Our reviewer retrospective continues with Miranda Owen‘s favorite books of this year!  I love making lists. At the end of a year, friends and fellow readers will post about their top favorite five or ten books of the year. I’m not configured that way. Trying to pick only five or ten favorite books out of the hundred or so I’ve read over the course of a year is unfathomable to me. Instead, I’ve picked about five or so titles in four different categories. Many of these selections fit a few of different categories listed here. I mostly read and review romances, but cozy mysteries are my jam too. Christmas-themed Romance Picks THE MATCHMAKER’S MISTLETOE MISSION by Jaci Burton A COWBOY UNDER THE MISTLETOE by Jessica Clare ONE HOT HOLIDAY by Cynthia Eden MEET ME UNDER THE MISTLETOE by Stacey Kennedy ONE CHRISTMAS EVE by Shannon Stacey There was a ridiculous amount of amazing Christmas-themed romances that came out this year, many of which came out at the end of October. The ones I’m discussing were my absolute favorites, but there were a bunch more that put a smile on my face. THE MATCHMAKER’S MISTLETOE MISSION by Jaci Burton and A…

My new release is HIS REASON TO STAY, the first book in my Ellis Family Saga series. Award-winning wildlife photographer, Elijah Ellis, has come back home due to the tragic accident that killed members of both his and his best friend Tabitha Brodie’s family. Despite their grief, Eli hopes that he and Tabby can pick up their familiar friendship. He’s never forgotten the way Tabby makes him feel—full of hope and a sense of home—but she seems determined to keep him at arm’s length. Tabby has always loved Eli. He’s everything she wants in a man. But he left Gatlinburg to make a name for himself outside of his famous family.  Even though there’s no one better to help her through this time, she refuses to be an anchor to a life he never wanted. Not to mention Tabby’s hiding a secret that will change all of their lives. As Eli and Tabby spend more time together, he’s determined to show her they could be perfect together. Too bad she’s spent years building her walls against him… H is for History…Theirs is long and full of unrequited love, at least on her side. I is for Ideal…As in Eli is…

Never Enough is book one in the Meet Me in Montana series. I have had the idea for this book floating in my head for a few years. I went up to a PBR event in Tacoma, Washington and was able to get a behind the scenes tour of what happens during an event. I was so inspired I went back to my hotel and wrote for two days straight. When I got home the words kept flowing and two weeks later Never Enough was written.  What are my favorite traits for Brock? Let me list them! He is passionate, caring, fiercely protective, and stubborn as all get out. He is also romantic and when he loves, he truly loves. I think readers will love to see all the sides of Brock. He is passionate about his career and how he wants to build a future for his son. He is so caring and compassionate, and you get to see that from him in the very beginning of the book. When he finally allows himself to fall for Lincoln he falls so hard and you can feel the love he has for her. Oh…and let’s not forget romantic. Who doesn’t love…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, JN! Please tell us about yourself and your latest novel, IN RHYTHM. Hi! Thanks for having me. It’s a pleasure to be here! I’m a native New Yorker raised in the Bronx. I’m a wine and music lover, wanderlust-er like my characters, and when I’m not dancing (many times rocking out in my bedroom solo), you can find me spending time with friends and family or cheering for my favorite baseball team. I’m also a wellness warrior especially for writers and passionate about practicing mindfulness for mind, body, and spirit. My latest novel IN RHYTHM is the follow-up novel to IN TUNE and second book in my Back on Top Series. It’s a stand-alone novel that features Asha Kendall aka “Velvet,” a dance music DJ who is going after her goals with blinders on. She’s so focused that she never sees Dutch DJ Isaak “Zazzle” Van Sandt coming. The two have an immediate and intense connection but when Zazzle’s hard-partying gets out of control, Velvet presses pause. Their career paths are about to converge, hers on the way up and his on the way down. When their paths cross again, things get very interesting. Your Back…

Dear Reader, Red Carpet Redemption is the third book in The Stewart Heirs series. My inspiration came from watching the Jennifer Lopez movie The Backup Plan. What if the heroine used a sperm donor to get pregnant and falls in love with him years later? That notion gets turned on its ear when the donor turns out be A-list actor and America’s Sexiest Man Alive Dane Stewart. The lovable hunk has no idea he’s a father or that his son Jayden is in need of a bone marrow transplant. Navigating fatherhood and falling for his son’s mother, Iris Turner, was never part of the plan, but their first meeting has Dane seeing stars. I hope you enjoy this feel-good love story. Dane’s story was to be the last book, but the series felt unfinished. Expect the fourth and final book in 2020. Visit my website for more details, www.yahrahstjohn.com, or write me: [email protected]. Best Wishes, Yahrah St. John *** Iris was on cloud nine. Earlier today, Dr. Lee had called and informed her there was a match for Jayden. For months, she’d thought it was a pipe dream. She’d gone on television and begged people to register to donate, but…

