mignon mykel { reviews }: excerpt || SOMETHING LIKE LOVE { heart of the rockies tour } by Sara Richardson

Friday, March 18, 2016

excerpt || SOMETHING LIKE LOVE { heart of the rockies tour } by Sara Richardson

Forever | October 27, 2015 | Contemporary Romance
Heart of the Rockies, book 2

IT'S GONNA BE A WILD RIDE

Ben Noble needs to do some damage control. Fast. His heart has always been in ranching, but there's no escaping the spotlight on his high-powered political family. Now the only thing that can restore his reputation is a getaway to the fresh air of Aspen, Colorado. Not to mention that the trip gives Ben a second chance to impress a certain gorgeous mountain guide. But Paige Harper is nothing like the shy girl he remembers . . . she's so much more.

Paige is serious about Ben, too: seriously annoyed that the playboy cowboy is using her mountain for his PR. Once upon a time, she fell for Ben's aw-shucks charm, but the fairy tale didn't end happily. Paige doesn't intend to let down her guard again. But keeping their relationship all business and no pleasure may be harder than she thinks-especially if the moonlight, the Rockies, and a certain irresistible rancher have anything to say about it...

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{ excerpt } .

The woman didn’t budge. She simply stared, the toe of her overpriced gold heel tapping.

Tension worked its way up Paige's neck, into her jaw. What was this lady’s problem?

Before the woman could speak, the door whooshed open.

“Sorry.” A guy hustled over to where they stood.

Wait. Her heart squeezed hard then ramped up into overdrive because it wasn’t just a guy. It was him. Him, him. Ben Noble. She should’ve averted her eyes to ease the panicked heat that surged through her, but he was even better looking than she remembered. Short, choppy light brown hair, hazel eyes lit with energy and intensity. He wore his jeans tighter than most of the guys she hung out with, but it definitely worked for him. Her gaze lowered to the floor and back up. Yep. Definitely worked.

He hadn’t seen her, yet. He was too focused on the dark-haired beauty in the wheelchair. “Sorry about that,” he drawled. “Had to park clear out in no-man’s-land.”

The woman directed her sweet smile at him. Well good, then. Maybe that would make it easier to spend the next week with him. Maybe he’d finally found a woman who was worth a call the next morning…

“Mom was just making a scene.” The nice girl in the wheelchair scooted herself closer to him.

Paige let out a breath. So the girl was his sister. And…Mom? The Ice Queen was his mother? Well, that explained a lot. No wonder he had commitment issues…

“Wouldn’t be a normal day if she didn’t make a scene.” He finally looked over in Paige’s direction, aiming that funny, spoiled-boy grin at her. But when his eyes met hers, the smile fell off and his face froze in shock. “Paige.”

She steeled herself against the way his lazy voice tingled up her spine. Nuh huh. No way. Not going there again.

He sauntered close enough that she could smell the subtle cologne she still remembered from their dance last year, sweet and spicy all at once.

She backed up a step, clutching the ceramic plates against her chest, trying to hold her heart in so it wouldn’t leap out of her chest and land right in that man’s hands. “Hello, Ben.” She cocked her own smile, but it definitely wasn’t sweet.

{ series purchase links } .

NO BETTER MAN (Heart of the Rockies, #1)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1QoauCo

B&N: http://bit.ly/1RedhQ6

iBooks: http://apple.co/1DSWZ4F

GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/1FQhyVB

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1Eil2ux

BAM: http://bit.ly/1H07asU

Indiebound: http://bit.ly/1IPsfbJ

When it comes to business, Avery King always comes out on top. So after a very public breakup, work is the perfect excuse to flee the Windy City for the gentle breezes of Aspen, Colorado. Her mission: acquire the land of a rundown mountain ranch. Avery expects an easy win . . . until she meets the rugged and irresistible rancher who won't give up his property without a fight.

Bryce Walker is stunned by the stubborn beauty determined to get what she wants. But what she wants is his last connection to the life he used to have. Bryce has plans to return the ranch to its former glory and no way will he sell his family home. Yet the more time he spends with Avery, the more her sweet touch makes him forget his painful memories. Now Bryce must decide whether living in the past is worth losing his future . .--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOMETHING LIKE LOVE (Heart of the Rockies, #2)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1PHaUFb

B&N: http://bit.ly/1jUdYBn

iBooks: http://apple.co/1GiC97n

GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/1QUdnuq

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1LFtU1Y

BAM: http://bit.ly/1ZYe2kF

IT'S GONNA BE A WILD RIDEBen Noble needs to do some damage control. Fast. His heart has always been in ranching, but there's no escaping the spotlight on his high-powered political family. Now the only thing that can restore his reputation is a getaway to the fresh air of Aspen, Colorado. Not to mention that the trip gives Ben a second chance to impress a certain gorgeous mountain guide. But Paige Harper is nothing like the shy girl he remembers . . . she's so much more.

