Tag: Keyes Martha

Summer Tease

Falling for Beau Palmer would be the ultimate crime

Wild horses couldn’t drag me back to the small island where I grew up, but you know what can? Making sure the Palmer family—aka the worst neighbors ever—show appropriate respect to the newest resident of their retirement center: my grandma. 

But as soon as Grams moves in, her shenanigans put her at risk of being kicked out. Since she’s set on staying in Sunset Harbor until her last breath and there’s no way I’m staying on this nightmare island to take care of her, that’s not an option.

Enter Beau Palmer, the infuriatingly charming local cop who’s got the connections to keep Grams right where she needs to be and help me get out of Dodge sooner. But he’s got a price, and it requires putting the Sawyer/Palmer drama firmly in the past.

But the drama isn’t behind us. In fact, it’s right in front of me, wearing a police badge and a smirk that’s really started disturbing my peace.

My Review:

A breezy enemies to more summer romance that both delighted and irked me.

Delighted because…Beau. Dedicated to serving the island and his family, he’s quintessential hero material. Infinitely patient with some of the more…unique…Sunset Harbor citizens and more than fair at times when I just would have thrown the book at the culprit (I’m looking at you, Grams!)

Irked because Gemma was so combative and unwilling to compromise. She did not make a good first impression on me, though Beau took her ire in stride. Their families have a feuding history, so they’ve kind of grown up with the idea that Palmers and Sawyers don’t mix but Gemma took it to a whole other level, expecting the worse from Beau and his family even though they prove themselves time and time again. She does soften as the story progresses (this is a romance, after all) but, in the beginning, I couldn’t understand what Beau saw in her. He definitely has a kinder, more compassionate heart than I do.

Then there’s Grams — oy, spunky and ornery and her outrageous antics were sometimes hilariously funny and others times just plain annoying. I had a love/hate relationship with Grams. 🙂

So, not the ideal mix for a summertime romance, but Keyes makes it work, largely because of good natured Beau and his gentle pursuit of Gemma — at first just to lighten her load as she deals with moving her Grams into the retirement home and fixing up her cottage to sell (see, totally nice guy vibes all the way.) But his reasons soon morph into something much more personal, and honestly, Gemma didn’t stand a chance…I sure capitulated waaaayyyyyy faster than she did.

Like when he introduced his police partner, Xena the fluffy K-5 (because she only completed half the K-9 training and her easy going, love ’em and lick ’em into submission temperament wasn’t exactly K-9 material. Bwahahaha! ) I was a goner in chapter two.

And to be fair to Gemma, she’s been spoon-fed Palmer hostility from childhood and Grams keeps it up once she’s back on the island so it isn’t really any wonder that she struggles with her feelings for Beau. Until island history unravels their families’ dispute and causes Gemma to take an honest look at her past…and her future.

I enjoyed listening to the audio edition of ‘Summer Tease’. Narrator, Ariel Royce made the listening easy — and I loved the way she delivered Grams’ mercurial temperament with such panache!

My thanks to Paradigm Press, Dreamscape Media and Net Galley for providing me with an audio copy of this book.

The Widow and the Highlander + Giveaway

Random Retro Read

She needs to be protected. He’ll take on the job…for a price.

Christina MacKinnon is secretly relieved to be a widow. She is equally desperate to distance herself from the clan of her dead husband, but as the heir to his estate—one she needs in order to support her siblings—she must first stave off both the advances and threats of the man next in line to inherit. It seems the only person she can turn to is a nearby stranger who seems inclined to help her. But he has a request…

Freshly returned from the war, Lachlan Kincaid has one aim: to see justice served to the MacKinnons for betraying his family years ago and depriving him of his inheritance. While biding his time at a nearby inn, he discovers the death of the MacKinnon laird—whose widow has inherited everything. The way to accomplish his goal is becoming more evident, but the path is murkier than he could have foreseen.

As Christina’s and Lachlan’s lives intersect, it becomes clear that their separate aims may well only be achievable if they join forces. But to do so is to court more danger, and it requires a sacrifice Christina isn’t sure she’s prepared to make.

My Review:

published in 2021

I was already in a dither over the Highland setting but, then, as the story progressed and turned into one of my favourite tropes, I swooned with bibliophile delight (and partly over Lachlan, truthfully.) Am I going to tell you what trope that is? Nope, because it isn’t mentioned in the synopsis, though it is hinted at…:-)

I think Keyes really captured the time period and Scottish setting well. I felt transported back in time and to a place that has always fascinated me. The excellent audio book narration by Mhairi Morrison certainly helped too.

And these characters! Lachlan. Swoon. Sigh. Swoon. And repeat! He’s everything you want to find in a Highlander hero. Strong and courageous — a wee bit hot-headed at times — but always chivalrous. Kindness and compassion balance his harder edges and a fierce determination to set wrongs right compels him to do the impossible.

Christina is slowly coming back into herself after surviving a brutal marriage. She’s rediscovering her opinionated self which is all kinds of fun when she engages in a battle of wits with Lachlan. And poignant too because…well, you just have to read the book to understand the impact of her back story.

And then there is a truly despicable villain to defeat. His character is darkly disturbing and he made my blood boil over and over again. I so wanted to see him get his comeuppance!

So you see? All the elements you’d expect to find in a Historical Romance set in the Scottish Highlands — all woven together into a rich, vibrant story of loss and love and second chances.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

ebook available to anyone, anywhere who has a .com (US) Kindle account

US — paperback or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada — paperback or ebook (via a gift card to Canadian Amazon) or audible (.ca)

If you would like a chance to win a copy of The Widow and the Highlander, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday October 21, 2023

The Art of Victory + Giveaway

Diana Donovan was raised aboard a naval ship on a steady diet of war strategy, so when her orphaned friend, Lucy, is denied a perfectly respectable love match by her controlling guardian, Diana sees an opportunity to put her battle knowledge to use in service of a deserving friend.

But Marmaduke Russell is not the middle-aged curmudgeon Diana is expecting. He is a maddeningly cool, unmarried gentleman who seems uniquely able to parry her tactics — and infuse her with even more determination to win. As battle ensues, though, it becomes clear that there may be more hearts in the balance than just Lucy’s.

My Review:

I’m a tad shy of giddy over discovering a new-to-me author writing in one of my favourite genres! And this is the first book in a new series, so what an opportune time to jump onto the Martha Keyes bandwagon! I’ll be singing her praises with gusto forevermore, because this book is that good.

An enemies to more trope written in spectacular fashion. It’s a brilliant battle of wills that is only exceeded by a battle of wits — and the two combined make for such a fun read! If I wasn’t laughing hysterically, I was furiously fanning myself and then, when things really heated up, it was all swoon and repeat until the very end. My fainting couch got a real workout so I suggest you dust yours off and check the springs before starting in on The Art of Victory. (Such a clever title too!)

So, I just checked the author’s webpage and she not only writes Regency Romances — she writes Scottish (Historical) ones too. Eeeeeepppppp!!!! I’ll be happily playing catch up for awhile.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

paperback — US, Canada, UK.

ebook — with an Amazon.com account

audible — Canada

If you would like a chance to win a copy of The Art of Victory, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday May 6, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.