Wolver’s Reward (The Wolver’s 7) by Jacqueline Rhoades-a review

Wolver’s Reward (The Wolvers #7) by Jacqueline Rhoades-a review

Wolver's Reward

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 17, 2016

Fate has played River for a fool. Again. He thought he’d earned the respect of a decent and admirable wolver pack. He was grateful for it. He was content…until they took it all away, and left him alone and angry. Again.

Yet Fate rewards him with another pack, one that needs his survival skills, and one where he meets the girl of his dreams, but River is no longer a fool. The beautiful Rebecca is an Alpha’s daughter. She can never be his and she knows it, too. But knowing the outcome, changes the game, and both River and Reb decide to play this one on their own, but different, terms.

What Fate knows, and River must learn, is that happiness comes when you least expect it, and finding a love worth fighting for is what brings a Wolver’s Reward.

••••••••••

REVIEW: Wolver’s Reward is Book Seven of the Wolver Series by Jacqueline Rhoades. In this book we revisit a previous character found as a cub/boy in The Alpha’s Choice, his name is River. He was a young male that had been raised by his rogue family, but had escaped with several children that he took care of. They were found by Alpha Charles Goodman and taken into the Wolf’s Head pack.

This story is years later, River has grown into a young man and doesn’t realize he’s meant to be an Alpha someday…spurring Charles and Kat to try to get him to work with or for the mysterious Mr. Begley to help him find his place in the Wolver world. Insulted, and thinking he’s unwanted and being kicked out – AGAIN—he packs his things and takes off.

While he still thinks of himself as a “bad” guy, because of all the things he was made to do as a child, he’s actually a very honorable and wonderful young man. This is a journey of self-discovery and putting his past into the past, while deciding about his future. On the road, he stops to help a young lady in trouble and gets hit over the head and his stuff stolen for all his trouble…and decides to get his stuff back.
This is an emotional story of growing into full adulthood, while fending off danger and righting a few wrongs. The characters are vivid and real, the circumstances interesting and thought provoking.

This story as all the Wolver series books, is well written with compassion, humor, adventure and a nice mixture of danger and fun. Author Rhoades takes us on another journey into the lives and hearts of two people made for each other; while letting us enjoy the complicated ride all the way.

If you haven’t read this series, why not? If you like shifter novels, this is a compelling and different slant on the species. Each book can stand alone, but like most series, you get a better understanding of the overall world and stories if you begin at the beginning.

(1)Alpha’s Mate (2) Alpha’s Choice (3) Alpha’s Daughter and a Christmas novella Rabbit’s Creek Santa are the first part of the series. Wolver’s Gold, Wolver’s Rescue, and Wolver’s Reward are the second leg of this wonderful series.

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Georgianna S

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Today’s 4th Anniversary Celebration Giveaway from Jacqueline Rhoades

Today’s 4th Anniversary Celebration Giveaway from Jacqueline Rhoades

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NOTE: All giveaways require a comment to qualify

Jacqueline Rhoades is offering an ebook copy of ROARK to TWO (2) lucky commenters

There will be TWO (2) winners for today’s Anniversary Celebration

Jacqueline Rhoades giveaway

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9. Giveaway open internationally

10. Giveaway runs until February 15, 2016

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Roark (Women of Earth Series #1) by Jacqueline Rhoades-a review

Roark (Women of Earth Series #1) by Jacqueline Rhoades-a review

Roark

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The people of planet Earth have suffered the tides of war for six long years, but it’s not their war. Earth is the battleground for the thousand year conflict between the invading Hahnshin and the Godan warriors of the Galactic Confederation.

Mira Donazetto’s only concern is for her family’s survival, so when she’s offered work as a translator for the Godan, she jumps at the chance and right into the arms of the new First Commander, Roark. Her heart says she should trust this alien warrior, but how can she when he has the power to take away everything she holds dear.

Roark’s new command post is a disaster with a long list of problems that he must address, including dissension among his officers. The last thing he needs is to have his heart touched by a woman who may be a traitor.

It’s a whole new world and a whole new love story in a whole new series called Women of Earth.

••••••••••••

REVIEW: Author Jacqueline Rhoades has stepped into a new series, Sci-fi Romance. Roark is book one of her new series The Women of Earth.

This story is full of great characters and conversations, the trademark of author Jacqueline Rhoades. It begins with the people of Earth having been ravaged by war for six years. Not a war of nations, but of an insect-like race that uses two legs, but have a rather hive mind, the Hahnshin. They travel the galaxy dominating and robbing planets of their natural resources. Then enter the Godan, of the Galactic Confederation. They fight the Hahnshin wherever they find them and have for centuries. They’ve taken over what’s left of Earth and divided it into sectors. Roughly two thirds of the population of Earth have been eliminated by the Hahnshin. However, the Godan are new to the area and haven’t had time to establish any normalcy for the people here. First Commander Roark is assigned to oversee sector three in America. He meets a lovely Earth woman in need of a job to help her family and the sparks begin. Mira can only think of him as a “golden Viking”, and is quickly but interestingly hooked.

