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Showing posts with label Laura Trentham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Laura Trentham. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Welcome to Smalltown, USA!

Where everyone knows everyone else and your problems aren't just your own!




I love small town romances. There is just something about books that take place in small towns. Maybe it is the sense of community. Or the quirky characters. Or how everyone is all up in everyone else's business. Or maybe it is because books are often lighthearted. Or maybe it is all of the above. I feel like these are the books where I am going to find a second chance romance or a friends to lovers story, which are my favorite tropes. You know what I mean...guy/girl returns home for whatever reason and runs into his or her high school sweetheart while shopping at the one grocery store. Or maybe the person they run into is the brother or sister of their best friend and WOW, did they grow up. (LOVE THOSE!)

And I know, there are LOTS of small town romances out there and everyone has their favorites, but these are just some of the books (all part of a series!) that I have read and enjoyed. I hope you find some new books to read and add them to your TBR!


Laura Trentham

Falcon Football Series






CottonBloom Series






Rachel Lacey
Love to the Rescue Series


Confession: I've never actually read the 1st book, but only because I discovered Rachel when the 2nd book came out and just haven't had a chance to go back and read it!






Risking It All Series



Review of Book 1: Formal review coming next week, but I loved it!!!



Tracy March
Thistle Bend Series


Review of Book #0.5: No formal review, but it's an adorable (short) story that is talked about in Should've Said No. Well worth the read!







And now two authors I consider to be the queens of small town romance: Jill Shalvis and Susan Mallery!! If you are willing to settle in and commit to a long term relationship with a book series, these are for you.

I started reading these books long before I started this blog, so I don't have any formal reviews for their books. And with the more recent books, those are the ones that I sit back and read "for fun." But you don't worry, you really can't go wrong with any of their books!


Susan Mallery
Fool's Gold Series


I love Susan's Fool's Gold series. There are 20+ books and I've read almost all of them. The author released them in groups of 3 (you can tell by the titles) so those books are somewhat related to each other, but it not necessary to read them in order.

Since this series is so big, you will get a little bit of all the tropes! Check out the series' Goodreads page to find out more.

And I HIGHLY recommend checking out the Fool's Gold section on Susan's website. It has everything you need to know about the books and MUCH MORE. (Like that fun downloadable map up above!)


Jill Shalvis
Lucky Harbor Series


This series has 12 full books (the above image is of the first 3) plus some novellas and like the Fool's Gold series, you get a little bit of all the tropes. Check out the series' Goodreads page or Jill's website where you can read excerpts from each book.

Also check out her Animal Magnetism and Cedar Ridge for some more goodness. I've read and enjoyed those books as well!

AND her blog because you never know if she will be posting a photo of a hot guy, a cute animal or sharing a funny story!
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Tuesday, August 9, 2016

REVIEW TOUR, 5 STAR REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Till I Kissed You (Cottonbloom #3) by Laura Trentham





Title: Till I Kissed You
Series: A Cottonbloom Novel
Author: Laura Trentham 
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 2, 2016 
Publisher: St. Martin's Press





It’s summertime in Cottonbloom, where two lovers find themselves at a crossroads just as things start to heat up. . . 

Regan Lovell grew up on the wealthy Mississippi side of Cottonbloom—and now, as mayor, she’s determined to save it from the fate of so many small towns. Part of her plan to help the local economy is the Labor Day tomato festival. If only she wasn’t being undermined by Sawyer Fournette, who’s planning a crayfish-themed celebration on the Louisiana side of the river on the very same weekend. The pranks and sabotage are getting out of hand, and she’s had it with him—no matter how much she enjoyed those stolen hours in his truck bed, so many years ago…

Sawyer knows that Regan's never forgiven him for breaking her heart—but despite his reputation as a low-class swamp rat, he’d never hurt the woman who still secretly drives him crazy with desire. Someone in Cottonbloom has it out for her, though, and Sawyer intends to watch her back…and the rest of her too, if she can ever let go of her distrust. But will a common enemy be enough to unite them—and finally fulfill the promises they made one passionate night under the stars?







