Lisa Mondello Homepage
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Just Judy’s
Jumbles Blog Party
Interview with Lisa Mondello
Do you laugh and cry while writing your books?
All the time. My family
doesn’t know what to do with me. When I’m writing a particularly emotional
scene, I can cry like a baby. If he catches me, my husband always asks if
they’re tears he should worry about or if they’re for fake people. <g>
Any
advice for those who are just starting out?
Finish
what you start. It’s simple but true. Lots of people dream of writing. Lots of
people start writing, but they don’t finish. You can’t ever get published if
you don’t finish, no matter how good the beginning of a story is.
Do
you ever forget that the characters are not real?
No,
but sometimes I wish they were real. Especially the sexy cowboys!
Are
you sad to end a series and leave the characters behind?
Yes
and no. Sometimes I need a break from them and want to write something new. But
then a story idea comes along and I try to figure out how to work it into a
storyline I already have. I love revisiting characters. I just want to make
sure the story is fresh and not something just thrown in there to have those
characters just show up on the page. Like when I wrote The More I See, Beau,
hero from Her Heart for the Asking, became an integral part of that story. That’s
the way it should be. I have done walk ons for characters before. But again, it
has to fit.
Do
you write about places you have lived?
In
the beginning I did. That’s why my Fate with a Helping Hand series is all set
in Massachusetts. Write what you know. But that gets old so it’s important
to stretch a little and write outside the comfort zone.
Do
you read the same types of books you write?
Not
while I’m writing, which is usually all the time. I try to take breaks in between
books so I can just read. It’s a bit of a reward for me since I’m always busy
writing. But when I’m writing contemporary romance, I usually pick up a
romantic suspense or a fantasy book so it doesn’t interfere with what I’m
writing.
What
is your go-to snack?
Coffee. Oh, wait,
that’s not a snack. I don’t have any one thing. I love eating baby carrots and
sometimes peanuts. Not together, of course.
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Cade Owen has returned to Sweet, Montana, to claim his
inheritance—his grandfather had left his home and land to him. Only, he finds
he has less than one month to get the money together to pay back taxes. Otherwise,
it was being sold at auction. A disappointment for someone who’d been serving
his country to come home to for sure.
Sally Macomber was going to make a lot of money and move
back East where she had family. Her late husband had wanted to move to Sweet,
not her. So when Cade came to town and planned on finding a way to stop the
auction, it threw a wrench in her plans.
A shorter story but packed full of emotion. The story had
me rooting for Caleb to find a way to get the only place that held happy
memories back.
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Chasing Cupid
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Sweet Montana Series
Tabby Swanson lost her parents eight years ago. The horse her dad gave her has helped her cope with their deaths. When odd things start happening around the ranch and accidents that are of the freakish sort...she wonders if it’s superstitious. After all, a horseshoe upside down is bad luck.
Kasper Dobbs is back in Sweet, Montana, to check out some of his investments. He can longer ride bulls after an accident ended that, but he can still own stock in them. What he doesn’t expect on his visit home is Tabby.
Book 2: Sweet Home Montana
Katie Dobbs is back where she started. In Sweet, Montana. Single and broke—in more than one way. Her teenage dreams long gone. But she’s discovered a new dream. And this one will help her to finally escape the small-town and live her dreams.
Caleb Samuel served in the military and returned to his hometown. Unlike Katie, he wants to be here. Now serving the town of Sweet as a police officer. He’s never given up the hopes of finding his sister, who left town when he was gone.
Caleb gets pulled into Katie’s dream and finds
a dream of his own. Only, he plans on staying put while she can’t wait to
leave. The first book in this series was a part of the Rodeo Knights Series,
Sweet Montana Sky. It is Katie’s brother’s story. Wonderful romances in small-town
Montana.
Book 3: Sweet Montana Rescue
Harper Madison is a dispatcher with the Sweet Police Department. She is also the sole caretaker of her aging grandmother. It doesn’t leave much room for much else in her life. When she has to bring some linens to her grandma’s mountain cabin that they rented out for the summer...her life suddenly had a bit more excitement than she was ready for.
Nash Webber is a loner. He likes it that way. As a geologist and survivalist, he can go do his job by himself, and he’s fine with that. However, he’s doubting his decision about coming to Sweet, Montana, when his life is interrupted by a woman.
A late-season snowstorm brings in a storm of
emotions for these characters. And sometimes, no matter how you fight love, it
storms in anyway. Looking forward to the rest of the stories coming from Sweet,
Montana.
Book 4: Sweet Montana Outlaw
Brody Whitebear’s life was an endless circle of working and moving on once trouble was around. Whenever anything bad happened...the ex-con was the first one they looked at to blame. Brody had no plans to go back to prison. Ever. And then his friend, Hunter, suggested a job. The only downfall was that it was in Sweet, Montana.
Tara Mitchell, owner of Sweet Sensations, couldn’t believe her eyes. How dare Brody Whitebear come to her town. When trouble starts...she knows just who to blame. That is until she realizes how her hatred could destroy a man who was innocent in this case.
The past is a mighty heavy burden to drag
along behind a person. I loved how this story shed light on not only overcoming
the past but how quickly other people hang onto it and make that burden even
heavier to drag. Wonderful series and characters. It was so easy to fall in
love with Brody.
Book 5: Sweet Montana Secret
Hunter Williams lives in Sweet, Montana, and works as a farrier. After some rough patches—being injured and having to quit the rodeo and becoming addicted to the pain drugs—life is better. All accept losing the one woman he’d ever loved.
Julie Samuel—sister to Caleb Samuel from book two, Sweet Home Montana—has been running for ten years. Trying to fill a hole in her life that just can’t be filled. She’s slowly making her way towards home, one small step at a time. And then, her brother finds her and talks her into coming home to Sweet.
Hunter and Julie were two very different
people ten years ago. Now they have a second chance as the people they’ve
become. But Julie has to open up about the past and take her running shoes
off...if she can. I’ve enjoyed this series and really liked this one. Great
characters.
