia, is ailing, and Kaiden expects to find the property pretty run down. He doesn’t expect to find his old nemesis—Juan’s daughter, Julia—overseeing his work . . .
Julia’s not sure why Kaiden never liked her. But if working with him makes life easier for her father, so be it. Yet to her surprise, not only is Kaiden great with her father, he’s great with her too. As the weeks pass, it becomes harder to ignore their simmering attraction. And when Julia’s boss turns up with a sweet deal, both she and Kaiden will have to decide where their loyalties—and their hearts—lie.
Titles in The Millers of Morgan Valley series include – The Second Chance Rancher – The Rancher’s Redemption – The Rebellious Rancher – The Rancher Meets His Match
*Connection to the “Morgan Ranch” series – you’ll find familiar faces if you’ve read the series but it’s not necessary to enjoy the Miller family – but I’d still recommend both.*
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Posted December 6, 2020 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Kensington Books, Mystery, NetGalley, Series / 0 Comments
Christmas cheer has sent the griddle into overdrive at Robbie Jordan’s popular country store and café. And this year, there’s a new seasonal special to feast on — murder!
As December sweeps through South Lick, Indiana, Robbie’s life seems merry and bright like the string lights glistening around town. But strange happenings signal a bumpy ride into the holidays.
First, a man raises eyebrows at Pans ‘N Pancakes when he claims to be the long-lost half-brother of Robbie’s assistant. Then a fire destroys the home of a controversial anesthesiologist, exposing skeletal remains in his attic.
Helplessly intrigued, all Robbie wants for Christmas is to stop her winter wonderland from becoming a real nightmare. With a decades-old mystery taking shape, can she run as fast as she can in pursuit of a killer who’s harder to crack than a stale gingerbread man?
Titles in the Country Store Mystery series include – Flipped for Murder – Grilled for Murder – When the Grits Hit the Fan – Biscuits and Slashed Browns – Death Over Easy – Strangled Eggs and Ham – Nacho Average Murder – Candy Slain Murder – No Grater Crime –
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Posted December 6, 2020 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Kensington Books, Women's Fiction / 0 Comments
Christmas is more than just a celebration for Lauren Montgomery. For generations, it’s been her family’s livelihood. Their Christmas shop, Razzle Dazzle Décor, has seen seasonal fads come and go, but there’s one trend they can’t escape. Online superstores are swallowing their sales, and this Christmas season will need to be their best ever if the store is to stay in business.
To help keep the shop afloat, Lauren also has a sideline, writing biographies for business figures. She’s thrilled when her literary agent contacts her with a new proposal—before learning that the subject will be none other than John Gerald Giompalo. He’s the titan behind Globalgoods.com, the online retailer that has spelled doom for hundreds of small businesses just like Razzle Dazzle Décor. Despite her misgivings, Lauren travels to Seattle to confer with the mogul and is caught off guard when his son, John Jr., attends the meeting too. Handsome, intelligent, and deeply kind, he’s perfect—apart from the fact that he’s part of the company threatening everything Lauren loves.
As her deadline, and Christmas, draw closer, Lauren knows that there’s more than her family’s shop at stake. Her heart is, too. But there’s no better time than the holidays to make a secret wish on the brightest star you see—and let the season’s magic take hold.
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Posted December 4, 2020 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Kensington Books, NetGalley, Women's Fiction / 0 Comments
Successful, secure, and still very much in love, middle-aged couple Eugene and Rosemary Johnson have never given up on one special wish–to be parents. And while Christmas always brings happiness and a whirlwind of holiday fun, their hopes for children of their own seem further away than ever. Especially this year, when Rosemary must have emergency surgery and home help to recuperate. Wanting to lift his wife’s spirits, Eugene suddenly has inspiration from back in the day . . .
Faithful and sensible, Ethel Perkins raised Eugene and his brother. Unforeseen tragedy has left the sixty-something widow struggling with little money and two jobs to keep her great-grandchildren off the streets. She’s glad to help Rosemary back on her feet. But she can only stay until Rosemary is well enough to resume her normal routine. For Ethel, survival means keeping to her grueling schedule, being there for everyone but herself, and, as always, handling her troubles all on her own . . .
