Book Blitz! Never Plan a Billionaire’s Wedding by Julia Kent ~ Excerpt and #Giveaway! #NeverPlanABillionairesWedding @jkentauthor @XpressoTours

 

Never Plan a Billionaire’s Wedding by Julia Kent
(Whatever It Takes, #1)
Publication date: November 28th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rule #1: Don’t fall in love with the groom

Stalker exes. Momzillas. Drunk uncles. Hurricanes. Jealous siblings. Paparazzi.

You name it, Kari Westveldt has seen it all.

And that’s why brides and grooms hire her.

Because she makes it all go away.

Wedding Protectors, Inc., is here to make sure that special day stays special.

Whatever it takes.

No matter what.

But when her newest client turns out to be her own long-lost high school sweetheart, rising tech star billionaire Caleb Mikelmas, suddenly Kari’s not sure whether she’s protecting the wedding couple —

Or her own heart.

Tech billionaire Caleb never thought he had a chance, much less a second chance with his first love and high school sweetheart, Kari. When a case of mistaken identity turns their reunion into one big misunderstanding, unraveling his feelings about the one who got away while supporting his brother’s nuptials means facing old demons.

And kissing Kari.

He likes kissing Kari far more than that whole demon thing.

But if kisses were enough, Kari would already be his wife.

Maybe it’s time to revisit the past and right some wrongs.

One vow at a time.

Welcome to the Whatever It Takes series:

Every bride needs something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue –

But you know what brides don’t need?

Complications.

Welcome to Wedding Protectors, Inc. Have a spritzer or a latte or some lovely Zen tea and sink into a comfortable chair in our sunlit offices as we listen to your wedding problem – and form the perfect solution to every possible contingency.

We plan for everything.

Except our own love lives.

But that’s not your problem.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

iBooks | Kobo

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EXCERPT

Carolina was introducing him to his former fiancée.

Fine. Near fiancée. It had been a promise ring, not an engagement diamond, but still.

The run he’d just finished was apparently unnecessary from a cardio standpoint, since his heart was now racing, crashing into his ribs as if it were fleeing a crime scene. Not that he was the bad guy. But still.

Kari. No way.

It was his Kari. And okay, maybe she was never formally his fiancée, but until college and distance broke them up, they always planned on it. He’d given her a promise ring in high school, so that was close enough.

When Carolina had mentioned she was meeting two wedding professionals named Katie and Carrie, he’d heard it as the more familiar spelling. She’d never spelled it out, and she hadn’t bothered to tell him Kari‘s last name.

“Caleb, have you swallowed your tongue along with your manners? Shake the poor woman’s hand, for goodness sake!” Carolina crooned, giving him side-eye while managing a puzzled smile at Kari as the two stood awkwardly in front of each other, gaping.

Kari had changed in some ways, for sure, but it was her, alright. Her brown hair was a darker shade but still thick and shiny, framed in soft layers around her face, brushing the edges of straight, strong shoulders. He recognized those whiskey brown eyes, deceptively sleepy unless you knew her, knew that behind them, her brain was working constantly at warp speed.

She was taller now–or anyway, she didn’t wear four-inch heels back then–so instead of having to bend to kiss her lips, he could just dip his head.

If he wanted to kiss her.

If wanting to kiss her wasn’t the only thing he could think about.

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About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. Since 2013, she has sold more than 2 million books, with 4 New York Times bestsellers and more than 21 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French, German, and Italian, with more titles releasing in the future.

From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men's room toilet (and he isn't a billionaire she met in a romantic comedy).

She lives in New England with her husband and three children where she is the only person in the household with the gene required to change empty toilet paper rolls.

She loves to hear from her readers by email at julia@jkentauthor.com, on Twitter @jkentauthor, on Facebook at @jkentauthor, and on Instagram @jkentauthor. Visit her at http://jkentauthor.com

Connect with Julia

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Instagram | Bookbub | Amazon | Newsletter

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? November 27, 2023 #IMWAYR

    

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's an opportunity to visit other blogs and to comment on their reads. And ... you can add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are! 

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Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all have a good week. 

Happy reading!