The way they meet, the way people feel about the Godan, who the Godan actually are and all the issues Roark faces in the running of this base are part of an intricate and well written story. There are many facets to this building world, filled with interesting charm and science. The story is fast paced, with many plot twists. Just the learning of new cultures is very well considered and there are allusions to past visits to Earth by “Viking” visitors.

Author Rhoades has given us a new and old world with many unusual issues and some we can well understand. This world is richly textured and bodes well for many future adventures.

Grab you favorite beverage, make it a big one – this is incredibly hard to put down. Snuggle up for a wonderful adventure with some steamy love scenes and incredible dialog. Enjoy everyone, I certainly did.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Georgianna S.

About the Author

Follow: Goodreads/ Website/ Facebook/ Twitter

Jacqueline RhoadesA New Englander by birth and an Ohioan by choice, Jacqueline, known as Jackie by her friends, makes her home in a small, rural town with one lovable husband, one spoiled dog and one disinterested cat. (The adjectives are often interchangeable). An avid reader from a very early age, Jackie has an eclectic taste for books and therefore has trouble naming a favorite genre or author, though she does admit that for pure personal fantasy and ‘take-me-away’ books, you just can’t beat a good romance.
Jackie believes in the beauty of all women and thinks most women don’t see themselves as they should (herself included). She tries to make the women in her books reflect the best of ‘average’ in a variety of shapes, sizes, personalities and backgrounds, and each is beautiful in her own way. Some of her heroes are movie star handsome, while others are not. All her characters are beautiful in the eyes of their lovers and that, to Jackie, is the most beautiful of all.

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Wolver’s Rescue (The Wolvers #6) by Jacqueline Rhoades-Review, Guest Post & Giveaway

Wolver’s Rescue (The Wolvers #5) by Jacqueline Rhoades-Review, Guest Post & Giveaway

Wolver's Rescue Banner

Wolver’s Rescue
The Wolvers #6
by Jacqueline Rhoades
Genre: adult, contemporary, paranormal romance, wolf shifters
Release Date: February 26, 2015

Wolver's Rescue

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 26, 205

Sometimes it’s not the wolves who pose the danger…

There’s a downside to living in a secret society. Someone has to ensure it remains that way. ‘Bull’ Bulworth is that someone. His current assignment: track a young man who has an unrecognized wolf inside him and eliminate the problem before the truth about Wolvers is exposed to the human world. It’s a simple and straightforward assignment until he meets a woman who makes him think crazy might be contagious.

In her own words, Tommie Bane is nuttier than a pecan tree. There’s a voice in her head telling her she is something other than human, and a creature she swears is running around inside her body. Just when she’s at the lowest point in her weird and nutty life, she meets a man who tells her it’s all real. Should she listen to the voice of reason or to the voice in her head that keeps shouting “Mate”?

What do you have to lose when you’ve already lost your mind? For Tommie, it could be her life

••••••••••••••••••

Wolver’s Rescue is book sixth in this popular shifter series (Rabbit Creek Santa being a novella). The setting begins in the office of the mysterious Mr. Begley, as he assigns a job to one of his pack, a hunter/enforcer named William “Bull” Bulworth. Bull has a dark and lonely job of hunting and either eliminating (killing) rogue wolvers or changing them to permanently wolf form.

We find our heroine at an asylum for the criminally insane. We find that not all things in this hospital are what they seem.

I don’t do spoilers and this is a marvelous read you’ll want to experience for yourself. Ms. Rhoades has outdone her usual fine job of intricate plotting and marvelous characters. She delves into the dark world of the insane and those who try to make others believe they are. However, it’s not all dark and spooky. The wonderful cast of characters are well written, with humor, sincerity, and even a bit of teen angst. These are people you love to read about and hate to leave them when the story ends.

The plot is intriguing and twisty. You get to discover, along with the cast, the circles within circles of fated meetings and rescues in this marvelously well told story. You learn more about the Wolver community as a whole as the story progresses and the issues of keeping your species a secret from the human community and at the same time trying to find a place to live peacefully with your differences.

I’m sure if you love shifter books, or maybe even if you’ve never read one, this book will thrill you with adventure, danger, humor, and emotion. The love scenes are not gratuitous sex, but natural, loving and very emotional.

Grab your favorite beverage, a box of tissues and settle in for a wonderful ride of fun and emotion!

Enjoy everyone, I certainly did!

Copy supplied by author.

