Showing posts with label Lisa Dale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lisa Dale. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

May 2012: Reads + Updates

May is over! During May I celebrated my 3rd bloggiversary by reading and reviewing books by authors whose works I have recommended throughout the past three years. Favorite authors.

I was lucky that many of them had recent releases, and was able to read and/or review books by Mary Balogh, Nora Roberts, Elizabeth Bear, Sarah Mayberry, Carrie Lofty, Nalini Singh, Lisa Dale, Alex Jeffers and Steve Berman. And since I love to 'discover' new-to-me authors, there a few of those in there too. I'll be following up by reading Catherine Lundoff, Sally MacKenzie and Annika Martin. :)

As you can see, May was definitely a great month!

May Books Read: 20
 Contemporary: 5
 Historical Romance: 6
 Paranormal Romance/Sci-fi: 1
 Fantasy: 1
 LGBT: 7 (Fantasy=2, Romance=5)

1.   The Proposal by Mary Balogh: B-
2.   Range of Ghosts (Eternal Sky #1) by Elizabeth Bear: A-
3.   Silver Moon by Catherine Lundoff: B
4.   Firooz and His Brother (Free Short Story from Wonder Stories) by Alex Jeffers: *NG
5.   The Last Boyfriend (Inn BoonsBoro #2) by Nora Roberts: C+
6.   College Boys by Daisy Harris: C
7.   Addicted to You by Bethany Kane: C+
8.   Under Her Uniform by Victoria Janssen: B-
9.   A Promise of Safekeeping by Lisa Dale: B+
10. The Charm School by Susan Wiggs: B+
11. Boys of Summer edited by Steve Berman: B
12. The Hostage Bargain by Annika Martin: B
13. Hard Tail by J.L. Merrow: B
14. Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry: B+
15. Frog by Mary Calmes: C+
16. A Little More Scandal by Carrie Lofty: B+
17. Bedding Lord Ned (Duchess of Love #1) by Sally MacKenzie: B-
18. Permanently Legless by J.L. Merrow: C+
19. The Seduction of Phaeton Black by Jillian Stone: (Upcoming Review)
20. Tangle of Need (Psy/Changeling #11) by Nalini Singh: B
     *NG = No grade yet, will save it for the book release (Great story though!)

Upcoming Reviews:



Currently Reading:



If you go by my grades, my top reads last month were Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth BearHer Best Worst Mistake by Sarah MayberryA Little More Scandal by Carrie LoftyThe Charm School by Susan Wiggsand A Promise of Safekeeping by Lisa Dale. However, those "B" grades were really enjoyable too! 

How about you? Did you find any treasures in your book pile last month? 


Tuesday, May 29, 2012

"Quotes" of the Month

Did everyone have a great weekend? I just got back to work today after the holiday. It was a hot, hot day! It actually felt like summer. Nice.

I didn't read half of the books that I planned to read during my three day weekend, but had a very nice time. Today instead of a review, I gathered a few quotes that stood out from some of the books read this month -- a few of them will be added to my collection.

She had never believed in fate. She still did not. It would make nonsense of freedom of will and choice, and it was through such freedom that we worked our way through life and learned what we needed to learn. -- Gwen, The Proposal by Mary Balogh
Better to be a neutered wizard than a woman. -- Samarkar-la, Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear
To really get to know someone, get them out of their comfort zones -- out of their usual context. Then watch and learn. -- Lauren, A Promise of Safekeeping by Lisa Dale
She needn't have worried. Becca Thornton at fifty might as well have been invisible. Carts went around her, younger women picked up the romance novels, men old and young picked up the sports and car magazines, and not one of them noticed anything different about her.  -- Becca, Silver Moon by Catherine Lundoff
Sweetheart. . . You think I'm going to let you go now that I have you in my clutches? You think I want to go back to living in black and white now that I know what Technicolor looks like? - Martin, Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry
"It's inappropriate to shoot the bad art," I said. Odin squinted. "We're criminals, baby. Everything we do is inappropriate." Melinda/Isis and Odin, The Hostage Bargain by Annika Martin
"Or if you're nervous about pain, you could consider getting your intimate hair dyed. It'd cover up the grey beautifully. It was nice seeing you, Tim." She swept up again, leaving me standing there, mortified. I had grey pubes? She'd seen my grey pubes? I mentally added tweezers to the shopping list. Tim and Olivia, Hard Tail by J.L. Merrow

Friday, May 11, 2012

Review: A Promise of Safekeeping by Lisa Dale

Continuing with favorite writers that I have recommended throughout the past three years, today I am reviewing the last book released by a favorite writer in the women's fiction with contemporary romance elements category: Lisa Dale.