Book 6: Sweet Montana Bride
Book 7: Sweet Montana Mischief
Book 8: Sweet Montana Rebel
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Dakota Hearts Series
Get the first five books in one set
at one low price
Book 1: Her Dakota Man
Poppy Ericksen left everything she had ever known when her parents moved the family from Rudolph, South Dakota to New York. She also left her friends and her heart. A heart that splintered into a million pieces when the man she loved married her best friend instead of coming for her as promised. Ten years later she returns to make sure he knows the truth of their past. And hoping that somehow she can still have a future with him.
Logan McKinnon has been angry at Poppy for ten years. First for moving on without him and then for pulling her friendship away. She didn’t even come to Kelly’s funeral. His wife and her best friend. But what is worse is that he realizes that ten years apart did nothing to erase what he feels for her. And that only adds to the guilt he has been carrying for so long.
The first of the McKinnon stories brings the reader to a small town that has been devastated by a storm. Two people have to face a past that has been shrouded in lies. We get to meet Logan’s twin brother Ethan and his brother Hawk. Their stories are yet to come. I loved the story and the characters. It tugged on my emotions both with humor and a few teary moments. Looking forward to the next three books in this series.**Sexual content
Book 2: Badland Bride (Hawk’s Story)
Regis Simpson works as an insurance adjuster. Going from town to town, disaster to disaster. No real home, no roots, no connections. She thought that was the way she liked things until the day she came to Rudolph, South Dakota and met the town doctor. With her job though she knew there was no staying around. Not everyone got their claims satisfied and she was the bad guy who had to tell them so.
Dr. Keith “Hawk” McKinnon was happier being a small-town doctor in his hometown than working in the big city. With it came the heartache of seeing friends and family suffering through the losses the flood had caused, the good with the bad. His life was everything that Regis’s wasn’t. He had plenty of family and deep roots and he was going to do his best to convince her she wanted it too.
This is the second story in the series. Book one is Her Dakota Man with Hawk’s brother Logan. The stories take place in the small town of Rudolph where an ice storm combined with an early thaw has left the town a disaster zone. This is a smaller novella but a full-size story. The author’s words bring out the emotions of the people whether it be the hopelessness of losing so much or the joy as the town pulls together to help their neighbors. And of course romance in the midst of it all.
**Mild sensual content
Book 3: Dakota Heat (Sam’s Story)
Sam McKinnon has returned home to Rudolph, South Dakota. If he wouldn’t give up his work as a Hotshot, at least his mom was a bit happier to have him close to home. She’d be even happier if he fell in love and married. Sam was about to find out that life could be as unpredictable as a wildfire with changing winds.
Summer Bigelow didn’t want to leave Providence, Rhode Island to begin with. And to go where, to a desolate place like South Dakota? Because that’s where her boss was sending her. The truth was that knowing a serial killer was watching her every move was motivation to do just that. And then along came Sam McKinnon to set a whole other set of emotions on fire inside her.
I have really enjoyed this series so far. Her
Dakota Man and Badland Bride are the first two books in the series and there
will be five books in all. The McKinnon brothers are finding love in their
hometown as they all come together to help with the cleanup from some
unexpected winter floods that devastated their small town. This book is a
romance with an added touch of suspense along with a slight look into the
reality and dangers of being a Hotshot firefighter.
**Sexual content
Book 4: Wild Dakota Heart (Ethan’s Story)
Ethan McKinnon has returned to Rudolph, South Dakota after serving eight years as a Navy SEAL a year ago. It’s time for closure of the past, time to move on to the future. Time to stop avoiding his best friend’s kid sister. As a police officer, the opportunity presents itself where they have to meet. He finds her full of anger and hate and having never moved past her brother’ Denny’s death all those years ago. And Ethan is determined to help her through it, no matter how often she tells him to stay away from her.
Maddie Newton does not want anything to do with Ethan. In her mind not only was it his fault Denny died, but he had left him to die alone. Left them all behind to become a hero. And yet the more she’s around him, the more memories surface to remind her of the good times in their childhood.
This is definitely a story where you may want
that box of tissues handy. A story of how people grieve differently and sometimes
they latch on to the wrong person to aim all that hurt and anger at. To aim it
at the living rather than the dead. And sometimes things just aren’t what you
think they are. Another great book in this series.
If you enjoy series you’ll want to start at
the beginning with Her Dakota Man, Badland Bride, and then Dakota Heat. Book
five will be His Dakota Bride. These are shorter books but definitely full-length stories.
**Sexual content
Book 5: His Dakota Bride
Wade McKinnon was finding life was harder coming back from the dead than he had figured on. Life had gone on without him the past five years of his absence. But he was a McKinnon male and quitting was not in their genes.
Skylar Barnett had tried to make a new life. When Wade told her to leave Samoa and he’d meet her in Rudolph, South Dakota...she did as asked. Only to get news of his death. A child, marriage, and divorce later, and look who shows up, the man himself.
Another story that I was glad the tissues were
nearby. Guilt, anger, and fear stand between what was once a pure love. Can love
overcome all these things so these two people can truly be alive again? As
always the reader gets to revisit some of the other McKinnons that we met
in the previous four books. Great series.
**Sexual content
Book 6: Dakota Wedding - Ian’s Story
Ian McKinnon is moving forward in his life after the military. He is focused on opening the Wounded Veterans Center to help others. And then he gets a message that once again changes his life.
Abby Townsend’s life has also changed once again. First, she lost her husband and now her best friends. She can’t lose the only family she has left and will do whatever it takes to keep them. Even moving to another state with a very annoying man.
The reader has been given glimpses of Ian
throughout this series. I really enjoyed reading his story. The author has done
a good job of researching some of the aspects of having a prosthetic and how it
would affect the character. I’m hoping we’ll get to see more of Ian’s family
that we meet in this story in upcoming books.
