Blog Tour: Harper's Highland Fling by Lizzie Lamb

After a gruelling academic year head teacher Harper MacDonald is looking forward to a summer holiday trekking in Nepal. Her plans are scuppered when her wayward niece, Ariel, leaves a note announcing she’s running away with a boy called Pen. The only clue to their whereabouts is a scribbled footnote: I’ll Be in Scotland. 

Cue a case of mistaken identity when Harper confronts the boy‘s father - Rocco Penhaligon - accusing him of cradle snatching her niece and ruining her bright future. At loggerheads, Harper and Rocco set off in hot pursuit of the teenagers, but the canny youngsters are always one step ahead.  And, in a neat twist, it is the adults who end up in trouble, not the savvy teenagers. 

Can Cupid convince Harper and Rocco that they have found their soul mates? 

Fasten your seatbelt for the road trip of your lifetime -
It’s going to be a bumpy ride. 

Purchase Link - http://mybook.to/HarpersHighlandFling

Review

Two teenagers make a roadtrip up to Scotland in a battered old Mini.

This is not their story.

This is the story of his father and her aunt, polar opposites thrown together by a shared quest to retrieve their errant charges. Successful head teacher Harper yells at Rocco in front of his employees and in return, he insists they follow the teenagers on a motorbike despite Harper's discomfort. While the arguments and irritation accompany them on their trip north, so does a simmering attraction.

I loved the slow burn of enemies (or annoyances?) to lovers romance because there's no instant easy resolution, just believable tension and tons of UST. Of course, there's matchmaking friends and others who assume along the way, but the heart of this book is two people who annoy the other into reassessing their lives and falling in love. I loved how they helped the other realise that the life they're living is not the one they want - and the one they want could be theirs if they just reach out and take it.

Beyond Harper and Rocco, there are a full cast of supporting characters - the two runaway teenagers, the family and friends dotted along the way, the various figures from their past. They are all believable and round out their story (though warning for a couple of uses of the g-slur). I especially liked how the teenagers got their fair share of growth.

For an engaging roadtrip romp with a steamy middle and a sweet end, I definitely recommend this.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Rachel's Random Resources, all opinions are my own.

Author Bio 

After teaching her 1000th pupil and working as a deputy head teacher in a large primary school, Lizzie decided to pursue her first love: writing. She joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writers’ Scheme, wrote Tall, Dark and Kilted (2012), quickly followed by Boot Camp Bride. She went on to publish Scotch on the Rocks, which achieved Best Seller status within two weeks of appearing on Amazon and her next novel, Girl in the Castle, reached #3 in the Amazon charts. Lizzie is a founder member of indie publishing group – New Romantics Press, and has hosted author events at Aspinall, St Pancras and Waterstones, Kensington, talking about the research which underpins her novels. Lizzie romance Take Me, I’m Yours, set in Wisconsin, also achieved BEST SELLER status >travel>USA. Her latest novel - Harper’s Highland Fling - has been declared her ‘best one yet’ by readers and reviewers. In it, two warring guardians are forced to join forces and set off in hot pursuit of a runaway niece and son. She has further Scottish-themed romances planned and spends most of the summer touring the Scottish Highlands researching men in kilts. As for the years she spent as a teacher, they haven’t quite gone to waste as she is building a reputation as a go-to speaker on indie publishing, and how to plan, write, and publish your debut novel. 

Lizzie lives in Leicestershire (UK) with her husband, David.

She loves to hear from readers, so do get in touch . . . 

Lizzie’s Links
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/lizzielamb
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LizzieLambwriter
Email: lizzielambwriter@gmail.com
Website: www.lizzielamb.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lizzie_lamb
Newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/ELNL-2016
Linked in: uk.linkedin.com/pub/lizzie-lamb/18/194/202/
Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/cbla48d
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/lizzielamb/

St Nicholas Salvage & Wrecking by Dana Haynes

Michael Patrick Finnigan was a New York City cop and a US Marshal who figured out that following the rules doesn't always get the job done. Katalin Fiero Dahar was a soldier, spy, and assassin for Spain, who figured out that breaking the rules doesn't always get the job done.

Together, they created St. Nicholas Salvage & Wrecking, a largely illegal bounty hunting operation based in Cyprus and working throughout Europe. Operating under the radar for the presiding judge of the International Criminal Court, they track down the worst of the world's worst.

Someone is kidnapping Middle Eastern refugee children as they flee war-torn countries and selling them into prostitution around the world. Finnigan and Fiero get the assignment to track them down and save the refugees. But when they discover that the perpetrators are a Serbian mobster-with patronage at the highest levels of the United Nations-and a battalion of the Kosovo military, the partners reach out to their friends to find justice, including a corrupt banker, a cadre of mercenaries, and a crew of professional thieves.