Reviewed by Georgianna

Guest Post beige

Write What You Know. Really?
by Jacqueline Rhoades

Let me begin by saying that I love teachers. I’ve worked with many over the years and the vast majority of them are dedicated to their profession. Why am I telling you this? Because I’m about to lodge a complaint against the dozen or more English teachers I’ve heard in my own career as a student, and through my work as an adult who have used the words, “Write what you know.”, without ever explaining what it means. I suspect it’s because many of them don’t know.

The average third grader will go cross-eyed at these words, instinctively knowing they don’t know much about anything and teenagers, of course, know everything. What about us as adults? I live a pretty boring life and frankly, I like it that way.

Are they saying I can’t write about a high fashion model because I’m short and rather round and spend most of my days in jeans and sweatshirts? How about a woman with expensive fashion taste? I wouldn’t know what to do with a pair of Jimmy Choos, first, because I don’t have the money to buy them and second, because I’d have absolutely nowhere to go in them. And let’s face it folks, what does anybody know about humans shifting into wolves? So, what is it I do know?

I know the peaceful quiet that descends on the woods after a snowfall. I know the eerie grey silence that comes with the eye of a hurricane. I know the embarrassment of giggling at a funeral. I know the profound and miraculous joy of holding a newborn in my arms and the heart stopping joy of having the guy I love look at me in the same way I look at him. I know about heartbreak and loss. The list goes on and on.

There are still things I don’t know. That’s where imagination comes in and a good book can make my imagination soar. What’s it like to not know who you are or where you come from? What’s it like to be drawn to another person without rhyme or reason? What’s it like to be responsible for another person’s death or to know that someone wants you dead? What’s it like to run with the wind? What’s it like to be a wolf?

You’ll notice that everything I’ve written here is not about acts, but about feelings. That’s where the very best fiction writers excel. Those books that remain with us long after the story is told are the ones that allow us to experience the emotions of the characters be it love, lust, anger, excitement, or fear. In the pages of a good book, we may be attracted to the way the characters look, but we become involved with them not because they’re cardboard cutouts of beautiful people, but because of what they carry inside. They touch the emotions we carry within ourselves.

So instead of telling those young, teenaged, or adult would-be writers out there to write what they know, I wish you’d start by saying “Write what you feel.”

About The Author beige

Follow: Goodreads/ Website/ Facebook/ Twitter

Jacqueline RhoadesA New Englander by birth and an Ohioan by choice, Jacqueline, known as Jackie by her friends, makes her home in a small, rural town with one lovable husband, one spoiled dog and one disinterested cat. (The adjectives are often interchangeable). An avid reader from a very early age, Jackie has an eclectic taste for books and therefore has trouble naming a favorite genre or author, though she does admit that for pure personal fantasy and ‘take-me-away’ books, you just can’t beat a good romance.
Jackie believes in the beauty of all women and thinks most women don’t see themselves as they should (herself included). She tries to make the women in her books reflect the best of ‘average’ in a variety of shapes, sizes, personalities and backgrounds, and each is beautiful in her own way. Some of her heroes are movie star handsome, while others are not. All her characters are beautiful in the eyes of their lovers and that, to Jackie, is the most beautiful of all.

Giveaway beige

Jacqueline is graciously offering an ecopy of WOLVER’S RESCUE to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. Please LIKE and Follow Jacqueline Rhoades on Facebook

4. Please LIKE  Jacqueline Rhoades on Twitter

5. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

6. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

7. Please FOLLOW us on GOODREADS for an additional entry.

8. Giveaway open INTERNATIONALLY

9. Giveaway runs from February 26-March 2, 2015

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Guardian’s Patience (Guardians of the Race #5) by Jacqueline Rhoades-a review

GUARDIAN’S PATIENCE (Guardians of the Race #5) by Jacqueline Rhoades

Guardian's Patience

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 14, 2014

Short and round, she dresses like a gypsy in vibrant and sometimes clashing colors. She’s been known to dye her hair to match her mood. She does a Good Deed every day and smiles at everyone she meets. But underneath her happy-go-lucky exterior, Patience Delecourt is lonely and afraid. She’s the mouse in a demon’s Cat-and-Mouse game that’s been going on for years. Her ideal hero would come straight out of the old movies she watches night after night alone in her tiny apartment.

Stuffy and socially awkward, Broadbent ad Sebastian, Guardian of the Race, has his vision of the ideal woman, too; tall, elegant, cultured, and well-read. But every time he meets someone who might fill the bill, his advances are met with laughter and derision. As hard as he tries to emulate his fellow Guardians; their prowess with women, their clothes, their interests; he just can’t get it right.

He doesn’t see himself as handsome or a hero. She doesn’t see herself as beautiful or brave. Yet what they find together opens new worlds of wonder for them both. It also opens the doors to old enemies and sets off a series of events that threaten the House of Guardians and the people within it. With the credits ready to roll on their mismatched love story, Patience and Broadbent will have to find the bravery and heroism they see in each other, and decide how much they will sacrifice for love.