“Laura Trentham’s romances are like the icing on the cake, the extra scoop of chocolate ice cream or a perfect summer day…” - Tome Tender Book Blog

“I am really sad that this series is over as I have fallen in love with Cottonbloom. I can't wait to see what Laura Trentham writes next!” - Love’s A State of Mind

“Till I Kissed You is full of spark and snark. There is heat and tension, with a bit of a whodunnit thrown in there for good measure.” - BJ’s Book Blog


“Are you going to pretend last night never happened?” Sawyer asked.
Regan took a quick breath and matched what sounded like hurt feelings with equal amounts of defensiveness. “You were the one pretending.”
He took a step closer. She held her ground even though one of her feet slid backward on the dirt floor. “It’s almost like it was a dream, isn’t it?”
At least he hadn’t said “nightmare.” She rubbed her lips together. He took another step. The heat of his body and fresh scent enveloped her. He’d showered recently. Maybe he’d worked late. Maybe his hair was still damp. Maybe the stubble from the night before was growing into a beard.
“It was dark and secluded and we were kind of forced into one another. It had nothing to do with you and me. Just like the night of the rabbits. It was the situation, right?” Why had she asked instead of stated? And why had she mentioned the night he had pressed her into the sweet-smelling grass and left her a puddle of lustful confusion?
“Exactly. It’s dark and secluded now too.” Another step and his chest grazed hers. She lifted her face toward his, every nerve ending straining for him.
“It is that. And we’re close.”
“How do we keep managing to get ourselves into these dark and secluded situations?” He circled her nape with his hand. It was all the encouragement her body needed. She pitched into him, her arms rising to circle his shoulders. Her fingers wound in his damp hair, the faint scent of his shampoo niggling at her memories. It was the same one he’d always used even though he could probably afford a salon brand. Solid, practical, sexy Sawyer.
His lips coasted from her temple to her jaw, laying small kisses along the way. She arched against him, turning her head in search of his mouth. Finally, he kissed her. A stuttering sigh escaped her on contact.
His one hand tightened on her nape while the other coasted down to cup and knead her backside. She whimpered, the noise coming unbidden from her throat. His tongue made gentle forays inside of her mouth, twining with hers. She sucked his bottom lip into her mouth and nipped it. He pulled back with a growly sound that veered humorous.
“You missed this haven’t you, baby? I’ll bet none of those Mississippi boys made you feel like this.”
His words were a dunk in the ice-cold waters of reality. She had spent too long getting him out of her system to regress over one short summer. Pushing off his chest drove her pelvis into his, and she nearly succumbed to temptation. His hard length pressed into her.
The truth was she had missed him. Terribly. Not only physically, but the emotional connection that sparked so readily between them. She twisted against him and he let her go, leaving her stumbling backward two steps before she caught her balance.
Her lips felt swollen and tender and craved more. “This is crazy.”





I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

High school sweethearts to enemies to lovers. This is what Hallmark movies are made of y'all! A Hallmark movie that I will gladly watch! Can we make that happen?  ;-)

Regan and Sawyer were high school sweethearts and madly in love, but when Regan's mother put some unneeded pressure on her, Regan broke it off with Sawyer. And then a very unfortunate misunderstanding pushed them into the enemies category where they would remain for many years. 

It's now eleven years later and Regan is Mayor in Cottonbloom, Mississippi and Sawyer is parish commissioner in Cottonbloom, Louisiana. They both enter a contest to put up festivals that will hopefully win money that will help their towns thrive. In the previous books we got to see a little bit of the rivalry that exists between them and also the fact that weird things have been happening in regards to Regan's preparations. Someone does not want her to succeed in the contest and while in the beginning she though it was Sawyer, she quickly realizes that he would never do anything to harm her.

When the actions against Regan get a little too personal she reaches out to Sawyer and they try to figure out what is going on. The more time they spend together (without fighting), the more they find themselves actually getting along. They still have their fair share of disagreements, but it all comes down to the fact that they never got the closure they needed. Now that they are older and wiser and they have to figure out what they want and if they can forget the past. Don't get me wrong, I loved when these two went toe to toe, but I loved it even more when they gave into their feelings. And a little angry sex never hurt anyone, right?  

I just LOVE this series. Small town romance for the win! I love the quirky townsfolk and their ability to come through for each other when they need it most. We get a little bit of Sawyer's siblings already know and love as well as their significant others. (NASH! *sigh*) And finally the Fournette siblings are all back home and with the ones they are supposed to be with! HEA all around!  





An award-winning author, Laura Trentham was born and raised in a small town in Tennessee. Although, she loved English and reading in high school, she was convinced an English degree equated to starvation. She chose the next most logical major—Chemical Engineering—and worked in a hard hat and steel toed boots for several years.