I tend to love Lisa Dale's books, not only because of her beautiful prose and excellent writing skills, but also because from that first book I read in 2009 to this last one, I've found that she has developed a great knack for balancing out both contemporary women's fiction and romance. Her stories have HEA's (happy-ever-afters), but they also have some of the best characteristics found in women's fiction. Her books are usually character driven, and throughout them I've found that whatever the main subject may be, finding a path to personal growth and forgiveness are always part of her exploration. So here it is:

A Promise of Safekeeping by Lisa Dale

An unforgettable novel about love, forgiveness, and letting go.

Nine years ago, Lauren Matthews prosecuted the case of a lifetime. But her error in judgment sent an innocent man to prison. Now Arlen Fieldstone has finally been released, and Lauren has only one thing on her mind: asking forgiveness. How can she make up for nine years of his life? To get to Arlen, Lauren must first get through Arlen's best friend, Will Farris, who hasn't forgiven her for destroying Arlen's life.
In the steaming summer streets of Richmond, Virginia, three people's lives collide. Lauren needs forgiveness. Arlen needs hope. And Will? He needs something too, something that no one can know—especially not Lauren...
A Promise of Safekeeping by Lisa Dale is a character driven novel with complex characters, but not an overly complicated plot. With this novel, Dale excels at digging into her characters' motivations and in keeping the reader glued to the pages to find who these people really are deep down inside.

There are three main characters: Lauren Mathews, Will Farris, and  Arlen Fieldstone. Plus there's Eula, Arlen's ex-wife, who serves as a strong secondary character. Lauren Matthews was hailed a prodigy when she prosecuted and won the case that sent Arlen Fieldstone to prison for a crime he didn't commit. Her successful career is based on that one case. When Arlen's case is retried, found not guilty and released after nine years in prison, Lauren begins to question everything about her life. There are reasons behind reasons for these questions, but the one thing she clearly knows is that she needs to ask for Arlen's forgiveness to get on with her life. Will he grant her what she needs?

Arlen Fieldstone's life went on hold when he was nineteen years old and accused of a crime he didn't commit. He lost his wife Eula and his future. Arlen wants freedom but no longer knows what the word freedom really means. After nine years he continues to live in a prison made up of fear, anger and resentment. What does he have to do to find real freedom?

Will Farris is Arlen's childhood friend. He never doubted Arlen and he's the only person there for him now. When Lauren walks through the door of his antique store, Will remembers her from the trial. His initial feelings for her are portrayed as a mixture of attraction and repulsion, dislike and personal obsession. Will's initial response is to protect Arlen and places himself between the two. However through daily contact Will's view of Lauren changes as do his feelings, and as she reveals herself to him, a key turns and he feels the need to open the door that will reveal to Lauren the real man behind the facade. But can he?

In A Promise of Safekeeping, on the surface, Dale's characters don't seem to have anything in common but beneath it all they do. They are all holding on to feelings or things that imprison them just as surely as Arlen was imprisoned for those nine years. None of them really know what freedom means and it takes truth, forgiveness and love to free them.

There is a rather dramatic scene at the end that I did not expect of such a well paced (I read this novel in one sitting) character driven novel, plus the end felt rushed and abrupt after the depth found in the rest of the story. However in this case, the ending did not detract from my overall enjoyment of A Promise of Safekeeping.

As with her previous novels, I love Dale's prose in this novel. I can't say it enough, but she definitely has the touch when it comes to fusing contemporary romance and women's fiction, because yes there is a satisfactory romance between Will and Lauren. Plus what can I say about the fact that Dale brings a couple of interesting subjects including that of wrongful incarceration to women's fiction? This is a character driven novel and Dale's deft execution when it comes to creating complex characters comes through. Recommended.

Category: Women's Fiction/Romance
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Penguin/January 3, 2012
Grade: B+

Visit Lisa Dale here. Read excerpts here.

Other books by Lisa Dale:
Simple Wishes
It Happened One Night
Slow Dancing on Price's Pier

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Sunday Review: Slow Dancing on Price's Pier by Lisa Dale

A family learns that time can erase mistakes when the heart remains true- from a refreshing new storyteller.