REVIEW:

Some background: The Guardians are of the Race (Nephilim) with superior strength and speed, descended from Gabriel, seduced by the Daughters of Man, who are on earth to protect the humans and guard the portal, ensuring the demons do not cross the barrier. When a Guardian dies and his heart remains within his chest, he will turn vampire, and must be destroyed before the blood rage consumes.

The women in the storyline are the Daughter’s of Man- the descendants of one of the original matings and not without some supernatural ability and power of their own.

All males of the Race are born with a tiny red tear drop over their left chest muscle. As the male matures, the lilies bloom (it is not a tattoo). When they are initiated into the Guardians, the skull and tears appear. Once they are mated, a rose will bloom with the lilies. A white rose for a mated pair, a red rose for a blood bond pair.

GUARDIAN’S PATIENCE is the fifth installment in Jacqueline Rhoades Guardians of the Race adult, contemporary, paranormal romance series focusing on the Guardians and the women they love. This is witch Patience (Pinkie) Delecourt and Guardian Broadbent ad Sebastian’s storyline. Although GUARDIAN’S PATIENCE is the fifth in the series, it can be read as a stand alone without too much difficulty. Any important information is imparted where necessary but for cohesion and enjoyment, I would recommend reading the series in order.

Told from several close third person points of view, GUARDIAN’S PATIENCE continues to focus on the demon invasion of Earth. Patience Delecourt is a witch whose practice in the ‘black arts’ has made her the target and object of one demon in particular. On the run from her past, Patience finds herself, yet again, having to pack up shop but an attack will place Patience on the Guardian’s radar. Enter Broadbent ad Sebastian-a debonair, old fashioned Guardian who reminds Patience of the cinematic movie actors from long ago.

Broadbent is a Guardian who has always felt displaced within his Lord Liege Canaan’s House of Guardians. Out of touch and inexperienced in the love department, Broadbent finds himself attracted to the feisty and overly romantic Patience Delecourt-a witch whose past greatly contradicts the Guardian’s directive. As the demons continue to pursue Patience, the House of Guardians will come under attack when their current location is revealed. One of their own, will go missing, and it is up to Patience and Broadbent to bring him home. The sex scenes are intimate and captivating without the use of erotic images or foul language.

The world building continues as The Guardians must face down the demons whose need for blood targets the humans of Earth. All of the previous storyline couples play a secondary role throughout the story allowing for an intimate look into their lives and loves. Dov and Col continue their humorous banter, sarcastic wit and playful antics-puppy like in action and temperament but when called, Dov and Col are ready for anything the Guardians have to offer. While Grace and Caanan await the birth of their child, the House of Guardians is on high alert for any outside paranormal activity.

GUARDIAN’S PATIENCE is another fast paced, imaginative, and passionate storyline. Jacqueline Rhoades’ amazing GUARDIANS OF THE RACE is an incredibly wonderful paranormal series that smoothly blends present day problems with supernatural abilities. There are moments of mystery, suspense, romance and love all combined into a sensual storyline that is a must read for me-every time.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy

Guardians of the Race series

READING ORDER
Guardian’s Grace
Guardian’s Hope
Guardian’s Joy
Guardian’s Faith
Guardian’s Patience

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Wolver’s Gold (The Wolver’s #5) by Jacqueline Rhoades-a review

Wolver’s Gold (The Wolver’s #5) by Jacqueline Rhoades-a review

Wolver's Gold

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / Smashwords

About The Book: Release Date May 20, 2014

Finding gold where you least expect it…

Lone wolf and Special Investigator for the ubiquitous Eugene Begley, Challenger McCall is sent to the town of Gold Gulch to take care of a problem that might involve the exposure of the wolver community. For McCall, it’s like stepping back in time – a hundred and fifty years back in time.

Gold Gulch is a tourist attraction where the wolvers take their work so seriously, they continue their Victorian lives long after the tourists have gone home. Much like their 19th century counterparts, the women are overworked and underpaid.

Rachel Kincaid is one such woman. Exercising the only power she holds, she has become a wolver oddity; a spinster who refuses to mate. Why would she, when she already has to take care of the short-staffed hotel, its restaurant, and her ne’er-do-well father? Angry and bitter, Rachel decides she deserves a better hand than the one she’s been dealt and finds herself drawn to the handsome new sheriff, Challenger McCall. Why shouldn’t she, for once in her life, enjoy the same freedom as the Soiled Doves on the hill?

Things get complicated when Rachel’s wolf awakens after a long sleep and the town’s women seem to awaken along with it. Papa’s gambling debts leave them on the brink; the pack is at risk; and the women rebel. Oh, and don’t forget the murders. If ever a pack needed rescuing, Gold Gulch is it, but as the girls up at Daisy’s Bouquet point out, – A smart woman needs to look after herself!