I spend a lot of time writing because I always have ideas and characters whose story I can’t wait to tell. These ideas can be sparked by something I see in the news, or it stems from me playing the what-if game. Like what if that soccer mom is really a spy? Or what if that guy walking his dog just got left at the altar? Because I’m a pantser, meaning I don’t plot out the story first, I don’t always know how the story will play out. So it’s like I’m reading the story as I write it. But I also spend a lot of time reading and I love to recommend great books to others. I also love discovering new authors and reading books that I just can’t put down. I’ve read in every genre under the sun though I do have some favorites. I love romance novels. Contemporary, paranormal, historical. Someone mentioned Duchess Wars by Courtney Milan to me today and I just put that one on my to-be-read list. I also love to read sci-fi. I loved the original Roswell, The 100, and the X-Files. I’m a big fan of Star Trek. Someone gifted me a…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Jennie! Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book, WISH UPON A COWBOY? Sure! Thanks for having me! And I’m super proud of this book! It’s fun, sweet, sexy, and will make you laugh and cry! It’s the fourth book in my hockey-playing Cowboys of Creedence series. Logan and Harper’s story is about a mother who is fighting to get back her son and a rancher who is trying to save his ranch, and how they help each other to accomplish both. It has a hot cowboy, a sassy heroine, an adorable eight-year-old boy, a marshmallow-eating cow, a feisty kitten, and a Christmas miracle at its heart. It received a STARRED Review from Booklist calling it a “smart and delicious romance” and Publishers Weekly claims “Able plotting, red-hot sex, and a large dollop of sweetness make this holiday charmer ideal all year round.” It’s a perfect romance-reading treat to give yourself for the holidays! Harper Evans has just gotten out of jail, but she lost custody of her son to the mother of her deceased husband. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to get her son back, and that means finding…

I’m such a sucker for happily-ever-afters. What romance author isn’t? So when I first laid eyes on the Hollhenzollern Lock Bridge in Cologne, Germany, I was as good as a fish on a line–completely hooked. It was a chilly but sunny clear spring day, and I stood at one end of the bridge and gawked at the thousands of locks that extended nearly to the other side, all in a rainbow of colors. So. Many. Locks. (photo from Atlas Obscura) Some locks were inscribed with a couple’s names and wedding date, others had names and dates inked on, and yet others had metal tags with messages written on them. They were messages of love that pledged eternal devotion. Sigh. So sweet, so romantic, so up my alley! Lock Bridge had made such an impact on me, I had to incorporate it in my new rom-com, SEDUCED BY THE SOLDIER. In it, Blake and Zandra travel through three European countries so that Zandra can complete a photography assignment for a popular e-zine. There are adventures and surprises along the way, of course, and by the time they get to Cologne the two are very much into each other but unwilling to…

How sixteen years of working in movie production inspired me to write my new novel. . .  My new erotic romance, Hot Nights in Morocco, sees the heroine, Charlie Winters, traveling to North Africa to begin her first job on Hollywood producer Jake Dalton’s new movie. It’s an exciting world I know a little something about because for sixteen years I lived and breathed movie production, (that’s until I hit thirty-four and chose to embark on a new adventure–raising a family and writing books!) During my time in the industry, I was lucky enough to work on some amazing shoots in some pretty far-flung places, many of which have given me the backdrop to my stories. Nevertheless, one thing people never warn you about is all the downtime on movie sets. If you’re not directly involved with the actual shooting of a scene, it can often feel like you’re sat watching your art director’s paint dry. . . As a production manager, my job was to oversee things like the budget, crew hospitality, kit hire, and cast management. Most of this takes place in a temporary office on the Unit Base so trips to the set necessitated a lot of…

One of the most frequently asked questions of authors is where do you get your ideas? I hate to be the one to break it to you, but. . . there’s no such thing as a magic idea tree. However, every once in a while, we can backpedal to the moment that inspiration sparked. So today I get to tell you exactly how I got the idea for my Unexpectedly Royal series. I’m a huge musical theatre fan. After all, I performed in shows for more than a decade, from Guys & Dolls to Phantom. So for my birthday a couple of years ago, we did a theatre trip to NYC. We saw The Play That Goes Wrong – hilarious! – and Anastasia. Originally we had tickets for Bandstand, but sadly it closed two weeks before we went. (Don’t worry, I get to see it in March!) I frantically had to scrape up replacement tickets and landed on Anastasia. No, I wasn’t a crazed fan of the original Disney movie. But I am a sucker for the Anastasia Romanov legend, as well as all things royalty-related. And Disney has proven that they know how to throw money at a Broadway…