BLOG TOUR: PARKS AND PROVOCATION by Juliette Cross & Smartypants Romance

 

Parks and Provocation, an all new enemies-to-lovers small town romance from Juliette Cross, is available now in Kindle Unlimited!

Lola Landry stares through the window of her locked car with the keys in the ignition and the radio blaring Beck’s “Loser.” While standing there and sweltering in the soupy Tennessee humidity, she wonders how her orderly life had crashed and burned so badly. Then her high school nemesis saunters up in all of his tall, strapping, fireman-to-the-rescue glory, slapping her with the humiliating proof that it can always get worse.

When the uber-confident Jedediah Lawson requests a date in return for popping her lock, a lightbulb goes off. Revenge is sweet. He would make the perfect victim—guest, that is—for her next podcast episode on Kiss and Tell. What shocks her is the casual way he not only agrees to the post-date interview on air, but ends up hijacking her audience and wooing them with his swoony, southern charm. Not even a low score on the date-o-meter can dissuade the man or keep her fans from demanding more of the charismatic Jed.

What’s worse, she secretly wants a second date with this man who is so different from his teenage self. His unwavering patience and dimpled smile erodes her will, until she breaks the Kiss and Tell rules by agreeing to a second…and a third date. It’s a disaster. Not the date. They’re wonderful. The disaster is that she is falling for a man she once dubbed Jockstrap Jed.

'Parks and Provocation' is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #2 in the Green Valley Heroes series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.

Grab your copy TODAY!

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Audiobook: Coming Soon!

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Excerpt

“Fancy meeting you here,” he said when I finally reached him.

“Fancy that,” I sassed back.

I tried monumentally hard to force my eyes to behave, but they were currently mapping the extensive breadth of his chest without my permission. As a matter of fact, they’d found their newest obsession, tracking the descent of a drop of water that looped around his navel and froze midway down his happy trail.

“What brings you here, Cola?”

I jerked my gaze back to his mischievous grin, contemplating ways to torture my best friend.

I was also debating whether leaning forward and licking him would be inappropriate. “Um, learning fire safety?”

His bark of laughter and dimpled smile detonated somewhere inside my chest and melted my insides into warm goo. Which, of course, drew my attention to his beautiful mouth and the fact that he intended to kiss me with that mouth on our next date.

“Let me guess,” he finally said, amusement still prevalent in every word. “Marly?”

“So, I’ve been wondering if stretching her on a rack would be forgiven by local law enforcement. Do you think they’d give me a free pass, considering,” I waved my hand at him and the surrounding scene behind him, “all this?”

“By this, you mean dragging you to watch a dozen firemen strut around without their shirts on?”

“So y’all do know that half of Green Valley’s womenfolk are gawking at you from across the street, right? Only half of which are actual moms of the scouts? If that.”

He nodded and exhaled a sigh, but that wicked smile remained in place. “Chief McClure said it’s a local tradition, and the fine ladies of Green Valley also donate generously to our annual fundraiser, so we just do as we’re told.”

“Basically, this is a Magic Mike show, minus the actual lap dances, where you get your tips at a later time.”

He edged closer, my eyes betraying me once again to dip down along his beautiful body, realizing that delectable drop of water had slipped down into the holy land.

“I’ll give you a lap dance for free if you like, Lola.”

About Juliette Cross

JULIETTE is a multi-published author of paranormal and fantasy romance & the co-host of the podcast, Smart Women Read Romance. As a native of Louisiana, she lives in the heart of Cajun land with her husband, four kids, her labs, Kona and Jeaux, and kitty, Betty. When she isn’t working on her next project, she enjoys binge-watching her favorite shows with her husband and a glass (or two) of red wine.

Find Juliette Cross online

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Review: Spear by Nicola Griffith

Spear by Nicola Griffith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was provided an audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. The audiobook is narrated by the author, which in this case works really well. The writing is very poetic, and she is able to capture the cadence of her writing in the way I feel only she could. With a retelling or fantasy such as this she was also able to pronounce the names of the characters the way she envisioned.


I've always been fascinated by Arthurian lore, and I really enjoyed the unique take on this one. It keeps the heart of the Arthurian legend while putting a new spin on it. Our main character Peretur is female and is called by visions to be a knight in King Artos' court. She grew up in seclusion with her mother who kept them warded in a cave. When she comes of age, Per ventures off on her own as she knows she has a destiny to fulfil and evil to fight. In order to gain the trust of the King she must prove herself worthy. Peretur gathers used armour and a broken spear as she ventures out beyond her cave to win accolades, prove her worth and see what fate has in store for her. This has all of the elements a retelling needs: a quest, action, magic, and a love story.


