This Heart of Mine by Brenda Novak (Whiskey Creek #8) #BlogTour #Review #Giveaway @HarlequinBooks

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THIS HEART OF MINE

Whiskey Creek #8 

Brenda Novak

Released March 31st, 2015

As the daughter of a hoarder, Phoenix Fuller had a tough childhood. So when the handsome, popular Riley Stinson became her boyfriend in high school, she finally felt as though she had something to be proud of. Phoenix was desperate not to lose him—especially once she found out she was pregnant. Yes, she might have acted a bit obsessive when he broke up with her. But she did not run down the girl he started dating next!

Unfortunately, there was no way to prove her innocence. Now, after serving her time in prison, Phoenix has been released. All she wants to do is return to Whiskey Creek and get to know her son. But Jacob's father isn't exactly welcoming.

Riley doesn't trust Phoenix, doesn't want her in Jacob's life. He is, however, ready to find someone to love. And he wants a good mother for his son. He has no idea that he's about to find both—if they can forgive the mistakes in their past…

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Netgalley rocks when it comes to making me a happy happy lady! Thank you for the ARC!

Brenda has taken me on such a journey with this cast of Whiskey Creek characters, each book with a new couple but still shining on the bonds of friendship that is still strong among this group. I think I had been hoping that Riley would end up with Phoenix from the moment I read about their High School romance gone wrong, and I guess I wasn't prepared for how much I would truly Love THIS HEART OF MINE...yes...I was bawling within the first few pages...you won't find another heroine like Phoenix...her strength is unmatched, she kind of reminded me of Rachel Stone from DREAM A LITTLE DREAM by SEP (whom I LOVE).

Riley does a lot of growing up as well throughout THIS HEART OF MINE. He wasn't my favorite character after reading COME HOME TO ME, but I definitely found that I grew to really like him a lot and if nothing else, he is a wonderful father who loves his son unconditionally, and maybe he didn't always do what was best, he raised a baby at seventeen..I say kudos to him!

And Jake...LOVED HIM LOVED HIM LOVED HIM...The way he takes his mother under his wing...he is just a truly exceptional kid.

If you haven't started the Whiskey Creek Series yet...get your butt to Amazon or B&N and GET THESE BOOKS! Every time I open one of the Whiskey Creek romances, it further solidifies to me that Brenda Novak is not just a writer, but a story teller. 

THIS HEART OF MINE is a Top Tasty Read...and might just be Best of 2015!

Top Tasty Read 2015

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Brenda Novak has penned over 45 novels. A two-time Rita nominee, she's won The National Reader's Choice, The Bookseller's Best, The Bookbuyer's Best and many other awards. She runs an annual online auction for diabetes research every May at www.brendanovak.com. To date, she’s raised over $2 million. Brenda considers herself lucky to be a mother of five and married to the love of her life.

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Novak is my New Nora!!

When Summer Comes
Whiskey Creek #3
Brenda Novak
Released Jan 29th, 2013
400 Pages
Harlequin MIRA
Source: NetGalley
Reviewer: Lisa

The Whiskey Creek series is becoming one of my absolute favorites. Each book is just as good as the last.  Novak brings endearing relationships between life-long friends, power-packed emotion between lovers and chemistry that sparks off the pages.  She has done something really special here!

Welcome to Whiskey Creek-Heart of the Gold Country! One day, Callie Vanetta receives devastating news...

She needs a liver transplant. But her doctors warn that, in her case, the chances of finding a compatible donor aren't good.

Determined to spend whatever time she has left on her own terms, she keeps the diagnosis to herself and moves out to her late grandparents' farm. She's always wanted to live there. But the farm hasn't been worked in years and she begins to fear she can't manage it, that she'll have to return to town.

One night, a stranger comes knocking at her door...

He's an attractive and mysterious drifter by the name of Levi McCloud, and he offers to trade work for a few nights' shelter. Callie figures she doesn't have anything to lose. He needs a place to stay until he can fix his motorcycle; she needs an extra pair of hands. The arrangement seems ideal until what was supposed to be temporary starts to look more and more permanent. Then she realizes she "does "have something to lose-her heart. And, although he doesn't yet know it, Levi stands to lose even more.

I remember doing something so mundane the other day, maybe folding laundry, and it hit me, Brenda Novak is my New Nora Roberts.  Not that Nora isn't still rocking the romance genre, it's just that Brenda is so diverse in her writing with going from Romance Suspense to Contemporary and now Historical, but especially with the Whiskey Creek Series, I feel like she has taken her writing to a whole new level.  I don't know what it is, all I know is that I want her to keep doing it, cause I am in LOVE with this series.  *Footnote: Sorry Levi McCloud, yes, you are very hot and have the whole Renegade thing going for you, but my heart still belongs to Dylan Amos...*swoon*

When Summer Comes, is the third book in the Whiskey Creek Series, and if you have not read the last two, When Lightening Strikes and When Snow Falls, plus the novella which introduced the series, When We Touch, well what can I say...You are SOOOO MISSING OUT!  When Summer Comes joins the rest of the series on A Tasty Reads Keeper Shelf, they just steal my heart and never let go.  The group of friends we meet throughout the series become your best friends, almost as if you're right there in the coffee shop with them on Friday, sitting at the corner table, chatting about life.  You almost become a part of them.