She writes sexy, small town contemporaries and smoking hot Regency historicals. The first two books of her Falcon Football series were named Top Picks by RT Book Reviews magazine. When not lost in a cozy Southern town or Regency England, she's shuttling kids to soccer, helping with homework, and avoiding the Mt. Everest-sized pile of laundry that is almost as large as the to-be-read pile of books on her nightstand.





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Monday, August 8, 2016

5 Star Review: Then He Kissed Me (Cottonbloom Novels #2) by Laura Trentham

Can two hearts come together in one divided town?

As a boy, Nash Hawthorne spent countless afternoons on the Louisiana side of Cottonbloom with Tally Fournette, wading in the river, peeling oranges and catching frogs. When illness stole his mother, Nash yearned to take Tally and run away—for good. Instead, he crossed the state line to live with his aunt. It was a short distance as the crow flies, but it swept him into a whole new world…

After Nash left, Tally managed to struggle through her own losses without him. But now that she’s crossed paths with him again—at Cottonbloom College, where the grown-up, gorgeous Nash teaches history—she is reminded of their cherished youthful connection…and an attraction that has only gotten stronger with age. Between Tally’s possessive ex and Nash’s snobbish aunt, no one thinks they belong together. In a town torn apart by old resentments and rivalries, can they find their way back to the life they once shared—and turn their long-lost dreams into a real and lasting love?




My Review

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Nash and Tally were the best of friends when they were younger. They spent all of their free time together exploring the river, fishing and being kids. When Nash's mother passed away he had to move in with his Grandma. That meant crossing state lines and living in Mississippi. It wasn't far, but it may as well have been on the other side of the country. The two of them learn to live without the other and they go on with their lives. But now Nash is back and he is all grown up. And Tally has definitely noticed. 

 I adored Nash. He was smart, sexy, a little nerdy and so adorably awkward when he and Tally first reconnected. I just wanted to reach into the book and give him a big hug. And he was so unaware of how attractive he was, which of course made him even more attractive. 
“I do get ridiculously excited about Star Wars.”
“Really? I pictured you as more of an Indiana Jones fan.”
“Why’s that?”
She raised her eyebrows and harrumphed. “Knights Templar, Holy Grail. I can only imagine what percentage of your classes are female.”
“Professor Jones was an archaeologist.” He took another sip of his Scotch and shook his head. Now that she mentioned it, a good eighty percent of the classes he’d taught as an associate professor at Edinburgh had been female. He stilled. Was she insinuating women signed up for his classes because they might find him attractive? Did she find him attractive? Embarrassment followed by a wave of longing incinerated his insides and triggered another spate of coughing.
Her eyes flared before she burst into laughter. This was the laugh he remembered, and he tumbled back twenty years. 
“Ohmigod, you don’t even realize, do you?”
“Realize what?”
“Better if you don’t know.” She grinned.
Her cheeks were flushed, and dark hair that had escaped her braid wisped around her face. Unlike most of the women in the bar, she wasn’t wearing a skirt or heels. Her simple blue T-shirt emphasized lean curves, and her dark-wash jeans were tucked into a pair of black motorcycle boots. Smudged black eyeliner emphasized the only thing about her that was soft. In her laughter, her intense green eyes shed their wariness and turned warm and welcoming.
He smiled back and propped his chin up on his hand, leaning in closer. “I can assure you I am stodgy and boring.”
“Really?” Her voice dripped sarcasm, but she mimicked his stance, so they were only a few inches apart, their elbows nearly touching on the bar. “What do you do for fun?”
“I like to explore creepy, cobwebby catacombs full of dead people.”
Her smile faltered. “Are you serious?”
“Yep.”
“I’m pretty sure Cottonbloom is fresh out of dead-body-stuffed catacombs. How are you keeping yourself entertained? Are you dating anyone?”
“Nope. How about you?”

But unfortunately, being a grown up means having to deal with the consequences of your actions and the demons of your past. And because life loves to throw lots of curve balls, they find themselves dealing with the same consequence/demon. And add on to that that Tally feels like Nash deserves someone who is better than here (i.e. perhaps one of his smarty pants colleagues) and their path to happily ever is a bit rockier than you want for this adorable couple. 

 This book was the cutest. I loved how Nash & Tally got to know each other as adults. They had plenty of wonderful childhood memories, but now they are much older and wiser. And hotter. And can make lots of grown up memories. I just LOVED them. And who wouldn't? Their story is why romance books exist!

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Tuesday, June 28, 2016

RELEASE BLITZ, EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY: Then He Kissed Me (Cottonbloom #2) by Laura Trentham


Title: Then He Kissed Me
Series: A Cottonbloom Novel
Author: Laura Trentham 
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 28, 2016 
Publisher: St. Martin's Press



Can two hearts come together in one divided town?

