The Wedding Day Collection by various authors

The Wedding Day Collection 

By Various Authors

Book Blurb:
The honor of your presence is requested to the pages of The Wedding Day Collection, an anthology of tales celebrating that love-inspired event. All of these short stories rev
olve around the romance of the wedding day. From an unexpected bump and an outspoken wedding crasher to a missing groom, we hope these stories will make you smile and warm your heart.

Always the Groomsman
by Margaret Ethridge

What a treat! If you've read Margaret Ethridge's fabulous book, Commitment you are going to reaaallly love Always the Groomsman. If you haven't had the pleasure of reading the full length novel Commitment than you are still going to enjoy Always the Groomsman because it is a sweet, light hearted story that has an overbearing family take over what was to be a small, discrete wedding ceremony. Maggie and Tom are a mature couple (not twenty something) and they already have a sweet baby boy with another baby on the way when they finally make their way to declare their wedding vows. The story starts with poor Maggie puking while squatting on the floor at Dunkin Donuts and ends with a river of pink and white streamers and a spray of confetti in a Judge's office. So much fun. 
This is the wedding readers didn't get in Commitment and it was exactly what I was hoping for. Lots of family and love surrounding them. 


Veiled Threat 
by Cheryl Norman

I wasn't a fan of Veiled Threat. The story was to deep requiring far more background and time to tell the story rather than having it jammed into a short anthology. I liked the premise but the leaps of assumptions that the protagonists had to make to move this story forward quickly were way to unbelievable. Also due to the how short the story was, there was too many conveniences. For example she was drugged, kidnapped, made a clean get away from kidnapper (he tripped while chasing her) then to have her run to the car (completely not groggy despite just waking up from said drugging) to find the keys conveniently still in the ignition. I bet if the author was able to stretch out the story and not make everything so favourable, it would have been better. 


White Wedding
by Karen Stivali

White Wedding was a fairly undramatic story of a couple, in love and getting married. It was a whole lot of fluff. Sweet instant messages over the computer, lots of gooey compliments and love. Unfortunately, a very unforgettable story. 


Wine, Roses and Twins
By Suzanne Lilly

Well that was fun! I read Wine, Roses and Twins so fast because it was action packed. I think I was exhausted from the adrenaline rush reading about the trek to get the maid of honour to the hospital in time for her baby deliveries. I have to say, I adored this story. There was such closeness between the sisters and I loved how sweet and fitting it was that a new set of sisters entered the world. 


Schrodinger's Cake
by Ute Carbone

Another cute story. When Evan had a slight car accident bumping into the back of Gina's bakery van, he may have been thankful that she didn't get hurt but the smashed wedding cake was a different story. I actually saw this story all playing out in my head. I really liked it. I thought it was a bit of a reach that Evan was already thinking about "love" regarding Gina but maybe that is what love at first sight is really about. Evan and Gina made a great team.  


Not Getting Married Today
by Jennifer Johnson

I loved Not Getting Married Today. I think I loved it so much because I could really relate to the David's girlfriend, Janie. You see David is a preacher (a really cool preacher I might add) and his girlfriend Janie is not religious at all. She is a very nice person, she has high morals and all her friends lean on her for support but she does not attend church. The problem is that David really wants to start with some sort of marriage conversation with her and she is just waiting for the dreaded "Jesus" talk. She has been waiting and waiting and waiting and yet, David never brings up how he plans to save her soul. This belated conversation is exactly how I feel when I find out someone is religious. I almost avoid them because I am so sure that they are going to pounce on me and try to convert me or shame me. 
     Ultimately the interesting thing about Not Getting Married Today is that the story is actually about a couple who are at the church about to get married by David when a massive secret comes of the closet. David and Janie are supposed to be the side story but really they are the main protagonists. Very clever of the author. 


All Action, No Talk
by Evelyn Jules

All Action, No Talk is a delightful story that includes circus performers and love. When I think of romantic couples, I admit that a clown and a mime are not a likely pair that comes to mind. However Evelyn Jules pulls it off. Alice (a professional circus clown) finds herself about to get married to the wrong man and knows she is going to make the biggest mistake of her life. Thankfully the man she has been secretly in love with for years decides that even though he is a professional circus mime, now it is the time to speak up. Alex is used to acting out his story through body motions but he realizes if he doesn't act out in real life, he could lose Alice forever. Now this was a wedding that I would have loved to attend. 