The battle to stop the mass kidnappings ranges from Belgrade and Zagreb, to the Loire Valley and Milan, and to the plains of Kosovo. As Finnigan and Fiero close in, the conspirators realize that the judge of the ICC is the real threat and plan an assassination. Now the partners have to save their patron and the kidnapped refugees from a rogue military force with nothing left to lose.

Review

A trusted friend with excellent taste recommended this book to me and it did not disappoint. A thoroughly enjoyable ride through Europe with a fascinating and competent cast of characters, chief among them Finnegan and Fiero. The partners are polar opposites and platonic life partners who right the world's wrongs for a fee and hope the more amoral of their collaborators aren't bought by the other side first. Corruption goes deep and justice goes awry, but books like this give hope that at least in fiction, someone is taking care of the necessary. 

This book is a good time. Five stars.

Public Trust by Tess Shepherd

When Lola Michaels wakes up to a strange man in her apartment, his hands touching her throat, she’s petrified. And, although one scream sends her nighttime visitor running, she can’t shake the feeling that next time she might not be so lucky.

LAPD Lieutenant Jacob Simmone isn’t entirely sure what to make of the situation either. Lola is a gorgeous, single woman, living in an eight-hundred-square foot artist’s studio. Why would a man break in while she was home? Why would he leave without taking a single item? It’s only when the bodies of similar female victims start surfacing in the same neighborhood, that he realizes there may be something more to Lola’s midnight encounter. And, as Jacob and Lola are thrown into a situation that neither of them could have expected,—or wanted—Jacob can’t help but wonder if he’s making a mistake, if he’d be more effective at tracking a killer without Lola always nearby, clouding his brain. Little does he realize that, maybe, he can’t catch a break because someone else, someone with real power, is holding all the cards…

Review

Before you get sucked in by the quirky, artsy cover, let me warn you that this is romantic suspense and contains themes of murder, abuse, and trauma.

It actually handles all of the above pretty well, but it's not as light as the cover makes out.

Lola is a sweetheart, a semi-successful artist who fears her tale of a midnight intruder won't be believed. Luckily, Lieutenant Jacob is instantly smitten and will do anything to keep her safe. Less luckily, the recent murders of similar women do a lot to bolster her story but don't help her feel any safer. Jacob must protect 'the one who got away' who is fast making a place in his heart, while maintaining a professional distance...

Spoiler alert: he doesn't. Maintain a professional distance.

This actually threw me all the way out of the book because that level of unprofessionalism is downright irresponsible and to see it practically encouraged by his superiors was all sorts of wrong. Even if the UST is off the charts. I was really hoping they'd at least keep it together until Lola's life was out of danger.

Apart from that, the murder mystery came together nicely, though I'd have preferred a few more breadcrumbs of clues rather than the big reveal of a stranger. I feel like there were a few opportunities to provide foreshadowing that were missed as I spent a bit of time going back and forth trying to find out if I'd missed something.

Overall it was a pretty decent romantic suspense with an interesting supporting cast, but there were a few niggles that stopped me really getting into it so I give it four stars.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own

Blog Tour: Pixeldust by T. K. Arispe

Maria Elena thought she’d sworn off gaming forever. But she hates her new internship, so her brother Balt convinces her to play Heroes of Avonell, a cutting-edge virtual-reality video game with such complex programming that it’s like the non-player characters are self-aware.

Disappointed with the usual cliché job class offerings, Maria Elena’s character Quinny stumbles through a glitch in the game and ends up in Caed Dhraos, a strange city populated with friendly monsters. Quinny decides to work for the resident dark lord as part of his magic personnel, but she can’t tell anybody she’s playing in off-limits areas of the game—not even Balt. Soon Quinny finds herself getting to the bottom of a mystery surrounding an ancient demon and why Caed Dhraos is suffering from the Blight.

But the artificial intelligences in the game really are self-aware, and some of Avonell’s so-called “heroes” have decided they don’t like humanity very much. The game has gone out of control, and Maria Elena and her new friends have to find a way to set things right. Can she save Avonell – and Earth – while juggling her real job and trying to salvage her crumbling relationship with her brother?
Pixeldust is a dive into a fantastical, fun virtual world where the universe may be made of data, but the dangers, friendships, magic, and lessons learned are very real.

Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.com/Pixeldust-T-K-Arispe-ebook/dp/B08DD612GR (ebook)
https://www.amazon.com/Pixeldust-T-K-Arispe/dp/B08DBZD91T (paperback)

Review

One week into her internship and already hating it, former gaming addict Maria Elena falls off the wagon to play Heroes of Avonell, a cutting edge VR experience with incredibly lifelike NPCs (non-playable characters). Loving the experience but tired of the cliched storyline, Maria Elena's avatar Quinny stumbles through a glitch in the game and joins forces with the friendly monsters in the dark city on the other side. Unfortunately, the NPCs aren't just lifelike, they're fast becoming self-aware and aren't pleased to find out they aren't real. Soon Maria must juggle her job, her relationship with her brother, and a whole society of angry NPCs threatening to break into our own world and wreak destruction.

