Celticlady's Reviews

26 May 2023

Copper Waters: A New Zealand Cottage Mystery (Annalisse Series) by Marlene Bell Book Tour!

Copper Waters: A New Zealand Cottage Mystery
(Annalisse Series)
by Marlene Bell

About Copper Waters

Copper Waters: A New Zealand Cottage Mystery (Annalisse Series)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – New Zealand – South Island
Ewephoric Publishing (October 7, 2022)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 342 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0999539493
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0999539491
Digital Print Length ‏ : ‎ 280 pages
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BL42NBFY

A rural New Zealand vacation turns poisonous.
Antiquities expert Annalisse Drury and tycoon Alec Zavos are at an impasse in their relationship when Alec refuses to clear up a paternity issue with an ex-lover.
Frustrated with his avoidance when their future is at stake, Annalisse accepts an invitation from an acquaintance to fly to New Zealand—hoping to escape the recent turbulence in her life.
But even Annalisse’s cottage idyll on the family sheep farm isn’t immune to intrigue.
Alec sends a mutual friend and detective, Bill Drake, to follow her, and a local resident who accompanies them from the Christchurch airport dies mysteriously soon after. A second violent death finds Annalisse and Bill at odds with the official investigations.
The local police want to close both cases as quickly as possible—without unearthing the town’s dirty secrets.
As she and Bill pursue their own leads at serious cost, the dual mysteries force Annalisse to question everything she thought she knew about family ties, politics, and the art of small-town betrayal.

About Marlene M. Bell

Marlene M. Bell is an eclectic mystery writer, artist, photographer, and she raises sheep on a ranch in wooded East Texas with her husband, Gregg.

Marlene’s Annalisse series boasts numerous honors including the Independent Press Award for Best Mystery (Spent Identity,) and FAPA— Florida Author’s President’s Gold Award for two other installments, (Stolen Obsession and Scattered Legacy.) Her mysteries with a touch of romantic suspense are found at her websites or at online retail outlets.

She also offers the first of her children’s picture books, Mia and Nattie: One Great Team! Based on true events from the Bell’s ranch. The simple text and illustrations are a touching tribute of compassion and love between a little girl and her lamb.

Author Links

Author Website: https://www.marlenembell.com

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/marlenembell

(Personal Page) https://www.facebook.com/marlene.bell.3194

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ewephoric @ewephoric

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/marlene-m-bell

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17642396.Marlene_M_Bell

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marlenemysteries/

Purchase Links – Amazon – Barnes & Noble

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

May 22 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

May 22 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

May 22 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

May 23 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

May 23 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

May 24 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST

May 24 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

May 25 – I Read What You Write – AUTHOR GUEST POST

May 25 – Indie Author Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 26 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

May 26 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 27 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

May 27 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 28 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 29 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

May 29 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

Giveaway!

Prize Package including signed books, totes and handbags, gift cards, and native artisan’s work from the area depicted in the book. In this case, from New Zealand. U.S. Only

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Snow Storm by Mike Alger Audiobook and Book Tour! #iReadBookTours #authors #giveaway @alger_mike @iReadBookTours

#booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #suspense #booknerd #audiblebook #book #audio #audibletrial #amreading #goodreads

Book Title: SNOW STORM by Mike Alger
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +)
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Publisher: Publish America
Release date: July 2002
Content Rating: PG - I wavered between G and PG…there’s no explicit language, but there is some mild-violence.

Book Description:

He smiled. “Kidnapping? Naw… you don’t have to worry about that. Oy’m not here to kidnap you. Oy’m here to kill you.”

You ever had one of those days? You know the kind. You wake up one morning, and all of a sudden an internationally feared assassin wants you dead? I hate it when that happens. And what do you do when the forecast for your friendly neighborhood TV weatherman looks like murder?

KRGX meteorologist Greg O’Brien is having one of those days. He just hopes it’s not his last.

Buy the Book:
Amazon ~ Audible
Add to Goodreads

One of the most popular and recognizable faces on television sets in Nevada and California; Mike Alger is the Chief Meteorologist for KTVN-TV Channel 2 (CBS) in Reno, Nevada. The award-winning weatherman is a holder of the American Meteorological Society’s Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval. He is happily married with two children.

connect with the author: website ~ acx ~ facebook ~ twitter

Enter the Giveaway:

Win audiobook copy of SNOW STORM by MIke Alger (3 winners) (USA only) (ends Jun 2)

Troy Story by Carla Luna Blog Tour!