If you are looking for a great retelling and a queer one at that, I highly recommend this. It is well researched and the writing is beautiful. This did start out a little slow for me, mainly because I'm not usually one who enjoys a more poetic writing style, but after a few chapters I settled in and really enjoyed the story.

This book comes out tomorrow April 19, 2022.  

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Review: Smart Mouth by Emma Lee Jayne

Smart Mouth by Emma Lee Jayne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC via the author, all opinions are my own.

This is the 4th book in the Work for It series but it can be read completely as a standalone.  There are mention of characters from [book:Heart Smart|56400137], but each novel is standalone.

I really enjoyed this.  We have the Popstar and the Microbiologist, they are basically opposites in every way but you can't help you you are attracted to.  Gwen is best friends with James, or she was growing up.  Tom is James' twin brother, and he's been in love with Gwen since they met at 15.  Gwen only knows what James has told her about Tom, and most of it is stemmed in resentment because he got the part in the boy band and James did not.  Gwen is also a scientist, she spends her day working in a lab and going through scientific protocols.  When it comes to people she is clueless.  When she is reunited with Tom and he wants to spend time with her, she  has a hard time accepting that he likes her.  As she gets to know the real Tom and not the scripted boy-band version she thinks she knows, she realizes that there is so much more to him that meets the eye and she isn't sure what to do about that.  

I really enjoyed Tom and Gwen.   They were both a bit of a mess when it comes to emotions and relationships.  There are alot of great discussion points in this book about living with ADHD, anxiety, dealing with change, etc.  I really loved that Tom had such a great support group, and Gwen had Max and Holly to set her on the right path about her feelings.  This had just the right mix of serious and comedy with a little spice mixed in.  

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Review: Shadow Fallen by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Shadow Fallen by Sherrilyn Kenyon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I am a long time fan of Sherrilyn's, and I like many of her fans am extremely excited to see her writing again.  This is her first book in several years back in the Darkhuner/Dreamhunter world, and it centers on new characters that we haven't see before.  As the story progresses, old characters that long time fans are familiar with are introduced and play a part in the storyline.  As with all of the books in the Dreamhunter and Darkhunter, you can read this one as a standalone, but as many of the books and characters are so interconnected, I feel like I would have been a bit lost had I not read the previous books in the series.  This one does stand pretty well on it's own giving the reader enough information about who people are and enough background to figure out what is happening.  Ariel and Valteri's story ties nicely into the already established storyline that many of us have been reading for a very long time and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

This started out a bit slow for my taste, but as things developed and more characters were introduced things started to pick up around the half way mark.  I do feel that that narrator of the audiobook also contributed to the slower feeling.  While not a bad narrator, I feel like he was a tad monotone throughout the book and that led to the book feeling a bit slower than I prefer.

This particular installment in the series feels a bit more like historical fiction, whereas many of the other books in the series have a more urban fiction feel.  This book felt more like one of her Kinley MacGregor medieval romances, but I expect that has to do with it being more of an origin story for Ariel and Valteri and that we will see them again in future installments.  There is also quite the religious overtone present, as Valteri is constantly accused of being demon-spawn.  Ariel is an Arel, basically a type of angel, and she isn't the first Arel we've seen between The Chronicles of Nick, The Darkhunters, and the Dreamhunter books.  The war between good and evil has been brewing for quite sometime among the interconnected series and I expect our two main characters to resurface as it comes to pass as we get more books.

The worldbuilding wasn't overly complex as this was set in the real world with a few fantasy elements.  The "magic" system isn't overly complex in the series to begin with and this particular installment doesn't have the same mythological backing as some of the other books it is more centered around Christianity and the Norman-Saxon conflict.  

Overall, I think this is a good comeback for the author.  This book gave us valuable information about characters we've wanted to know about for years, and sets the stage for future books.  I'm excited that she's back and can't wait for future installments.

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Review: Ten Trends to Seduce Your Bestfriend by Penny Reid

Ten Trends to Seduce Your Bestfriend by Penny Reid
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC via the author, all opinions are my own,

This book is nothing but 100% amazing. If you love Penny's work, you are going to love Byron and Winnie. This book is a little on the long side, but I did not mind one bit because once I started reading this I did not want to put it down.

Winnie is a middle school science teacher, who also makes STEM centered videos for social media on the side to get kids, girls specifically more interested in STEM fields. She is looking for a side hustle to help pay down her school loans and help her live a bit more comfortably. Byron on the other hand is ridiculously intelligent, is a best selling author, is wealthy, hates social media, and generally doesn't enjoy people. He and Winnie have been in the same social circle for years, but they aren't particularly friendly. Winnie doesn't particularly care for Byron for several reasons, so when he offers to help her with her social media following by recording various challenges with her she's a bit surprised. Turns out Byron needs her help with something too. As they spend more time together working on the challenges and generally getting to know each other as friends, things take a turn into romantic territory.

