Banish My Heart

Youngblood & Poole have a four book series called The Grimm Laws, and this book is the first one. 

I liked the switching back and forth of the times/worlds. Poor Elle with her amnesia issues. Really liked the chemistry between her and Rush. Aunt Adelle is the best. Lots of magic and reality combined. The world building was a strength in this novel. 

The pacing seemed off to me. And the ending is a total cliffhanger which means you'll have to continue on with the series to get satisfaction. Great marketing tactic by the authors but not the ideal reading experience for me. 

Be prepared to get the whole series and binge read it. 

AMAZON

Fans of the hit TV series Once Upon a Time will love this Cinderella Story where the real world and fairy tale world collide when a fair-haired prince falls in love with a peasant girl.

An accident puts Elle Worthington into a coma. When she awakes, she can’t remember her name or anything about her life. She leaves the hospital and returns to a home that’s anything but ideal—her stepmother loathes her, her stepsister resents her, and her father’s a workaholic who’s rarely ever home.

She soon discovers she led a charmed life before the accident where she was dating Edward Kingsley, the golden-boy quarterback. Everyone tells her how lucky she is to be with Edward, but for some strange reason, Elle is instead drawn to Rush Porter, her next-door neighbor—a brooding, reckless newcomer who’s too good looking for his own good! From the moment she sees him, he captures her attention and haunts her dreams, and he seems to know an awful lot about her.

When Elle goes to work for her eccentric aunt Adele who owns a chocolate shop, she begins to get a glimpse of another life—a magical life in which she was a simple peasant girl whose life changed forever the day she caught the eye of the prince. A girl who might have lived happily ever after had her heart not had other ideas. She becomes trapped between loyalty and duty—betrayal and love, and a forbidden attraction so strong that it has the power to destroy her.

All is not as it seems on the surface. Dark forces are watching and waiting to claim what they deem to be theirs, and the fate of a kingdom rests in the hands of a girl who cannot remember who she is or where she came from.

Whiskey & Women

I had a lot of fun reading this novel by Ms. Adams. 

Top notch premise, writing, and pacing, complete with all the feels. 
Good chemistry between the main characters and the write contradictory emotional baggage for them to overcome. 

Satisfying read, good kisses, happy ending. 

AMAZON

Contract lawyer Meg Forrester has just had a parting of ways with her firm. Well, she quit, actually, but same thing. When her good friend Kate wins a trip to Nashville, all expenses paid, to see her favorite country music singer, Meg figures she might as well go along for the ride and shake off the cobwebs.

Quinn Dawson grew up poor but hit it big time with his first album. Now he's been around the block a few times and has several million tucked away, part of which he's using to care for his parents. Offering a trip to Nashville in a fundraising raffle seems like a great way to bring attention to the cause, and when he sees who won the prize, he feels like a winner too.

There's just one slight problem - Quinn's an alcoholic, and Meg has made herself a promise never to get involved with someone who drinks.

From the bestselling author of the Kansas Crossroads series comes the story of two broken people coming together and creating a whole.

How to Write a Series

Sara Rossett delivers a straightforward book on how to write a series and does it with style and in a fun way. This isn't like reading a textbook. 

She gives you the pros and cons of the options and lets the author decide what's best for them and their readers. It really comes down to the readers' expectations and how the author sets themselves up for success to meet them. 

An excellent resource for authors. 

AMAZON

Struggling to structure your book series? Learn how to make a series work for you: increase reader engagement and take advantage of the built-in marketing potential a series gives you.

Are you unsure which series structure is best for you? Or are you several books into a series, but you’re stuck? Do you want to expand your literary universe but aren’t sure how to do it? Perhaps you have a series languishing in your backlist, and you need ideas on how to market it.

Get the knowledge you need to make smart decisions about your series with How to Write a Series.

You’ll learn:

• The three basic types of series

• The benefits and drawbacks of writing each type of series

• Tips for extending your series beyond your original plan

• Ideas for creating spinoffs and expanding your literary universe

• How to know when it’s time to end a series

• How to save time writing your series and how to keep track of details

• How to deal with the problems that result from being locked into a story world

• How to refresh your interest in a series if you’ve grown bored

• Creative ways to market your series

I’ve been writing for fifteen years as both a hybrid and independent author. I’ve published over twenty-five fiction books in four different series. Everything I’ve learned about writing a series has been through trial and error. I hope my lessons-learned will give you a shortcut when it comes to writing your series plus tips for troubleshooting problems and ideas for promoting your series.

Gold Valley Collection

Liz Isaacson put together this collection into a boxset at one point and that is when I picked it up. It's no longer available in that format. It looks like on Amazon you can only get these books individually as audiobooks. 

That being said, I happily plowed my way through all seven books, each one more satsifying than the last as I got know more of the characters as they showed up in the series. 

A great way to spend a week or weekend escaping into Gold Valley. 

Note this series has been rebranded under the name Horseshoe Home Ranch. 

AMAZON

Embark on an unforgettable journey when you visit Horseshoe Home Ranch, where faith, love, and second chances abound. In this heartwarming series of Christian cowboy romance novels by USA Today bestselling author Liz Isaacson, each standalone tale is an invitation to explore the intertwined lives of rugged cowboys and the resilient women who win their hearts.

From the rolling ranchlands to the intimate corners of small-town life, these stirring stories are filled with emotional trials, inspirational transformations, and love's redeeming power. Whether it's a chance encounter, a second chance at love, or an unexpected competition, these tales of faith, hope, and love highlight the enduring bonds of community, the healing power of forgiveness, and the irresistible pull of the heart.