KJ's Book Nook

Sunday, March 29, 2015

The Academic Bride by Lucy McConnell

Synopsis:

Early on, Pamela Jones realized she had an unusual talent for putting two people together. Over the years, she's turned it into a successful matchmaking service for the ultra wealthy: Billionaire Marriage Brokers. While she specializes in "business" marriages -- paring people off because of their skills, education, or training -- she can spot a potential love match a mile away. When Pamela has a "good feeling" about a bride and groom - a business marriage can become so much more.

Janel Fendrick is a go-getter. Her dream of excavating a Mayan temple is within reach -- until the funding is pulled and she's left scrambling for an alternative. Pamela Jones comes along with a proposal...and a groom! Janel hesitates, until she realizes that one year of marriage is a small price to pay to have all her dreams come true. What she doesn't realize, is that she's about to get more than she ever dreamed of.

My Review: 5 Stars

The Academic Bride was such a cute book! I absolutely loved it and could not put it down!

We have our heroine, Janel, who is going to school for her PhD. Her dream is to excavate a Mayan Temple. She is so close and then the funding gets pulled and she is left trying to figure out how in the world she is going to achieve her dream now. She overhears an opportunity and decides that if she is going to make it to Guatemala then she'll need to take a chance. Little did she know exactly what she was getting herself into.

Now our hero, Nick. *dreamy sigh* He is a billionaire. He is so tired of people taking advantage of him and trying to get close to him just for his money. When he hears about Billionaire Marriage Brokers from his friend he decides to take a chance.. a wife for a year or two.. just to get people off his back and then when it's over he can really try to find the woman of his dreams. Little did he know that what he's been looking for just might be right in front of him.

I absolutely LOVED Janel and Nick! They are both strong, lovable characters. Watching them get to know one another and seeing their chemistry had me doing dreamy sighs throughout the majority of the book. Nick is such an AMAZING hero! He would do little things for her.. always looking out for her... and taking care of her when she needed it. And yes... Janel was just as AMAZING! Baking for him... being the calming presence when needed... being unlike any woman he had ever met. These two were seriously perfect for each other!

If you're looking for a cute, fun and swoon worthy book then I say check this book out! I seriously could NOT put it down! I just HAD to see Janel and Nick get their Happily Ever After! It was perfect for a Sunday read! :)

This was my very first book by Lucy McConnell and I have to tell you that after only ONE book she is on my favorite authors list! I can't wait to read more books by her and I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in this series!

And yes... I did do a casting for Janel and Nick! What do you think?! Did I do good?! ;) Hehe.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Taken by Katie Lee O'Guinn

Synopsis:

Maysie Baptiste is settling into married life and making a place for herself in Paskell with all the other werewolves, but when Zoe and Rory M'Guire come back to town with their hybrid, Eve, it sets off an explosive chain of events. At the same time, Harry and Sam's relationship is heating up and while Harry would love to talk commitment, Sam is positive being involved with an Alpha is a one-way road to disaster. But with Spartak still hunting werewolves, love might have to wait.

My Review: 5 Stars

I have been waiting for Taken to be released ever since I finished Hunted! And I have to tell you, I was NOT disappointed! It was definitely worth the wait for me and I could not put it down!

We pick up shortly after Maysie and Gideon are married. They are enjoying life and everything is going great! And then Zoe, Rory, Poppy and Kirk return to Paskell after discovering they were being hunted by the werewolf hunters in Ireland. And all I have to say is... let the adventures begin!

First off... what in the world is going on with Zoe?! Maysie is at work, minding her own business when all the sudden Zoe turns into a crazy woman and starts accusing her of trying to steal her family. Huh?! Anyone can see that that would NEVER happen! Hello! She loves and adores Gideon and only has eyes for him! I'm thinking there is more to Zoe's story then hormones. If you have followed her from the Taming the Wolf series then you know that she didn't have the best of childhoods. I'm thinking that may have something to do with her actions in Taken. And can I just say that I am proud of Rory! He may be the Beta in their relationship but when push came to shove he definitely made the right decisions sticking up for the people that needed it the most. I'm secretly hoping that his relationship with Zoe brings out a little alpha in him! ;)

Now for Maysie and Gideon... *sigh* I love these two! They are completely perfect for each other! Gideon is extremely protective of Maysie and will NOT let anyone or anything hurt her! He also protects her innocence and I think that's one of the things I love the most about him! He lets her come to conclusions on her own and lets her tell him in her own way and time. When you read it you will know what I am talking about! It's the sweetest thing! And I think it's one of my favorite parts in this book!

