Release Day! Three & Out by Laura Chapman, Facebook Party, 99¢ Sale, and a Giveaway!

Happy Release Day!

Three & Out

Three & Out by Laura Chapman
Series: Queen of the League #3
Print and e-book
Published: October 25th 2016

After rushing to the altar and moving across the country, Harper Duquaine (or is it MacLaughlin, now?) is in uncharted territory. What once seemed like a promising opportunity to advance her husband’s career while giving her some much needed independence and adventure has proven to be a bust. By the time fall rolls around again, she’s back in a boring job by day and overstocking her inventory of crocheted scarves by night. Not even the prospect of a new football season holds much excitement.

At least that’s what she thought. Harper suddenly finds herself the manager of not one but two fantasy football teams—each with its own set of drama. Between the added pressure of her new marriage, an unexpected career prospect, and the hiccups created by people from her past and present worlds, Harper quickly finds herself going from bored to overwhelmed.

Can she hold up under the pressure, or will Harper learn the hard way that the turf isn’t always greener on the other field?

Purchase Three & Out

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

To celebrate the new release, for a limited time,

you can pick up the first two stories

in the series for only 99¢ each.

In Laura Chapman’s Queen of the League series, Harper Duquaine joins a fantasy football league to prove she can hang with the guys. Only problem: she doesn’t know a sleeper from a keeper (or any of the other lingo thrown her way). Her competitive streak soon emerges, and she catches the interest of her top two competitors. With a slew of conflicting advice in her real and fantasy worlds, Harper must figure out how to play the game and come out a winner.

Purchase First & Goal

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

Purchase Going for Two

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

Join the Facebook Party on October 25th!

Join Laura Chapman for a day of fun and prizes as she celebrates the release of Three & Out, the third book in the Queen of the League series.

Click here to enter!

$10 Amazon card

2 - First & Goal audiobooks from Audible

2 - The Marrying Type audiobooks from Audible

About the Author

Laura Chapman is the author of First & Goal, Going for Two, Three & Out, and The Marrying Type. Her holiday novellas Making Christmas and What Happens at Midnight will be released on November 8, and are now available for pre-order. A native Nebraskan, she loves football, Netflix marathons, and her cats, Jane and Bingley. Connect with her online on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube and on her website at www.laurachapmanbooks.com.

Connect with Laura

Website | Facebook | Twitter
Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? October 24, 2016

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 and I hope you all have a great week. Happy reading!  

What I'm currently reading/listening to


Three & Out (Queen of the League #3)
by Laura Chapman

Two from Isaac's House: A Story of Promises
by Normandie Fischer 
(audiobook)

What I recently finished

Mixing It Up 

by Tracie Banister

What a fun read! My thought are here. 

Inheriting Edith: A Novel

by Zoe Fishman

My thought will be posted tomorrow. 

What I am going to read next


Come This Way
by Michelle Schlicher

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Mixing It Up by Tracie Banister ~ My Thoughts and a Giveaway!

Mixing It Up 

Mixing It Up by Tracie Banister

Print and e-book, 413 pages

Published October 19th 2016

Born with a silver spoon in her mouth, Manhattan upper-cruster Cecily Sinclair now uses that pricey utensil to dish up fancy French fare on her cooking show, Serving Romance. When there’s an executive shake-up at the network, she’s not worried. Not much anyway. Her show’s a hit after all. Why would the new CEO want to mess with success?

The driving force behind several buzzed-about networks, Devlin Hayes is considered to be a wunderkind in the television industry. Although his plans to rebrand CuisineTV and make Serving Romance more Millennial-friendly don’t thrill Cecily, her charming, blue-eyed boss is a hard man to say “no” to and she really wants to keep her job—even if that means sharing screen time with a loathsome blast from her past.

Mercurial Italian chef Dante Marchetti a.k.a. “Il Duce” was once Cecily’s boss, and she has the PTSD to prove it. Now the owner of one of the hottest restaurants in town, Dante’s egomania knows no bounds and his constant attempts to provoke and upstage Cecily make her want to conk him on the head with a sauté pan. She thinks they’re toxic together, but viewers love their chemistry and clamor for more.

As Cecily battles to maintain the integrity of her show, she finds herself scheming and manipulating right along with Dante and Devlin. Is she fighting a lost cause? Does she really belong on TV, or would her culinary talent be better served elsewhere? And could one of the men who makes Cecily’s blood boil ignite a passion in her for something other than food?

 

My thoughts about Mixing It Up ~~

(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 line—'"Mmmmmm, this tastes amazing," I murmur my approval after taking a bit of coq au vin I just removed from the oven.'

I was warned that I would be craving food as I read Mixing It Up and it is so true. What a fun, yummy story! It's a story full of very interesting and quirky characters, as well as having some great discussions about food. 

Dina, Cecily's cousin, is one of those memorable characters. I love the relationship those two have. They are more like sisters, two gals who have a good time together and who always have each others back. Then there is Dante Marchetti, the chef who becomes such a big part of Cecily's life.... whether she likes it or not. (love the food fight scene, 'nuff said!) And let's don't forget Cecily's whole extended family. What a crazy bunch! I loved the quirkiness and dysfunction of that whole mess. 