The friendship that launched a thousand adventures is about to embark on the greatest one of all…

Ever since Stuart Carlson and Dusty Danforth met as kids on a dig in Egypt, they’ve been best friends, supporting each other through heartaches, triumphs, and countless archaeological expeditions. So when Stuart gets hired to help run the American excavations at Troy, he asks Dusty to join him as the site illustrator.

For Dusty, the Troy project isn’t just another adventure. It’s the chance to tell Stuart how she really feels. After years of pining for him, she’s ready for more than friendship.

But soon after they arrive at the site in Turkey, they’re caught up in a feud with a group of German archaeologists. While both teams are eager to make a major find, Stuart’s boss is so determined to beat his rivals that he’s willing to break a few rules. Or laws.

As Stuart and Dusty work together to keep the dig on track, they give in to the passion that’s been simmering under the surface. But will their romance survive when their boss’s scheme puts the entire project in jeopardy?

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BWGKBFNT

B & N Nook Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/troy-story-carla-luna/1143099586

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6445787375

UBL (Books2Read): https://books2read.com/u/bMN2k8

After spending years pining for Dusty, Stuart takes her out to dinner so he can confess his feelings. But he has a hard time controlling his jealousy over his rival, Kerim, who’s also interested in her.

Dinner started off exactly as Stuart had hoped. He’d chosen a seaside restaurant where they could dine outside on a shaded patio. Their candlelit table provided a perfect view of the Aegean.Above them, a veranda adorned with twinkling fairy lights added to the ambiance. They ordered a bottle of dry red wine and a meze platter, heaped with toasted pita wedges, green olives, grilled vegetables, and four different dips.
Dusty’sinfectious smile and attentiveness suggested this was more to her than a dinner between friends. But so far, they’d kept the conversation light, talking about the dig and its quirky crewmembers. Though Stuart was hoping they’d reach a deeper level of intimacy, he enjoyed having time to build up to it.
Until she refilled her wineglass, took a sip, and nailed him with a flinty glare.“So... an honest answer. Why were you asking me about Kerim earlier?”

Caught off guard, he swallowed abruptly, almost choking on a piece of pita bread. As he cleared his throat, he struggled to explain, only to come up with a pathetic apology.“Sorry. It wasn’t any of my business.

”Her furrowed brow implied she wasn’t letting him off that easily.“We’ve been friends for too long to bullshit each other. You’ve never gotten judgy about my partners before. But today, you sounded accusatory. Why?

”Because I was jealous. But he couldn’t admit it until he knew whether she planned to hook up with Kerim. Otherwise, he’d be setting himself up for a huge dose of humiliation.

“I...I guess I was surprised. I knew you worked with him, but you never mentioned that you were more than just friends.

”Would you care if we’d been together?

”Rattled by her answer, he blurted out the first thing he could think of.

“He’s at least ten years older than you. I wouldn’t want you getting hurt.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to take them back. He was now fulfilling the role ofDusty’sprotective older brother. A role he definitely didn’t want. And one she didn’t appreciate,from the scowl she gave him.

“He’s twelve years older, to be exact. That’s hardly an issue. Except maybe for you, now that you’re acting like my big brother.”

Her accusation sent his pulse racing.“I don’t know why you’re so surprised. You’re the one who told Clarissa you think of me that way. “What? All I told her was that we grew up together like a brother and sister. I didn’t imply I felt that way now.

”His frustration boiled over, eclipsing all rational thought.“Yet, somehow, that was what she inferred.

”Herhazeleyes flashed with anger.“Who cares what she thinks? What matters is howyoufeelabout me. Do you think of me as a sister?

”How had this conversation gone so badly off the rails? He had to stop dancing around the subjectand answer truthfully, no matter what it cost him. If he went all out and confessed his love forher, he might spook her, but at least he could admithow much he wanted her.

Hetopped up his wineglass and took a long drink.“No. Because it would be totally messed up tohave erotic fantasies about your little sister.”

The silence that followed was sudden and shocking. Like he’d thrown a hand grenade onto thetable and was waiting for the explosion. Around them, the world carried on like normal. Serversbustled about, glasses clinked, and laughter carried over from the other tables. But nothing wouldever be normal again, now that he’d told his best friend how he felt about her.