And there is no way that I can forget Sam and Harry! Oh my goodness! I have been waiting for this to happen since Hunted! They both have been through a lot and they both deserve to be happy. The only problem is one of them has to convince the other that love and HEA's do exist and if anyone deserves it, it's them! Harry sure does have his work cut out for him when it comes to Sam but that's one of the things he loves about her... she's a challenge and this is one challenge that he is not stepping down from! ;)

Can we talk about the ending?! Well...not really talk about it because I refuse to spoil it! But let's just say if you add in things like werewolf hunters, kidnappings, hybrids, evil individuals that just need to disappear.. you have all the components that makes a Katie Lee O'Guinn novel amazing! And I will tell you that I want book 3 like NOW!! Can't wait to see what's going to happen next! I foresee lots of twists, turns and of course more adventures and HEA's!

And since we had so many couples I am just going to throw all my casting choices out there just because! Hehe. And yes... I have also put Ava and Cyrus into the mix because we do get to see and catch up with them in this book as well! Ok fine... I'll just admit it... I'm in love with casting! Hehe.

And The Winner Is... Oh!! And More Swoony Reviews!!

Is it just me or did this month literally FLY by?! Please... someone tell me that it was not just me!! I am so sad to see Shannon Guymon aka Katie Lee O'Guinn's Swoon Fest come to an end!! It has been so crazy that I didn't even get to read half the books that I wanted too!! But don't fret.. I WILL read them all!! Shannon's books are a MUST read on a yearly basis!! Okay.. okay.. maybe twice a year!! ;) Hehe.

So... before we go any further I've decided that there are going to be two winners! Yes... you heard me right... TWO winners for KJ's prize! One will go to the participants and the other will go to one of the Swoon Fest ladies! Hehe. Are you ready to find out who the winners are?! Yes?! Well that's FANTABULOUS because I'm about to tell you!! ;)

*Amberly W*

*Katie W*

Congrats Amberly and Katie!! I'll be sending you guys an email asking a few questions like what book of Shannon's you want... favorite chocolate... address... you know... all the important stuff I'll need to send your prizes!! Eeeek!! I am SUPER excited!! Can't wait to hear which book you guys choose!! :)

Now... before we get to the reviews I just want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who has participated this month!! We couldn't have done it without you!! And another HUGE thank you to Kathy, Katie and Heidi for helping with all things Swoon Fest!! I had a blast this month!! You ladies ROCK!! And of course I can't forget the HUGEST thank you of all.... Thank you... thank you... THANK YOU Shannon for writing all these amazing books... for allowing us to do a Swoon Fest for you... for participating in Swoon Fest right along with us... and for just being AMAZING!! You seriously are a ROCKSTAR!!

And now the time has come for... Swoony Reviews!! A little heads up... I went stalking all of Shannon's books and whether or not people participated in Swoon Fest... I'm sharing their reviews that were posted after the announcement of Swoon Fest! And for Heidi, Kathy, Katie and mine... they're getting posted even if they weren't read in March! Haha! That's how much fun I've had reading reviews!! I love hearing what other people have to say about these WONDERTASTICAL books!! Raise your hand if you think Shannon is a ROCKSTAR!! *jumping up and down waving arms in the air like a mad woman* Okay... enough craziness... scroll down and read all the fun reviews we have posted!! ;)

The Alpine Series:

Makeover

Kathy
Amberly
Katie

Taking Chances

Kathy

The Broken Road

Katie

Do Over

Katie
Kathy
SLK

Sophie's Christmas Wish

Katie

Allison's Christmas Carol

Katie

Love and Dessert Trilogy:

You Belong With Me

Kathy
Tara
KJ
Katie
Heidi
Kim

I Belong With You

KJ
Katie
Kathy
Heidi

My Sweetheart

Kathy

KJ
Amberly
Emily
Katie
Heidi

Love and Trust Trilogy:

Come To Me

Jen

Katie
KJ
Emily
Heidi
Kathy

Be Mine

Kathy
Katie
KJ
Heidi

Tough Love

SJ C

KJ
Heidi
Kathy

Love and Flowers Trilogy:

Falling for Rayne

Kathy
Tori
KJ
Deb
Heidi
Laura

Dreaming of Ivy

Kathy
KJ
Heidi

A Passion for Cleo

Kathy
KJ
Heidi

Love and Weddings Trilogy:

My One and Only

Aime
Rebecca
KJ
Kathy
Heidi
Cici
Rebecca

The Lost With Trilogy:

Freak of Nature

Diana T
KJ
Kathy
Toni

Blood Rush

KJ
Kathy
Toni

Fate Changer

KJ
Kathy
Toni

Taming The Wolf:

Werewolf Dreams

KJ
Heidi
Kathy

Werewolf Rage

KJ
Heidi
Kathy
Toni

Werewolf Revenge

KJ
Kathy
Heidi
Toni

Werewolf Betrayal

KJ
Heidi
Kathy
Toni

Chasing The Wolf:

Hunted

KJ
Diana
Kathy

Taken

KJ

Friday, March 27, 2015

Hunted by Katie Lee O'Guinn

Synopsis:

Maysie LaRouga is on the run. She has taken her younger brother and fled to Paskell, the only place on earth she might be safe from the werewolf hunter. Her mom, Sam LaRouga is trying to get him off their tail, but making it there is the easy part. It's falling in love with an Alpha that might be the death of her.