Fifteen years ago, Garret Sorensen's family, trust, and heart were destroyed when Thea Celik betrayed him and married his brother. Now they are divorcing. Garret's ready to finally mend his relationship with his brother. But being back in Newport, Rhode Island, triggers a lot of memories-all leading back to Thea.

Thea's not ready to let go of the Sorensens-even if it means being around Garret. As they cautiously circle around each other-finding themselves drawn together-they realize following their hearts could cast them adrift.
Lisa Dale always seems to surprise me. There's something about her books that seem to touch me in one way or another, it's that writing style of hers that does it every time.

Each chapter of Slow Dancing on Price's Pier begins with Thea's newspaper column From "The Coffee Diaries" by Thea Celik. In this one page column Thea explores the history of coffee, but of course there's more there as each gorgeous little story applies to her life and to that of those around her. I love the way Dale uses them in conjunction with the story.
"It's fire that forces the transformation from seed to bean. Roasting alters the seed's makeup -- an intense molecular restructuring.

In that way, I think coffee cherries aren't much different from people. Heat and pressure change us. When we walk through fire -- and we all do at some point -- we come out the other side to find ourselves altered. If we're lucky, we become richer, more complex, more alluring people because of our trials. But sometimes, we just get burned."
Slow Dancing on Price's Pier is a complex story of friendship and love that involves one woman, two brothers, and a family. It's a triangle that begins when the three are carefree and young and ends years later after their great friendship has been interrupted by competition, jealousy, wrong choices, misunderstandings and yes... love.

The story begins with Thea and Jonathan's separation after years of marriage. The news comes as a shock to his family, friends and to everyone on Price's Pier where Thea runs her beloved coffee shop. Unbeknown to everyone, Jonathan cheated on their marriage, yet he refuses to talk to Thea, see her, or to pick up his own daughter for the weekend. Instead, Jonathan sends his brother Garrett to take care of his responsibilities.

Garrett and Thea have not seen or talked to each in fifteen years, since Thea married Jonathan. He hates her, doesn't want her as part of his family and makes no bones about it. But Garrett finally has a chance to reconcile with his brother now that Jonathan is divorcing Thea, so he'll do whatever is necessary for his brother and agrees to play go-between. He even gives Jonathan a divorce party, here's his toast:
"Sometimes a man has to take the long way to find out a woman isn't who he thought she was. You know what they say. It's hard for a man to lose a woman. Sometimes, it's damn near impossible. Believe me, I've tried. "

"Jeez, Garrett." One of his friends cut in. "Whose divorce party is this anyway."
Garrett and Thea's meeting is a tough one. He's hostile and shocked to finally see her again... she's just shocked to see him, to feel his hostility and just wants him to go away. Thea doesn't want to lose the only family she has left in the country -- Garrett and Jonathan's family -- especially as her own parents are back in Turkey, and she's afraid that this is the end of that relationship. Garrett is honest with Thea about the fact that he doesn't want her to be a part of his family any longer and acts the ass with Thea. But... but... there is such history there! As Dale begins to slowly unravel their story, the reader discovers that there are such strong emotions and more than enough reasons behind all these initial uncomfortable actions.

Thea on decaffeinated coffee and Jonathan:
Serious coffee drinkers know the importance of decaf coffee when it comes to round-the-clock consumption....Whatever the method of decaffeination, most decaf coffees still contain some small amounts of caffeine. There's just no way to get rid of it completely. Nature insists. 
Garrett and Jonathan met Thea when they moved to Newport, Rhode Island as teenage boys. Their friendship was deep and meaningful while it was on equal terms and they balanced each other's weaknesses and strengths. Garrett was the star athlete who loved to take risks while Jonathan was studious and methodical, but Thea was a bit of both. She stepped in between the brothers and became the much needed balance. Unfortunately after Jonathan graduated and went away to college and Garrett was a senior in high school, Thea and Garrett fell in love and the dynamics changed between the three friends. The circumstances and choices made by these three young people changed their lives in ways that affected them for the long haul.