She drained her wine quickly. “Did you just admit you had dreams about banging me?”

He rubbed his hands over his face.Damn.He’d blown it, big-time.“Yes. I’m sorry if that was horribly inappropriate.”

Why didn’t you lead with that? Why ask me all these questions about Kerim?”

So, she wasn’t mad about the fantasies? Or was she? His head was spinning in confusion.“

Because I...wasn’t about to confess my feelings if you and he were...”He made a sweeping motion, too flustered to continue talking.“

If we were having sex? Is that what you’re trying to say?”A hint of a smile played at her lips.“

We’re not. We weren’t together before, and I had no intention of jumping into bed with him tonight. Or any night, for that matter.”

The tension eased from his shoulders. He set down his wineglass, suddenly aware he’d been clutching it in a death grip.

“Then why did you tell me he asked you to dinner?”Because I wanted to make you jealous.

”All traces of anger vanished from her face.“

Do you think you’re the only one harboring erotic fantasies about your best friend? Think again. I’ve been dreaming about you for years.”

Carla Luna writes contemporary romance with a dollop of humor and a pinch of spice. A former archaeologist, she still dreams of traveling to far-off places and channels that wanderlust into the settings of her stories. When she’s not writing, she works in a spice emporium where she gets paid to discuss food and share her favorite recipes. Her passions include Broadway musicals, baking, whimsical office supplies, and pop culture podcasts. Though she has roots in Los Angeles and Vancouver Island, she currently resides in Wisconsin with her family and her feisty Siberian cat.

Website: https://www.carlalunabooks.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/casacullen

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarlaLunaAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlalunacullen/

BookBub Page: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/carla-luna

Claimed by the Viking Chief Blog Tour! @sarahrodiedits

She can be his lover

…but never his wife!

Forced into servitude, Wren is quietly miserable…until Jarl Knud arrives at her settlement, seeking an alliance through marriage. Despite their initial sizzling attraction Wren despises everything the Jarl represents—and he needs a high-status bride to save his people, not a servant like her. As Wren uncovers the man beneath the fierce Viking chief she’s tempted to claim one forbidden night of passion…but will it ever be enough?

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Claimed-Viking-Chief-Mills-Historical-ebook/dp/B0BKK839SF

https://www.amazon.com/Claimed-Viking-Chief-Mills-Historical-ebook/dp/B0BKK839SF

Sarah Rodi has always been a hopeless romantic. She grew up watching old, romantic movies recommended by her grandad, or devouring love stories from the local library. Sarah lives in the village of Cookham in Berkshire, where she enjoys walking along the River Thames with her husband, her two daughters and their dog.

She has been a magazine journalist for over 20 years, but it has been her lifelong dream to write romance for Harlequin/Mills & Boon. New for 2023, she is the New Writers Scheme Coordinator for the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Sarah believes everyone deserves to find their happy ever after.

Social Media Links – @sarahrodiedits www.sarahrodi.com

Follow Sara Rodi on Twitter -https://twitter.com/sarahrodiedits

Extract for Sarah Rodi’s Claimed by the Viking Chief

She can be his lover… but never his wife!

Context: Jarl Knud and Wren are making their way to Nedergaard with an injured Jarl Ingrid, Wren’s ruler and Knud’s bride-to-be. They are falling for each other, despite their different stations in life and the fact it is forbidden. In this scene, they have been attacked by men at a market and manage to escape…

When they finally neared the boathouse, away from the crowds, where there was nothing but the sound of the water and the leaves rustling in the trees, he suddenly stopped and spun her around, so her back was facing him, and he swept her hair out of the way.

‘We need to get this off you. Now!’

He struggled with the lock of her collar, tugging it this way and that.

‘Knud, stop!’ she said, the metal grazing the skin of her neck.

When it wouldn’t budge, he instead started trying to prise the metal apart with his fingers. But it was too strong. ‘Helvete!’ he cursed, slamming a hand into the side of the hut, making her jump.

She turned around to face him, resting her back against the wall, her eyes wide.

‘It’s all right,’ she said, trying to calm him.

‘It’s not all right!’ he exploded, raking his hands through his hair, which had come loose during the fight. ‘The things they said about you, the way they treated you… None of it is all right. If I could just take it off…’ His fingers came up to curve over the metal at her throat again.