My Review: 4.5 Stars

I loved Hunted! I couldn't put it down!

Maysie, Elijah and Sam are being hunted by werewolf hunters. Sam heads in one direction and sends her kids in the other direction to Paskell.

Sam has not had the best of luck when it comes to men. And because of that she has brought her kids up thinking all Alphas are horrible and mean. She tells them that when you see one, run the other way as fast as you can! So of course when Maysie and Elijah meet Cyrus they are completely scared to death! But Ava and Cyrus treat them like they would any other person in trouble, with love and compassion and do what ever they can to make them feel comfortable.

Ava helps Maysie not only find a job, but a place to live as well. She is able to get Elijah enrolled in school and quickly starts to feel at home in Paskell.

When Maysie first meets Gideon, she doesn't really know what to think. She has never felt the things that she feels towards him so it's totally understandable that she's scared. When he sees her for the first time he instantly knows that she is his mate. But because of her past she is extremely skittish. Gideon is absolutely amazing! He's so patient with her and is totally fine with moving slow until she can wrap her head around the fact that not ALL Alphas are bad!

When Sam finally gets to Paskell she is not happy at what she sees... Maysie kissing Gideon goodnight. There is an almost attack on Gideon and a completely shocked mama who is brought into submission by none other than Maysie! She will do anything to protect her mate! Sam is not happy that Maysie has attached herself to an Alpha and is bound and determined to break them up.

While all this drama is going on, they still have to deal with the hunters. They followed Sam up to Paskell and are very determined to get what they want. Between attacks, abductions and withdrawls, Hunted does not lack in adventure!

I loved meeting all the new characters and also getting reacquainted with old characters from Taming the Wolf series. The set up for the next book in this series has me extremely excited! I can't wait for it to be released! It's going to be amazing... I just know it! :)

And of course I've gotta add my casting choices... ;)

Fir-Day Winner - Week 4

Today's post is brought to your by Kathy over at Bookworm Nation. Stay tuned tomorrow for the winner of KJ's Prize and more Swoony Reviews!! Happy Friday and Happy Reading!! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Today is the last day of Shannon’s Swoon Fest. It has been such a fun month. I’ve loved reading her books again. I’ve read her Fircrest series a few times, but there were a few from the Alpine series I hadn’t read until this month. It was fun filling my month with her books, they never disappoint. This week for Rafflecopter I asked some questions about how people found Shannon, what they’d like to see next and so I thought I’d share what was submitted.

The number one place people heard about Shannon’s books…Amazon. Second place, was through book stores/libraries, a few through blogging friends and Goodreads. I personally found Shannon’s books through Amazon, you know how they give recommendations “if you like that, then you’ll like this” type thing? Well, they recommended You Belong With Me so I gave it a try and fell in love! I’ve been a devoted fan every since. The winner for favorite book…My Sweetheart!.

I don’t know if Shannon takes recommendations, but here are some of the fun suggestions we received on what people would like her to write about next. For me, I’d love a dystopian novel (maybe since I’m just in that genre-mood right now, but I think she’d write a great dystopian type book.) Other suggestions were:

*A contemporary western set in Montana
*A crossover with the Fircrest crew mixing with the Alpine crew
*Fantasy
*Another witch series
*More werewolves
*More Firecrest (which, from what I understand we still have five more books to come)
*More books set in the Alpine series
*Soul Searching update
*Medieval
*Regency

As for favorite quotes, we had a lot of great submissions. I decided to share one of mine. It comes from You Belong With Me, “Beauty isn’t a one size fits all. No one is more or less. We’re all just different, which is good, because so are men.” I always loved the quote. So much time is wasted comparing ourselves to other people, when we are all beautiful in our own ways.

I just wanted to give a big thanks to Katie, Kathy Jo and Heidi for all their help with this Swoon Fest. It was so fun working and chatting with you behind the scenes. You really helped make this a success and so much gun! A big thanks to Shannon again for not only written such fun, swoony books, but for participating and helping make this a fun event.

