Throughout December and January, we are featuring the people who read the Fresh Fiction book reviews you love to read: our FABULOUS Reviewers! A few times a week you’ll be able to get to know our reviewer team, what they love about reviewing, and their holiday traditions. All things considered, 2020 was a wonderful year for books–Cheers to 2021 for more books to read and review! Your Name Jessica Grogan How long have you been a Fresh Fiction reviewer?  One year and 4 months What are your favorite genres to read and review?  Historical Romance What are your TOP 3-5 Books of 2020? Lord Holt Takes a Bride by Vivienne Lorret Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas First Comes Scandal by Julia Quinn What do you like to do outside of reading?  Spend time with my husband and daughter, watch movies, and travel. What are some of your holiday traditions? My husband, daughter, and I watch A Christmas Story every Christmas. But never all at once: we watch it in segments at the different family homes we visit throughout the day. And my mother’s side of the family always plays “dirty” bingo. Whoever wins can take a prize away from anyone….

The festive fun continues with the next featured author in the FOREVER CHRISTMAS celebration: Lizzie Shane! Be sure to leave a comment on each of these posts for a chance to win a copy of these wonderfully wintry Holiday Reads!  ** What’s the name of your latest release?   The Twelve Dogs of Christmas What do you love about writing holiday/Christmas romance?  I love that there always seems to be a little extra magic in the air around the holidays, like anything is possible, especially love. And it’s a time when community and friends and family all come together, which I love in a romance.  Are your hero and heroine full of Christmas cheer or the holidays bring out the worst in them?  Ally is the kind of person who wants to soak up every ounce of Christmas cheer through the season, but Ben is definitely overwhelmed by all the holiday pressure. He’s gotten a reputation as the town Scrooge, but he’s just a big softie underneath all that stress. What’s one of your favorite holiday traditions? I love wrapping presents with my family while watching Christmas movies. I think I love that more than receiving gifts. There’s something so satisfying about making something unique and beautiful…

My new book—PLAYING WITH TROUBLE–has been described by one reviewer as restoration meets rugby, which I absolutely love! It reflects both the hero and heroine’s backgrounds and gives some clues as to the plot. Whilst planning the book I got to research a bunch of restoration shows on the TV, which I’ve always adored. Today I thought I’d share with you my top 5 (in no particular order) shows. Rehab Addict Nicole Curtis was the inspiration for my heroine, Jane so she seems like a good place to start. Rehab Addict is not a show we get where I live but, my editor, Liz, recommended I watch it, which lead to a lot of Googling and YouTube’ing! And I have to admit to having a bit of a girl crush now 🙂 Escape To The Chateau I love this show. Eccentric English owners restoring a French Chateau on a budget. It’s all kinds of out there but I’ve glommed every episode of every season! The Restoration Man Another show I can watch endlessly. I love how there are still people out there in the world who appreciate the history in old buildings, and make it their passion in life to…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  My new book is called SECRET NIGHTS WITH A COWBOY and also contains a bonus novella called SWEET NIGHTS WITH A COWBOY. The heroes are brothers. And cowboys. And super hot if I say so myself.  2–What is it about?  It’s about a couple who got married young and never figured out how to move away from the kind of childish relationship things that marked how they started in high school.  Can they finally learn how to grow together? Or is it really time to move on? 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Determined.  4–What makes your hero irresistible?  He’s a man who knows who he is and what he wants. Especially his wife! 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  They both have their families and friends, who provide varying degrees of support and advice throughout! I’m lucky to have written three other books set in the same small town, so there are a lot of familiar faces in these books and a lot of chances for them to connect, learn, and grow. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?  Cold River, Colorado,…

Hi, Denise! Welcome to Fresh Fiction and congrats on your debut novel! Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING.   Thank you for having me! I’ve been writing since I was a little kid, but it’s a dream to see my debut novel out in the world. I grew up in the military which meant friends coming and going often, but I always had books and writing. I turned to academic writing while earning my PhD in education, but shortly after my son was born, I wanted the escape of writing fiction and here we are. How to Fail at Flirting is about a professor healing from the trauma inflicted by an abusive ex and ready to reclaim her life. She makes a to-do list that includes a one-night stand and taking some risks. The first doesn’t work out, but the second leads to meeting Jake, flirting with professional ruin, and ultimately falling in love.  HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING is told completely from Naya’s point of view. How did you decide to use a single-POV narrator? What do you love the most about Naya’s story?   I love dual POV romance…