As a boy, Nash Hawthorne spent countless afternoons on the Louisiana side of Cottonbloom with Tally Fournette, wading in the river, peeling oranges and catching frogs. When illness stole his mother, Nash yearned to take Tally and run away—for good. Instead, he crossed the state line to live with his aunt. It was a short distance as the crow flies, but it swept him into a whole new world…

After Nash left, Tally managed to struggle through her own losses without him. But now that she’s crossed paths with him again—at Cottonbloom College, where the grown-up, gorgeous Nash teaches history—she is reminded of their cherished youthful connection…and an attraction that has only gotten stronger with age. Between Tally’s possessive ex and Nash’s snobbish aunt, no one thinks they belong together. In a town torn apart by old resentments and rivalries, can they find their way back to the life they once shared—and turn their long-lost dreams into a real and lasting love?





"Appealing protagonists, a heartwarming relationship, and descriptions so vivid one can feel the steamy heat and the river mud between their toes make this a perfect, lazy summer read." ~Library Journal

"Do you like small town romances that avoid saccharine and surrender to real? Read this book!" ~Fresh Fiction

"Equal parts funny, romantic and sexy. It had a little bit of everything that I love in a romance." ~5 stars from Wishful Miss Book Reviews

“There’s one thing on my list I haven’t told you about.” The tease in Nash’s voice had been roughened away.

“How am I going to help if you don’t tell me?” Tally couldn’t stop staring at his mouth, and dabbed her tongue along her lower lip.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d be willing to help me cross it off.”

 “Is it dangerous?”

 “Could be. Might start a fire even.” He removed his glasses and tucked them into a pocket of his shorts.

 The moon had risen and his brown eyes seemed to reflect back the meager light.

“I want to kiss you.” The words fell between them like it was a done deal, yet he moved more like a predator, slowly, cautiously, giving her a fighting chance at escape. 

 “Not a peck on the cheek like when we were eight, but an honest-to-goodness, grown-up, man-woman kiss. Does that freak you out?”

 It totally did. Not because she was disgusted or creeped. The opposite. The compulsion to kiss him at the river had almost overtaken her. But this was Nash. Her Nash. Her stomach spiraled in a slow arc of nerves and anticipation.
Whenever she was nervous about something, like the school spelling bee, Nash had made her list the worst, most outrageous things that could go wrong. She reverted to old habits, the questions popping out in a rush of words. 
“What if you start thinking about Charlemagne to keep from being bored? What if you’re totally grossed out? What if you can’t look at me the same way? What if we can never be friends again?”

She had backed into the tower, and he braced his hands on either side of her head. “I can guarantee I won’t be disgusted or bored. I’ve been thinking about kissing you since that first night at the Rivershack Tavern. Maybe you’ll hate me slobbering all over you.”

“Maybe,” she whispered, even knowing it was a lie. Every part of her was drawn to him like filings to a magnet. Good sense kept her from confessing her biggest fear.

 What if she didn’t want him to stop at a kiss?

 “Listen, this is just an item on my list. One kiss. If the kiss is weird and either one of us doesn’t like it, let’s agree that it won’t affect our friendship. We’ll keep hanging out.”

“What if we do like it?” The possibility threw open a door she wasn’t sure she wanted to slam shut or run through.

 “Well then. I might have a lengthy addendum to my original list.” He cocked his head. “What’d you say we do something really crazy?”

Unlike at the river, the narrow platform offered no escape, and she was glad. She didn’t want to escape, even as the most vulnerable parts of her screamed at her to run. While she was perfectly willing to risk life and limb and trouble with the law, the risk Nash posed to her heart was too great to contemplate. But this was only a kiss—how dangerous could it really be?

“Okay.” The word came out as soft as a breath.


An award-winning author, Laura Trentham was born and raised in a small town in Tennessee. Although, she loved English and reading in high school, she was convinced an English degree equated to starvation. She chose the next most logical major—Chemical Engineering—and worked in a hard hat and steel toed boots for several years.

She writes sexy, small town contemporaries and smoking hot Regency historicals. The first two books of her Falcon Football series were named Top Picks by RT Book Reviews magazine. When not lost in a cozy Southern town or Regency England, she's shuttling kids to soccer, helping with homework, and avoiding the Mt. Everest-sized pile of laundry that is almost as large as the to-be-read pile of books on her nightstand.




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