**Sexual content
Book 7: His Dakota Heart
Gray McKinnon’s life was in a holding pattern. He went through each day but never moved forward. His girlfriend had been in a coma for two years and he just couldn’t move past it. Couldn’t let her down by moving on when she couldn’t. Until now. Choices were being made that were forcing changes in his life too.
Nina Hendrix needed to look forward. After two years, her parents were doing so. They were moving on both physically and emotionally. Why of all times did Gray show back up in her life now?
Gray is Ian’s brother, from Dakota Wedding.
Cousin to the McKinnon’s in the first six books of this series. I’ve enjoyed
them all and can’t wait to read more about Gray’s brother and sister. Gray and
Nina’s story is a difficult relationship. More obstacles to overcome. The
author did a wonderful job of bringing it together. If you tear up
easily...tissue alert.
**Sexual content
Book 8: Dakota Cowboy
Luke McKinnon couldn’t wait to leave Rudolph when he was young. Now his life was in Sioux Falls. He returned to help at his family's oil company while his dad recovered from a heart attack. His focus should be on business like always. Not on a beautiful woman, who is also his employee, while he stands in for his father.
Tessa Rock needs Luke McKinnon. No, not because he is so handsome, but because he’s a family law lawyer. She has to get full custody of her daughter and he’s the man for the job. She just has to convince him to help her...and soon.
Another great story in this series. Tessa is
facing some real issues in her life. Divorce affects lives in so
many ways and sadly in this case, her daughter Haley is caught in the
crossfire.
**Sexual content
Book 9: One Dakota Night
Grace McKinnon is the only girl in the McKinnon clan. She is well-loved and protected by all the men in her family. However, they couldn’t protect her heart when her ex-husband broke it. The last thing Grace wanted in her life was another adventure-seeking male. And that was just what her cousin Ethan’s friend seemed to be.
Jace “Strick” Strickland had some decisions to make. He was glad when his friend Ethan invited him to Rudolph while making those decisions. Would he continue as a Navy SEAL or not? Should he invest in Ethan’s cousin’s venture for wounded veterans? And the biggest and most unexpected question... What about Grace?
Once again the reader is taken to the small
town of Rudolph and that wonderful McKinnon family. Grace’s five handsome
cousins have all found true love and three of her brothers have as well. Is
there a second chance for her too?
**Sexual content
Book 10: Dakota Homecoming
Julian McKinnon is the youngest in his family. A family that thinks he’s just irresponsible and floats around. In reality, he is an FBI agent and quite responsible. Right now that means he’s watching over a gorgeous woman whose life is dependent upon him protecting her.
Georgie Garcia’s life hadn’t been easy growing up in Columbia. Even though she was able to escape and come to American, her only living relative is still there and stuck working in the compound of an evil man. If Georgie can help the FBI, then they’ll help her get Angela to safety. What she didn’t expect was to go to a wedding in South Dakota and spend time so close to her protector.
Nothing is small when it comes to the
McKinnons, and especially not a wedding...or a homecoming. Julian and Georgie
just need to let his family believe they are a couple for a week.
Only the truth and lies get rather blurry with the more time they spend together.
**Sensual content
Book 11: Dakota Blues
Keith “Hawk” McKinnon is ready to get married. He’s been with Regis for two years now. He’s been watching as his brothers and cousins who have dated less time have already gotten married. He has the perfect night and can’t wait. Even perfect plans have a way of failing though.
Regis “Reggie” Simpson is so in love with Keith and all the McKinnons. One day she’ll slow down enough to become part of the family permanently. When life throws a wrench in her perfect plans...her world tilts. She’s no longer in control of her life and her past is coming around to haunt and taunt her.
The moral of the story... Sometimes plans are
too planned out and there isn’t any wiggle room. And thinking too much makes
things much more complicated than they need to be. Thankfully in the fictional
romances happily-ever-after finds a way. Page-turning novella.
Book 12: Dakota Fire
Sam McKinnon is a Hotshot firefighter. But now, he’d like to stay in Rudolph, near his family. And settle down there with the love of his life, Summer. Life threw quite a wrench in his plans.
Summer Bigelow had run away from a bad situation several years ago. As a dispatcher back East, a serial killer decided to call her at work. She ran out of Rhode Island and landed in the arms of Sam. Life couldn’t be much better than that...until the phone call she received from her friend and former coworker.
The McKinnon family is pulled together once
again during a tragedy. They can only hope that another miracle happens as it
did for their family patriarch when he had a heart attack and when Wade had
returned home...quite alive. A page-turning story that jumps between what is
going on right now to what had happened the past few days.
**Sensual content
Book 13: Dakota SEAL
Ethan McKinnon was ready to start his life with Maddie. They had overcome some rough patches, but life was smooth now. They would build their house, get married, start a family. But life can be unpredictable. It can also be like an earthquake and move the ground beneath your feet...or open the earth and swallow you.
Maddie Newton knew Ethan was stressed. She was seeing some light at the end of the tunnel on one issue, but other things happening had them staying in the dark. But they’d make it through it all...together.
This story really brings the characters some
difficult challenges. Very unpredictable and a real page-turner.
Book 14: Dakota Sunrise
Gray McKinnon can’t imagine his life without
Nina in it. But, with his family being so close, he wants her parents in their
life too. Only, they can’t let go of Jen. Nina’s sister who was in an accident
that caused her to go into a coma she never woke up from. Nina’s dad held Gray
responsible even though he had nothing to do with it. Not that he hadn’t held
himself to blame and had felt guilt over it.
Nina Hendrix had loved Gray long before her
sister had. In fact, she had introduced Jen to him before Nina went to
college...because her dad wanted her to. She would’ve preferred the rodeo
circuit and barrel racing. Now, she and Gray are in love. The only thing that
stands between them and true happiness is the past her parents won’t let go of.
Gray and Nina’s story begins in Dakota Heart.