Thea on a real cup of coffee and Garrett:
"The fact is, there's nothing in the world like a good cup of smooth, dark coffee -- but as with so many things, sometimes it takes a substitute to make you appreciate the real thing." 
What did I like about this book? Well, I don't like triangles because I tend to like one man (or woman), and really dislike the other. I thought it would bother me that the triangle includes brothers, but in the end it didn't make a difference and it didn't bother me at all. In the beginning this story was tough because Jonathan didn't seem to have any backbone as he didn't take responsibility for his actions, and Garrett despite his confused thoughts, was quite hostile toward Thea. Thea herself seemed to be more concerned about keeping Jonathan's family at any cost than about her own personal happiness.

However, as Dale unravels the story (and yes she uses flashbacks a few of times), everything falls into place and there's an understanding of the characters and their human actions and reactions. Particularly if you take their youth into consideration. Their present actions and reactions, on the other hand, are a different matter. Although the reactions by the adults are still human and flawed, I thought at times they also came off as immature. Jonathan and his family seem to me to be pretty selfish in many ways, just as Thea seemed to be too darn accommodating.

But did I enjoy the romance? Yes, I did. I loved that the emotions between Garrett and Thea felt real -- especially those coming from Garrett. Weather it was hostility, contempt, passion or love, Garrett's emotions oozed out of him. It's true that Thea compromised her feelings, but what they all did was hide from reality. Frankly by the end of this story I liked both characters and really enjoyed their story.

Slow Dancing on Price's Pier is a family drama by Ms. Dale full of memorable characters and situations, as well as a memorable romance. I continue to enjoy her prose, and particularly the way she balances out (what I think of as) this fusion between women's fiction and contemporary romance. It just seems to get better with every book she writes. I look forward to reading her next book and hope we don't have too long a wait before that next release.

Category: Contemporary Romance/Women's Fiction
Series: None
Released: Penguin Publishing, April 5, 2011 - Kindle Edition
Grade: B+

Visit Lisa Dale here. Read an excerpt here.

Other books by Lisa Dale:
Simple Wishes
It Happened One Night

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Review: It Happened One Night by Lisa Dale


Lana Biel longs to leave her family’s Vermont wildflower farm so she can travel and see the world. And her sister Karin wants nothing more than to put down roots and conceive the child she and her husband just can’t seem to have. When a lighthearted fling with a mountain biker leaves Lana expecting, she finds herself tumbling headlong into motherhood while her sister Karin can only look on.

For help, Lana turns to Eli Ward, a professional meteorite hunter and her best friend for the last ten years. But Eli’s keeping secrets that could turn their friendship on its head. As the Vermont seasons change and the flowers in the wildflower meadows begin to fade, Lana must make some meaningful decisions about her family, her friendships, her love life, and her dreams.
Back in June I read and reviewed Simple Wishes by Lisa Dale, it was her first book and one of my random picks. Although I found that story a bit unbalanced, I really enjoyed Ms. Dale's writing and thorough character development. At the time I said I would look for Ms. Dale's next release and I'm so glad I did.

In It Happened One Night, I found the beautiful turn of phrase that I liked so much in Lisa Dale's first book, the thorough characterization I enjoyed, interesting and arresting secondary characters that contribute to the story, and a romance worth reading. The balance is there in this book. All these ingredients make for a story that pulled me in as it unfolded and ended with a beautiful, sweet epilogue that ties up all the loose ends.

When we first meet Lana we get the sense we're meeting a free spirited woman trapped in a small town by the love she feels for her only family, her sister Karin. Lana almost seems like an airy, flighty woman whom everyone loves for her positive, cheerful spirit. She loves two people: her sister Karin and her very best friend of ten years, Eli Ward. Lana has been waiting for Karin to start her own family, so she can begin to realize her dreams of traveling.

Karin's insight on Lana (page 32)
Some people thought Lana said kind things because she was angelic. But Karin knew better. Kindness was Lana's way of rearranging reality so it became more bearable. It was always sunny in Lana-land.
Lana's plans are thrown for a loop when she accidentally gets pregnant after a fling with a mountain biker. She doesn't want a child and doesn't feel prepared for motherhood. In the meantime, her sister Karin is trying to start her own family but can't. This makes Karin not only a desperate woman but also an obsessed one. Their estranged father Calvert, a man neither one of them wants to ever see again, shows up in town and all these events place the sisters on a collision course with each other. This is where Dale excels again in characterization by letting us discover these women -- peeling back layers one at a time until we reach the true Lana and the real Karin.

