Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
I’ve been seeing Ms Hadley’s novels popping up through the Christian Fiction Reading Safari for the past few years – I’ve even tried to win one of her novels – in particular, “Simply Starstruck”, as I used to read and review for Cedar Fort Publishing & Media – her publisher. Sadly, I never had the chance to host her for one of their blog tours or one of the ones hosted by either Prism Book Tours or with Singing Librarian Books who hosted a lot of the authors through Cedar Fort before it was closed down this Summer, 2020. I loved reading the authors I found through Cedar Fort – especially for Contemporary Romances and/or Historical Romance – as much as the other genres I was interested in as a reader. I have a lot of good memories – of the authors I’ve discovered (and hope to continue reading one day – either directly through purchasing their books or reading them through my local library or by way of inter-library loans), the stories I’ve read and of the memories of the stories themselves.
I do not read enough RomCom – something I’ve tried to ‘fix’ over the years when I am not being smitten by more dramatic tales of realistic Contemporaries or convicting Historicals – in essence, seeking out the lighter side of Rom would be wickedly beneficial and it is something I always try to do each year and somehow fail a bit in my efforts!? It is hard to know why exactly but I guess I like drama a bit more than comedy as that is reflected through what I am gravitating towards on a regular basis if you take a gander at my readerly life!
And yet, I do like Romantic Comedies when it comes to tv movies and motion pictures – I have a discerning taste for them as I don’t like the ones with rude humour or off-colour narratives but I do appreciate a wicked good sophisticated RomCom such as “You’ve Got Mail”, “While You Were Sleeping” or even “Serendipity” or “One Fine Day”. It would stand to reason I’d enjoy reading them wouldn’t it? And, that is why I was thankful Ms Hadley was included in the Clean Romances for Christmas selections this year – as I’ve found so many lovely authors in the 2020 line-up I know I will have loads of fun throughout 2021 seeking them out to read!!
I have a penchant for holiday films as well – which is why the title “Suits and Spark Plugs” made me giggle into proper laughter even before I read the plot – as who out there wasn’t thinking this could be featured on Lifetime or Hallmark Channel during their holiday roundup of films? Speaking of Lifetime – a bit of FYI: for those library patrons who have access to Hoopla – you might want to dive into their app via Roku and find the 2020 Lifetime Holiday films!! I’ve seen at least 2x now and trying to watch a few more before Christmas weekend!! I was wickedly surprised they were included but I suppose its an off year all round – so even first-running holiday films are finding their way into our televisions a bit differently than in years’ past!!
Curiously – what gives your heart the most joy about Christmas Comedies & Romances? Do you regularly watch them on Lifetime or Hallmark or now, Hoopla? Or do you prefer reading them instead of watching them? I’d be keen to know which format you enjoy unless your like me and prefer them both! Whichever way you find yourself tucked into holiday RomComs – let me know the titles and if their stories, which authors do you enjoy most of all?
Liv Phelps is a woman on a mission: Get a degree, stay independent, and start a new life away from her small hometown. Love is nowhere on that list.
However, when dashing Blaine Harris enters the diner where Liv works, she’s flattered enough to give him a chance. Different from anyone she’s ever known, he introduces her the world she’s long dreamed about. Things are going surprisingly well, until he pushes her to get her beat-down car seen by the local mechanic.
Connor Hunt has been at the very top of Liv’s ‘do not disturb’ list ever since she had a front row seat to watching him create his terrible reputation. A magician with cars, he can’t stand to see a machine suffer. So, he comes up with a plan to fix Liv’s in spite of her inability to pay.
But will his solution cost more than she’s prepared to give?
Add to LibraryThing | ISBN: 978-1462138180
Converse via: #CleanRomanceForChristmas and/or #ContemporaryRomance
as well #SweetRomance and/or #CleanRomance or #CleanReads
Enjoy an Extract from
“Suits & Spark Plugs”:
The sound of the door opening from the mechanic shop interrupted me and I glanced up to see Connor Hunt coming into the lobby.