Mixing It Up is a very entertaining story that had me in stitches all while trying to figure out who Cecily was going to end up with and what direction her life was going to take. Tracie definitely has a great sense of humor and it totally comes out in her stories and her characters. I loved my time with Cecily where I got a little 'taste' of the life of great cuisine.

About the author

An avid reader and writer, Tracie Banister has been scribbling stories since she was a child, most of them featuring feisty heroines with complicated love lives like her favorite fictional protagonist Scarlett O'Hara. Her work was first seen on the stage of her elementary school, where her 4th grade class performed an original holiday play she penned. (Like all good divas-in-the-making, she also starred in and tried to direct the production.)

Tracie’s dreams of authorial success were put on the backburner when she reached adulthood and discovered that she needed a "real" job in order to pay her bills. Her career as personal assistant to a local entrepreneur lasted for 12 years. When it ended, she decided to follow her bliss and dedicate herself to writing full-time. Mixing It Up is her fourth Chick Lit release, and in it Tracie finally got to live out her fantasy of being a Cordon Bleu-trained chef.

Connect with Tracie

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Author Newsletter – The Banister Buzz

This prize pack includes:

Garnier-Thiebaut Oh, La La, Chéri French-themed 

4-piece Kitchen Linens Set 

(Apron, kitchen towel, pot holder, and oven mitt.) 

Kate Spade Deco Dot Recipe Box 

with 8 tabbed dividers and 40 recipe cards 

The French Women Don’t Get Fat Cookbook 

by Mireille Guiliano 

To enter this giveaway, simply e-mail the author at traciebanister@gmail.com with your proof of purchase. Entries will be accepted until midnight on October 26th, 2016 when a winner will be selected via random drawing. This is an international giveaway, so anyone who buys Mixing It Up within the allotted time frame is eligible to win. Good luck!

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Book Spotlight Giveaway! Thunder and Rain by Charles Martin

I have sooooo many books! The Book Spotlight Giveaway feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to clear my shelves and to share some of the many books I have. This feature is a way for my to cull my collection and to give someone else the opportunity to enjoy these treasures. And sometimes, I find great books on Amazon that I just love to share with you.

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This week's book is another one that I got from my daughter when she moved and had to shrink her book collection. This is a new to me author and I have not read any of his books. I was looking over some of his other titles though and I just may have to give some of them a try. He has written 14 books so far.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

 Thunder and Rain

Thunder and Rain by Charles Martin
ARC, 368 pages
Published April 3rd 2012 by Center Street

Third generation Texas Ranger Tyler Steele is the last of a dying breed-- a modern day cowboy hero living in a world that doesn't quite understand his powerful sense of right and wrong and instinct to defend those who can't defend themselves. Despite his strong moral compass, Ty has trouble seeing his greatest weakness. His hard outer shell, the one essential to his work, made him incapable of forging the emotional connection his wife Andie so desperately needed.

Now retired, raising their son Brodie on his own, and at risk of losing his ranch, Ty does not know how to rebuild from the rubble of his life. The answer comes in the form of Samantha and her daughter Hope, on the run from a seemingly inescapable situation. They are in danger, desperate, and alone. Though they are strangers, Ty knows he can help-- protecting the innocent is what he does best. As his relationship with Sam and Hope unfolds, Ty realizes he must confront his true weaknesses if he wants to become the man he needs to be.

About the author

Christy and I married in 1993. If you include dating, I’ve known and loved her for more than half my life. She is and always will be the home for my heart. We have three boys. Charlie, John T. and Rives. Folks often ask me, which of my books do I like the best. You might as well line up my sons and ask me who I love the most.

My hobbies are bow hunting, working out (a blend of old school stuff and martial arts, called Fight Fit) and Tae Kwon Do. In October 2012 I earned my black belt but I’m still the least flexible person you’ve ever met. The guy that trains me, laughs everytime I start warming up. My boys are far better at Tae Kwon Do than I but I doubt they have as much fun – I get to do and watch. They just do.

I also like to write, but that’s another story.

Connect with Charles

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Release Day: Come This Way by Michelle Schlicher

Happy Release Day!

Come This Way

Come This Way by Michelle Schlicher
Paperback and e-book, 260 pages
Published: October 21st 2016 by Michelle Schlicher

A hiking and outdoor enthusiast, fifty-year-old Fern Conrad can’t imagine spending her time doing anything else, much to the dismay of her daughter, Colby.

Kara Dawson, a twenty-five-year-old student therapist, has shut life out to focus on her sister’s illness. That is, until a chance meeting pushes her to confront the possibilities—by letting go and moving forward.

Eighty-three-year-old Nettie Campbell heals in the hospital while facing the consequences of her actions. Can she repair relationships and forge new bonds as she comes to terms with the truth?

Come This Way is an emotional, honest look into the lives of women who are discovering their own strength. It is a story about difficult choices and the people around us who help us find our way.

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I have read every one of Michelle's books, starting with her debut, and I have loved them all. Come This Way is up next on my reading list and I can't wait to dive in! 

Congrats on another great release, Michelle! 

Purchase Come This Way

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other books by Michelle and my thoughts.

  

The Blue Jay

Gracie's Song

About the Author

Michelle Schlicher is the author of the novels The Blue Jay and Gracie's Song. A graduate of Iowa State University, she subsequently worked for six years in communications and marketing.

She lives in a suburb of Des Moines with her husband and two children.

Connect with Michelle

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

 

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!