As I write this blog my flower beds are in bloom. My irises are gorgeous, my daisies are abundant, and my carnations are fragrant. It’s too bad something dark and sinister is creeping into the shadows. That’s right, a murderer is on the loose in my garden and an APB won’t do my beauties any good. Because tonight they will face one of the worst killers known to their kind—Jack Frost. Their death by his hand (or heroic saving by mine) might lead to some nail-biting moments on my part, but I have a feeling I’m the only one who’s truly invested or interested in their next chapter. I mean it’s not like the New York Times will write about their premature death or my valiant attempt to save their lives. But I have dug up some truly newsworthy mysteries Jack Frost can’t touch. The covers caught my eye like the blossoms in my yard, the plots are much better formed than my best buds and the characters charmed me with their style and wit. Yes, the mysteries are in bloom, and all we have to do to catch the culprits is keep turning the page. Wicked Honeymoon  An Ivy…

In this scene, Kára’s best friend, Brenna, is enduring a very difficult birth, and Joshua gets roped into helping. *** “You are the strongest here, and we need her up,” Hilda said. “The babe is coming finally, but it will be easier on them both that way.” She beckoned quickly to him, and he found himself walking over, inhaling fully to gain strength. But the heat and smells did not help him. ’Tis like birthing a foal, he told himself, which he had done many times before. He stepped up onto the bed, his boots planting behind the heavily burdened woman. “Do not let her slip,” Kára said, letting him grasp Brenna under her arms. He had no choice but to hold her under her ample bosom. Just like a mare in trouble. Like a horse. That is all. Done this dozens of times before. If Brenna could only neigh, he would have little problem with this. He opened his mouth to ask but decided against it. No woman he had ever met responded well to being asked to neigh. Joshua lifted and Brenna groaned, a sound torn from her straining body. Kára leaped up to loop her friend’s arms…

How can I describe the chaos that is a dim sum restaurant in the heart of San Gabriel Valley at 11 a.m.? The place is filled with close to a hundred round tables, each one occupied by a different family, many of them with three to four generations of people present—there are gray-haired, prune-faced Ah Mas holding chubby babies on their laps. Steaming carts are pushed by the waitresses, though if you called them “Waitress” they’d never stop for you. You must call them Ah Yi—Auntie—and wave frantically as they walk by to get them to stop. And once they do, customers descend like vultures and fight over the bamboo steamers inside the cart. People shout, asking if they’ve got siu mai, or har gow, or lo mai gai, and the Ah Yis locate the right dishes somewhere in the depths of their carts. My Mandarin is awful, and my Cantonese nonexistent. Ma and the aunts often try to help me improve by speaking to me in either Mandarin or Indonesian, but then give up and switch to English because I only get about 50 percent of what they’re saying. Their grasp of the English language is a bit wobbly,…

Pop Culture Siblings Gwen talked about actual celebrity siblings: The Hemsworths (we had to google Luke), Miley and Noah Cyrus, William and Harry (we digressed quite a bit about the public persona of the Royals and what that meant to us growing up), The Jonas Brothers, Hanson, and other family bands. Danielle looked at sibling trilogies or series in books: Talia Hibbert’s Brown Series, of course, but also Nora Roberts’ Chesapeake Bay series (which has some found family elements! More on that later), Alexis Daria’s new series has three cousins. In historicals, you have Julia Quinn’s Bridgertons and Grace Burrowes’s Windhams, which span generations. There’s also an interesting element with found families, like in The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon, the Sometimes in Love series by Melonie Johnson, and Annabeth Albert’s #gaymers series. We also quickly talked about a few TV shows with great/interesting sibling relationships that are important to the storylines: Schitt’s Creek, Black-ish, and This Is Us (though Danielle needs a break from the emotional manipulation of TIU!) Recs from TALIA HIBBERT ACT YOUR AGE, EVE BROWN, the third book in the Brown Sisters series, is now available! Authors Talia loves: Nalini Singh, Beverly Jenkins, Vanessa Riley, KJ…

She’d been searching for William and found the duke. And how she found him. A magnificent undressed chest hit her line of vision. No lady would keep looking, but she couldn’t close her eyes. Sweat beads from the tips of his black tresses, now wet and mussed, traversed his temples to his strong neck, chest, trickling to a muscled abdomen, and…dear Lord. She sucked in her breath. The warm buzzing in her ears heightened, as did the rush of blood in her head. This…this was…an onslaught on her senses. No amount of ancient texts she’d read or sensual paintings she’d studied or her time outside of England had prepared her for the sight of a real, vibrant, half-naked man. Liar. I have seen countless laborers and servants toiling undressed. She huffed. All right, this man then. She was breathless at the sight of Saxton. And whyever was he standing in their stables in such an indecent state? “You want something, miss?” William’s voice broke through her mindless state. Drat. She had frozen. They had stopped their work and had been looking at her for a while. Worse, she only stared at Aetius. And he knew it. She could tell by…