He nodded at the phone in my hand. “Looking at anything good?”
“A physiology text book.”
“Sure. Good choice for some light reading on a snowy weekend afternoon.”
“I’m learning ways to cause the most pain with the least damage,” I replied in a sugary sweet voice.
He nodded slowly as though I’d just told him I was knitting a doily. “Ah. That would probably come in handy sometimes.”
“Indeed.” I put my phone back in my bag and zipped it closed. “Is my car ready?”
“Yep. Everything went well. Total is the nine hundred I quoted you.”
“Okay. What are your thoughts on payment seeing as you know I’m broke?”
“I have an idea if you’re open to discussing other options for payment.”
My gut clenched and my face warmed. Here we go. He’d pulled the wool over other people’s eyes, but things were about to get real. “Depends on what ‘other options for payment’ you might have in mind.”
His brows lowered. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m not going to pay off my debts by, like, kissing you and stuff.” My face burned, but I kept eye contact with him, knowing it was important to not back down.
“Liv Phelps, does your mother know what kind of thoughts go through that head of yours?” he asked with wide eyes that seemed oddly surprised for someone who’d I’d long suspected of having underhanded dealings.
The only sound in the lobby was that of my pounding heartbeats. I wasn’t sure what had just happened. I took a deep breath, playing the conversation back in my mind as I watched his expression turn stony. Oh. Maybe I’d jumped the gun here.
“So,” I cleared my throat and swallowed. “I may have jumped to conclusions.”
“Yep.”
I scrunched up my nose and fidgeted a bit. “Okay. I’m ready to talk about payment options.”
“I’m rethinking what I was going to offer,” he replied.
Excerpted from Love’s Sweet Return by Aspen Hadley.
Copyright © Aspen Hadley.
I had to smirk. I mean, how can you not? It is a classic set-up for misunderstanding – yet, I wish dearly this extract was even a smidge longer! I wanted to know what he was going to suggest – both originally and then, secondly after he reconsidered his options!! It would have been wicked brilliant to know what was going through his mind – countering it with what was on Liz’s mind and seeing the fix they were in knowing instantly they weren’t on the same page! Laughs.
Plus, I, of course was curious if the reason she wanted to know what she was referring about of the medical book she was reading had to do with writing a murder mystery OR had some other reference that is an in-house running joke with her character!? She seems wicked cool on first meeting and I liked the style of Hadley’s writing. I definitely need to remember to earmark her books along with Bethany Turner’s! As I simply have to read more by the author who gave me Hadley Beckett! (see also Review)
This blog tour is courtesy of: Prism Book Tours
Click through via the badge to find out what else awaits you!
Each day, a new author is showcased – I selected the authors I wanted to feature ahead of time –
therefore, return to see which of the authors I am focusing on throughout the 12 days!
NOTE: Similar to blog tours wherein I feature book reviews, book spotlights (with or without extracts), book announcements (or Cover Reveals) – I may elect to feature an author, editor, narrator, publisher or other creative person connected to the book, audiobook, Indie film project or otherwise creative publishing medium being featured wherein the supplemental content on my blog is never compensated monetarily nor am I ever obligated to feature this kind of content. I provide (98.5%) of all questions and guest topics regularly featured on Jorie Loves A Story. I receive direct responses back to those enquiries by publicists, literary agents, authors, blog tour companies, etc of whom I am working with to bring these supplemental features and showcases to my blog. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them: I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers. Whenever there is a conflict of connection I do disclose those connections per post and disclose the connection as it applies.
{SOURCES: Cover art of “Suits and Spark Plugs”, the author’s photo (for Aspen Hadley) and biography, the extract from “Suits and Spark Plugs”, the book photo for “Suits and Spark Plugs” as well as the blog tour banner and The Prism Book Tours badge were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers and My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #blogmas 2020 banner & badge and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2020.
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