••••••••••••••••

REVIEW:  Wolver’s Gold is the newest intriguing installment of the Amazon Best Selling Wolver series by author Jacqueline Rhoades.

Departing from the last three Wolver books which involved the three Goodman brothers and their lives and packs, Wolver’s Gold leads deeper into the heart of the Wolver society and its issues. We get a closer look at the elusive Mr. Begley.

Challenger McCall works for Mr. Begley as a fixer for the elusive Council of Wolvers. He investigates and corrects issues within packs that may lead to the exposure of Wolver society to the human race. He’s unique, an alpha loner with no lasting relationships, except with his boss.

Rachel Kincaid is a wolver woman living in Gold Gulch, a tourist old west town where the Victorian dress and manner is still alive and well, even after hours. She’s decided against mating and for 15 years her wolf has slept.

Gold Gulch has some issues and Mr. Begley sends Challenger McCall to find out what’s up in the little old west town.
That’s the set up! No spoilers but let me tell you what you’ll find!

A twisty tale of crimes, passion, and women who need to find a way back to the freedom they were born to have and hold. Ms. Rhoades has written a wonderful tale of so many complicated issues and used her typical humor, wit and interesting twists to bring them to life and light.

Again, this book is full of wonderful and witty conversations, situations and secondary characters that you just learn to love (and bad guys you love to hate). All this and marvelously researched language and period items without getting in the way of a great storyline.

Do yourself a huge favor, get your favorite beverage, a few tissues and make sure you have lots of time, you won’t want to stop or put this down; and enjoy this action packed, love story (yes, it’s got some sizzling love scenes)! I certainly did!

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Georgianna

Reading Order
1. The Alpha’s Mate
2. The Alpha’s Choice
3. The Alpha’s Daughter
4.  Rabbit Creek Santa
5. Wolver’s Gold (May 2014

Wolver's Gold

excerpt

 

She’d just bent to sweep her neat little pile of debris into the pan when he spoke above her.
“What’s freckled and pink and red all over,” (Jack Coogan) asked with a snickering laugh and then sang his detestable ditty. “Tell me Rachel dearest, if what they say is true, are you like the other redheads and red all over, too?”
Anger rose in Rachel so quickly and violently that it should have frightened her. Her spine snapped to attention, shoulders back and squared. Gripping her broom with two hands, she spun it upright like a soldier presenting arms and then she swung that broom like she knew what she was doing and had done it before. She thrashed that obnoxious wolver, who was now hunched over with his arms curled around his head to protect himself from the blows of the tightly woven fan of straw.
“Do you really want to know the answer?” she hissed at him, continuing the broomstick battering. Whomp. “Because I’ll gladly tell you, Mr. Coogan.” Whomp. “Your whole body, that’s what.” Whomp. “Or it will be by the time I’m finished with you! Now get out of here before I really lose my temper.” Breathless, she gave him yet another swat. “And don’t come back!”
“Aw, Rache, I was just trying to get your attention,” Coogan complained as he scuttled around the edge of the large vestibule, Rachel right behind him threatening another bout of violence. “It was just a bit of fun.”
“It’s Miss Kincaid, and the next time you think that’s the way to get a lady’s attention, you’d better think twice. Do you hear me, Mr. Coogan? I have neither time nor tolerance for your fun. Now get out and do not dare to enter this establishment ever again.”
She drove him through the open door with the threat of her broom. Someone stepped aside when, with one last stroke of the broom, and as if she was sweeping the last of the dirt out the door, Rachel chased the man out.
A large, booted foot connected with the seat of Jack Coogan’s trousers with enough force to send him sprawling over the porch and down into the dirt.
“Always happy to help a beautiful woman,” said a deep voice.
Cheeks flushed from the heat of battle, green eyes blazing with a hundred grievances ready to explode, and trusty broom at the ready, Rachel turned to the owner of the boot.
“Whoa, little lady, whoa.” He waved his hands in front of him to ward off the imminent attack. “I’m on your side,” he laughed. “No guy in his right mind would say that to a lady.” He laughed again. “I would have helped you more, but you looked like you were doing fine without me.”
Rachel felt her mouth open, yet no sound emerged. With a conscious effort, she forced it shut, but could do nothing about her wide and staring eyes. To calm herself, she drew in a breath deep enough to make her corset creak, and caught the heady scent of a prime alpha wolver.
“Are you okay?”
No, of course she wasn’t ‘okay’. How could she be? She’d just lost her temper in the most unladylike manner in front of this, this…
“Oh dear,” she breathed and looked at the broom in her hands as if she’d never seen one before. “Oh dear,” she said again.
Reason tried to reassert itself when she spotted the dog, sitting at the wolver’s heels. Out of all the thoughts whirling in her head, only one made it to her tongue.
“You can’t bring the dog in here, and out there, it must be on a leash.”
“Actually, I was looking to rent a room for a few days.” He stepped through the doorway and closed the door behind him. “Miss Kincaid? I think you should sit down.”
Her face fell into a different kind of frown. Etiquette, practiced for years, was lost. Words of polite discourse were nowhere to be found. “How do you know my name?” she asked rudely.
“You told the guy you just gave the ass whuppin’ to. It’s Miss Kincaid, you said.”
She started to reprimand him for his language and then her befuddled brain kicked in and she realized what he’d said. “How much did you hear?” she asked in a high pitched squeak that sounded nothing like her own well-modulated voice.
“From the minute the bastard spoke,” he told her, grinning. “I was standing in the doorway, admiring your, um, dustpan skills, when the jackass made a crack about your…”
“You saw the whole thing? Why didn’t you speak?” And save her from making a fool of herself.
“Should I have? You looked like you had it under control.” He winked at her. “Next time I’ll remember to step in.”
“There won’t be a next time, Mr.… I’m afraid I didn’t get your name.”
“Challenger McCall, though most folks just call me…”
“Sheriff McCall.” She rolled her eyes heavenward with a silent prayer to the Good Lord to strike her dead without delay.
“I hope so,” he said, starting to laugh. “Is that a problem?”
“No, sir, of course not. Why would it be?”
“I don’t know. You just seem a little upset by it, that’s all.”
Upset? Why would she be upset? It couldn’t be because the visitor, who should be, as all visitors were, gone in the next day or two never to return, a visitor who witnessed the most improper, unrefined and disrespectable circumstance she’d ever found herself in, turned out to be the very handsome and unsettling new sheriff. Oh, heavens no. That wouldn’t be upsetting at all. Her stomach rolled and fluttered in unaccustomed discomfort, as if she’d ingested something alive and still moving. Panic started to rise.