She placed her hand on his chest, shocked at the waves of anger rippling through him on her behalf. He really was a good man. Earl Ingrid was a lucky woman…

‘You saved me. And those other women. We’re here, we’re alive,’ she said. ‘They’re gone now. They can’t hurt me any more. It’s over…’

Her hand moved up from his chest to hold his bruised face, her thumb moving over the gash on his right cheekbone. And he stared down at her, the wrath seeming to drain from his veins, and he nodded, as if finally hearing what she was saying. He took a step towards her, so their bodies were nearly touching, and he gently rested his forehead against hers. He was so close, she stopped breathing.

‘I thought I’d lost you,’ he said raggedly.

‘You didn’t. You haven’t.’

His fingers strayed down from her collar and his palm flattened over the top of her chest, over her racing heartbeat.

‘I thought I’d lost you,’ he said raggedly.

‘You didn’t. You haven’t.’

His fingers strayed down from her collar and his palm flattened over the top of her chest, over her racing heartbeat.

‘I should never have taken you there in the first place. It was foolish of me. Forgive me. When those men circled us…’ He shook his head. ‘I didn’t care what happened to me. But the thought of those men laying even a finger on you…’ He stared down into her eyes and she knew all the hideous, appalling things he was thinking. ‘They had no right to do that.’

‘I know. But they didn’t. I’m back here, with you. Safe.’

‘Did he hurt you?’ he said, his voice raw with emotion.

‘Just a few bruises, but I’ll survive.’

Her heart began to pound faster as his hand came up to cup her cheek, inspecting her face where he saw the trader had hit her. And when he tenderly stroked her hair, her eyes drifted shut, letting him comfort her. She had never wanted a man to touch her before, but his touch was different to all others she had experienced. It was firm but gentle. Careful.

She realised this was what desire must feel like—to want a man to put his hands on you, to want to press up against him and create more of the spine-tingling feelings he was causing. But why did she have to feel this way about him—a Danish chieftain? The man who was meant to be marrying her ruler?

UP FOR GRABS! A 'VIKING' BUNDLE (Open to UK Only)To mark the launch of her latest book, Claimed by the Viking Chief, author Sarah Rodi of Harlequin/Mills & Boon is giving away a signed copy of her latest historical romance, PLUS a bottle of Nordic Spirits Valhalla liqueur, A Melt In Time wax burner and Viking wax melts.

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random

25 May 2023

•. ̧(`•. ̧🌵 ̈🐎 ́📚 •🐎 ̈🌵 ̧.•* ́) ̧.•* Byrd's Luck & Other Western Stories by Jeffrey J. Mariotte Book Tour! #JeffreyJMariotte @jeff_mariotte @SilverDaggerBookTours #SilverDaggerBookTours #WesternFiction #TraditionalWestern #Western #Cowboy #WesternHorror #Horror #ShortStories

#ByrdsLuckAndOtherWesternStories #JeffreyJMariotte @jeff_mariotte #Crazy8Press #books #readers

Byrd's Luck & Other Western Stories

by Jeffrey J. Mariotte

Genre: Traditional Western and Western Horror Fiction

The crack of a rifle, the thunder of hooves, the silence of the desert at dawn . . . Mariotte takes you there

Western stories by Jeffrey J. Mariotte have appeared in collections alongside those of legendary Western writers like Louis L’Amour, William Johnstone, Elmer Kelton, and Loren Estleman. Now, BYRD’S LUCK & OTHER WESTERN STORIES collects ten of his own riveting tales of the wild West.

Brand-new stories include “Byrd’s Law”—a sequel to the Spur Award and Peacemaker Award finalist “Byrd’s Luck,” costarring Cody Cavanaugh—the hero of his own action-packed novel trilogy—and the first-ever prose story featuring characters from Mariotte’s bestselling, award-winning horror-Western comics series Desperadoes. A mix of traditional and weird Western tales, this book has something for every fan of Western adventure.

Click the Buy Now button and be immediately transported back to the Wild West!

Praise for Jeffrey J. Mariotte

“Jeffrey J. Mariotte . . . can tell a good story in any genre.” – Johnny D. Boggs

One of the best storytellers in the business." – Brian Keene

"Jeff is a very creative guy." – Clive Barker

"This taut, superbly-written elegy also has a cinematic quality, and I thought of a Sam Peckinpah-directed end-of-the-west movie with a script by Elmore Leonard.” – Andrew McBride, on "The Fox and the Snake" (included in Byrd's Luck & Other Western Stories).