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Heroes of Providence Series
Book 1: Material Witness by L.A. Mondello
Cassie Alvarez writes crime novels but suddenly she feels like a character in one of her own books. She went to Rory’s bar dressed as a hooker to research how her character would think. While talking to the hunky rough and tough guy, gunfire erupts, she becomes an eyewitness and her world turns upside down. Deja vu from eight years earlier all over again.
Detective Jake Santos is undercover but it seems the meeting he planned won’t be happening tonight at Rory’s. But he can rescue the woman who obviously is going to get herself in trouble looking like she does. Only it seems she is the one who rescues him. Jake and Cassie soon find out there is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and no one but each other to trust.
I found this to be the type of book I didn’t
want to put down. Full of danger and adventure around each turn, not knowing
who the good or bad guys were. And in the midst of all the chaos….love blooms.
It was uniquely written as Cassie becomes more like her strong heroine, CJ, and
the real world becomes like her stories. The author did a fantastic job of
keeping the reader guessing who the villains were until the very end.
**Sexual situations and some language
Book 2: Safe Haven
Detective Kevin Gordon was undercover and things didn’t go like they expected. Their suspect, a man who wanted to hire someone to kill his ex-wife, was released. The mission had gone bad. He had to warn the ex-wife to leave town. Go into hiding. Immediately.
Daria Carlisle had lived a gypsy-type childhood. Her parents never stayed in one place for long. After her divorce, she bought a house and planned on staying there. Permanently. No matter what this man was telling her, she wasn’t leaving. No way would her ex want to kill her. He wasn’t that type of man.
It seems people aren’t always who they seem to
be and Daria is learning that lesson the hard way. Romance with a good dose of
suspense. The reader can first meet Kevin in book one; Material Witness (Jake
Santo’s story) and learn more about Dylan Montgomery in book three; Reckless
Hours.
**Sexual content and language
Book 3: Reckless Hours
Professor Tammie Gardner’s life has just been turned upside down. When she joined in with a class assignment to submit DNA samples, she never thought it would come back showing her that life as she knew it was a lie. So she sets out to find the truth.
Dylan Montgomery is determined to find his brother—hopefully to find him alive. When he finally meets the woman who last saw Cash, she seems to be playing games with him. Or are things really as strange as they seem to be and she isn’t who he thought she was?
Loving this series. Romance doesn’t come easy
for the men and women in these stories. In the first three books, the heroes are
all Providence police officers. It’s not easy to find romance in the middle of
what these men and women find themselves in the middle of. This book was
originally published as Cradle of Secrets.
**Sensual content
Book 4: Desperate Hours
Sonny Montgomery finds herself in Colombia to rescue her niece. The tension and fear is high, but she wanted to do this. While her brother Dylan is busy looking for and trying to rescue their brother Cash...rescuing her niece and bringing her home to the US is her job. Just when she almost tastes the freedom for Ellie and her—some jerk ruins it all.
Gil Waite is determined to find Cash Montgomery and bring him in for the hefty bounty he’s worth. Using Cash’s sister to find him only makes sense. Gil and his team just want to collect Cash and get out of Columbia. Gil starts wondering soon enough if he’s made a major mistake by keeping Sonny and the baby here.
I felt the tension of being trapped in a
foreign country as I read this book. Great writing. I’m really enjoying this
series. Reckless Hours is the third book in the series and it’s Dylan and
Tammie’s story and the reader can learn how Ellie ends up in Colombia. The
story continues with Cash and Serena’s story in Final Hours.
**Sensual content and language
Book 5: Final Hours
Serena Davco has been through a lot in her
life, nothing like the past four months though. First, her baby is stolen out
of her home by the woman planted as their housekeeper and brought to Columbia.
And when her husband went there to get their daughter...he went missing. Ellie
is home and Cash has been rescued. Then a new twist in life hits home.
Cash Montgomery was feeling pretty hopeless
trapped in his cell in Columbia. And then...his brother was there. He was going
home. He had a few problems to face once back in the States...proving himself
innocent of being found with drugs in his possession...and remembering the past
few years.
Great series. Book three, four, and five are
the three Montgomery siblings' stories. Also, the continuing story of Ellie
being stolen and brought to Columbia. The suspense continues in the sixth book;
Cold Harbor. The characters are connected to the first two books. All the books
in this series have been exciting reads from beginning to end.
**Sexual content and language
Book 6: Cold Harbor
FBI Agent Charlotte “Charley” Tate is wanting to finish a case she’s been on for a long time. Breaking up a huge crime ring in Providence. Her boss's family, the Montgomery’s, are in hiding because of the head of the crime ring and it’s time to end it.
Tyler Jacobsen wasn’t expecting to pull Charlotte out of the water late at night. He wasn’t expecting to ever get close to her again. She betrayed him and he almost died. Yet, after six years...he still wants her. That’s why he’ll do all he can to avoid her...even while he helps out on a case she’s heading up.
The first book in this series; Material
Witness, is where the reader first hears of Charley, Tyler, and some of the
other officers in this story. Great suspense stories with a good dose of
romance. I really enjoyed this series.
**Sexual content and language
********************
Rodeo Knights
Book 1: Her Knight, Her Protector by Lisa
Jesse Knight is at a crossroads. He gave up
the rodeo when he went into the military and now he’s not sure where to go with
his life. In the Marines, he had been a police officer so when there seems to
be trouble brewing at a ranch...he follows that road.
Carly Duggan, the owner of the Duggan Stock Company, has troubles. Someone has targeted her stock. And her. She can’t let it get out that she has bulls getting sick or she’ll lose her contract with the rodeo. Can she trust this handsome man who says he’ll help her get to the bottom of it? Can she trust her heart with him around?
This is the first book in this series. The
three Knight brothers have, or in Jesse’s case, had some part in the rodeo
circuit. Book two is The Knight and the Damsel by Margaret Daley and book three
is One Knight in Vegas by Lenora Worth. Great series!