Which is why, when you meet Callie, and you start to understand what is going on with her disease, you feel helpless, and as she and Levi begin to fall for each other, oh boy, you just know it's gonna hurt to get through the rest of the book.  I absolutely fell in love with Callie and Levi, the hidden secrets, the pain they both tried to hide and the solitude they found in each others arms...blows you away!!

You don't HAVE TO read the complete series, but I highly recommend it.  Getting to know this group of friends has been so much fun and I can't wait to see what will happen next!!

 

 

 

Winter Romance to Warm your Heart

When Snow Falls
Whiskey Creek #2
Brenda Novak
Releasing Oct 23rd, 2012
448 Pages
Harlequin MIRA
Source: NetGalley

Blurb:

After growing up in cheap motels, moving from town to town with her sister and mother, Cheyenne Christensen is grateful to be on her own. She's grateful, too, for the friends she found once her family settled in California. But she's troubled by the mystery of her earliest memories, most of which feature a smiling blonde woman. A woman who isn't her mother.Although Cheyenne has repeatedly asked for explanations, the people who could help aren't talking. Cheyenne is set on finding answers, but without so much as a birth certificate, it won't be easy.

Things get even more complicated when her closest friend is attracted to the man Cheyenne has secretly loved for years. For Eve's sake, she decides to step aside—which lands her right in the arms of Dylan Amos, oldest and baddest of the hell-raising Amos brothers. He's the kind of guy she's sworn to avoid. She can't afford to make a mistake, not when she finally has a chance to learn who she really is and change her life for the better. But…maybe there's more to Dylan than she thought. Maybe letting him go would be a bigger mistake.

Simply ADORED this book...there are only few words needed to describe it...Wonderful, Charming, and Heartwarming.  Following Cheyenne on her journey of self-discovery was a ride of a lifetime and I would have only wanted one man by my side...Dylan Amos.  

Yes, you do need to read a good ways into the book until you meet Dylan, but there is so much you need to learn about Chey and the women that she "thought" were her family, but maybe she has been lied to all along.  We get to know Cheyenne, what kind of daughter she is, what kind of friend she is, what kind of career-minded woman she is...She is simply someone that has never really walked on the wild side and once she meets Dylan Amos...oh boy does she want to walk on the wild side with him.

Dylan Amos is...just an amazing hero.  I fell in love at first sight and never looked back.  He is supposed to be this bad-ass hell raiser, but he is really just the man who held his family together when they could have fallen apart, he worked hard to raise his three younger brothers and he unfortunately carries a bad reputation from his younger days around with him.  I love the dynamic between Dylan and Chey, the sparks, the magic, and then the words get lost in translation...I was so frustrated but yet it was so real to me.  I just loved them together, and I was miserable when they were apart.

When Snow Falls tells a story of friendship, family loyalty, and finding the one person who loves you no matter what.  You will fall in love with this story, so make room on your Keeper Shelf for this one.  I honestly would recommend reading the series in order, starting with When Lightening Strikes, but if you are looking to snuggle up with a wonderful romance one a cool, fall night, I'd pick this one hands down!!

Enjoy and Happy Reading!!

New Trilogy to Watch

When Lightning Strikes
Whiskey Creek #1
Brenda Novak
Released Aug 28th, 2012
448 Pages
Harlequin MIRA
Source: NetGalley

I know that I haven't reviewed When We Touch yet, which is the novella that introduced us to the new Whiskey Creek Series from Brenda Novak, but I am skipping ahead because I am LOVING this series so much that I wanted to tell all of you about it.  (BTW...When We Touch is FREE, so get started on the series now)

This is a new Small-Town series revolving around a group of friends that remain close years after high school.  Some moved away and come back for visits, and some have made their lives in Whiskey Creek.  When Lightning Strikes features Gail DeMarco, owner of Big Hit PR services in LA, or used to be owner, but after losing her biggest client, Simon O'Neal, hottest male lead in the business, she might have to close her business for good. 

Simon O'Neal has been on a downward spiral since his divorce and not being able to see his son has put him at the edge.  Gail realizes that someone needs to help Simon get his reputation back together and it just so happens to be her.  But with a fake marriage and a real connection, what will happen when Simon begins to get his life together?  Will he find himself truly in love with the one person who stood by him, or will he go back to his foolish ways?  Oh Simon...how I love a battered, broody hero. 

This book was GREAT!!  I enjoyed the relationship between Gail and Simon and was on the edge of my seat waiting for these two to realize that what they had was true.  A little drama + A lot of sexual tension = A wonderful romance.  I couldn't have asked for more.

It was fun meeting all the secondary characters who we will be meeting along the way.  I had the pleasure of reading the next book, When Snow Falls, and I think I loved that one even more.  Ms. Novak certainly knows how to break into your chest and make you care for these characters...and I agree...Dylan Amos is one AWESOME Hero.  Sorry, you will have to wait, but not too long.

So get When Lightning Strikes, get to know the folks in Whiskey Creek and maybe stay awhile!!

Enjoy and Happy Reading!!

http://www.amazon.com/When-Touch-Whiskey-Creek-ebook/dp/B008JI9EHU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1346854849&sr=1-1&keywords=when+we+touch