“Mariotte can flat-out write.” – Don Winslow (on River Runs Red)

"...several jaw-dropping plot twists and one of the best action sequences I’ve read in a long time.” – David Morrell (on River Runs Red)

"Mariotte's one hell of a writer." – Christopher Golden (on River Runs Red)

"I was pulled in from the start on this one and it never let up. I highly recommend it.” – Michael Connelly (on Empty Rooms)

"Keenly observed and deftly written, it’s something you’ll want on your shelf as long as you have one." – T. Jefferson Parker (on Empty Rooms)

** Only .99cents!! **

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

Jeffrey J. Mariotte has written more than sixty books, including the police-procedural mystery series Major Crimes Squad: Phoenix, historical Western epic Blood and Gold: The Legend of Joaquin Murrieta (with Peter Murrieta), the Cody Cavanaugh traditional Western series, supernatural thrillers River Runs Red, Missing White Girl, and Cold Black Hearts, horror epic The Slab, and the teen horror quartet Year of the Wicked. Other works include the acclaimed thrillers Empty Rooms and The Devil’s Bait, and—with his wife and writing partner Marsheila (Marcy) Rockwell—the science fiction thriller 7 SYKOS and Mafia III: Plain of Jars, the authorized prequel to the hit video game, as well as shorter works. He has also written novels set in the worlds of Tarzan, Deadlands, Star Trek, CSI, NCIS, Narcos, 30 Days of Night, Spider-Man, Conan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and more. He is also the author of many comic books and graphic novels, including the original Western series Desperadoes, the horror series Fade to Black, action-adventure series Garrison, and the original graphic novel Zombie Cop.

Three of his novels have won Scribe Awards for Best Original Novel, presented by the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers. He’s also won the Inkpot Award from the San Diego Comic-Con, is a co-winner of the Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America, and has been a finalist for the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America, the Peacemaker Award from the Western Fictioneers, the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association, the International Horror Guild Award, and for his comics writing, the Harvey Award and the Glyph Award.

He has worked in virtually every aspect of the book business, as a bookstore manager and owner, VP of Marketing for Image Comics/WildStorm, Senior Editor for DC Comics/WildStorm, and Editor-in-Chief for IDW Publishing and a publishing consultant for various companies. When he’s not writing, reading, or editing something, he’s probably out enjoying the desert landscape around the Arizona home he shares with his family and dog and cats. Find him online at www.jeffmariotte.com, www.facebook.com/JeffreyJMariotte, and @JeffMariotte.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$10 Amazon

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Smooth Hoperator: A Fake-Relationship Romance by @sylvie.stewart.romance Cover Reveal! #sylviestewart #SmoothHoperator #XpressoTours @XpressoTours⁣

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Smooth Hoperator: A Fake-Relationship Romance
Sylvie Stewart

(Love on Tap, #2)
Publication date: July 6th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

SMOOTH HOPERATOR: A FAKE-RELATIONSHIP ROMANCE

After tanking my career in politics, I’m looking for new direction. But my GPS must be broken because it keeps leading me to a kooky librarian’s front steps.

It’s not easy, but I’m doing my best to let go of my old ambitions and embrace the simple life of slinging beer at my family’s brewery. But some powerful players from my past are determined to cause problems for me and my family.

When a chatty local librarian with the wardrobe of a third grader and the optimism of Spongebob begins sticking her nose into my business, I want to tell her to get lost. As fate would have it, though, Sunny and her ill-tempered grandfather are my only remaining option to get free of my past for good.

It will take some convincing to get this goofy, goat-loving librarian on board with my risky plan. But if she’ll do things my way, I’ll return the favor by playing her fake boyfriend to make her true love finally take notice and fall head over heels.

But the deeper we get into this venture, the more I realize there’s nothing fake about Sunny at all. Including the way I’m beginning to feel about her.

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order

USA Today bestselling author Sylvie Stewart loves bad jokes, dirty rom-coms, country music, and baby skunks—preferably all at the same time. Most of her steamy contemporary and romantic comedy novels take place across her favorite state of North Carolina, and her characters never run out of snarky banter or snacks. When her laptop closes, Sylvie is a sucker for hugs from her twin boys and a good laugh with her hot-nerd hubby. If you love smart Southern gals, hot blue-collar guys, and snort-laughing with characters who feel like your best friends, Sylvie's your gal.

