Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Victoria! We are thrilled to have you here. Please tell us a little bit about yourself! Out of all the questions I’ve been asked, this is always the hardest for me. I guess I can sum it up by saying, I’m a New York City girl who fell in love with an LA boy. And after we met in graduate school, he encouraged me to pursue my dream of writing. Sixteen years later, he finally convinced me and now thirty books into my career, this is where I am. WRATH is the latest book in your Seven Deadly Sins series. Will you set up the series for readers who may not be familiar with it? I’m writing this series based on the seven deadly sins. So many people believe that the sins of lust, envy, greed, wrath, pride, gluttony, and sloth are biblical, but they aren’t. They are of course based on Christian principles and what I’ve done is taken each individual sin and created characters who find themselves in the middle of the sin and having to deal with the deadly consequences. WRATH is the story of Chastity Jeffries who meets a man…
Agent Under Siege is part of The Justice Seekers series, featuring a diverse team of men and women whose reputations and law enforcement careers were destroyed because the justice system failed them. Becoming a Seeker gives them a chance at redemption and lets them help others find the justice they too deserve. This story features former FBI profiler, Bryson Anton, who can’t forgive himself for mistakes he’s convinced he made, both in the FBI and later as a Seeker. Recovering from a gunshot wound to his hip, he spends his days self-medicating with alcohol and alternating between a cane and a wheelchair. He’s completely unprepared to deal with Seeker client, Teagan Ray, who bursts into his home and demands that he help her find the serial killer who once abducted her. The catch? It’s the same killer Bryson believes went free because of a mistake he made as a profiler. The chemistry between these two intelligent, strong-willed people is incredible. Teagan is sassy and sexy and makes no secret about her attraction to Bryson from the moment they meet. Bryson is quiet, older, more experienced, and completely bewildered over how to deal with Teagan. What they both discover is that…
Happy New Year! Cheers to 2021! Our Reviewer Spotlights are continuing all of this month, so you can get to know the people who love sharing their thoughts about books with YOU. Enjoy the first spotlight of the year, with Audrey Lawrence. Your Name Audrey Lawrence How long have you been a Fresh Fiction reviewer? 2004 What are your favorite genres to read and review? Historical romances, police procedurals, mysteries, and anything I can get my hands on What are your TOP 3-5 Books of 2020? ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE by Louise Penny HIGHLAND SWORD by May McGoldrick THE LONG CALL by Ann Cleeves What do you like to do outside of reading? Garden, volunteer, and more reading What are some of your holiday traditions? Have changed over time to smaller and quieter, and definitely will be new ones due to COVID. More emphasis on giving and the reason for the season! What are your reading resolutions/intentions/goals for 2021? Read over 150 books and even do some reviewing 🙂 What do you love about being a Fresh Fiction Book Reviewer? In addition to getting top bestselling books, discovering exciting and unique authors whose books you may not see in…
by Fresh Fiction Senior Reviewer Miranda Owen Although THE DUKE AND I is all anybody can talk about right now, and the first in Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series, it is not my favorite of the series or book by Julia Quinn. Instead, THE GIRL WITH THE MAKE-BELIEVE HUSBAND, part of the Rokesby series, is my favorite “fake relationship” story by Julia Quinn. Years ago, when I was just a teenager, I remember being thoroughly annoyed by Cathy in Emily Bronte’s classic novel WUTHERING HEIGHTS. I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t wait for Heathcliff to return instead of marrying someone else. At the time, my older and much wiser aunt laid out some of the realities women at that time faced. It may not have been as romantic that Cathy didn’t wait forever, but it was ultimately and more pragmatic. However, in THE GIRL WITH THE MAKE-BELIEVE HUSBAND, Cecilia Harcourt makes some questionable choices but for good reasons. She’s alone in the world except for her brother Thomas. When Thomas is injured in battle, she bravely travels to be by his side. Instead of her brother, she finds Edward Rokesby, a wounded officer and a gentleman in much need of some TLC….