$25 iTunes Gift Card

Brandi Dagwan

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Character Casting and Bios - Week 4

It's our final character casting and bio post! This week we are featuring the characters from The Alpine Series! Funny story! We have been having SO much fun doing Swoon Fest that we literally forgot we had not cast this series yet! Lol! But guess what?! I think it actually worked out in our favor because we were able to ask Shannon who SHE saw as each of the characters! She was SO much fun to work with on casting and I absolutely LOVE who she picked! Take a look and tell us what you think!

Makeover

Taking Chances

The Broken Road

Do Over

Character Interview

This weeks Character interview is of Iris and Trey from the Alpine Series. Katie's choice! katiescleanbookcollection.blogspot.com

Iris & Trey

What do you like to do on a romantic date?

Motorcycle ride up the canyon.

What do you like most about each other?

           Trey: I like that Iris has a mind of her own.

           Iris: I like that Trey likes that about me.

What is your favorite way to spend time together?

           Trey:  Eating Ben and Jerry's on the couch

           Iris:  Kissing

What are  three things on your bucket list?

           Trey:  Start my own company, have two more children and race my Ducoti on the Salt Flats.

 
          Iris:  Open an art studio for disadvantaged children 
to come and learn and create, I'd also like to race my Ducoti on the Salt Flats and I'd like to cut my hair super 
short and bleach it bright white 
on the tips.

What is “your song”?

         Wild Women Do by Natalie Cole

Beach or Mountains? Mountains!

Book or Movie?  Iris: Movie,  Trey: Book

What is the craziest date you’ve been on?  

 
       We rode our bikes up to  Park City and spent the day 
skiing. On our way back home, a deer jumps out
 in front of us and we both almost crash.  Scariest date anyways.

How would you describe each other to someone else in three words?

        Trey: Wild, Amazing, Perfect.

        Iris: Perfect, Perfect, Perfect

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Gabbing With Guymon - Week 4

This is our final week for Gabbing With Guymon. I have really enjoyed our weekly Q&A's and getting to know Shannon better. I loved hearing the story of how she came up with her pen-name, Katie Lee O'Guinn. Getting to know Shannon through these interviews has made me appreciate at her books all the more.

What superpower do you wish you had? Can I say all? Okay, I’ve always thought Professor X from the X-Men was cool. The ability to not only read minds, but control them. My kids’ rooms would always be clean.

Best date you ever had? Worst date? Ugh. Dating. The best date I ever had was in college. I went dancing with a guy named Kevin and it was probably the most fun I’ve ever had on a date. The worst? It was New Year’s Eve and I froze to death standing outside up in Salt Lake. Thought I was going to die waiting for it turn midnight.

Where would you rather go on vacation, Hawaii or Alaska and why?
Hawaii. Hands down. It’s hot, I could learn how to surf and eat roasted pork and watch beautiful Polynesian men dance with fire. They don’t do that in Alaska sadly.

With such a large family, where do you find time to write?
I write when my kids are in school or late at night. During the summer I wake up early and get a few hours in before they wake up. Being a mother is my number one priority for sure.

If you could have your choice of actor to play Harry from Werewolf Dreams, who would you choose?
I’m thinking Bradly Cooper.

How did I pick Katie Lee O'Guinn as my pen name?
I picked Katie Lee O'Guinn as my pen name because I was doing a lot of family history at the time and I found out about this amazing woman. She's my Great Grandmother and she had a very interesting but sadly short life. She was the daughter of a Cherokee woman and an Irish immigrant. She fell in love with a son from a well off family and they got married and had a family. She came down with Tuberculosis and died at a very young age leaving her children motherless and her husband a widower. A couple years later, her husband died of exhaustion and poor health. Many people assumed it was from a broken heart, which left my grandmother an orphan. My heart has always gone out to her and so I wanted to pay tribute to a woman who never had the chance to see her children grow up.

What is your favorite snack while writing?
My favorite snack while writing is: Kombucha ( a probiotic drink) and pistachios. I know, not cool, and not chocolate but I'm trying to be healthy!

What is my favorite thing to do with my family?
I love going to Bear Lake with my family. No TV, no computers, just sand and water and sun.

How do I get inspiration for my stories?
I get inspiration from everything around me. I have so many interesting people in my life and the world we live in is fascinating so there's never a problem coming up with inspiration.

What has been my favorite book to write?
Before this last month, I would have said, Do Over or Werewolf Dreams, but Pule's story has taken things to a new level and I have to say it was quite the experience.

Thanks again Shannon for taking the time to answer our questions!!

© 2015 Microsoft Terms Privacy & cookies Developers English (United States)

a Rafflecopter giveaway