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Flawed by Shilpa Suraj Release Blitz! @shilpa.suraj @the.way.i.seee.it @assistantauthor

#FlawedInDisgrace #InDisgraceSeries #InDisgrace #InDisgrace1 #ShilpaSuraj #ShilpaSurajBooks

#AGrumpySunshineRomance #AgeGapRomance #Contemporary #ContemporaryRomance

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Why would anyone want perfection when they could have Vaani Jaishankar instead?

Aditya Khamankar was a chartered accountant who built his life on a bedrock of numbers. For no matter what happened, numbers and math never let you down. They stayed the same. And that fundamental fact defined many of his choices. He was the obedient son, the diligent student, the overachieving employee, the reliable friend. All he wanted in his life was routine and sensible discourse. All he craved in that same life was peace and quiet. And then his senior partner’s flighty daughter came home. And life as he knew it was never the same again…

Reality television villain and tabloid fodder, Vaani Jaishankar lived for the arclights. The notoriety, the glamour, the larger than life noise that came with it held her in thrall. Until the industry she loved and the people she trusted used and abandoned her. And now, she was back home. Darkening the doorstep of her childhood home, something she’d sworn she’d never do and working in her father’s accountancy firm…Could God just take her now already? And then there was her father’s business partner…

What happens when Perfection meets Flawed? Do the cracks beneath his façade show? Or is it as well hidden as the foundation of grit and ambition her shiny polish conceals?

When attraction wars with common sense and love burns a fiery rope that ties them together, Aditya and Vaani need to decide if this is enough…If they are enough for each other? For the world doesn’t believe they are and the world isn’t done with them yet…

Goodreads | Amazon.in | Amazon.com

The bloody suitcase’s gimpy wheel broke off and the whole thing listed to one side. With a tiny scream of frustration, Vaani righted the now muddy suitcase and straightened. She took a deep breath as she stared at the house in front of her.

Her childhood home. The home she’d grown up in, the one where she’d learned to walk, to talk, to do pretty much everything including curling her eyelashes. It looked the same, exactly the same. A bougainvillea plant bloomed along the circumference of the compound wall, the pop of colour painfully bright in her current mood of gloom and doom.

The roof tiles seemed to have been recently replaced, she thought absently as her gaze took in the brick red tiles that gave a cottagey kind of look to the otherwise cream coloured bungalow.

She stood there, her useless suitcase by her side and stared at her past. Memories of banging doors and screaming ‘I’ll never set foot in this house again’ rose up in front of her practically taking on corporeal form.

“I hate you all,” she whispered the words she’d screamed years before. It was the last thing she’d shouted at her family before she’d stormed out of the house, dragging this same suitcase with her. She’d been so sure, so confident, so stupid…

A loud car horn had her startling and her suitcase fell over again. The lid flew open from impact and the overstuffed suitcase disgorged its contents. Vaani stared in dismay as her clothes littered the driveway of her parents otherwise neat-as-a-pin compound.

It was only as her gaze tracked her hot pink bra did she realise that it was draped over a perfectly polished black shoe. The car honking at her! Oh no, her bra was dangling off her father or brother’s shoe. Kill her now. A strike of lightning maybe? But nope, the clear blue skies meant that wasn’t an option.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she looked up at the man standing in front of her. Not her father or brother. Her heart soared in relief at the realisation before sinking like a stone at the sight of his forbidding expression. Angry glower, clenched jaw, nasty scar, and dramatic frown. Yes, whoever this was, he wasn’t impressed by Vaani. All six feet plus of taut muscles and frozen disapproval. Which was a new experience for her. Vaani usually had men falling at her feet in a haze of lust, not tapping an angry foot draped in a hot pink bra at her.

“Who the hell are you and what do you think you are doing here?” the man bit out.

“Who the hell are you?” Vaani tossed back, genuinely bewildered. Had her parents sold the house or something? Even if they had, Rahul Anna would have told her. He was the only family member who still kept in touch with her. Despite being in the Navy and off on a ship most of the time. Which said a lot for her estrangement from the rest of her family.