Paige is serious about Ben, too: seriously annoyed that the playboy cowboy is using her mountain for his PR. Once upon a time, she fell for Ben's aw-shucks charm, but the fairy tale didn't end happily. Paige doesn't intend to let down her guard again. But keeping their relationship all business and no pleasure may be harder than she thinks-especially if the moonlight, the Rockies, and a certain irresistible rancher have anything to say about it...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MORE THAN A FEELING (Heart of the Rockies, #3)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/20N6j8H

B&N: http://bit.ly/1Q0MAjZ

iBooks: http://apple.co/1QjfK8m

GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/1TJW4Qk

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1KwcQAw

BAM: http://bit.ly/1nTrlVi

STOP RUNNING . . .AND START FALLINGFor Ruby James the Walker Mountain Ranch is her safe haven. Here in Aspen, Colorado, she can finally build a quiet life for herself without fear of her old one rearing its ugly head. Or so Ruby thinks. Any single woman would be happy to indulge a tall, dark, and curious cop-but thecloser Ruby gets to him, the closer she gets to losing her newfound peace.

Police officer Sawyer Hawkins is no stranger to secrets. He's ready to leave town for good until a security threat brings him back to Walker Ranch, and Ruby's gorgeous green eyes soon have him second-guessing his decision to go. Her kindness and quiet strength awaken feelings he'd thought long buried, even as her reluctance to talk about her past worries him. The cop in Sawyer only wants the truth-but the man in him wants Ruby in his arms forever . . .

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a quick note from { mignon } ...

I AM NO LONGER ACTIVE IN REVIEWING

The last two years has been incredibly rewarding, giving me the opportunity to pick up new-to-me authors, as well as new-to-the-world authors. I have enjoyed supporting publishing houses as well as the indie author, and in doing so, I learned a lot about the marketing aspect of writing a book and selling it as a self-published author.

I have re-focused my journey to more writing-minded. I still read and review! But not nearly at the rate I was; three books a day has turned to three books a month.

I will no longer be accepting individual review requests (unless it's specifically author-to-author, then it will be highly considered).

I will definitely be posting reviews for commitments I have already made, though.

Thank you for understanding, & thank you to all those I have worked with over the last year plus!

~ Mignon

http://mignonmykel.com

GOODREADS updates

Dirty Saint: A Secret Baby Sports Romance by Vesper Vaughn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book almost failed to get my attention. Why?

The hero.

He is the exact public person I despise. You know the type -- all biblical with publicized praying and verses all over his public persona. Great. Good for you. Bet you're not like that behind closed doors...

Which is exactly what Esther thinks of him.

Saint and Esther attend the same super religious college. Esther is on the fast track to becoming a nun, and no I do not kid, and Saint, given name Francis, can do just about whatever he wants, because he is the star athlete and the school knows he has connections. What in the world can these two have in common? The actions of their parents.

But where Saint does what his father says, usually, because his father is pushing him toward a pro-football careers, Esther follows her parents (father) because if she didn't... Her life would literally be a living hell.

I really enjoyed these two, once we started to get to know Saint a little bit better. My only drawback with the book would be the last half goes by in super-fast time. While it helped to keep the story moving, I would have liked to see more of that time drawn out so the feelings and emotions of our two characters felt more genuine and real -- rather than simply a two month courting that their lives demanded.

I'm giving the book the full 5 stars because it came out of left-field for me. It was a book that I didn't expect to like, but the author wove it in a way that I fell hard for our characters both as individuals and as a couple. I liked watching Esther grow and find her voice in life, just as I liked watching playboy, always for the chase Saint, settle down and find a person to be terribly protective over. I loved him most in the last two chapters.

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review

Everything by Erin Noelle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here's something you may know about me if you've followed my reviews -- I'm an epilogue reader. I will almost always read the epilogue first. Call me a spoilsport or no fun, or whatever but that's how I've been reading books for years. It's no wonder that when I write books, I tend to have the epilogue all figured out before I even start with "Once upon a time...".

That said... I read this epilogue and while I liked it, I just couldn't get past the ages of our characters. Couldn't do it. So I read the beginning. Still... If anything, the age of our characters was even more pronounced. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to read this. You see, I have an issue with "Happily ever after" and the hardly-twenty crowd, let alone an eighteen year old.

But that's my hang-up.

Another thing you may know about me? I will sometimes read a book in what I call a inside-out fashion. I jump all over the place until I find a snippet of story that absolutely grips me. And people -- there are a few of those parts in Everything. So because I found those gripping parts, I put my faith in Erin Noelle, and I started from page one -- and I gave Everett and Belle a chance.

And I'm so glad I did.

Everett and his twin sister have been making music forever -- literally. They're the children of a rockstar; music has always been their life. When their father's group decides to get back together (dad always said he'd go back when the twins were done with school), Mason tells the label -- if you take me, you're taking my kids: thus, giving Everett and Ashlynn the opportunity to take their music to a larger level than they have before.

Along the way, with a local gig, Everett meets Belle -- and so begins their story.

This is a story about growing up. This is a story about following your heart -- be it for a person or a career, or even both. It is about learning to trust the person you are giving your heart to, and about taking the ever-looming jump into unknown feelings. When you put your life, your wants, your desires in someone else's hands, the world opens up -- and it certainly does for Everett and Belle.

The part I most appreciated was that the author made Everett true to his age and situation. Belle was too, yes, but it was Everett and his new lifestyle that had me wanting to see true characterization for. He's a guy; he's a musician; he's new to love. He makes mistakes. And for those mistakes, I truly got on board with this story.

Everett and his Tinker Bell were incredibly cute. I liked that there's a decent time jump at the end, further allowing -- you guessed it -- growth of our characters. I'm excited to watch more of them when (if?) Ashlynn's story comes out.

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review

View all my reviews