*Mild language
Book 2: The Knight and the Damsel by Margaret Daley
Book 3: One Knight in Vegas by Lenora Worth
**********
Sweet Montana Sky
Tabby Swanson lost her parents eight years ago. The horse her dad gave her has helped her cope with their deaths. When odd things start happening around the ranch and accidents that are of the freakish sort...she wonders if it’s superstitious. After all, a horseshoe upside down is bad luck.
Kasper Dobbs is back in Sweet, Montana to check out some of his investments. He can longer ride bulls after an accident ended that, but he can still own stock in them. What he doesn’t expect on his visit home is Tabby.
Romance, suspense, and rodeo cowboys and
cowgirls. Another great addition to the Rodeo Knights collection.
********************
The Inheritance Series - Book 7: The Wedding Dress
Hannah Ward was willing to spend all of her money on a special wedding dress when she was younger. She not only lost the bid for the dress—but her fiancé as well. So she joined the army and didn’t return to Liberty, Texas until now, over eight years later. And of all things, the billionaire who won the bid for the dress...has left it for her in his will.
Dane Bancroft always hoped and believed one day Hannah would return to him. She’s returned all right, but she’s talking of leaving. Again. He’s going to do all he can to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Sometimes life does you a second chance. In
Dane and Hannah’s case, it’s up to them if they are going to take it or let it
pass them by. Again. I enjoyed this story, as I have the previous books in this
series. Some of them have serious issues, such as Libby and Jackson’s book;
Leaving Liberty.
**Very mild language
********************
Summer House Series
**This series is a new adult erotica series that contains sexual situations that are not intended for readers under 18 years old.
Book 1: Moment in Time
Jenna Traynor was finally going to start living her life, at least for the summer. After two years of facing death, she was planning to really enjoy life while working away from home. She has a lot to catch up on.
Bobby Callahan was just living by his aunt and helping her while his leg healed. Then back to his military post overseas. He had no other plans but to strengthen his leg. Plans don’t always go as you think. He never expected to meet someone like Jenna.
I loved the storyline in this book. Bobby’s life is on hold and Jenna’s is just beginning. This is the first of four books in this new adult erotica series. Jenna is staying at a summer house with three other girls while working for the summer. Lily, Penny, and Heather’s story will be told in the next three books; Moment of Impact, Moment of Trust, and Moment of Truth.
**Erotic content and language
Book 2: Moment of Impact
Lily Carlson is doing something she wants to do for the first time in her life. Before this summer on Nantucket, she never made a decision for herself. Now that she has the power to do what she wants, she has decided she wants the handsome guy from down the beach too.
Gus Jennings has an ugly past. Working on the island this summer could be his final chance at a new life. He loves being on the beach and watching the beautiful girl who dances her way to work every morning. He will only watch though. He wouldn’t want his ugliness to touch such a beautiful creature.
The Bluffs is the name of the summerhouse that
four girls are renting for the summer on Nantucket Island while they work at
jobs there. Jenna’s story is in book one, Moment in Time, Heather’s story will
be in book three, Moment of Truth and the final book, Moment of Trust, will be
Penny’s story. I have really enjoyed these first two books and look forward to
the last two.
**Strong sexual content and language
Book 3: Moment of Truth
Heather Connelly had followed Jason to Nantucket in hopes of getting him back. What a fool she’d been...and still was. He’d treat her badly and yet she’d run to his bed when he beckoned. Only this time...she ran to the wrong bed.
Slade Sullivan was a successful businessman. No matter how much money he might have though, life sucked at times. Never knowing who was using him for his money...like his ex-wife...or who was really a friend. After the worst day he’d had in a long time, he got quite a delightful surprise that night.
Four girls who were strangers all descend upon
Nantucket Island for summer jobs. Each one has taken a load of baggage along
with her. Slowly they are meeting the men who can help them dump the baggage
and truly begin to live.
**Strong sexual content and language
Book 4: Moment of Trust
Penny Munez’s past haunts her. Destroys any present or future happiness she could ever have. Until Drake. Her boss was kind and not hard on the eyes, but she knew better than to get close. She couldn’t trust a man.
Drake Sutton knew what it was to have a past and over the past three months that Penny worked for his landscaping company...he could see she had one. If only he could help her get her past behind her so that she might see a glimpse of a future with him.
This is the fourth book in this series of four
women who have come to Nantucket Island to work for the summer. They were from
different backgrounds and each had their own issues to deal with while staying
at The Bluffs. Enjoyable series where the happily-ever-afters just had a
tougher road to go down.
**Sexual content and language
********************
Texas Hearts Series...
Boxed Set for Books 1-3
Book 1: Her Heart for the Asking
Beau Gentry had broken Mandy Morgan’s heart
when she was sixteen, and then she watched as he left her to go to the rodeo,
the dream he loved...not her. Eight years later, she is returning to Texas
because her mom told her to visit Uncle Hank. She used to come every year until
Beau. Then Texas only held her broken heart, and she couldn’t face it. She has
made a life for herself in Philadelphia, working to try and please her father
at his Advertising Agency. The minute she steps off the plane in Texas, her
life changes once again. It’s Beau who has come to bring her to the Double T,
and she finds out that Uncle Hank has serious health issues. She also finds
herself feeling like that sixteen-year-old girl around Beau.
Beau owes his knowledge of the rodeo to Hank
Promise and comes to help him as soon as he calls. He also knew that his
feelings for Mandy Morgan had never changed, and now she was a beautiful woman.
He hoped for a second chance to fix how he left her last time. Can a high-class
girl from Philadelphia ever find happiness with a cowboy from Texas? This is a
shorter story but full of old secrets and new hope.
Book 2: His Heart for the Trusting
We return to the Double T ranch where we met Mitch Broader briefly in Her Heart for the Asking, book 1 in the series. Mitch has dreams. He is saving up to buy his own ranch one day and until then he is a partner in the Double T, training and selling horses. And then his world comes to a sudden halt when a baby is brought to the Double T, the woman claims baby Jonathan is Mitch’s son and takes off and Mitch’s dreams dissolve in front of him as he is holding a screaming baby that he has no clue what to do with. Thank goodness that Sara Lightfoot dropped into his life...or rather the ranch house...at that moment.