As Ethel’s problems go from bad to much worse, Rosemary and Eugene find themselves helping her more and more–and growing close to her lively youngsters. Soon, there’s only one way both families can salvage the season: by celebrating it together. But will their temporary family work into the future . . . and possibly make a lifetime of happiness?
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Posted November 15, 2020 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Kensington Books, Mystery, NetGalley, Series / 0 Comments
A cold wind is blowing off Lake Michigan, and murder is scaring the dickens out of everyone . . .
Considering her name, Marlee Jacob is an obvious choice for the role of Jacob Marley in Oriole Point’s production of A Christmas Carol. It’s just sad that the role has opened up because of the death of the elderly actor who’d originally been cast.
But Marlee, the proprietor of The Berry Basket, will do her best to keep spirits high–that is until clues start mounting that there’s danger behind the scenes. There are accidents on set, the tree in the village square topples over, and worst of all, a body is found with a sprig of holly draped over it. If Marlee can’t wrap up the case, she may not have a berry merry Christmas . . .
Titles in the Berry Basket Mystery series include — Dying for Strawberries – Blackberry Burial – Killed on Blueberry Hill – Mulberry Mischief – Hollyberry Homicide –
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Posted November 15, 2020 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Kensington Books, Mystery, NetGalley, Series / 0 Comments
Not even her impending nuptials can keep Lucy Berberian, manager of her family-owned Kebab Kitchen, from the Jersey Shore’s annual Polar Bear Plunge. But her dive into the icy ocean is especially chilling when she finds a fellow swimmer doing the dead man’s float—for real . . .
Who would kill a man in cold blood during Ocean Crest, New Jersey’s most popular winter event? When Lucy learns the victim is Deacon Spooner, the reception hall owner who turned up his nose—and his price—at her wedding plans, she can’t help wondering who wouldn’t kill the pompous caterer . . .
Perhaps the culprit is the wedding cake baker whose career Deacon nearly destroyed? Or the angry bride whose reception he ruined? With her maid of honor, Katie, busily planning Lucy’s wedding without her, Lucy will have to get to the bottom of this cold-hearted business in time for Kebab Kitchen’s mouthwatering Christmas celebration—and before her hometown’s holiday spirit washes out to sea . . .
Titles in the Kebab Kitchen Mystery series include — Hummus and Homicide – Stabbed in the Baklava – One Feta in the Grave – On the Lamb – Mistletoe, Moussaka & Murder –
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Posted November 13, 2020 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Historical Romance, Kensington Books, NetGalley, Regency Romance, Series / 0 Comments
The death of her husband has thrown Lady Maria Kersey’s future into doubt—and her heart into the arms of a man she cannot have. But Christmas with the Widows’ Club will bring choices—and surprises—that may change all her holidays to come…
Maria just gave birth to her first child, a beautiful daughter—but the event is shrouded in sorrow. A month earlier, Maria’s husband, Lord Kersey, was killed in a duel under compromising circumstances. Worse, Maria’s failure to provide a male heir has stripped her of any hope of an inheritance. Scorned by the ton, one of her few allies is her late husband’s steward, Hugh Granger. Hugh is everything her husband was not—warm, charming—and penniless…
Hugh has fallen desperately in love with Maria but has little to offer but comfort. As their attraction becomes impossible to resist, Maria flees to London to spend Christmas with her dearest friends, a group of widows who lost their own husbands in the Battle of Waterloo. Little does she know the holidays will reveal a twist of fate she never expected—proving that the greatest Christmas gift is the magic of true love.
Titles in The Widow’s Club series include: To Woo A Wicked Widow – Wedding the Widow – What A Widow Wants – Much Ado About A Widow – The Widow’s Christmas Surprise –
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Posted November 13, 2020 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Cozy Mystery, Kensington Books, NetGalley, Series / 0 Comments
It’s the first Christmas in Santaland for April Claus–but it may also be her last unless she can uncover a villain with a killer Christmas wish. . .
Love is full of surprises–though few compare to realizing that you’re marrying the real-life Santa. April Claus dearly loves her new husband, Nick, but adjusting to life in the North Pole is not all sugarplums and candy canes. Especially when a cantankerous elf named Giblet Hollyberry is killed–felled by a black widow spider in his stocking–shortly after publicly arguing with Nick.