Don’t forget to come back each day this week for more holiday cheer from our pals at FOREVER Publishing and their Christmas romance authors. Today, we’re joined by Melinda Curtis!  ** What’s the name of your latest release? A VERY MERRY MATCH What do you love about writing holiday/Christmas romance?  I enjoy bringing in fun traditions, either drawn from my family or made up (read in magazines or enviously stolen from observing others, lol). Are your hero and heroine full of Christmas cheer or the holidays bring out the worst in them?  This year, Mary Margaret is struggling to find her holiday cheer. Doubly important since she’s a kindergarten teacher. What’s one of your favorite holiday traditions? My great aunt imposed a One Gift At a Time rule. She moved in with us and insisted she couldn’t enjoy gift opening unless she got to see every gift opened. We’d sit in a circle and starting with the youngest, one person would have the stage to open a gift. Some years, it takes two hours to open gifts at our house! But it does allow the gift giver a moment to shine as well. Which Christmas movie do you watch on…

All of this week, we’re showcasing a different Forever holiday romance author! Visit the blog every day for author interviews, cheery giveaways, and more festive fun.  Up first, Annie Rains! ** What’s the name of your latest release? My new release is called SEASON OF JOY. I think it’s the perfect title for this book because it’s a holiday story and Joy is the name of my heroine. What do you love about writing holiday/Christmas romance?  There’s a touch of magic in a Christmas romance. It’s the season of hope, which is really at the root of all my books. I also love adding in all the festivities of the season like picking out a Christmas tree and decorating it, buying gifts, festivals, flotillas, and of course the food! There’s so much to love about a holiday book. Who can resist? Are your hero and heroine full of Christmas cheer or do the holidays bring out the worst in them?  Well, my hero is the owner of the local Christmas tree farm. He’s typically full of Christmas cheer, but this year he’s struggling because half of his tree farm burned down in the spring. My heroine, Joy, is also struggling….

“So what do we do now?” Hannah asked. When she’d reopened the boutique, customers flooded the store. Russell had offered to help her until things slowed down. One hour had turned into two and in the blink of an eye the entire day had passed. She’d appreciated the help, but when she’d told him she felt guilty for keeping him from see­ing his family, he’d waved away her concern like it was no big deal. She’d wondered if he was avoid­ing them, then dismissed the idea as ridiculous. Unlike her, he had a loving, supportive family. And for a man who’d never worked in retail and who hadn’t had a clue about women’s fashion, he’d done incredibly well. A woman who’d come into the boutique looking for the perfect blouse had left with three dresses, two pairs of pants and three pairs of earrings in addition to that blouse, all because Russell had said she’d looked nice in them. He’d also given thumbs down on two other dresses and the woman had left without them. More than providing her customers with a male’s perspective, Russell had served as the mus­cle she’d needed, carrying boxes for her. He’d also unpacked and…

Hi, Opal! Welcome to Fresh Fiction. Please introduce yourself and tell us about your latest book, STROKE OF LUCK.  Hi. Thank you for inviting me! It’s always a pleasure! I’m Opal Carew and I’ve been writing erotic romance for over 20 years. I’m a cat-loving, artistic, romantic sort, but I spent most of my career as a high-tech professional. I dyed my hair pink (or purple or blue) 30 years ago before it was popular. I don’t like to live in a box or colour within the lines. Well, I do the latter when I’m actually colouring, but I like to draw my own lines. 😉 April, the heroine of Stroke of Luck, has always tried to stay within the lines and do what is expected of her, and it got her into a big mess. To get her life back on track, she needs to do something unexpected and a little crazy so that she can take back the control she’s lost. April starts out down on her luck–she thinks she’s going to Vegas to get married, but gets cheated on, left, and has to foot the hotel bill. What do you think readers will love about April?      I…

Half a dozen women, standing by a makeshift bar in Didcote’s Air Transit Auxiliary’s mess turned appraising faces toward us. For one panicky moment I felt I was back at boarding school on the first day of term. “Good morning, Miss Redfern, I’m Vera Abercrombie, Didcote’s commanding officer.” A compact looking woman with a direct no nonsense gaze introduced herself. I suppose, like everyone else who first met her, I was surprised that the Didcote ATA commanding officer wasn’t the standard issue senior male RAF officer with a waxed moustache. Vera Abercrombie was probably in her mid-thirties, but her fair northern skin was deeply lined, either from years of flying, or put there by the burdensome responsibility of her war-time job. She carried a clip-board with a sheaf of papers pinned to it and her glance strayed to it often, as if she might have inadvertently overlooked some small but important detail. There are not many women who have shot to the heights of command that Vera Abercrombie had achieved, without being conscious of their seniority every hour of their long working day, but there was no arrogance in her greeting and no feeling that this was her ‘show,’ and…