This is a fizzy, exciting triumph of a book. Yes, we're faced with the ethical dilemmas of AI and personhood, but it's clothed in parlance that any RPG player would recognise and Maria Elena's impatience with the old cliches will ring true for anyone who's picked up a game but wished for more innovative storytelling. I could easily see similar criticisms popping up if tech ever advanced to make Heroes of Avonell a reality, though I'm still unsure how an overarching quest works in a MMO (massive multiplayer online) where you adventure alongside players from around the world.

The high fantasy of the game and the accompanying moral quandaries are anchored by Maria Elena's relationship with her brother. While he's the one who invited her to play in the first place, Quinny's adventures in an off-limits game area drives a wedge between them, proving that actions in Avonell can have real-life consequences.

While the ending was satisfying, I can't help but feel it wrapped up too quickly as it has huge implications for Maria Elena's life and our world in general. I would love to read more about Avonell and its people.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Rachel's Random Resources; all opinions are my own

Author Bio
T. K. Arispe is an illustrator, gamer, and unashamed nerd with a background in animation and webcomic production, including the webcomic Trainer Wants to Fight! which somehow got its own page on TVTropes. She loves interesting stories, well-crafted worlds, and memorable characters, and is passionate about creating quality, intelligent, slightly offbeat media that everyone can enjoy. Most of her story ideas come from random research binges, usually in the fields of theoretical physics, computer science, or oddly enough food history. She lives in California, were she enjoys not having to deal with snow because it is terrifying.

Social Media Links 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkarispe
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tkarispe/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9833615.T_K_Arispe

Blog Tour: Trouble for the Leading Lady by Rachel Brimble

Bath, 1852.

As a girl, Nancy Bloom would go to Bath's Theatre Royal, sit on the hard wooden benches and stare in awe at the actresses playing men as much as the women dressed in finery. She longed to be a part of it all and when a man promised her parents he could find a role for Nancy in the theatre, they believed him.

His lie and betrayal led to her ruin.

Francis Carlyle is a theatre manager, an ambitious man always looking for the next big thing to take the country by storm. A self-made man, Francis has finally shed the skin of his painful past and is now rich, successful and in need of a new female star. Never in a million years did he think he'd find her standing on a table in one of Bath's bawdiest pubs.

Nancy vowed never to trust a man again. Francis will do anything to make her his star. As they engage in a battle of wits and wills, can either survive with their hearts intact?

The second in Rachel Brimble's thrilling new Victorian saga series, Trouble for the Leading Lady will whisk you away to the riotous, thriving underbelly of Victorian Bath.

Purchase Links
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trouble-Leading-Lady-gripping-Victorian-ebook/dp/B08GTT5H2K  
US - https://www.amazon.com/Trouble-Leading-Lady-gripping-Victorian-ebook/dp/B08GTT5H2K 

Review

Once a girl with stars in her eyes, Nancy Bloom is now a successful prostitute. The exclusive and expensive brothel where she works and lives is also home to her surrogate family who support each other through thick and thin. Francis Carlyle has divorced himself from his past at the workhouse but it continues to gnaw at him though he is now a successful theatre manager. Francis hopes that Nancy can bring his past to life on the stage, but she's not looking for past dreams to upset her present contentment. Nor are either of them looking for love, but that's waiting in the wings as well.

There's a certain amount of suspension of disbelief that goes into many novels, particularly historicals, and I found my stretched by the economics of Nancy's life, not to mention her being in the bloom of health. However, once that is put aside, the characterisations are spot on. Both Francis and Nancy are haunted and shaped by their pasts in an utterly believable way. Francis is ambitious and pushy, afraid to look back, whereas Nancy puts up a facade that is aggressively cheerful - or sometimes just aggressive. It was great to see them call each other out on these traits and make small steps towards a better version of themselves. I also loved the cast of supporting characters, many of whom deserve awards for patience, if not their own book! Mrs Gaynor was a lovely sweetheart and the friendship between Louisa and Nancy spoke of deep trust and friendship.

There is also a theme of social justice as Francis and Nancy look to make a difference though Francis' play. I can't help but feel that this story is not yet ended - while there is a happy ending for our leads, between the workhouse, Francis' friend Edmund, and the play itself, there are plot threads that are yet to be tied up.

This is a good romance between two very prickly leads, if you don't mind a few loose ends.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Rachel's Random Resources; all opinions are my own

Author Bio
Rachel lives in a small town near Bath, England. She is the author of over 20 published novels including the Shop Girl series (Aria Fiction) and the Templeton Cove Stories (Harlequin).
In 2019 she signed a new three book contract with Aria Fiction for a Victorian trilogy set in a Bath brothel. The first book, A Widow’s Vow was released in September 2020 followed by book 2 Trouble For The Leading Lady in March 2021 – it is expected that the final instalment will be released in the Autumn 2021.
Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and has thousands of social media followers all over the world.
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Social Media Links
Website: https://rachelbrimble.com/
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