Lana's thoughts about her life (page 35)
And now even as an adult who lived among flowers, she still felt humbled to think that a wild flower could coax the most iridescent purples or fierce magentas from the most inhospitable soils. She wanted her own life to be like that, to grow something worthy from hardship and strife.
But this story would be nothing without Eli. Two days after I finished the book, I'm still thinking about Eli, so his is the character that seems to have impacted me the most. I think it's because of the way he loved so persistently and without reservation.

Eli (page 42)
Sometimes, you hit the jackpot.

And sometimes, you got a woman who was perfectly nice, pretty, and conversational, but who, in the end, was little more than a diversion -- not a fireball that turns night into day, and certainly not the wish of someone's heart, hidden in Kansas farmland, deep underground.
Lana and Eli have been best friends for 10 years. He is a teacher and meteorite hunter for the local museum, so he travels around the country quite a bit. When we first meet him, Eli is coming home from one of his trips after being away for 8 months. While away, he came to the realization that he loves and wants Lana, not as a friend but as a lover. He arrives home to heartbreak, and believe me my heart broke for him. Dale then takes us on a journey as Eli goes from doubts to self-confidence and from despair to elation.

This is a beautiful story of two friends who have been there for each other and on the surface know one another well, but who have allowed their true selves to be buried by fear and self-deception. They are joined by Karin on their journey and struggle to self-awareness and joy. A journey where dreams can still come true.

Dreams (page 99)
"Dreams are tricky things. They ebb and flow. They change as we change, you know? It's not... it's not a matter of right dreams and wrong dreams. I mean, sure, choosing one sacrifices another. But it's not about what you give up. It's about what you get."
The story begins when Lana gets pregnant and ends after she has the child with a beautiful epilogue, so expect some lovemaking while she is pregnant in this book. This didn't bother me at all, as I thought it was very well done. There's a combination of the predictable and unpredictable in the storyline, but enough of a combination to keep it interesting. I truly enjoyed Lana and Eli's romance, it took a while to get there but I thought it was worth the wait. I loved their love scenes and I even bookmarked the page where they kiss. Eli's internal dialogues, where he thinks about Lana and his love for her, were just beautiful.

This is a lovely book by Ms. Dale and I'll be looking for her next release.

You can visit the author here.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Review: Simple Wishes by Lisa Dale


GOING HOME IS THE LONGEST JOURNEY OF ALL...

Adele couldn't wait to put her lonely childhood and hometown behind her. Amid the bright lights and hustle and bustle of New York, she built a life for herself--until one terrible mistake brought it crashing down. Now Adele is running again, this time to a cottage she inherited from her mother in rural Pennsylvania. And she's about to realize that a small town has more to offer than she ever dreamed.

An Artist and woodworker, Jay Westvelt knows a thing or two about living in the country. Adele is intrigued by her mysterious and sexy green-eyed neighbor, a man who took care of her house and soon cares deeply for her. But even as Adele's heart begins to soften toward him, secrets from her mother's past threaten to send her fleeing back to the city. Can Jay convince her to stay with him?

Only if she can learn an important truth: that happiness begins with SIMPLE WISHES.
I've been in the mood for contemporary romances lately and decided to search for one from a new-to-me author. I do this every so often and call them my random picks. If I get lucky, I find a new author whose work I'll follow. I was unaware Simple Wishes is Lisa Dale's first contemporary romance when the above description caught my attention. As it turns out this book is about much more than the romance -- although the romance is there, I didn't find it to be the focal point of the story.

Adele is returning to her mother's old cottage in Notch Lane. She never planned to return after Marge, her mother, died years before. The place held too many bitter memories of her lonely childhood and their estranged relationship. Now, she has no choice but to use it as temporary living space to regroup while searching for employment in New York City.

Getting back to the City as fast as possible, that's what Adele plans to do. She doesn't want to deal with old memories, hurts and guilts. She left home at age seventeen and never saw or spoke to her mother again. Theirs was a complex and dysfunctional relationship leaving Adele with conflicting emotions that affect her even as an adult. Returning to Notch Lane might force her to confront emotions she has ignored for too long. Dale does an excellent job of portraying both Adele's ambivalent feelings, as well as her anger and resentment towards Marge--an anger that is not allowing her to move forward with her life.