Magnolia Brides
by Valerie Haight

I am on the fence deciding if I liked the story of Magnolia Brides or not. There is a supernatural twist in this love story. I do have to say that I loved this quote and I highlighted it because it rings so true. "A drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts." That is a brilliant line. Jorrie receives a drunken breakup phone call from her fiance the very night of the wedding rehearsal. My heart was sad for her but I wasn't really feeling the devastation on her part. I suppose it was because her lifetime friend made a huge confession that same night. A memorable night for her in so many ways. 

NOTE: A Wedding Day Collection has a zero heat rating as nothing more than a kiss appears in the stories. Lots of love and fluff. 

Audiobook Review of Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Gracie Snow and Bobby Tom Denton's book





Heaven, Texas

By Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Narrated by Anna Fields

Book Blurb:
It seems like an easy assignment for an assertive but sweet woman like Gracie Snow: track down her friend, Bobby Denton, a famous ex-jock, and bring him to Heaven (Texas, that is) to shoot a movie. How could he refuse a glamorous offer like that?

Easy, if you've got a big ego, a 1957 T-Bird and prefer cruising the highways for girls. And Bobby Tom isn't certain about being a movie star. Sure he's charismatic and good looking, but that doesn't mean he'll help out an overhearing Ohio wallflower.

But Bobby can't get Gracie, an angel, out of his mind. Why not head to Heaven and raise a little hell? Gracie can look out for the consequences. And chaos is sure to follow these two as they discover and delight in each other, a match made... in Heaven.

I love the characters that Susan Elizabeth Phillips creates. Yes they are awesome but they are also flawed. Bobby Tom is charming and sexy and oh so arrogant. I wanted to smack him upside the head a few times. Gracie is sweet and determined but stubborn to a fault. In fact that stubbornness made me dislike her on a few occasions. So clearly I had a love/hate relationship with this couple. 

Forced into an early football retirement due to a career ending knee injury, the former quarterback of the Chicago Stars really hasn't a clue what to do with his life. It seems like pretty much everyone who has ever met Bobby Tom wants a piece of him or a favour of some sort. I really felt for him. Taking an acting role for a Hollywood film wasn't really what he wanted but it helped him pass the time begrudgingly. 

Since Bobby Tom inadvertently got Gracie fired he devises a plan to rehire her but under the ruse that she is still employed by the film studio. Bobby Tom starts out thinking that Gracie is a bother, then he thinks she is kind of cute and after he arranges for her to get a makeover, she morphed into someone quite attractive that Bobby Tom can't seem to keep his hands off of. 

Gracie's personality and looks really mature within Heaven, Texas. She is a 30 yr old virgin, she is sexually frustrated and she just wants to lose her virgin status. She almost immediately falls in love with the handsome Bobby Tom and my favourite scene in the book is where she becomes completely drunk after three coolers and pretty much begs Bobby Tom to have sex with her. I was laughing out loud when she was crying to Bobby Tom's mother that her son was not a good man because he wouldn't have sex with her. I love a drunk and silly heroine. Always good for a laugh. 

I really loved listening to the story about these two. I laughed, got angry, gasped and all sorts of other emotions. I truly loved it but I will admit that Gracie's stubbornness made me quite angry at the end and it was almost like she was trying to be a misplaced martyr. Probably my least favourite part of the book and I was really worried that chapter was going to lose all the love I had gained for this couple. I have to say that it didn't ruin it but I was debating between a 4 and 5 rating. 

Teasers: cross country road trip, breast feeding film dilemma, excellent side story for Bobby Tom's mother, celebrity golf tournament

FREE for a short time - The Art Lover

I loved The Art Lover so much that I am pleased to share a promo announcing that The Art Lover is FREE for a short time. (March 3-7)

Blurb

Starving artist Kelsey Tecato takes being The Templeton Museum's artist in residence a little too literally. By day, she puts on a show of painting for the crowds that shuffle through the galleries, but at night, her muse runs wild.

Mitch Jameson is a guy's guy. A cop moonlighting as a security guard, he has little use for the artsy-fartsy stuff, but the mysterious Ms. Tecato's sexy portraits call to him.

So does an interior alarm.