Sara had run away from her Apache roots ten years ago. She married and left for LA. Her husband molded her into the woman he needed by his side...a woman who was more white than Apache. She had a dream now. With Dave and LA in her past, she was returning to her roots to teach the stories of old to the new generations of Apache children on the reservation. Her dream was waylaid slightly as the handsome cowboy begged her to be the live-in nanny until he found someone else.
I enjoyed this story. Lisa was able to stir my
emotions with some of the situations in the book, laughter when a cowboy learns
how to give a baby a bath and tears when dreams look like they will take people
in opposite directions. Anger when the past comes back to threaten these three
people.
Book 3: The More I See
Cody Gentry lost his sight eight months ago and stopped living. The only thing he seemed to focus on was when he could have his next surgery and he assumed it would give his sight back...end of the story. He didn’t expect a whirlwind to enter his life and turn it all about but he soon learned to enjoy it.
Lyssa had been blind for twenty years before a miracle operation so she could teach with that experience behind her. And she knew the important work the guide dogs did. She put her heart and soul into her work, but was she truly living?
When Lyssa is sent to Cody with Otis the guide dog it seems that both of their hearts got a shot of adrenaline to get them living life to its fullest.
Lisa brings her characters to life. You can sense a wee bit what it must be like to know your home so well and yet without your sight how easy it can be to get turned around and confused. To feel the wind whip past your face as the horse gallops through the field. The joy of going from darkness to light. And the fear that the love you feel may not be returned.
Another great addition to the Texas Hearts
series and I look forward to reading the next two books in this series. Gypsy
Hearts, Brock Gentry’s story is in book 4 of the series is in hardcover and can
be found online. Book 5: Leaving Liberty is Jackson Gentry’s story. We have
not heard much about this brother as of yet, only that he is in law
enforcement.
Book 4: Gypsy Hearts
Josie Tibbs had been burned by love, badly. Now she gave all her affections to Dexter, her cat. She has talent behind the soundboard but after helping launch one career and being left behind, she now hides in a small studio making dog food commercials and such. When the handsome cowboy walks in wanting her to produce his music, life can change if she chooses. Her fear from what happened with Grant Davies all those years ago can hold her back or she can take another chance at making it in Nashville...if only she can hold onto her heart this time.
Brock Gentry enjoys writing his songs and playing. His dream has always been to share his music. When he meets with Josie Tibbs he didn’t expect the feelings that came up for her so quickly. He knew that she needed to be at his side as he made his way to Nashville and wherever it took him. Only Nashville and his manager had other ideas. And Josie wasn’t part of them. Will fame and fortune change this cowboy or will he give up his dream to keep the woman he cares so much about?
This book is available in hardcover but is not
an eBook. There are some copies for sale on the internet. It is definitely
worth reading, especially if you have enjoyed reading the previous stories
about those Gentry boys from Steerage Rock, Texas. Lisa writes in such a way
that you feel the emotions of her characters. Within a few pages of meeting
Brock you can’t help but love the character. In the previous book, The More I
See, she hinted towards his musical talent and how much of himself he seemed to
put into the music. The first three books in the series; Her Heart for the
Asking, His Heart for The Trusting & The More I See are all available on
eBook at Amazon, B&N & Smashwords.
Book 5: Leaving Liberty
Liberty Calvert has plenty of secrets she’s hiding with her on the Bucking Hills Ranch, and the nosy Texas Ranger is busy trying to unbury them. If only he wasn’t so persistent...and handsome. Protecting her ranch and Cole is a priority. Now she has to protect her heart as well.
Jackson Gentry had no plans of staying longer than was needed in the small town of Liberty, Texas. He was called in to investigate what seemed to be a suspicious death of a nearby rancher. It would be much easier to write his report and get out of there if the stubborn daughter would give him some straight answers.
Jackson Gentry is the oldest of the handsome
Gentry boys. The longer he’s in Liberty and around Libby, the more he finds
that maybe his days of trying to run away are coming to an end. Now he just
needs to convince this woman to share her troubles and her heart with him.
Libby was facing some tough issues, would Jackson be strong enough to face
them?
Book 6: His Texas Heart
Cole Rivers had been living his life peacefully as a ranch hand the past eight years. The Calvert’s had been more than employers...they were his family. In the previous book, Leaving Liberty, Cole’s secret came out of hiding when a murder investigation opened because of Buck Calvert’s death. Life as Cole knew it shattered. Now he needs information to prove who he really is and he only has fifteen days to do it. He has to fight an overloaded system that only saw who he was on paper...and those facts were wrong.
Dr. RaeAnne Daniels hated her dad’s small border clinic in Hawk Pass. He had spent more time here with his patients than back in Houston with her and her mother. And yet she made a deathbed promise to him that she’d come here for a year. Desolate, break-ins and nobody paid for the services they received. And then one day he walked in the door and changed everything.
Cole’s story begins in book five of the
series, Leaving Liberty. He has an air of mystery about him in that book. I’ve
enjoyed this whole series with the Gentry brothers and I’m glad that the author
added Cole’s story to them.
Book 7: Lone Star Lady
********************
Fate With a Helping Hand Series
All five in on boxed set
Book 1: All I want for Christmas is You
Kyle Preston knows what it is to change his life. Unwanted as a child he was ended up with the Preston’s when he was twelve. After years of being unwanted, he did what he could to push them away but they had staying power. Now at almost thirty, Kyle is glad they did. He straightened out and even became wealthy. While playing Santa at the Mall he owns, a young girl comes and says all she wants for Christmas is a daddy. For some reason, Kyle feels the need to protect this young girl and her lovely mother.
Lauren Alexander loves her daughter, Kristen.