Christmastown is hardly a hotbed of crime, aside from mishaps caused by too much eggnog, but April disagrees with Constable Crinkle’s verdict of accidental death. As April sets out to find the culprit, it’ll mean putting the future of Christmas on the line–and hoping her own name isn’t on a lethal naughty list.
Titles in the Mrs. Claus series include — Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings – Mrs. Claus and the Halloween Homicide (summer of 2021) –
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Posted November 9, 2020 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Kensington Books, NetGalley / 0 Comments
Snowball–an aptly named bundle of feline fluff–is thankful to be spending her first Christmas in the comfort of Weber Haus, the Victorian B&B run by Miss Tilly. Emily Diemer, who cooks for the guests, dotes on Snowball, but she’s not thrilled about another new arrival at the B&B: Miss Tilly’s nephew, Lukas. Which is odd, because Snowball’s animal instincts tell her that Lukas and Emily should definitely be friends.
Everything Emily needs is in this quaint community–including, she hopes, the chance to open her own bakery one day. She doesn’t think much of Lukas for leaving his aging aunt to struggle while he jets around the world taking photographs. But now that he’s here, helping to spruce up the property and getting mixed up in Snowball’s antics, she begins to soften a little. Until she learns what he has planned . . .
Lukas is going to sell Weber Haus so that Miss Tilly can retire. But Snowball is certain that this B&B, and these people, are supposed to be her forever home. Somehow she has to get these stubborn humans to see things through the wisdom of a cat’s eye and a kitten’s loyal, loving heart.
Connecting stories = Snowball’s Christmas – The Twelve Days of Snowball (holiday 2021) –
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Posted November 9, 2020 by Marsha in Historical Romance, Kensington Books, NetGalley, Regency Romance, Series / 0 Comments
Finishing school failed to turn them into proper society ladies. Now, these four friends vow to remain single until they find suitors worthy of their love and devotion…
Betrothed to a man she has barely met, Lady Faith Landon calls upon her three best friends—the self-proclaimed Wallflowers of West Lane—to help uncover the secrets of her mysterious fiancé. Her suspicions are aroused when she learns that he has recently returned from France. Is he a traitor to his country? The truth is quite the opposite. Nicholas Ellsworth, Duke of Breckenridge, is a secret agent for the English Crown who has just completed a risky mission to infiltrate Napoleon’s spy network.
After his adventures, Nicholas craves the peace and quiet of the country and settling into domestic bliss with his bride. Until he discovers Faith’s deceptive investigation. How can he wed a woman who doesn’t trust him? But a powerful spark has ignited between Nicholas and Faith that could bring about a change of heart. Faith seizes her second chance to prove to Nicholas that they are a true love match but his past catches up with them when three French spies come to exact revenge. Surviving rather than wooing has become the order of the day.
Titles in The Wallflowers of West Lane series include – The Earl Not Taken – Misleading A Duke – Capturing the Earl –
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Posted November 9, 2020 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Kensington Books, Mystery, NetGalley, Paranormal Cozy Mystery, Series / 0 Comments
Salem, Massachusetts B&B owner Charlene Morris is looking into a holiday hit-and-run, with a little help from her ghostly housemate . . .
Charlene’s parents are in town for Christmas, and her mother is driving her up a tree. Her bed-and-breakfast’s resident ghost, Jack, isn’t fond of her either–and he’s showing it with some haunting high jinks. But when Charlene takes her mom and dad out for dinner, the less-than-seasonal spirits take a deadly turn.
David Baldwin has just won a fortune in the lottery–and it adds a lot of drama to the charity auction he’s hosting at his restaurant. When he caps off the evening by playing Santa and handing out checks to some of the attendees, the mood shifts . . . and Charlene observes mysterious tensions between David and his flashy, bleached-blonde wife, his neglected teenage son from a previous marriage, and his hostile business partner, among others. And they’re only a few on the long list of potential suspects when David runs into the road and is mowed down by a fleeing motorist. Now it looks like it’s going to be homicide for the holidays . . .
Titles in the A Salem B & B Mystery series include — Mrs. Morris and the Ghost – Mrs. Morris and the Witch – Mrs. Morris and the Ghost of Christmas Past –
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