Normally I don't enjoy books with where miscommunication is a trope, however I will make a an exception here. Much of this book is about Byron and Winnie learning to communicate with each other. They get frustrated with each other as they learn to navigate each other, their likes and dislikes, their needs and feelings, what they each value and why. Winnie and Byron are similar in some aspects but they are opposites attract in others. If it weren't for their miscommunications and attempts to learn to communicate with each other this would not be the wonderful story that it is. They have both been hurt by people in the past, and it takes them both quite a long time to accept that they can trust someone else. From that perspective this is a bit of a slow burn romance. There are some steamy parts, you do have to be patient and wait for them to develop.

Much like with all of Penny's books, I love the care and research that she puts into each of her books! I particularly love that she put an emphasis on girls in STEM. I graduated with a degree in electrical engineering and I was one of only a handful of girls. I wish I had had a Chemistry Maven growing up. While the numbers are better than they were 20 years ago, girls are still underserved and underrepresented in STEM fields. I also really like that Penny is bringing awareness to neurodiverse characters in her books. With mental health getting more and more attention lately, it is also important that we also treat people who learn, process, or experience the world differently with kindness and respect. I this case Byron was always that weird guy who doesn't like people, when he was actually a very nice person who was easily overwhelmed when faced with lots of people he doesn't know. I really appreciate when authors bring awareness through characters and I feel Penny did a great job here.

Overall, I loved this! Winnie and Byron were perfect for each other.

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RELEASE BLITZ: OOK SMART by Amanda Pennington & Smartypants Romance

 

Book Smart, an all new friends-to-lovers sweet romance by debut author Amanda Pennington, is LIVE in Kindle Unlimited!

Melanie Hirsch is tired of watching life pass her by…

I’ve spent the last few years watching my dreams of a writing career and true love fade away, settling for a dead-end job and denying my feelings for my best friend – until I find a list of dating advice for single women to “find a husband” in the 1950s. I decide to experiment: try out the 1950s advice on my 21st-century dating pool and write about the results. If love is timeless, some of the dating advice still holds value. Maybe my experiment will launch my writing career. Maybe I’ll get over my best friend and meet someone new. Either way, I’m done watching from the sidelines.

Cameron Whitacre can’t wait forever…

I’ve spent the last few years in love with my best friend, hoping she’ll notice my friendly overtures have more than friendly intentions – but before I realize what’s happening, she declares me her wingman for a dating experiment. This idea could launch her writing career, so I’m trying to be supportive. But her experiment turns my life into a desperation-fueled dumpster fire. I need to show her how I feel without jeopardizing our friendship, all before she falls for someone else.

‘Book Smart’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #3 in the Work For It series, Educated Romance World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

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About Amanda Pennington

Amanda Pennington lives outside Louisville, Kentucky with her husband in their fixer-upper house. When she’s not writing, Amanda loves traveling, running, and reading anything within reach. More information is available at www.amandacpennington.com.

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RELEASE BLITZ: NOT FOOLING ANYONE by Allie Winters & Smartypants Romance

 

Not Fooling Anyone, an all-new fake relationship college romance from Allie Winters, is LIVE in Kindle Unlimited! 

The deal is simple—pretend to be Ethan’s girlfriend for a psych study and we each get a nice payday. Despite him being a dumb jock who willingly gets punched for fun at my dad’s boxing gym, I can handle it. I’ve mastered the art of keeping others at a distance. Especially after… Well, never mind that.

Except, I didn’t count on him not understanding the definition of boundaries. Suddenly, we’re having to fake being in love all over campus to keep up the ruse. And when he tries to slip under the barriers I’ve worked so hard to create? Yeah, that’s not happening. Even if it turns out he’s surprisingly understanding… and funny… and charming… and smarter than I ever would have given him credit for. Not to mention that muscled body from all that boxing…

No, that’s irrelevant. I may have misjudged him, but that doesn’t mean I’m interested. He has no idea what kind of baggage I’m carrying. A relationship is the last thing on my mind.

Even if I’m not fooling anyone.

‘Not Fooling Anyone’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #2 in the Lessons Learned series, Educated Romance World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

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Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3LUq2Rm

About Allie Winters

Allie is the author of the Suncoast University series, the Bishop Brothers series, and the Lessons Learned series. She lives in sunny Florida with her husband, daughter, and two cats. A librarian by day, she spends her nights writing happily ever afters. She enjoys reading, playing video games, and all things Disney.

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