It is the leftover anger and resentment that Adele feels for her dead mother and the unresolved issues in their relationship that drive this story. Adele must come to terms with her emotions and confront her past in order to have a future. By now, she has become adept at running away when things get uncomfortable--the type of person who is most comfortable with superficial relationships, be they sexual or platonic, Adele cultivates neither. Intimacy is foreign to her.

The city, and all the people in it, were unpredictable, disposable on some level. Subject to change. So did she like it that way? It wasn't really a matter of like ordislike. She felt she belonged in the city, belonged to the city.

But Notch Lane is not New York City and Adele's life is about to change. Living in an isolated and rural area in the mountains, she has no choice but to meet and interact with her immediate neighbors. Soon she finds herself getting involved with them more than she likes or even appreciates.

Beginnings happen in moments, Adele thought to herself. Not hours, not days, not months. Life breaks down into scenes, sequences, and you hold them to you, examining each one by one, like picking through a handful of pearls.

When Adele meets Jay Westvelt, he is not what she expects he is more. Jay is a very private person and a brilliant artist. A man who has made very clear choices and knows what he wants from life -- the opposite of Adele. In many ways, Jay understands Adele better than she understands herself. Dale develops their personal relationship and eventual romantic involvement slowly. These two people get to know each other and their initial dislike grows into friendship, attraction and eventually into passion and love. Their coming together is not an easy or comfortable one. Adele's many issues, including her intimacy problems and inadequacies, make the conflict a difficult one to resolve.

Adele's closest neighbors in Notch Lane, Pat, Beatrice and their teenage granddaughter, Kayleigh, are very important to the story. Beatrice, a Korean born lady, becomes more than a friend to Adele. It is through Beatrice, who was a friend to Marge that Adele works through her resentment and anger towards her dead mother. It is with Beatrice Adele learns the intimacy and boundaries of friendship.

Adele is a thirty-one year old woman with adult feelings, but emotionally she seems to regress at times, almost as if she were stuck in an adolescent time warp. The relationship that she develops with Kayleigh and Kayleigh's own youthful struggles help Adele work through some of those issues. You will find this is the type of contemporary where secondary characters are as much a part of the plot as the main characters. In Simple Wishes they have as much to offer, as do Adele and Jay.

It's important to point out that although I was initially attracted to Simple Wishes by the romance, I was actually pulled in to the story first by the writing, and then by the characters. Dale writes more than a few beautiful passages in this book and although I did find some inconsistencies in the point of view--sometimes in the third person, sometimes in the first--it's always presented from Adele's perspective. The story itself is character driven and centers more on Adele and her personal struggles than on the romance, although the romance itself becomes part of those struggles and the resolution is sweet and worth the wait.

Development is extremely well done for both the main and secondary characters. Adele is explored to the fullest and there are few if any questions left unanswered about her by the time we reach the end. Beatrice and Kayleigh's characters are so well developed and are so key to this story that at times they become central--particularly Beatrice. Adele and Beatrice's relationship almost overshadows Jay and Adele's; it was that deep and meaningful. Adele's struggles were frustrating at times, but her growth, although slow, was palpable and well done. On many levels, a story about love and forgiveness.

Since this book was a random pick--will I look for Lisa Dale's next release? Yes.

Visit Lisa Dale here. Read an excerpt for Simple Wishes here.

Originally posted at Musings of a Bibliophile June 3, 2009

Simple Wishes by Lisa Dale


Finally finished the review for Simple Wishes by Lisa Dale, you can find it today at Musings of a Bibliophile. This was one of my yearly 'random picks,' an author I never heard of before. Turned out to be an interesting pick. Hope you enjoy it... see you there!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Upcoming Reviews at Musings


I'll be reviewing three books for Musings of a Bibliophile next week. 



You can expect to find Vision in White by Nora Roberts, her latest contemporary romance. Nora is one of my all time favorite romance writers and I'm more than happy to see her return to writing good old fashioned romance.

For my M/M Review I'll be featuring Crossroads by Keta Diablo an M/M Erotic/Suspense. This was not a book from my M/M Challenge list, but a separate read. I didn't manage to read any for the Challenge this week.  Diablo is a new-to-me author and I do enjoy those!

And speaking of new-to-me authors, I'll be finishing off with Simple Wishes by Lisa Dale. I've been in the mood for contemporaries, so I picked this book at random, just to see how I liked the author. This is Dale's first contemporary romance and I think a good pick. 

So, stop by Musings next week... see you there!