What I'm currently reading

Emerald Heart: An Emerald Isle, NC Novel

by Grace Greene

eARC from author

Pub date ~ December 5

It Ends with Us

(It Ends with Us #1)

by Colleen Hoover

print from my shelves for a challenge

Published August 2, 2016

There's No Coming Back from This

by Ann Garvin

Narrated by Andi Arndt

audiobook from my shelves

Published August 1, 2023

What I recently finished

An Impossible Thing to Say

by Arya Shahi

print from publisher

Published September 26,2023

A Different Kind of Gone

by Catherine Ryan Hyde

eARC

Pub date ~ December 5

Dark Corners

(Rachel Krall #2)

by Megan Goldin

eARC

Published August 8, 2023

Spare

by Prince Harry

Narrated by Prince Harry

audiobook from my shelves

Published January 10, 2023

What I am going to read next

The Wishing Game

by Meg Shaffer

eARC

Published May 30, 2023

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways!

This OR That Giveaway № 129 ~ Murder on the Eiffel Tower by Claude Izner OR Mrs. Perfect by Jane Porter #MrsPerfect #MurderOnTheEiffelTower

 

I have sooooo many books!

The This or That Giveaway! feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to cull my collection and to share some of the many books I have. I get to clear off some of my shelves to make room for more books and give someone else the chance to enjoy these treasures.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

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Murder on the Eiffel Tower

(Victor Legris #1)

by Claude Izner

Paperback ~ Published March 2003

The brand-new, shiny Eiffel Tower is the pride and glory of the 1889 World Exposition. But one sunny afternoon, as visitors are crowding the viewing platforms, a woman collapses and dies on this great Paris landmark. Can a bee sting really be the cause of death? Or is there a more sinister explanation? 

Enter young bookseller Victor Legris. Present on the tower at the time of the incident, and appalled by the media coverage of the occurrence, he is determined to find out what actually happened. In this dazzling evocation of late nineteenth-century Paris, we follow Victor as his investigation takes him all over the city and he suspects an ever-changing list of possible perpetrators. 

Could mysterious Kenji Mori, his surrogate father and business partner at the bookstore Legris operates, be involved in the crime? Why are beautiful Russian illustrator Tasha and her colleagues at the newly launched sensationalist newspaper Passepartout always up-to-date in their reporting? And what will Legris do when the deaths begin to multiply and he is caught in a race against time? 

Murder on the Eiffel Tower is painstakingly researched, an effortless evocation of the glorious City of Light, and an exciting opening to a promising series of eight books featuring Victor Legris.

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Mrs. Perfect

(Bellevue Wives #2)

by Jane Porter

Paperback ~ Published May 2008

As a young California girl growing up in a blue collar neighborhood, Taylor Young dreamed of being popular, beautiful, and acquiring a wardrobe to die for. Not to mention marrying a handsome, successful man and living happily ever after in a gorgeous house with three wonderful children. Now, at 36, Taylor has reached the pinnacle of her dreams, but is it all about to unravel?

As the new school year approaches, Taylor prepares herself for playing the perfect alpha organizing class activities, fund-raising, and chairing the school auction. But the horror! Her archrival, bohemian mom Marta Zinsser, is named Head Room Mom of Taylor's daughter's fifth grade class. As tensions rise at committee meetings and school activities, the two rivals seem to be destined for a final confrontation. 

But as Taylor plans her next move, she is floored by a more serious blow at home-her husband has been secretly unemployed for the past six months. With her posh lifestyle crumbling, Taylor struggles to maintain her alpha image -- but could Marta, who cares little about appearances, be her only true friend?

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When does your Christmas tree go up?

Drop your answer in the comments and enter the rafflecopter giveaway!

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Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? November 20, 2023 #IMWAYR

         

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's an opportunity to visit other blogs and to comment on their reads. And ... you can add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are! 

**************************************

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all have a good week. 

Happy reading!