As a teen, Lauren made one mistake that cost her the love of her family but she
has her daughter and would not trade her for anything. Kyle helps her when her
car doesn’t start after leaving the mall and the next night he finds her at the
tree lighting ceremony and has her invited to his parents for dinner the next
night before she knows what hit her. The man is good-looking and kind but she
has learned from Jimmy and her own father, men don’t stay around.
Kyle has to prove he is
different than the men in Lauren’s life who have hurt her, and if nothing else
he loves a challenge. He has built a big home and now he knows he wants Lauren
and Kristen to be part of his family and to live there with him.
This story has more to it than the rich Santa Claus meets a struggling single mother. Kyle has a past he overcame and Lauren had a past she still needs to deal with.
**Sexual situations.
Book 2: The Marriage Contract
Smashwords
Devin Michaels had accomplished what he set out for. He was one of the most successful lawyers. So if he had everything, why did he feel so empty? Since he hired Brenda three months ago and saw her brown eyes that reminded him so much of Cara Carvarlho’s, that’s why. His best friend who helped him through his dad’s illness and death. And after not seeing her all these years, he was missing her. Devin makes a life and career-changing decision after receiving a phone call from Ruthie, Cara’s mother. She has invited him to Cara’s 35th birthday. Goodbye Manhattan and hello old times.
Cara was helping pack up her family home. How sad to think of strangers living here. While cleaning, she found a birthday card from Devin. He had written that he would marry her if she were still single at thirty-five. She laughed; her mother just got excited, not good. As Cara watched strangers buying their belongings at the yard sale, a face from the past came towards her, Devin. When she feels she is unsure of her life around Devin, Cara invites her stable, boring boyfriend, Roger, to join her.
Cara would rather run from what she feels for
Devin than let her mom have her way and throw them together. Meanwhile, Grandma
Elsie is having all the fun in the sun with a much younger man named Albert.
And Ruthie continues to plot and plan on how to get her daughter to marry the
right man.
**Sexual situations.
Book 3: The Knight and Maggie’s Baby
Jonah wanted to save his childhood home and
the catch was to be married for one year so his Grandfather would not sell it.
That is what led him to make an arrangement with his secretary, Catherine, for
a pretend marriage for only one year. Only she bolted at the last minute.
Jonah had money and
everything materialistic but he had an emptiness that he could not identify
until he met Maggie Bonelli. Going into her coffee shop to use the phone after
being left at the altar was quite humbling. Dressed in his tux, his building
across the street but no keys to enter it and no employee’s working because he
gave them off, he felt like a thirteen-year-old once again. The beautiful woman
gave him coffee and pie and conversation. He really did not want to leave her
company, after calling Michael to come and get him, he was glad when she
accepted a ride home in his limo with him. And before he knew it he was asking
her to marry him.
Maggie’s mother, Rhonda,
could not believe she had turned the handsome millionaire away. With a baby on
the way and that Keith, the father, had washed his hands of her, Rhonda thought
it was an opportunity to give her baby more than she was able to give Maggie.
Maggie was content in her life though. She had the love of her mother and
before her grandmother had passed on some months ago, she had her love and now she
had Grandma’s coffee shop as the reminder of her childhood. As she reconsidered
though, Maggie knew that by allowing Jonah to give her baby his name, it would
save her child much grief in the future.
Can a man with everything
the world had to offer but never had the love he wanted from his parents and a
woman who had nothing and yet was rich for having the love of her mother and
grandmother find happiness together? This was a really touching story.
*Mild sexual situations and language.
Box
Set of All 3 Helping Hand Book in 1
Book
3.5: The Gift - Mistletoe Kisses: The Gift
Allison Jones barely gets
by financially, but she knows how good life is. A bed to sleep in and people
she cares about. When she finds an envelope on the ground with a Christmas list
for a child from the shelter, she knows she needs to find the money to fulfill
the little girl's wishes. She understands personally how important it is.
Derek Holden has lost his
envelope of money. Why his assistant is making him do his own shopping, he
hasn’t a clue. And then he sees the woman holding the envelope, his envelope.
Derek is going to find his millions hasn’t bought him everything he needs
during this Christmas season.
Christmas time really can be a time of joy for some and sorrow for others. You can be so busy or have so much that you take the little things for granted. This is a very short story but packed full of caring and love. This story introduces two characters from Fate With a Helping Hand. Maggie Bonelli from The Knight and Maggie’s Baby and Cara Carvarlho from The Marriage Contract.
Book 4: My Lucky Charm
Zoey Preston has never felt like she belonged. Everyone always deserted her, starting with her birth parents. After yet another person leaves her, she decides it’s time to start over. And what better way than to move across the country for her dream job.
Marcus Drake has buried himself in work. He’s become an outstanding surgeon, but his life outside the hospital has become a bit bland. And then one ride in an elevator changes everything for him.
Fate can be a sneaky thing. Just when you think you found that perfect person to complete you...your life is headed in the opposite direction of them. Or so it seems to be with Zoey and Marcus. As with all of this author’s books, I really enjoyed this story.
The reader can first meet Zoey in her younger
years in the first book of this series, All I want for Christmas is You. That
story is about her brother, Kyle Preston.
**Sexual content
********************
Nothing But Trouble
Stoney Buxton had been a bull rider in the rodeo until a year ago. Their barn burned down and a beam caught his dad and took away his ability to walk, so Stoney came home to the ranch, where he belonged. They were struggling because of the extra land they bought and the medical bills. So when Melanie Summers showed up offering to pay him to be her guide in the mountains, his folks thought it was a good idea. He did not. He was thinking hitting a few of the big rodeos would help. This fancy city girl with her beauty looked like nothing but trouble to Stoney.
Melanie Summers had an agenda. She was a
zoologist and wanted to go to Kenya to observe the animals in their natural
habitat. Then she found out her dad was funding the project and would pull his
money if she went. Thus the deal; if she could survive one month in the Wyoming
wild he would let her go. Of course she knew he would pay off anyone who would
take her, so they wouldn’t. But she found Stoney and knew he could not be
bought, it seemed not even by her. She would not let him know her secret
though, she was diabetic and her parents pampered her and kept her as caged as
the wild animals at the zoo. Melanie wanted her freedom more than anything and
this was her only chance and Stoney was the person to help her.