 

About The author

Follow: Goodreads/ Website/ Facebook/ Twitter

Jacqueline RhoadesA New Englander by birth and an Ohioan by choice, Jacqueline, known as Jackie by her friends, makes her home in a small, rural town with one lovable husband, one spoiled dog and one disinterested cat. (The adjectives are often interchangeable). An avid reader from a very early age, Jackie has an eclectic taste for books and therefore has trouble naming a favorite genre or author, though she does admit that for pure personal fantasy and ‘take-me-away’ books, you just can’t beat a good romance.
Jackie believes in the beauty of all women and thinks most women don’t see themselves as they should (herself included). She tries to make the women in her books reflect the best of ‘average’ in a variety of shapes, sizes, personalities and backgrounds, and each is beautiful in her own way. Some of her heroes are movie star handsome, while others are not. All her characters are beautiful in the eyes of their lovers and that, to Jackie, is the most beautiful of all.

The Guardians Of The Race Series
paranormal, romance,
Guardian’s Grace
Guardian’s Hope #2
Guardian’s Joy #3
Guardian’s Faith

The Wolvers
Paranormal, shifters, romance
The Alpha’s Mate
The Alpha’s Choice
The Alpha’s Daughter
Wolver’s Gold

Hidden Mountain
Contemporary Romance
Preston’s Mill

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Second Anniversary Celebration-Jacqueline Rhoades Prize Package

Second Anniversary Celebration-Jacqueline Rhoades Prize Package

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Today’s second SECOND ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION giveaway prize packages have been graciously donated by the wonderful Jacqueline Rhoades. Jacqueline is offering:

1. One complete ebook series of THE GUARDIANS OF THE RACE

2. One complete ebook series of THE WOLVERS series.

3. One complete ebook series of HIDDEN MOUNTAIN series.

There will be three (3) winners-one winner for each series.

Follow: Goodreads/ Website/ Facebook/ Twitter

PRIZE #1

Guardians of the Race

PRIZE #2

The Wolvers series

PRIZE #3

Hidden Mountain series

REMINDER: ALL giveaways require a comment to be eligible for the prize.

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. Please tell us to enter you into the giveaway.

4. Please rank the series in order preference should your name be drawn.

5. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

6. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

7. Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.

8. Giveaway runs from February 23 to February 28, 2014

Click HERE for all of our 2nd Anniversary Celebration Giveaways

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Preston’s Mill and Changing Times by Jacqueline Rhoades-Reviews and Giveaway

Preston’s Mill and  Changing Times by Jacqueline Rhoades – Reviews and Giveaway

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Preston’s Mills
Hidden Mountain #1
by Jacqueline Rhoades
Genre: contemporary, romance, adult
Release Date: January 4,2014

Preston's Mill

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK:

When her disastrous marriage ends in the most humiliating way, Meg Hanson doesn’t know what to do or who to turn to. Unhappy with her life as it was and unwilling to become what her mother and sister envision, she retreats to the little Appalachian town of Prestons Mill, the place where her father was raised. Meg has promised herself six months away from the influences of home to find out who she is and what she really wants out of life.