What I'm currently reading

Dark Corners

(Rachel Krall #2)

by Megan Goldin

eARC

Published August 8, 2023

An Impossible Thing to Say

by Arya Shahi

print from publisher

Published September 26,2023

Spare

by Prince Harry

Narrated by Prince Harry

audiobook from my shelves

Published January 10, 2023

What I recently finished

Hatteras Girl

(Heart of Carolina #3)

by Alice J. Wisler

print from my shelves for a challenge

Published October 2010

The Broken Hummingbird: A Novel

by Ann Marie Jackson

print from publisher

Publication date October 3, 2023

What I am going to read next

A Different Kind of Gone

by Catherine Ryan Hyde

eARC

Pub date ~ December 5

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways!

This OR That #Giveaway № 128 ~ The Paper Daughters of Chinatown by Heather B. Moore & Allison Hong Merrill OR The Storm Makers by Jennifer E. Smith #TheStormMakers #ThePaperDaughtersOfChinatown

 

I have sooooo many books!

The This or That Giveaway! feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to cull my collection and to share some of the many books I have. I get to clear off some of my shelves to make room for more books and give someone else the chance to enjoy these treasures.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

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The Paper Daughters of Chinatown

Adapted for Young Readers

by Heather B. Moore & Allison Hong Merrill

ARC ~ Published April 2023

Based on the true story of two friends who unite to help rescue immigrant women and girls in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the late 1890s.

When Tai Choi leaves her home in the Zhejiang province of China, she believes it’s to visit her grandmother. But despite her mother’s opposition, her father has sold her to pay his gambling debts. Alone and afraid, Tai Choi is put on a ship headed for “Gold Mountain” (San Francisco). When she arrives, she’s forced to go by the name on her forged papers: Tien Fu Wu.

Her new life as a servant is hard. She is told to stay hidden, stay silent, and perform an endless list of chores, or she will be punished or sold again. If she is to survive, Tien Fu must persevere, and learn who to trust. Her life changes when she’s rescued by the women at the Occidental Mission Home for Girls.

When Dolly Cameron arrives in San Francisco to teach sewing at the mission home, she meets Tien Fu, who is willful, defiant, and unwilling to trust anyone. Dolly quickly learns that all the girls at the home were freed from servitude and maltreatment, and enthusiastically accepts a role in rescuing more.

Despite challenges, Dolly and Tien Fu forge a powerful friendship as they mentor and help those in the mission home and work to win the freedom of enslaved immigrant women and girls.

Read my thoughts here

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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The Storm Makers

by Jennifer E. Smith

ARC ~ Published January 2012

Enter the world of The Storm Makers, where there's magic behind every forecast.

What starts as an ordinary summer turns exciting and perilous for twins Ruby and Simon when strange occurrences begin happening on their farm -- sudden gusts of wind, rainstorms, and even tornado warnings -- that seem eerily timed to Simon's emotions.

Then a stranger arrives and tells the twins that Simon is a Storm Maker -- part of a clandestine group of people entrusted with controlling and taming the weather -- and that he is in great danger. Soon Simon and Ruby must race against the clock as they try to master Simon's powers in time to stop a rogue Storm Maker's treacherous -- and potentially deadly -- plans.

In this thrilling new adventure, loyalties can shift as quickly as the wind . . . and the ordinary can turn extraordinary in the blink of an eye.

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Drop your answer in the comments and enter the rafflecopter giveaway!

I think we can all agree! What else are you thankful for?

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Release Day! Hello Goodbye by Kay Bratt ~ My Thoughts #HelloGoodbye @kaybratt

Happy Release Day!

Congrats Kay

on the release today of

Hello Goodbye!

Hello Goodbye by Kay Bratt

(Hart's Ridge #7)

Women Sleuths, Suspense, 233 pages

Published November 16, 2023 by Red Thread Publishing Group 

In the captivating new installment of Kay Bratt's acclaimed Hart's Ridge series, Hello Goodbye, the tranquil town is gripped by fear and concern following a shocking double murder that leaves three adopted children once again orphaned. Amidst the turmoil, Deputy Taylor Gray finds herself relegated to a secondary role behind the town's detective, but her unwavering dedication to solving the case knows no bounds.