Stoney does give in and struggles every time
he looks at Melanie. He wants to hold her and kiss her and.... he knows a city
gal like her would never be happy with him, a rancher trying to make ends meet.
When Melanie loses her pack with her insulin and tells Stoney, they must race
to save her life, and Stoney sees how much he don’t want to lose this woman.
When he starts trying to protect, she sees him acting in the same way as her
parents, the very thing she was trying to escape. Can Stoney love Melanie
enough to let go and allow her the freedom she needs or is their love going to
stay locked up?
**Sexual situations
Love Me Some Cowboy
Available on iTunes
I Need a Hero
Available on iTunes
********************
Rising Storm Series
Season 1 - Episode 7: Weather the Storm
Bryce Douglas is struggling with some personal issues. Instead of facing them, he buries himself deeper in his work. As a pastor, he can help everyone else and ignore his own issues. And he does.
Tara Douglas is doing the best she can. Their son was just diagnosed as having autism. Her daughter is acting out because of the attention to their son. And her husband? He’s absent. Maybe the town of Storm does need his pastoral help...but she needs her husband’s help.
I’ve only read Lisa’s episode so far but you
will definitely want to start with book one in this series. The town of Storm
has a storm brewing in the lives of it’s residents. Each book focuses on
certain people but they also include continuing issues with those from the
previous book.
**Sensual content and Language
Season 2 - Episode 3: Brave the Storm
********************
Cradle Series:
Book 1: Cradle of Secrets
Who was Tammie Gardner, really?
She was never supposed to know she was
adopted. Never supposed to uncover the secrets of her birth. But she had. And
with God as her guide, Tammie Gardner headed cross-country to a sleepy New
England town, determined to discover who she really was. Yet her arrival was
met with odd double-takes and the dangerous attentions of handsome stranger
Dylan Montgomery. He insisted she was another woman entirely--and the key to
his brother’s mysterious disappearance. And now someone wanted to make Tammie
disappear before either of them could ever learn the truth.
Book 2: Her Only Protector
A perilous journey to South America is the
only way to retrieve the child. With her missing brother’s daughter back in her
arms, Sonny Montgomery finally feels safe. Until a handsome, cold-eyed bounty
hunter stops her moments before boarding a plane to the U.S.
Gil Waite is after Sonny’s brother. All he
cares about is “finding the fugitive” and collecting his money. Sonny won’t
betray her family. Yet she has no choice but to go with Gil. A man whose
rugged exterior hides the heart of a hero.
********************
Yuletide Protector
This book is definitely full of suspense but it also deals with the real-life problem of stalking. Detective Kevin Gordon has lived with the fact that fifteen years ago his sister's best friend was murdered by her ex-boyfriend. No one saw the signs of abuse while they were dating, and then it was too late. Now he is facing a crisis of an ex-husband who wants his wife dead. Kevin goes into protective mode with the stubborn woman. Is he reliving not being able to help Lucy or has this woman become more important for other reasons?
Daria Carlisle finally owns a home. It’s big and will take a lot of money and work but it is hers. She never lived in one place for long as a child and she needs the anchor that this house provides. Suddenly her world is shattered when she is told George, her ex-husband, wants her dead but they don’t have the proof to lock him up yet. At first, she doesn’t believe it until her safe place is violated, her home. And it’s obvious that George is behind it. She refuses to leave her home so the handsome Kevin Gordon starts watching her there. She sees his faith and how that is his anchor. Daria is not a believer but Kevin’s example and actions speak his faith.
This story shows where greed and lack of
control can lead. It shows the faith Kevin has that he knows he cannot let
himself fall for Daria because she is not a believer, yet. And how we can
either anchor on to materialistic things or our anchor can be with God, one
changes and One does not.
Fresh Start Family
If you are prone to tears, you may want to keep the Kleenex
handy with this story!
Tom Garrison, also called Tag while he was in the Marines, moves to the quiet town of Chesterfield, Nebraska. He was trying to run from his memories and the quiet area and hard farm work helped some but you can never run. When he meets his neighbors shortly after the move it was because of an emergency. Jenna Atkins needed to get her son to the hospital 2 hours away. A broken-down truck and no phone service sent Tag into action. Who knew one trip to the hospital would change his life. Jenna and her son Brian quickly changed his quiet life, and he didn’t mind. But still, the past memories kept a wall up.
Jenna was widowed long before her husband died. Brian’s kidney disease was too much for Kent to handle. She moved back to Chesterfield to help her father on his farm. Their new neighbor quickly became Brian’s new hero. Jenna was fond of him as well but could see he had a past that he wanted to keep to himself and by doing so, he kept her out as well.
Can Tom and Jenna find a way from their hurts
of the past to make room for healing in their futures, together maybe?
In a Doctor’s Arms
Teresa Morales was running. She ended up in Stockington Falls, Vermont. A skiing town without much more. As a child psychologist, she felt she failed after a young girl committed suicide a few days after her boyfriend was buried. Teresa had missed the signs and taken all the blame and then she ran.
Dr. Dennis Harrington met Teresa after she
hurt her ankle. They became fast friends. He needed her to counsel his nephew
after an accident. Benny blamed himself for the death of a woman they all knew,
even though he came to the bridge after her vehicle had gone over the side into
the water. Teresa continually refuses Dennis, feeling she could be of no use
after she failed Mariah. Eventually, she gives in and finds she can still be
useful in the field God had given her a talent in.
When it came time to go back to Hartford
Teresa wanted Dennis to stop her but he knew she had to face her past before
she could face their future.
She could so easily see how Benny blamed himself wrongfully for the death of Molly and his friend's injury but missed that she falsely blamed herself in the same way.
********************
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