How to Kiss a Movie Star

Jenny Proctor builds a fun romcom that keeps you turning pages. 

I loved how wonderfully clueless our heroine was about the Hollywood star who's property she was tresspassing on. 

Yet, there is immediate chemistry from the meet cute and beyond. 

Lots of cuteness and crazy to ensue as the fake relationship turns real. 

All the good feels. Clean romance. Just kisses. Really good kisses. 

AMAZON

He’s Hollywood’s biggest star. She wouldn’t know him from the pizza delivery guy.

I’m a wildlife biologist in a tiny mountain town, not some kind of law-breaking celebrity stalker. At least not on purpose.

It was an accident when I wandered onto the property of one of Hollywood’s hottest movie stars. Five minutes ago, I'd never even heard of Flint Hawthorne. I definitely didn’t know he lives in Silver Creek.

When I’m detained for trespassing, the last thing I expect is to trade my handcuffs for a designer gown. All I wanted was permission to conduct my research on a remote corner of his estate.

Now I’m walking the red carpet of a Hollywood movie premiere as Flint’s (very fake) girlfriend.

At least, the relationship is supposed to be fake. But the way he slips his arm around me, his breath tickling my ear, the chemistry feels like something real.

The trouble is, I’m not really built to handle his fast-paced celebrity life. Most days, I prefer the company of squirrels to people. I should be glad we’re only pretending.

I’m just not sure my heart got the memo.

Meals that Heal

Yes, I acquired another cookbook. 

But, I'm really excited about this one. 

We have several people in our home that deal with chronic issues that can be affected both positive and negative by diet. 

And I'm all for doing what I can to help everyone feel as good as they can. 

I read the book cover to cover before starting to use the recipes. 

I really like her approach with the 80/20 set up.

It's more life sustainable and practical for everyday living. 

It is less restrictive than other anti-inflammatory cookbooks I've use too. 

And she is all for shortcuts!

I'll be cooking these recipes for years to come. 

AMAZON

100+ delicious, quick, and easy anti-inflammatory recipes to make for the whole family—all ready in 30 minutes or less!

“The real key to eating healthy for all ages—is reducing inflammatory foods and increasing certain nutrients. My challenge became how to make anti-inflammatory meals easy, quick, and most importantly, taste good,” writes Carolyn Williams in her bestselling cookbook, Meals that Heal, the FIRST anti-inflammatory book written by a James Beard Award­–winning registered dietician—and the FIRST multi-purpose book on the market for those who want to make changes before they have a condition.

With more than 100 quick and tasty recipes featuring natural, healthy ingredients that have researched-backed abilities to cool inflammation, balance gut health, and detox the body, Meals that Heal will show you how to prevent future diseases, as well as heal or improve most conditions by making a few simple changes to your diet.

On Deck for Love

Rebecca Talley does a wonderful job of getting romantic at sea. 

There's lots of cuteness happening when two people find unexpected love and fight their feelings as being due to circumstances rather than being real and valid. 

Wonderful hijinks from friends and family and the unexpected revelation that one character's been the nemisis for the other for decades. 

Solid writing. Clean romance. Just kisses. Set sail. 

AMAZON

An ambitious personal trainer, a successful attorney, and the memory of a middle school bully that comes between them on a singles cruise.

Meg Summers was bullied about her weight when she was a kid. Now, as an adult, she’s passionate about fitness and health. Just before the launch of her online business, 4FHealth.com, she reluctantly agrees to accompany her BFF, Shayla, on a singles cruise. Meg plans to dodge all the shipboard losers by staying in her stateroom and putting the finishing touches on her website.

Drew McDermott has one goal on this singles cruise: find a woman for his heartbroken brother, Joey. Drew plans to bide his time during the cruise, then return to his successful—albeit unfulfilling—career as an attorney in Dallas. Shortly after the mandatory safety meeting aboard the ship, Meg meets Drew and sparks fly.

When Shayla and Joey hit it off, Meg finds herself spending time with Drew instead of working on her website. Despite her better judgment, she begins falling for him—hard—until a shocking discovery dredges up painful memories from her childhood and changes everything.

Will this revelation doom Meg’s blossoming relationship with Drew or will she be able to move past it?

Amazon Decoded

I read this book over quite a span of time. I find marketing books are more digestible this way, and I don't get overwhelmed. And when it come to Amazon, there's plenty that can be overwhelming. 

Mr. G. does an excellent job as your guide explaining the ins and outs and the whys as much as can be deciphered of the Amazon algorithms. And he does it with humor and gem for a non-fiction book. 

His advice is sound and applicable. 

Note: since this latest edition, Amazon has changed a few things. This isn't Mr. G's fault and certainly doesn't make the majority of his information outdated. I'd say it's 95% accurate and worth your time. 

AMAZON

Want to sell more books on the world's biggest retailer? Fancy Amazon doing the selling for you instead? Amazon Decoded: A Marketing Guide to the Kindle Store will show you how.

* Learn about Visibility Marketing and how understanding Amazon can boost your sales.
* Discover the algorithms that go into Sales Rank and dispel some common myths.
* Understand the critical differences between the Best Seller list and the Popularity list.
* Decode the ways Amazon recommends millions of books to readers every single day.
* Implement proven marketing plans, optimized for maximum Amazon visibility.

Whether you are exclusive to Amazon and chasing those page reads, or a wide author trying to survive the onslaught of Kindle Unlimited titles, Amazon Decoded will share the secrets of the Kindle Store and how you can sell more books.