JT Preston is burdened with his family’s past sins, sins that prevent him from seeking the life he’s always envied and longed for. Annie thinks this is nonsense, too, and sets about bringing Meg and JT together, but nothing is ever as easy as it sounds.

When a coal company makes plans to begin mining the mountain, Meg and JT find themselves in the middle of the battle between those who consider it progress and those who see it as the end of a way of life. Greed rears its head, people are hurt and lives are endangered, Meg’s most of all.

 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••

If you love romance…the “old fashioned” heart throbbing, sighing kind…this is it!  This is a wonderfully human tale of a woman who married early and certainly the wrong man!  A political and social climber, he basically “raised” a wife for his own needs.  Then, of course, slept around…although poor Meg didn’t know it until it was “page-one” in front of her.

Recently divorced, the scandal pretty fresh in her mind…Meg is a bit lost.  Her father sees her struggling to find her way and suggests she go visit with his Aunt Annie for a change of pace. Certainly not what her mother wants…but she’s tired of the “socially acceptable” people and places.  She needs to find out who she is, now that she’s not “Edward’s wife”.

Arriving in Preston’s Mill, she finds the small mountain town far different, but remembers visiting as a girl.  Her mother never approved, but her father loved this town.

She stops at one of the small businesses in town, The Downtown Café; the style of the café is old, but extremely clean.  She meets Suze and her husband/cook Jerry.  The people are wonderfully written, I swear I know these people.  She also gets teased by J.T. Preston and a quick peck to remind her of who had once been her first kiss.  This confrontation is hilarious and must be read!  I love this first introduction to the town and a few of its people.  The dialect is perfect for the small mountain town and is absolutely correct and so colorful, it just makes them and the place – so real.  You actually feel like you’re there, I can see them; as well as the whole place while I’m reading.

Jacqueline Rhoades has written a warm, loving, wonderful place full of uniquely quirky people, who would give you the shirt of their backs.  This is a place you wish you could visit, if not live there.

While I don’t do spoilers, the romance is slow and easy as they get to know each other again, but quite steamy when they do.  Meg begins to find herself again; as well as who she wants to be and who she wants to be that person with.

Annie is Meg’s great aunt and is a wonderful character in her own right. She loves with her whole heart, prays and yet she’s so “down to earth” practical. Please read the excerpt posted for this book…the “mouse” scene is wonderful, but only one among many.

The story has drama, twists, bad guys, and so much more.  The only issue I had is that the story ended…just didn’t want it to.  Have no fear; the second book in this series will be released in February. I actually get to read it first!

If you like really good people, drama, and real love; get yourself your favorite beverage, lots of tissues and cuddle up to Preston’s Mill.  You won’t regret a minute of the time you spend in Preston’s Mill!  Enjoy, I did.

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Georgianna

excerpt

“That’s no car for a lady.” She laughed aloud as she grabbed the keys from the hook and headed out into the yard.

It certainly wasn’t. Her moment of rebellion had bought her a bone-rattling, kidney-jostling, butt-bumping Jeep with a hard top for winter and a soft top for spring and four wheel drive which Dewey assured her would be a blessing once the winter snows began. Sooner or later, she would probably curse her impulsiveness, but for now, this thing was fun to drive.

Having fun was something else she’d forgotten how to do. She’d trained her mouth to produce no more than polite smiles and discreet chuckles and the first time she let out a high pitched cackle of belly clutching mirth, she was so shocked by the sound, she cried.

_________________________

Changing Times
Hidden Mountain #2
by Jacqueline Rhoades
Release Date: January 31, 2014

Changing TimesABOUT THE BOOK

Return to Hidden Mountain…
Hard living Lorelei Stewart has always accepted her role as the town tramp’s daughter and has earned her fast and loose reputation, but times change. Pregnant and overburdened with responsibility, Lorelei’s given up men and hopes to provide her baby with what she lacked as a girl; a decent home and a loving mother. The old bootlegger, Rollie Roper, needs a caretaker and has room for Lorelei and her coming child; a fair exchange.

Everything’s almost perfect until Rollie’s long lost nephew, Cob Thornton, turns up with money and plans of his own and those plans don’t include the woman living in his house, yet something about Lorelei fascinates him. He begins to see past the cold armor she wears and discovers a vulnerable and loving woman within. Now all he has to do is convince the pessimistic Lorelei that sometimes, Changing Times can be a blessing in disguise.