But the challenges faced by the Gray family extend beyond the murder investigation. Taylor's fiancé, Sam, is blindsided by a life-altering revelation: he discovers he has a 12-year-old daughter he never knew existed. This revelation sets in motion a tumultuous journey for Sam as he navigates the complexities of instant fatherhood while striving to maintain his relationship with Taylor.

Amidst the chaos, Sam is determined to help Taylor find closure for a painful chapter from her past. As he endeavors to mend the scars that haunt her, he hopes to win not just a part but the entirety of her heart, even the parts she has closed off.

Kay Bratt's signature storytelling style beckons readers back into the enigmatic world of Hart's Ridge, where secrets are hidden in every nook and cranny, and the indomitable bonds of family face their most challenging tests. Hello Goodbye weaves a gripping narrative of mystery and the unbreakable ties that bind a small-town community. If you're yearning for an absorbing mystery with well-drawn characters and a compelling storyline, this latest addition to the Hart's Ridge series is a must-read.

Hello Goodbye is book seven of the new Hart's Ridge small-town mystery series, written by Kay Bratt, million-copy best-selling author of Wish Me Home and True to Me.

My thoughts about Hello Goodbye ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First lines—"Taylor Gray always thought of nature as a gift for the soul and, as she drove through the winding roads, her eyes were drawn to the breathtaking beauty that surrounded her."

I love Kay Bratt's Hart's Ridge series and I swear, each installment draws me in even more than the previous one. I love how I have become so entrenched in the lives of the Gray family and the Hart's Ridge community. Each story is a wonderful blend of a captivating mystery that Taylor is involved in, but then we also get to be a part of the family dynamics and all that that entails. There's plenty of drama, compassion, and love. 

Along with the murder investigation that Taylor finds herself involved in, her new fiancé is faced with a child he knew nothing about suddenly appearing in their lives. Plenty of drama there and what will it all mean for their relationship?

This is an amazing series and one that I highly recommend. Hello Goodbye is another exciting, heartwarming story in the continuing, complicated lives of the Gray family. Book eight is scheduled to be released next month. I'm so excited to read more!

I received an ARC of Hello Goodbye from the author and this is my honest opinion.

Read my thoughts about book 1, Hart's Ridge here,

book 2, Lucy in the Sky here,

book #3 In My Life here,

book #4, Borrowed Time here, 

book #5, Instant Karma here, 

and book #6 Nobody Told Me here.

Book #8 Starting Over is expected to be released on December 19th!

About the author

Kay Bratt; Writer, Rescuer, Wanderer

As a writer, Kay used writing to help her navigate a tumultuous childhood, followed by a decade of abuse as an adult. After working her way through the hard years, Kay emerged a survivor and a pursuer of peace--and finally found the courage to share her stories. She is the author of more than a dozen full length books, with ten of those published by Lake Union Publishing. Kay writes women's fiction and historical fiction, and her books have fueled many exciting book club discussions. Her works have been translated into German, Korean, Chinese, Czechoslovakian, and Estonian.

As a rescuer, Kay currently focuses her efforts on animal rescue and is the Director of Advocacy for Yorkie Rescue of the Carolinas. As a child advocate, she spent a number of years volunteering in a Chinese orphanage, as well as provided assistance for several nonprofit organizations that support children in China, including An Orphan's Wish (AOW), Pearl River Outreach, and Love Without Boundaries. In the USA, she actively served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for abused and neglected children in Georgia, and spear-headed numerous outreach programs for underprivileged children in the South Carolina area.

As a wanderer, Kay has lived in nearly three dozen different homes, on two continents and in states from coast to coast in the USA. She's traveled to Mexico, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Philippines, Central America, Bahamas, and Australia. Currently she and her soulmate of more than 25 years enjoy life in their forever home on the banks of Lake Hartwell in Georgia, USA.

Kay has been described as southern, spicy, and a little sassy. Social media forces her to overshare and you don't want to miss some of the antics that goes on with her and the Bratt Pack. 

Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and then buckle up and enjoy the ride. You can find a full list of her published works at www.kaybratt.com -- To be notified when new books are released, please sign up for my monthly email newsletter at www.kaybratt.com ~ Goodreads

Connect with Kay

Website |  Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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