But that wasn’t a problem for now. Her problem for now looked to be the mountain of muscles who didn’t seem to realise he was wearing her bra on his foot.

“Aditya Khamankar,” he said grimly like that was supposed to mean something to her.

“Okay then Mr. Khamankar,” Vaani replied crouching and grabbing an armful of distressed jeans. “Don’t just stand there. Help me clear up the mess you made.”

“I made??”

“Yes, you!” She stuffed clothes back in her suitcase haphazardly. She would figure out how to fit everything later. “You honked at me and broke my suitcase.”

“I honked at you because you were standing in the middle of the driveway and staring into space. But how exactly do you manage to blame me for your suitcase disaster?”

She noticed he hadn’t moved an inch as she scrambled around on the ground collecting her fashion debris.

“May I have my bra please?” she asked politely, pointing at his shoe and hoping to shame him into being a gentleman.

He glanced down at his shoe, one eyebrow slowly rising at the sight of her bra still elegantly draped over its tip.

“Stop gaping and give it to me,” she ordered, losing patience with the whole drama. She had to still deal with family drama once she entered the house. She wasn’t interested in driveway drama with random strangers.

“You look familiar,” he said slowly, as he removed the bra from his shoe and held it out to her.

Oh God. Here they went again. Honestly, Vaani was so tired of the fans and their constant requests for selfies and autographs.

“Look, now is not the time, okay?” She made a vague shooing motion with her hand. “I’ll pose for a selfie some other day. Right now, I am here for quality time with my family and don’t want to be disturbed.”

Now, both his eyebrows shot up. She reached for the bra, but he tightened his grip on it and she found herself engaged in a weird tug of war with Muscle Man for her own underwear.

“You’re Shravan Uncle’s daughter.”

Yuck. He knew her father. If that didn’t put him on her shitlist, she didn’t know what would. She pulled at her bra again, but, again, he didn’t let go. He just kept staring at her with that frown on his stupid face.

Okay. It wasn’t a stupid face. It was actually a nice face. All manly and craggy and, she was pretty certain, it was a hundred percent natural. She was sure this man had never injected his face with anything or had any other work done on it. If he had, he would have first fixed that nasty scar on the right side of his face. It extended from his temple to halfway down his cheek, jagged and slightly raised.

She wondered how he’d got it. Maybe he’d held someone else’s lingerie hostage and she’d been attached enough to it to attack him with a knife. Vaani didn’t care quite that much about hers. But, it was the principle of the thing. It was her bra after all.

“Look.” She flashed her trademark pouty smile. “I realise keeping a celebrity’s personal stuff as a souvenir is a thing and I’m sure you’d love to keep this bra for, you know, private bedroom stuff, but-“

He dropped it like it had turned into a live flame in his hand. And then, to add insult to injury, he rubbed his hand on his pant like he was trying to rid himself of the feel of her bra.

Annoyed, Vaani opened her mouth to say something biting and sarcastic, she didn’t know what, but she knew she would think of something good. And then she heard his voice.

“Vaani?”

Of course, he would be the one to find her like this.

Two years ago, when he’d told her she brought nothing but shame and embarrassment to the family and the family name, she’d stormed out of the house vowing to never return until she proved him wrong.

And here she was, standing in his driveway, with a broken suitcase, nothing to her name but the clothes stuffed into it, and a pink bra in her hand in lieu of the white flag of surrender she should actually be waving.

She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and turned to face the man who’d sired her and deserted her.

“Hi Appa. I’m home.”

A published author with Harlequin India – Mills & Boon India Collection and Juggernaut, Shilpa Suraj’s books have hit both the Hot New Releases and Bestseller lists on Amazon. Her next novel, tentatively titled ‘Wrong,’ has been contracted by Rupa Publications and will release later this year. She is also part of the Flipped Anthology by Harper Collins and had an audiobook book Insta Reddy release with Storytel.

She is, amongst other things, currently working on ‘Frazzled and Fabulous,’ a humorous, true-to-life parenting story that is part memoir and part nonfiction.

An avid reader with a passion for creative writing and storytelling saw her participating in writing competitions at school and dabbling in copy writing for an ad agency as a teenager. Twenty years in the corporate space, including a stint in Corporate Communications for Google, India, and a spell at entrepreneurship all hold her in good stead for her multiple current roles of author, mother and Head of Human Resources & Public Relations at an architecture and interior design firm.

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