In this excerpt, Captain Benjamin Frakes is taking the flirtatious August Weatherby to a ball to act as his bodyguard. Much as he tries to ignore his irritatingly attractive carriage-mate, he doesn’t do a very good job of it… The carriage came to a shrieking halt. Benjamin peered out of the window at the lamp-lit street. At first he saw no one of importance. Crowds of chattering people, gentlemen and ladies enjoying the night…and then, slipping from the threshold of a doorway like a smiling shadow, was Weatherby. Benjamin swallowed, a lightning bolt of pure awareness travelling from head to foot. He was at risk. Of course he was. At risk of making a complete fool of himself over a man ten years younger than himself, and ten times more attractive than anyone he’d met in years. “Goodness.” Weatherby’s voice filled the carriage. “Surprisingly small in here.” A flash of silver disappeared into the coachman’s palm as Weatherby climbed into the carriage, all black curls and bright eyes and dark velvet. He waited until the door closed, then turned to Benjamin with that unmistakable smile. “How cosy we shall be.” Nodding warily, Benjamin moved closer to the window as the…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Renee! The last time you were here, we discussed Park Avenue Summer, and this time we’re chatting about THE SOCIAL GRACES. Can you tell us what drew you to write about Gilded Age New York?  Several years ago, I wrote another novel about Marshall Field, the Chicago retail tycoon called WHAT THE LADY WANTS which was set during the Gilded Age. I really enjoyed that time period and wanted to revisit that era. The gowns, the balls, the excess, and etiquette, which runs from practical to absurd, have always fascinated me. When I stumbled upon Caroline Astor and Alva Vanderbilt’s stories, I knew I could use New York’s Gilded Age as backdrop to create a completely different type of novel, filled with fun, juicy scandals, and all the glamour. The Astors and the Vanderbilts are synonymous with high society drama. Was there anything truly outrageous you learned through your research that was hard to believe actually happened?  Oh, my goodness, where to begin!!! I was really surprised by how understated and refined the Knickerbockers, (the old money and original settler of New York) were in the beginning. It wasn’t until the Nouveau Riche (representing the…

Coming out of a long winter after an even longer lonely miserable year, we look forward to a spring of hope and new beginnings.  In keeping with that, this month we’ll examine stories that reveal the backdrop to a moment of history that signaled a radical new beginning for England, when the ruling mastery of the island shifted forever from Saxon and Viking kings to the Normans.  But in a departure from the tomes of most historians, these novels look at these well-known events through the eyes of the lesser-known queens of the conquest era. We begin with SHADOW ON THE CROWN (THE EMMA OF NORMANDY TRILOGY #1) by Patricia Bracewell.  In 1002, young Emma of Normandy is sent across the Narrow Sea to marry much-older King Eathelred of England in a bargain to guarantee peace between the two kingdoms.  Told from the point of view of four protagonists—Emma, King Aethelred, his son Aethelstan and ealdorman’s daughter Aelfgifa of Northhampton, the story tracks Emma’s progress at the court.  Mistrusted by her husband, resented by her stepsons and harassed by a beautiful rival who would take her place, Emma must quickly learn to maneuver her way through the treacherous alliances of…

Hi, y’all! My name is Anne Harper and I’m here to dote on my newest book in the Accidentally Viral series, LIKE A BOSS, by doing the Title Challenge! This book is filled with shenanigans, opposites attracting, and the relatable oopsie daisies after realizing you’ve already kissed your new boss! Let’s get it! L is for Love. Which Antonella “Nell” Bennett is D-O-N-E with after not being someone else’s “the one.” I is for Incident. The same one that took Nell from just a normal, frustrated young woman to a viral sensation within a day. K is for Kiss. The one she shared with a handsome stranger who was just trying to save her from herself. E is for Embarrassed. The feeling Nell landed on when she realized that the stranger she shared an impulsive kiss with is none other than her new boss. * A is for Arbor Bay, Alabama. AKA the small town that is currently eating up the quiet newcomer, Nell’s new fame, and the gossip that both are generating. * B is for Boss. Something that Quinn Hannigan is trying to remind himself that he is every time he catches himself thinking about Nell in a…

1–What is the title of your latest release? YOU BELONG HERE NOW 2–What is it about?  In 1925 Montana, a brusque, spinster rancher begrudgingly takes in three mysterious orphans, and when the oldest is jailed for freeing wild horses rounded up for slaughter, she discovers he is a dangerous fugitive from Hell’s Kitchen. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  The Wind. That cold Northern wind comes down and desiccates you in the winter. I joke about chapped butts in my book, but they are a serious thing, I can tell you. It’s also quiet and peaceful, something my fugitive from Hell’s Kitchen, Charles, loves because he’s slept on the streets and there was always racket. 4–How did your main character(s) surprise you?  Nara broke the law in a huge way, after espousing rules and law to Charles for most of the book. 5–Why will readers relate to your characters?  I write a big cast of lovable characters. There is someone for everyone to root for. Their all broken, like real people, but they put one foot in front of the other.   6–What was one of your biggest challenges while writing this book (spoiler-free, of course!)? …