•••••••••••••••••

Changing Times is book two of the Hidden Mountain Series by Jacqueline Rhoades. We return to Preston’s Mill the small mountain town where it all began! We’re back to the wonderful people with all their interesting quirkiness and down home honesty. Ahhh, I’ve been away too long! I really need a piece of that double chocolate fudge cake at the Downtown Café.

This is Lorelei’s story. Being known as the Preston’s Mill bad girl and the town tramp’s daughter hasn’t been easy to live with for Lorelei. She’s not what everyone thinks…well, that’s not entirely true. She has been wild and has “slept” her way around, but the men were her choice; only she decided who she went with and she was particular. However, being Pearle’s daughter left an expectation in everyone’s mind and she did nothing to dissuade it.

She was molested in the last book (oops spoiler) and is with child. She tried to get Junior to marry her, but realized he was a crook and responsible for almost killing her friends. So that plan didn’t work and she ended up saving Rollie Roper and her friends; then turned Junior in to the law.

She now lives at Rollie Roper’s, whose life she saved in the last book (she needed a place to stay and he needed care and a housekeeper). She does take care of him and even manages to keep him from smoking too much and drinking too much. All this while she keeps his house spotless and does administrative work for the lady lawyer in town as well as still caring for her maniac/alcoholic mother. That would be incredible for anyone, let alone a very pregnant single lady.

Things are going fine, when who shows up but Rollie’s nephew who he thought was killed in action overseas. Rollie, being Rollie, didn’t actually talk to the “army guys” when they came to notify him – just assumed what they were there for. There is a good reason for this mistake, but you have to read the story to find this out! Anyway, he’s big and he’s back. He figures half this is his (his mother’s half) and so does Rollie.

Meanwhile, Junior and his mother decide Junior needs Lorelei to marry him (a wife can’t testify against her husband) so they claim to be able to take her baby away from her because she’s such a bad influence and they are so rich…

That’s the setup; you really need to read this wonderful tale for yourself. I don’t do spoilers (if I can help it) because it’s just so much fun to discover the details for yourself.

This much I can tell you… I laughed until I cried; I cried and chewed my fingernails; I swooned at the hot love scenes and more; I prayed at the most fearful scene a mother could read; I sighed at the end! That should give you some idea as to how compelling and captivating this story is. If we gave out ratings…this would be a 5+.

This is an incredibly romantic story of changing lives and finding one person to truly love and trust. Rich vibrant characters with humor and wisdom make up the whole town. A place I’d love to call home. Jacqueline Rhoades has managed to have it all in this wonderful new series.
Enjoy, I did!

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Georgianna

excerpt

Lorelei looked over her shoulder to where Hardy Curran was bouncing baby Mikey on his good knee, seemingly paying no attention to the two women.

She leaned over the counter and whispered, “And there he is this morning, sitting out on the porch in his underwear with a hard-on the size of a flagpole.”

“Oooo, is he cute?” Suze giggled. “Just how tall was this flagpole and what was he doing with it and why on the front porch? Enquiring minds want to know.” She wiggled her brows.

“It wasn’t like that. He slept out there with a couch pillow and a ratty old blanket.”

Suze looked confused. “Why’d he do that?”

“Haven’t you been listening to anything I’ve said?”

“Well, some, but you are talking a little fast.”

Lorelei huffed. “Suze, I don’t even know if the guy is who he says he is.”

“Dark curly hair, gray eyes, tall and skinny. Got a scar right here,” Hardy pointed to a spot where his shoulder met his chest, “where one of the Tolliver boys shot him with an arrow. I forget which one.” He grinned when the ladies blushed. “Don’t know about the flagpole, but that pretty much covers the rest of him. Course, times change.”

________________________

About The author

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Jacqueline RhoadesA New Englander by birth and an Ohioan by choice, Jacqueline, known as Jackie by her friends, makes her home in a small, rural town with one lovable husband, one spoiled dog and one disinterested cat. (The adjectives are often interchangeable). An avid reader from a very early age, Jackie has an eclectic taste for books and therefore has trouble naming a favorite genre or author, though she does admit that for pure personal fantasy and ‘take-me-away’ books, you just can’t beat a good romance.

Jackie believes in the beauty of all women and thinks most women don’t see themselves as they should (herself included). She tries to make the women in her books reflect the best of ‘average’ in a variety of shapes, sizes, personalities and backgrounds, and each is beautiful in her own way. Some of her heroes are movie star handsome, while others are not. All her characters are beautiful in the eyes of their lovers and that, to Jackie, is the most beautiful of all.

giveaway

Jacqueline Rhoades is offering an ecopy of PRESTON’S MILL and an ecopy of CHANGING TIMES to two (2) lucky commenters at The Reading Cafe.

1. If you have not registered at The Reading Cafe, please register using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.

4. Giveaway runs from January 28 to January 31, 2014

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