When Officer Jameson goes to investigate, he finds a paint-splattered goddess working on a self-portrait--in the nude.

A couple tubes of paint and a roll in the drop cloths later, free-spirited Kelsey helps Officer Jameson discover his passion for art.

Buy Link

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Lover-Maggie-Wells-ebook/dp/B00HM9SDO2/ref=pd_rhf_ee_p_d_10

Retail Price: $0.99                        Promotional Price: FREE    March 3-7, 2014

Author Info

Multi-published author, Maggie Wells, is a deep-down dirty girl with a weakness for hot heroes and happy endings. By day she is buried in spreadsheets, but at night she pens tales of people tangling up the sheets. The product of a charming rogue and a shameless flirt, this mild-mannered married lady has a naughty streak a mile wide.

Fueled by supertankers of Diet Coke, Maggie juggles fictional romance and the real deal by keeping her slow-talking Southern gentleman constantly amused and their two children mildly embarrassed. They are the food purveyors to three dogs, a passel of fish, and one impertinent house rabbit she claims is the love of her life. Shh. Don’t tell her husband.

You can find her online at http://www.maggie-wells.com, on Twitter @maggiewells1, or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMaggieWells

Author Links

Web: http://maggie-wells.com/

Personal Blog: http://maggie-wells.com/maggies-musings/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMaggieWells?ref=hl

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/MaggieWells1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1482834.Maggie_Wells

Excerpt

His gaze traveled over the discreet placard affixed to the wall, but he’d already memorized the pertinent facts. The paintings were created by someone named Kelsey Tecato, the museum’s ‘Artist in Residence’.

Coming on shift as the museum closed for the day, he’d searched the faces of museum patrons and employees as they straggled past the security station, but he’d yet to spot the one that matched the headshot of a studious-looking brunette featured in the museum brochure. When he oh-so-casually posed the question to Bert, he learned that meant Ms. Tecato’s art was being subsidized in exchange for her participation in demonstrations and exhibitions sponsored by the museum board. The knowing twinkle in the older man’s eyes when he clarified that the ‘in residence’ part didn’t refer to the artist’s living situation was enough to make him drop the subject. Bert was too damn nosy for a guy who never managed to pass the detective’s exam.

Forcing himself to put one foot in front of the other, he left the provocative portraits behind and turned toward the west end of the building. The Templeton rambled for nearly a city block but most of the space went unused. Exhibits occupied the open center space of the two-story building joined by a pair of sweeping marble staircases. The east side had been converted to classroom space decades before, but the warren of tiny rooms on the west end were primarily administrative offices and storage.

His heart started to pound when he picked up the murmur of a deep voice. Shifting the flashlight to his left hand, Mitch reached for his sidearm and came up empty. He was a guard tonight, not a cop. His service weapon was locked up safe in his apartment. At the end of the corridor he pulled up short, pressing his back against the wall and tightening his grip on the flashlight. He wore a panic button clipped to his belt but his instincts told him he wasn’t at the panic stage yet. Breathing soft and slow, he closed his eyes and focused his energy on catching a few words. Perhaps he could figure out what the intruders were after before making his presence known.

Thirty seconds passed. His eyes popped open then rolled heavenward as the droning voice segued into a bouncy pop song. The radio. Someone had left a radio playing in one of the offices. Shaking off the rush of adrenaline, Mitch pushed away from the wall and rounded the corner, only to come to a dead stop when he saw the fan of light spilling from the office at the very end of the hall.

Two things he knew for certain: the radio hadn’t been playing when he’d made his post-closing rounds, and that door on the end of the corridor hadn’t been open. He let the barrel of the flashlight slip through his fingers until he gripped the lamp. Wielding his only weapon like a club, he crept toward the door as silently as a guy who clocked in at six-four and two-ten could. Just outside the office, he caught a flash of movement inside the room and quickly pressed his back to the wall.

“About time you showed up.”

A woman. The intruder was a woman and she’d been expecting him. Irked by the presumptuous amusement in her tone, he stepped into the open doorway, prepared to let her have it, and almost swallowed his tongue.

Screw the flashing red lights. Alarm bells clamored in his head the moment recognition clicked. Kelsey Tecato. Artist in Residence. Painter of hard-on-inducing nudes. Live and in person, standing in the Templeton Museum after hours.

And naked as the day she was born.