2020 is almost at an end, but our Reviewer Spotlights will continue into January! We hope you’re enjoying getting to know our reviewers and columnists better. Cheers to 2021!! Your Name Danielle Dresser How long have you been a Fresh Fiction reviewer? 3 years as a reviewer and about a year and a half as Editorial Manager What are your favorite genres to read and review? I love contemporary romance, historical romance, graphic novels, women’s fiction, and historical fiction. What are your TOP 3-5 Books of 2020? The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole Confessions in B-Flat by Donna Hill What do you like to do outside of reading? I’m currently writing my own contemporary romance series! I also love to bake, cross-stitch, and watch TV… and by watch TV, I definitely mean watching and re-watching the Great British Bake Off and Schitt’s Creek almost exclusively. What are some of your holiday traditions? Christmas lasts about a full week in our house. We make individual visits to my family and to my in-laws, and usually have at…
Strange Holidays This is an unprecedented year, isn’t it? Here in London, we are in a newly declared complete shutdown. The streets have gone silent under the strings of Christmas lights. We had tickets for a Pantomime performance, which is a big English thing that I do not understand and so thought we would explore. But, cancelled. We were going to take a drive in the country around Christmas and enjoy the traditional landscape. But we’re not supposed to leave the area. No farflung trips either, obviously. So it’s really home for the holidays this year! Our neighborhood is fairly empty and feels safe. Also we have food and warmth and lots of stuff to watch on various streaming platforms. Thank you, Roku! I’ve had Zoom visits with friends. Ebooks are a blessing. A few keystrokes, and there’s a new story ready to carry me away. What would we do without those? (I really don’t know!) We feel healthy and are grateful. Still, it seems like time to consider all the ways to be cozy and festive while staying in. The Spanish heroine of my new book EARL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL is comforted and reminded of her lost homeland by familiar…
Hi all! I’m Eliza Knight and I’m so thrilled to be here with you all sharing a wee bit about my new book TRULY MADLY PLAID with the Title Challenge. When Annie is tasked with healing her brother’s best friend of his wounds, she knows it’s a forbidden love she should not want… Yet she cannot stop the deep yearning for the man she knows she could never have… T is for true love of course <3 What romance is complete without it? But also, for temptation for Annie is the forbidden fruit Craig cannot want to have… R is for romance, sigh… And the happily ever after that comes from it. U is for Up-all-night, which is what every writer secretly hopes their books keep you, lol L is for loyalty, which Annie and Craig hold to a high standard. They are in this fight for their country and intend to win. Y is for YES, as in Craig knowing he shouldn’t want his best friend’s sister, but oh yes does he want her… * M is for MacLean, as in Craig MacLean, Highland hottie and hero of this book! A is for Annie, our badass heroine who is…
1–What’s the name of your latest release? THE STORMBRINGER What is it about? A fantasy world that’s rebuilt after an apocalypse and is now in danger again, three people trying to reconcile the past with their current situation, and the value of standing together against oncoming threats. What word best describes your heroine? Pragmatic. What makes your hero irresistible? Amris combines a slightly old-fashioned formality with the ability to accept people for who they are–and blends a sense of honor with a sense of humor. Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help? That’s a good question! Both Darya and Amris are fairly isolated: Darya by her role as a Sentinel, Amris by not being in his own time any longer. Darya has Emeth and Katrine, as well as other Sentinels that she’s friends with, but they aren’t in the same place most of the time. She and Amris both are generally closest to Gerant, which makes their relationship very awkward. What do you love about the setting of your book? The mythology is near and dear to my heart: a good spider goddess, a good goddess of death and vengeance as well as love…
RIGHT MOVE is a slow-burn, friends-to-lovers gay romance about George Thompson, a former figure skater and shut-in who is slowly trying to have a life again, and Levi Peletier, a trick rider at a ghost town near Clean Slate Ranch. An unexpected vacation together at the working dude ranch draws the pair closer together, but both men have secrets, and opening up isn’t easy for either man. They both have demons to face and futures to decide on if they’re going to make their fragile relationship work. Clean Slate Ranch is a special place where broken men who’ve used up their first chance at life are able to start over—and maybe even find their happily-ever-afters. Opposites attract, second-chance romance, BDSM, friends-to-lovers, slow-burn, fake boyfriend are all things you can find in this series about friends, found family, and acceptance. *** R is for Ranch, of course. George and Levi spend quite a lot of time there. I is for Independent. Levi doesn’t like to stay in one place too long, and he owns a tiny home he can travel around in with his three cats. G is for George Thompson, our shy but determined hero. H is for Hero, because…
1–What’s the name of your latest release? Teddy Spenser Isn’t Looking for Love 2–What is it about? Teddy thinks he can’t stand his coworker, Romeo. But they get stuck together on a business trip that involves some ridiculous ordeals, and Teddy learns that Romeo’s very different than he’d assumed. And, of course, there’s only one bed. 3–What word best describes Teddy? Creative 4–What makes Romeo irresistible? He doesn’t quite realize how charming and irresistible he is. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help? Family! Teddy’s grandmother lives far away but gives good advice via phone calls. Romeo has a big, close family that sometimes “helps” more than he might like, but he loves them anyway. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book? It’s set in two of my favorite cities, Seattle and Chicago, both of which have lots of fun, quirky things to do. I also intentionally set it in February, which feels pretty bleak in both cities. Who wouldn’t want some love amid the cold and gray? (Well, Teddy wouldn’t—or so he tells himself.) 7–Are you a plotter (follow an outline) or a pantster (write by the seat of your…