Miss Devon's Choice

Ms. Britton brings us on another adventure of this family. This time it's Rebecca's turn, with a bit of a Beauty and the Beast theme. 

A delightful read of how an arranged marriage can end up with two people falling in love, which I rather thought was quite a rub against the arrangers. Well done Rebecca and Devon! 

Naturally, it isn't all smooth sailing. Though there are boats. And a dog. And Italy. And music. 

There are loveable characters and others you'd like to seen thrown in the nearest dung heap. 

And a few choice kisses, that maybe are against the times, but as a romance reader, I'll allow it. ;) 

Sweet and clean historical you'll enjoy from beginning to end. 

AMAZON

A scarred and lonely viscount and an independent young woman are forced into an arranged marriage. What hope do they have for a happily ever after?

Rebecca Devon lives under the severe eye of her aunt and the iron will of her father. Though she wears what she is told and befriends the people they choose for her, she spends every moment longing to do as she wishes. Knowing freedom will only come through marriage, her hopes for a happy union are stolen away when her father arranges her marriage to a complete stranger.

Christian Hundley, Lord Easton, has learned the hard way that English society won't accept a person who looks or behaves differently than their ideal. He has hidden himself away from scornful eyes for years, until his aging grandfather takes matters in hand and finds Christian a bride. Knowing he must agree to the marriage, Christian shields his heart. If the whole of society cannot accept him, why should his bride?

Rebecca knows she must have love in her life, but Christian is convinced there is nothing so fraught with danger and pain as entrusting one’s heart to another. Rebecca does everything she can to change his mind, but Christian is determined to remain aloof. Can an arranged marriage ever be anything other than a business partnership?

While this is the fifth book in the Regency romance series, Branches of Love, it can be read as a stand-alone romance.

It Was Always You

Ms. Corry has a wonderful way of presenting teens. 

She isn't afraid to give them hard circumstances or expressive feelings that match the represented demographic. There is great internal and external conflict for the characters to work through, not to mention the use of the fake relationship trope. 

She's great at putting the reader inside their heads and hearts. 

You don't need to read the other books in this series to enjoy this one, but it is better to read them as the other characters show up from book to book. 

AMAZON

What’s the first rule when pretending to date your brother’s best friend? Don’t let feelings get involved.

Sixteen-year-old Lexi Stevens has never been kissed—never even been asked on a date. So when she humiliates herself in front of her crush and her brother’s best friend offers to be her fake boyfriend for the week to make him jealous, she doesn’t know if it’s the stupidest idea ever, or a dream come true.

When Noah Taylor gets kicked out of his house by his abusive stepdad, the last thing he needs is for anyone at school to find out—not even his best friend. But when his new “girlfriend” discovers him sleeping in his car and offers to let him sleep in her closet, he starts to wonder if he’s found someone he can confide in after all.

Pretty soon Noah and Lexi are putting on a big show in front of the whole school while sneaking around behind her overprotective father’s back. It isn’t long before feelings develop and it becomes harder and harder to discern between what’s fake and what’s real.

IT WAS ALWAYS YOU is a standalone novel in The Ridgewater High series. Perfect for readers who enjoy sweet YA romance with ballad-worthy chemistry, passionate kisses and endearing characters.

Finding Freedom: A Cook's Story; Remaking a Life from Scratch

Do not read this book if you're hungry. It's all about food and the woman who cooks it. 

This is a memoir of from childhood to adulthood and everything in between. 

And yet it felt like fiction. 

There were moments when I mentally told the heroine, "Don't do it." or "Go for it!" or "I hope she gets a happy ending or this will be very depressing." 

And then had to remember that people's lives don't always end happily. That's real life. I won't spoil how this woman's life turned out. You'll have to read that for yourself. 

And now, I need to send in my postcard and get lucky enough to win a table at The Lost Kitchen this summer. 

A good thing my book club picked this or I would've missed it. 

*contains swearing*

AMAZON

Long before The Lost Kitchen became a world dining destination with every seating filled the day the reservation book opens each spring, Erin French was a girl roaming barefoot on a 25-acre farm, a teenager falling in love with food while working the line at her dad’s diner and a young woman finding her calling as a professional chef at her tiny restaurant tucked into a 19th century mill. This singular memoir—a classic American story—invites readers to Erin's corner of her beloved Maine to share the real person behind the “girl from Freedom” fairytale, and the not-so-picture-perfect struggles that have taken every ounce of her strength to overcome, and that make Erin’s life triumphant.

In Finding Freedom, Erin opens up to the challenges, stumbles, and victories that have led her to the exact place she was ever meant to be, telling stories of multiple rock-bottoms, of darkness and anxiety, of survival as a jobless single mother, of pills that promised release but delivered addiction, of a man who seemed to offer salvation but in the end ripped away her very sense of self. And of the beautiful son who was her guiding light as she slowly rebuilt her personal and culinary life around the solace she found in food—as a source of comfort, a sense of place, as a way of bringing goodness into the world. Erin’s experiences with deep loss and abiding hope, told with both honesty and humor, will resonate with women everywhere who are determined to find their voices, create community, grow stronger and discover their best-selves despite seemingly impossible odds. Set against the backdrop of rural Maine and its lushly intense, bountiful seasons, Erin reveals the passion and courage needed to invent oneself anew, and the poignant, timeless connections between food and generosity, renewal and freedom.